Rob Ridgway's "Rat Pack"

tenthreeleader · April 29, 2009

I reminded the players of that fact. And I wasn’t terribly gentle about it.

“Focus and finish,” I repeated during the halftime team talk. “Focus and finish. That’s all this game is about. Focus, and finish!”

We came out with a lot more energy in the second half. That, coupled with our opponent’s depleted lineup, meant it was one-way traffic.

Long went close just a minute after the restart. Maloney’s bending free kick on 51 minutes bounded solidly off Konstantopoulos’ left post – and stayed out. The veteran Ingimarsson took the ball fully thirty yards from goal and took a rare piledriver attempt, forcing the keeper to stretch to his right. At least that was on target.

Yet as the minutes wore on, and Dowie started to sit on his lead, our urgency grew. Coventry was hardly bothering us, but we were starting to beat our heads against the ten-man wall we faced with no effect.

The restlessness of the crowd was starting to become apparent and a few of the faithful even accentuated their displeasure by whistling. Our funk was starting to get deeper and the players on the field seemed to have no way to deal with it.

Finally, on 65 minutes I called for Lita and Kalou, who were just finishing their warm-up routines. “I’ll need you today,” I told them. “Leroy, in for Shane. Salomon, in for Oster and I want you on the right. Get forward, push, press, and make something happen.”

Both players nodded and I brought them on a few minutes later. We had our same 4-1-3-2 tactic in place but I wanted extra pressure from the wings to try to force the issue against the packed-in Coventry defenders.

Twenty minutes remained, and we had a total of three shots on target against a ten-man opponent. I was starting to get as frustrated as our fans, but with an embarrassing Cup exit looming there was definite need for urgency.

The presence of Kalou and the work rate of my supersub resulted in a couple of good chances within five minutes of their introduction. One found the other, as Kalou’s cross fell inches in front of the sliding Lita on 73 minutes, with defender David Van Zanten beaten and the goalkeeper rooted to the spot.

Kalou himself made something out of nothing to pick up the second opportunity, catching Elliott Ward in possession and quickly embarking on a one-man counterattack to blast over the bar ninety seconds later.

The opportunities were coming fast and thick but the results were the same. With fifteen minutes to go, we were still looking for the inspiration that would allow us to put the ball in the net.

Now Dowie sprang into action, with a defensive substitution designed to help his team man the pumps over the last few minutes. Stuart Giddings came on for the goal scorer, Kyle, on 79 minutes, and a compact Sky Blues alignment dropped back still further.

Giddings had an immediate role to play. As soon as he was introduced, we started an attack down the left with the ball winding up at the feet of Hunt, who took it deep for the cross. He hooked it into the area where Kalou, who had been cheating toward the middle, was waiting.

Only he never touched the ball. Giddings shouldered him off it as both players jumped for the cross.

Our fans went nuts, I jumped in the air with my arms spread out to appeal for the penalty – and Rennie gave it. Will wonders never cease?

Now the Coventry players showed their outrage, and only Dowie’s loud remonstrations to his players kept them from surrounding the referee. I thought it was a clear penalty, of course, and Kalou immediately signaled for the ball while the Coventry bench and staff gave the fourth official what-for.

None of that mattered to Kalou, though, as he calmly stroked a perfectly taken penalty past Konstantopoulos to get us level nine minutes from time.

It wasn’t pretty. But it was certainly effective, as we finally found a way to put a shot on target. Now I wanted more.

“Get forward,” I yelled, waving my arms in the usual manner. No sitting back here – no replay for us. I wanted a win. We were still playing against ten, we had the momentum and I wanted to see if we could get a goal from open play as well.

With our players now energized, we came forward again, aggressively searching for openings in a manner we frankly hadn’t done for the first eighty minutes of the match. From the back line, an unlikely source soon tried to play the provider role.

It was Sonko. He stuck out a leg and blocked a clearance attempt off the boot of Jay Tabb before looking up to see Lita and Kitson playing a two-on-one game against a suddenly thunderstruck Gary Borrowdale. He played the ball forward to Lita, and the defender had no choice but to cover him.

With his partner David Van Zanten out of position, Borrowdale was cruelly exposed. Lita wound to shoot – and then pushed a great little lead ball through to Kitson, who was alone on the keeper. The targetman made no mistake, hitting the target just three minutes after Kalou’s penalty to give us our first lead of the match.

Now the Madejski was alive with noise, our bench was the one that was vibrant, and now it was a matter of holding the lead against ten men for five-plus minutes.

Red-faced, Dowie now shouted instructions to move to two strikers and three at the back to try to force us out of possession. It didn’t work.

But we were fortunate.

Coventry City 1 (Kevin Kyle 5th, 14)

Reading 2 (Kalou 6th, pen 81; Kitson 6th, 84)

A – 19,249, The Madejski Stadium, Reading

Man of the Match – Salomon Kalou, Reading (4)

# # #

“These players are going to be the death of me,” I sighed as I met the media after the match.

“You looked like you were fit to be tied,” Weatherby said.

“That’s being kind,” I said. “Credit Coventry with some great rearguard football but we should have had this match wrapped up a lot earlier than we did and if we could have hit the broad side of a barn with a football in the first eighty minutes of the match I think we would have.”

“Has the recent overall play of the squad caused you concern?” she asked. “Really, it’s fair to say you aren’t the side you were even three weeks ago.”

“I have to admit you’re right,” I said, knowing I would be making news. “I honestly can’t expect my team to play like world-beaters every night but we’ve missed the flexibility in the eleven that having Dagoberto present would provide.”

“So there was something to the bust-up on the training ground?”

“No,” I said quickly. “Injuries take time to heal. Dagoberto’s came at a particularly bad time for us since we had a stretch of midweek games and one of the games he missed was Chelsea. There’s never a good time to be injured, but that was worse than usual.”

“So do you think the bad patch is over?” Nothing like determined questioning to make me feel awful.

“That’s up to the players,” I replied. “We can keep putting them in positions to succeed but you need all eleven pulling in the same direction to get the results that are required. As a team we have lacked application and I think you saw that tonight. We just couldn’t finish and when that happens for a prolonged period of time you have to guard against frustration. The last ten minutes were good for us because they showed we can apply, focus and finish. We have a big stretch of matches coming up and we need to believe we can win.”

She nodded and kept writing. I won’t be able to read what she writes until Monday night, which is good – because I’ll have cooled off by then.

# # #

Balthazars · April 29, 2009

Excellent work, 'Sir'.

SCIAG · April 29, 2009

Excellent work, your Highness.

tenthreeleader · April 30, 2009

It is getting DEEP in here ....

___

Sunday, January 25

Perusing the morning scores today was interesting.

Derby managed to get a replay against Chelsea, drawing 1-1 at Pride Park, and Cardiff’s woeful season continued by getting knocked out of the Cup, at home, to Plymouth Argyle by 1-0.

However, my internet score search didn’t last long. Patty wanted a day off today and a day away as well. It was a cold and rainy morning so it wasn’t like we could go for a walk anyplace outdoors.

“How about The Oracle?” I teased, and she playfully smacked my arm.

“How about not?” she replied.

“Okay, then let’s get in the car and drive,” I suggested, so off we went.

Simply spending time with her was wonderful. We took the A4 westward and wound up in the center of town on Blagrave Street – passing the Reading Museum. The building is located in the former Town Hall and as we passed, Patty squeezed my hand.

“This looks like fun,” she said. “I’ve never been in here.”

I nodded, and pulled into a nearby car park. Our arrival was noted with a few wide-eyed stares from onlookers but by and large they left us alone as we entered the place.

Walking through the place, not coincidentally, is like walking through the history of the region. Reading itself has been around since the sixth century AD, when it was founded as a Saxon settlement. Nearby Silchester Roman Town was excavated in the 19th Century and some of its artifacts are on display there.

Roman Britain was definitely there for the viewing, and as Patty and I strolled quietly through the galleries we were struck at how much of England had come under Rome’s sway.

There are some wonderful galleries there as well. The Huntley and Palmers Gallery explains the history of Reading’s biscuit making industry, with quite a bit of information on the company for which the gallery is named. The nearby Windows Gallery has sculpture and decorative pieces that go back nearly 900 years from the old Reading Abbey.

Wordlessly we drank in the spectacle, walking hand in hand past the displays. Patty’s practiced eye was again called into play – after all, she had spent a lot of time at the world famous Venice Biennale – and she felt like she had when we met.

The change in her eyes was remarkable. It was almost as though the worry and care of the preceding weeks were wiped off her face.

“Penny for your thoughts, honey,” I said softly as we walked.

“Simpler time,” she admitted. “I wouldn’t trade this for anything, but the last time I was in an art gallery life was a lot more simple.”

We walked through the Exhibition Gallery and came across a rendering of the museum’s original Victorian-era gallery. Not surprisingly, it was named after John Madejski.

We then came across the only full copy of the world-famous Bayeux Tapestry, located in this museum. The original is of course a chronicle of the Norman Conquest of England in 1066 and the Battle of Hastings. A copy of the original was made in the Victorian era and placed here.

The tale of Harold Godwinson and William the Conqueror played out before our eyes, and we took our time looking from end to end. We reached the famed appearance of Halley’s Comet in the tapestry and Patty looked at me.

“Why is that there?” she asked. I was about to answer when we were interrupted by a third man viewing the artwork.

“It’s a hairy star,” he explained, and I turned to face the interloper.

“That’s true,” I said. “Comets were a portent of doom.”

“Meaning no disrespect, Mr. Ridgway,” the man said, extending his hand. “Sorry to interrupt you. But perhaps you’ll have better luck against your next visitors from the south than old Harold Godwinson did.”

I had been trying to forget Portsmouth’s visit on Wednesday for the time being, but the gentleman had reminded me. I shook his hand and then he gave me an indication that he might not be so friendly after all.

“Harold won at Stamford Bridge, though,” he said as he walked away.

I hadn’t.

# # #

tenthreeleader · May 1, 2009

Monday, January 26

More news today on Baptista. We have had formal contact with his main agent on a contract.

Carlos Alvarez and I talked turkey this morning about a contract for his client. My first contact with him in quite some time was all business.

“The player is willing to come to your club,” he said, referring somewhat strangely to Baptista in the third person. “He is ready to discuss personal terms.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” I replied. “We’re ready to hear the player’s proposal. I believe we will be able to meet his needs.”

I say this because Cissé has signed with Monaco, saving us an additional £400,000 on the wage bill, and we’re well under where even the most spendthrift members of my board want me to be. If and when Ingimarsson goes, we’ll be another £700,000 to the good.

The reserve team is finally starting to pare down to a more manageable size and players I need to get onto the pitch are getting there on a regular basis, under the guidance of our coaches. I won’t pretend that this disappoints me – now the next step is building the reserve team with young players that will lead to a more positive long-term future for Reading FC.

But the conversation I was having now was for the present. “His needs are £25,000 per week plus clauses and a £1 million signing bonus,” Alvarez told me. The base salary, for a player of Baptista’s known quality, was a comparative bargain.

I knew it. But I didn’t want to say so quite so quickly.

He’s well within our salary structure and price range, and for the first time since the whole drama began, I allowed myself the luxury of a smile.

“I think we can meet those needs,” I said. “Please let me get official confirmation from the financial department and we will get back to you within the hour.”

“I will tell my client that you are prepared to meet his demands,” Alvarez said. “We will wait to hear from you.”

# # #

stoehrst · May 1, 2009

This seems to be a symptom of FM08. In a previous Newcastle save (Not Entertainers), I nabbed Julio Baptista for 3.5m pounds and a very reasonable wage budget. He proceeded to rack up 18 goals and 28 assists for me that season. Madrid never wants to keep him!

Story is phenomenal as always, 10-3, keep it up!

calgaryballer · May 1, 2009

I had Baptista in FM2007 and he was a beast. Tried to replicate it in 08 and no luck. I believe you mentioned he is going to be in the raider role? Or will he play up front as the target man?

tenthreeleader · May 2, 2009

With the January window running out, I see Baptista as the ideal raider. We'll see ..

___

The other thing that happened today was a public reconciliation between Dagoberto and Sonko, which was much needed from more than one point of view.

From my point of view, I needed the two to be on better terms for the simple purpose of squad harmony. From the club’s point of view, we just don’t need the distraction of two players of such profile being at each others’ throats.

My announcement to media at the start of the morning session that Dagoberto was ready to play against Portsmouth had a lot to do with that. We knew it all along that he would be able to come back for the league match – and I really saw no reason to risk against a Championship side in the FA Cup.

So for Sonko to see Dagoberto running at full speed on the training pitch this morning meant a lot. Wordlessly, as we finished warmups and interval drills and started in to the hard work of preparation for Pompey, the defender walked over to the striker and extended his hand.

I hoped the cameras caught it. It wasn’t much of a moment, really – just a sort of greeting and an exchange of words that had a lot less emotion than the last conversation the two had had.

I saw it, and nodded with satisfaction. Dillon approached from behind me.

“Did you see that, Rob?” he asked.

“I did,” I answered. “Hopefully that will hold up. Let’s do our best to make sure that it does.”

# # #

However, we did get the panning I expected from the Evening Post today regarding the Coventry match.

Having had the weekend to think things over, Weatherby still was in no mood to be conciliatory just because we had pulled FA Cup success out of our hats in the final ten minutes. I didn’t mind that for a couple of reasons – first, because she was right and second, because she has made every effort to be fair in her reportage about my club.

I don’t mind when she pans us as much as I do when other media, which doesn’t spend as much time around the club, does without knowing the facts. I’m growing in my respect for Jill, who praises equally when it’s warranted.

However, we didn’t deserve praise after Coventry, so her headline of “Singing the Sky Blues” was quite appropriate.

She did make the point that a Premiership side playing on its own patch against a ten-man team twenty-six places below it in the overall standings really ought to do better. That means not needing 44 minutes to score a goal against ten men, and it means not needing a penalty to do it.

I couldn’t argue with any of it. She too raised the same issues Emiliani had – but since she had put in the time with the team, it was easier to read coming from her.

There’s a growing feeling in the press that Reading has shot its bolt. My hope is that Baptista will re-energize us. All we need now is the player’s agreement.

# # #

copperhorse21 · May 2, 2009

No offense 10-3, but I couldn't resist a couple of playful jabs, especially since your Man U totally outgunned my Gunners in the Champions League Semi Final First Leg at Old Trafford. Without Almunia performing heroics worthy of a "hot" Brad Friedel, the semi-final second leg surely would have been as boring as watching MLS.

So, the following quote comes directly from Ridgway's pre-match team talk on Saturday, Jan 24.

"so my talk to the team was short and sweet.

“They’re down,” I said. “Pile it on them. Take what you want and impose your will. You can get this done. So go do it.”

At first read, I thought, My word, do I report this? It sounds like a pervert with a score to settle..."

Then I read on further to the half-time talk...

“Focus and finish,” I repeated during the halftime team talk. “Focus and finish. That’s all this game is about. Focus, and finish!”

I realized it wasn't the words of a pervert, but more like the words of a middle-aged man giving himself a pep talk and wishing he had popped the Viagra afterall.

Be well my friend, be well.

Balthazars · May 2, 2009

Sweet mercy, copper, you have some wierd imagery going on in your mind!

tenthreeleader · May 3, 2009

Copper, my friend, all I can say is that Dr. Freud is waiting for your call.

___

Tuesday, January 26

Re-energizing should not be an issue in the FA Cup, at least for our next tie. Last night we got our draw for the Fifth Round and it will be a test.

We get Liverpool at Anfield. I was hoping for a bit of a different result.

Our Boxing Day result against them was credible, but with the stretch of fixtures we have coming up, it’s safe to say that a road tie against the defending champions – who are on a four-match winning run in the league – isn’t something I prefer.

That isn’t to say they frighten us. They do not. But with lower-level teams still in the field it would have been nice to get a favorable draw.

But that’s how it goes in this game. It’s all about the luck of the draw sometimes.

We spent the day waiting to hear back from Alvarez on Baptista’s reaction to our offer. The scouts swear up and down they haven’t heard if he’s talking with anyone else, and the coaches are all surfing their contacts to see what the delay could be. I’d love to get this done and dusted and paid for before too much more time passes.

In the meantime, though, we had a red-letter day in terms of youth signings. As I’ve mentioned before, the academy class is a real mess this year, with no real impact player heading through our facilities.

So we have made purchases. I expect them to make a splash – if not now, then in the coming seasons.

The best capture was Hull’s prodigy Mark Flynn, a 17-year old striker who is on his way here for £500,000. By default, he becomes our best youth player in that position. I can say the same for midfielder Tristan van Laer, a 16-year old whiz kid from Zwolle in Holland. He will arrive for £200,000.

However, the youth team is flush with midfielders and strikers. We need more overall depth. So we’ve gone north of the border – and for a lot less money – to get players we think will help us. Holding midfielder Peter Innes, another 16-year old with upside, is coming in from Motherwell, while Inverness Caley Thistle sold us promising central defender Stuart McBride for £20,000. Left back Gavin Dunlop was our fifth signing of the day, coming in from Newport County.

The scouts have truly outdone themselves. Several months ago I gave them some stick for not producing the kinds of results that would help the club in either the short or long terms. They have taken care of the long-term in spades. Every piece of video I’ve seen of these kids indicates to me that we’ve signed five real players for the future. That makes me feel good.

What I worry about now is the last piece of our January puzzle – Baptista. Where is he?

# # #

Offspring8 · May 3, 2009

He's behind you ...

Still going brilliantly 10-3 :thup: I'm looking forward to seeing if any of these young kids will make it. Big up Mark Flynn

tenthreeleader · May 5, 2009

Thanks, Offspring. High hopes for Flynn ...

___

There was other transfer news today as well. Spurs dug deep – spending £18.5 million to get Ashley Young off West Ham. That’s a real signing, an impact purchase that will pay dividends for them. I rate Young highly and if I had that kind of purchasing power – which I won’t have until the new expansion to the stadium comes online – I’d have made a bid too.

Our opponents for tomorrow have made a significant signing as well, landing Romanian international midfielder Nicolae Mitea from Ajax Amsterdam for £7 million. The kid can really go – though he won’t play against us tomorrow, right-sided midfielders in this league will really have to mind their P’s and Q’s when facing him.

Which leads me to the media gaggle today, in preparation for tomorrow. My point is simple: I’m happy to be back on the pitch so soon after Coventry because I don’t think we can be that bad two matches in a row.

So that’s what I told the media. “I expect better, I’ll be honest,” I said. “We have been out of form over the last few weeks and everyone knows it. There has to be an end to it sometime and I’m expecting that it will be tomorrow.”

“Dagoberto ought to help.”

“I try not to pin success on any one player, but yes, having him back in the eleven will be a boost to us,” I answered. “We have been missing a part of our edge when he’s been out and what I am really expecting out of tomorrow’s match is a return to some sort of normalcy in our play and in my substitution patterns.”

“You really are happier with Lita on the bench, aren’t you?”

“I am,” I answered. Results have supported my contention and really, results are what we are all about. Pretty simple.”

“Have you spoken with Roland Nilsson recently?” Now there was an interesting question. The man who questioned my competence at the start of the season isn’t on my Christmas card list and I’m sure I’m not on his.

“Can’t see any reason why I should have,” I said. “I haven’t tried to buy any of his players.”

Snorts of laughter trickled around the room as the reporters wrote down my comments. “Is that because you don’t rate them?” came the follow-up.

“I wouldn’t say that,” I said. “Portsmouth has a nice group of players and they are starting to jell together. But for Roland and me to start talking buddy-buddy might be a bit of a stretch at the present time.”

I didn’t care for the line of questioning. Who I like and get along with and who I don’t isn’t something I care to talk about.

My annoyance was starting to show and perhaps feeling they could get a rise out of me, the questioners zeroed in to talk about my personal relationship with Nilsson.

Finally I had had enough. “Look, Roland said some things about me earlier in the season that, to my knowledge, have not been repeated,” I said. “That’s a good thing on more than one front. All I want is to get three points out of the game tomorrow and to me that means I need to concentrate on more than just whether my opponent likes me as a person. I have more important things to worry about. So if you’ll pardon me, I’m going concentrate on those.”

# # #

tenthreeleader · May 6, 2009

Patty’s up-and-down persona of late has also worried me. She greeted me at the door this evening, leaving me with some hope that the down side may be on the way out.

We can’t do anything about what happened. But we can certainly do our level best to carry on. I walked past the door to what would have been our baby’s nursery and I noticed that the room was now empty.

“Babe, what happened?” I asked. She looked at me, her green eyes clear, and I knew some real progress had been made in her counseling.

“It was time to stop looking at it all,” she said simply. “I want to have our children – that much hasn’t changed – but dwelling on what happened isn’t going to solve anything or make it any less painful.”

She advanced to my arms and nestled comfortably inside.

“Besides, Rob,” she said, “I’ll see our baby in heaven.”

# # #

Wednesday, January 28

Reading (12-9-2, 4th place) v Portsmouth (6-8-8, 13th place) – EPL Match Day #24

Before leaving for the ground today we got a piece of good news.

The celebrity website that put up those photoshopped pictures of Patty has been forced to remove them and we may or may not seek additional legal recourse. Unfortunately, though, those sorts of pictures do tend to populate themselves in all sorts of places we don’t want to see them, so it’s possible that this battle may take quite a long time to finish.

So there was actually business to tend to this morning that had little to do with football. And on a match night, I preferred to think of other things rather than someone else’s idea of how Patty looks the way I alone am allowed to see her.

My communication with Freddie Eaton was satisfying from a personal standpoint due to the success we have achieved with our attorneys, but the conversation had to happen over the lunch hour due to my matchday responsibilities. At least we were playing at home tonight – having to worry about such things on the road would have been an even greater distraction.

So that part of the day was pleasant. And even the weather was a bit better than it has been of late – a little warmer with a reduction in some of the cold breeze we’ve had to put up with in recent matches. It doesn’t bother me – I’m used to real winters in the American Midwest – but it’s annoying to have to repeatedly play in conditions that aren’t optimal for us but are for teams that aren’t up to our growing level of technical accomplishment.

The visiting team arrived by coach yesterday and had a brief kickabout while I stayed as far away from them as possible. Yet, as I made my return trip back to the stadium this evening, I suppose it couldn’t be avoided.

Dillon and I walked together toward the home changing room, the doors of which open less than twenty paces from the entrance to the pitch. We walked down the corridor and as we made the last turn toward the room we ran directly into Nilsson.

As the host, I made a gesture with my arm to allow him to proceed. “After you, Roland,” I said.

He nodded. “That’s my objective,” he smiled.

“Good luck with that,” I said disarmingly, as he entered the visiting rooms.

I arrived to find about half the squad already gathered, some of them already fully dressed and focusing on the task at hand. Wordlessly, I greeted those players before retreating into my office to finish the final team sheet for the match.

I was pleased to put Dagoberto on it for the first time in four matches. That alone gave me reason to feel better than I had been feeling entering a match. His presence in the room gave us all a lift and as I stepped back into the room after warmups to give the pre-match team talk, there was a general atmosphere in the place I hadn’t sensed in a couple of weeks.

“It’s time to silence the people who are talking about you and talking you down,” I said. “There are a lot of people in the media who have been waiting for you to fail, waiting for you to lose the plot. We’ve had a patch where we’ve had to rely on each other and you know what? We’re still here. We’re still in the hunt and we’re still a factor in this title race. Today you have the chance to go out there against a good club and show the nation that you’re in it for the long haul. You’ve got a good plan, you’ve seen this team before and you know how to play against them.”

“You have the opportunity to go out and make a statement,” I concluded. “The coaches have had their time to get you ready. Now it’s your time to perform. Get it done.”

I left the particulars to Dillon while I headed back to the office for a few moments of final preparation. Then we took the pitch – with Metallica’s classic Enter Sandman ringing in our ears. The Mad Stad crowd was ready and so were my players. They kicked off and we started our return to prominence.

# # #

tenthreeleader · May 8, 2009

From the beginning of the match we were bright and resourceful. Just under fifty seconds into the match Kalou’s creative entry ball wound up on the boot of Kitson, who struck a rising drive from just inside the penalty area that rose just a little too much for his liking, fizzing over the bar for a goal kick.

It was a chance, though, and an early one. Immediately, Nilsson was up and off the Portsmouth bench shouting instructions to his defenders. It seemed they had instructions to close down Kitson, which I found interesting since Kalou has really been the player to make us go even through most of the bad patch we’ve been in.

Portsmouth’s plan was to cut off Kitson’s route to Dagoberto, and in an odd sort of way I could see Nilsson’s reasoning. Our application wasn’t to use Kitson as a true targetman, though, and as the Pompey defense sagged onto him it had the general effect of reducing us to one striker.

However, that one striker could wreck Portsmouth all by himself, so Nilsson was taking a highly calculated risk.

Unfortunately, it soon became apparent that Nilsson had seen us play over the last two weeks and had put his finger on the very problem we were having – being incredibly wasteful in front of goal. Dagoberto hadn’t played in a couple of weeks and so was shaking off the rust throughout the first half. Stopping Kitson, therefore, was the same as stopping us.

Portsmouth soon climbed into the match themselves, with central defender Luizão coming close from distance nearly on the stroke of the half hour, with Lobont tipping his drive over the bar with some style.

The Romanian keeper has really saved us at times this season – if you will pardon the expression, of course. I’ve grown in admiration for his skills and above all his reflexes, which have been first-rate in both instances.

Portsmouth was nearly as wasteful as we were over the next ten minutes, with Jermain Defoe, my countryman Landon Donovan and Sulley Ali Muntari all finding half-chances and none of them finding the net.

Yet now their chances were more frequent and of better quality than ours, as we sank back into the malaise that has characterized our last two weeks. We were not in synch, and even though the players have gone to great lengths to show me their understanding of the tactic in training, we have been sadly lacking in application of late.

That came as little surprise to me, unfortunately, as the time seemed to race toward the halftime whistle that we really needed.

Lobont was called upon once more, to deny Defoe on a contested header from a free kick about twenty-five yards from goal. Lobont rose to gather under pressure from Donovan, waiting for any rebound. As he did, Donovan shoulder-barged him hard, and the keeper fell to the ground.

Immediately, a crowd gathered around the American striker and my defenders moved as one to protect their keeper. The crowd suddenly came to life as a bit of argy-bargy livened things up a bit. From what I could see, Donovan’s challenge was late and clumsy but not malicious.

During my career, I had been on the giving and receiving end of some pretty rash challenges. Though I never saw red during my career – a rather remarkable statistic for a defender, especially one who has played in the Old Firm – I absorbed a few challenges that warranted a red card.

I didn’t see that sort of activity from Donovan, and while I wasn’t pleased that he had charged my keeper, I was prepared to write it off provided a yellow was shown for a late challenge.

Yet the card didn’t come, and as a result my ire was raised to a level that quickly approached the red line due in part to the ongoing frustration I’ve been feeling about our play. We needed a ‘boiling point’ as a team and now it had come.

I worked the fourth official, Mike Riley, hard on the touchline. As I made my point – more than once, in fact – Nilsson stood at the front of the visitors’ dugout and simply smiled.

I didn’t appreciate that.

# # #

calgaryballer · May 8, 2009

Smug bastard...

tenthreeleader · May 9, 2009

calgaryballer, the guy is starting to frost Rob's shorts ...

___

Despite our sputtering offense, we still got to halftime with a goalless draw. The match was very winnable and I reminded the players of that as they sat for rest and replenishment of fluids.

We haven’t had the sort of match where we impose ourselves on the opposition for quite some time, and while we search for the right combinations that will give us that result, I have to remain patient. That, to me, is the hardest part of management. Everyone wants two early goals and then to slowly pull away, but the trick to this league is to remember that if you do your job right it only takes one moment of good execution to get three points.

Neither side had shown it yet. So really, what I was hoping for was to wipe that self-assured Scandinavian smile off Nilsson’s face and replace it with a self-assured Scandinavian smile of my own. It was time to show a little more power up front and I changed our tactical outlook to reflect it.

“Let’s pressure their back line and force the play. Catch them in possession – they’re dawdling back there and I think they can be had if we are able to get them closed down in their half. Show me that you’re ready to make something happen!”

I received general nods of agreement but not the kind of buy-in that I wanted to see, and that concerned me. So I tried again. “Look, fellows, I don’t want to question your commitment. But I do want to know where your energy is tonight. To win this match, we’re going to have to play up-tempo and force Portsmouth to places they don’t want to go. I don’t see the desire to get that done on some of these faces. Now, if I don’t see it, I’ve got a list of guys who want the chance to try. So it’s up to you. Remember, focus and finish!”

It didn’t seem to help. That was alarming to me. I could threaten players with their places and reasonably expect a response – but I hadn’t gotten one. It didn’t bode well. However, as I headed back out for the second half behind my players, Lobont grabbed me by the shoulder on the way back to his position.

“They won’t beat me, boss,” Lobont promised. “They just won’t.”

He ran to his position and I suppose if I had to choose one player that I could count on in such a situation, I would probably choose him. He has been as good as his word all season long.

The second half kickoff saw a slight increase in the emotion we showed. That was a start, anyway – it had to be since our finishing was still rotten to the core.

Dagoberto showed energy if not polish, and his raw speed generated a decent chance for us ten minutes into the half when he and Kalou worked a perfect 1-2 ball just outside the Portsmouth area, with the winger’s pass sending the striker in to Stipe Pletikosa’s right. The Croatian international moved out to cut down the angle, though, and saved at feet from the Brazilian’s low drive. The rebound caromed toward the byline before Glen Johnson arrived to slam the ball into touch.

That was better stuff. We were at least working together and Dagoberto showed he still needed to be reckoned with.

Yet we didn’t show any more useful application right after the goal and Dagoberto himself started to show signs of real fatigue soon afterward.

Never fear, though … Lita was here.

# # #

tenthreeleader · May 10, 2009

Lita stepped on to a huge ovation from the home faithful on 66 minutes and the thing of it was, the rest of the squad soon got a pick-me-up from his presence as well. He has come through so many times for us already this season that we just seem to relax when he steps onto the pitch.

You can’t buy that kind of self-assurance and confidence. Leroy gets a kick out of it too, of course, but now he drew some real attention from Pompey’s defense, which at last started to move off Kitson as a result of the substitution.

Now they counterattacked, though. Rosenior’s cross from deep was gathered by Pletikosa and he quickly fired a long outlet ball down the right wing, where now only Kalou stood with Rosenior having overlapped. Nicole Mitea took the ball and raced down the right wing with his team in full flow following him. Not waiting for support, Mitea took advantage of the numerical superiority his team enjoyed in our third, taking the ball past Kalou down the right touchline.

With Rosenior frantically racing back to help, Bikey now had to shift to his left to cover the onrushing Mitea. Pazienza moved into the box to pick up Donovan, while Defoe remained Sonko’s responsibility.

Unfortunately, that meant no one picked up James Milner, who now entered the fray as a late raider much in the style of Maloney. Mitea saw him, took one extra step, and simply pulled the ball back to the top of the area where Milner met the ball in stride.

He had time to bring the ball to control with a good first touch, and proceeded to rip a shot past Lobont from just right of the penalty spot on 70 minutes to put Portsmouth into the lead.

The reaction on the visitors bench was ecstatic, with players and coaches showing a quite justifiable level of emotion at having finally taken the lead.

Without a word, I knew we needed 4-3-3, so Kitson came off. Lita would move forward to the pure striker position flanked by Kalou and Faé, with Maloney supporting directly behind, now next to Harper. The veteran midfielder came on for Kitson and his role was to directly support the strikers with Pazienza responsible for holding.

Meanwhile, Nilsson did nothing at all, except shift into a flat 4-4-2 to dare us to come at them.

We did, with a fervor we hadn’t shown in the first seventy minutes. Lita was itching to get the ball and showed more than his usual level of emotion as we moved forward in search of yet another late equalizer.

We were now quite vulnerable to the counter and a few minutes later, it came. This time the three forwards got caught deep, and Maloney was a little bit slow getting back after his long drive was smothered by Pletikosa.

This time Arnold Mvuemba took the ball on the left side of our midfield and hotfooted it forward while we scrambled once again to defend. He also looked toward the middle but fortunately for us Ferreira was better positionally than Rosenior had been minutes before.

He caught Mvuemba from behind and managed to spoil his aim just enough so that his cross for the onrushing Defoe was just a hair behind the striker. That allowed Sonko to get the tip of his boot on the ball to push it away from what would certainly have been a wonderful opportunity for their second goal.

Having dodged that bullet, we came back strong. Pazienza controlled the deflection off Sonko and immediately started a counter attack by working the ball straight up Route One. Harper took Pazienza’s lead ball and flicked on to Maloney, who looked for options.

Now the forwards were again in play and the pass Maloney chose was to Dagoberto. He took the pass and cut sharply to the middle, looking for options. He thought about shooting but then saw that Lita had spun past Silvain Distin and had started a run right at the top of the area. He was onside, and the Brazilian slipped the ball into his path.

The crowd rose as our designated scorer moved in on Pletikosa, the one man between him and goal.

# # #

tenthreeleader · May 11, 2009

Lita’s attempt was blistering. It had a ticket for the top right corner.

Pletikosa, for his part, saw it coming and was moving that way when Lita struck the ball. The Croatian reached high to his left and got a finger on the ball as it was speeding behind him.

The fingertip deflection pushed the ball onto the left post where it caromed straight back to the keeper. Pletikosa reached it a fraction of a second before Lita’s arrival, chasing his own rebound. He smothered the ball as Lita flew over top of him to avoid a collision, yelling in frustration as he did.

That was our best chance. We didn’t get another.

Reading 0

Portsmouth 1 (James Milner 2nd, 70)

A – 24,128, Madejski Stadium, Reading

Man of the Match – Bogdan Lobont, Reading (4)

# # #

The teams started to exchange handshakes as the final whistle blew. Mortified, I approached Nilsson and offered my hand.

“Well done,” I said simply. He shook my hand, and didn’t say a word. I let him precede me up the tunnel and off the pitch, wondering if the daggers shooting from my eyes could somehow find their way into his back.

No such luck. To a relatively silent crowd, punctuated by the yells of the Pompey traveling support, we left the pitch. Finally, I had a chance to address my players and I didn’t waste the opportunity.

“You have got to be kidding me,” I fumed, as the players sat down. Apprehension was etched across faces all around the room as I warmed to my task.

“I’ve warned you,” I said. “I’ve warned you over and over again and tonight it bit you. When we don’t play with emotion, when we don’t apply, when we refuse to execute, we are not good enough to win games in this league. You’ve done a great job getting to this point but I am telling you now, and maybe you’ll listen this time, that you cannot turn it on and off like a faucet.”

I was warming up and the stone silence in the room indicated that the words now cascading from my mouth like a torrent were hitting home. “You have to get the job done. You have to apply yourselves to get the job done. When you do not do this, we are an ordinary team. Gentlemen, we are going to get back to the basics now. This bad patch has gone on long enough and it’s time you did the small things well again.”

# # #

“No, I am not happy,” I said. “The players have heard that I’m not pleased and starting tomorrow we are going back to what made this team successful during the first half of the season.”

“And what were those things?” That was Hopkins, mercifully. I expected Emliani to poke his goatee into the conversation at any moment but it appeared he wasn’t around. Which was fine with me.

“Execution, application, a nose for goal,” I said. “Right now we have a little too much of the Arsenal mentality in us, in that we’re looking for the perfect play and not hitting the net as a result. We have to get back to the aggressiveness and desire that got us the top overall place in this league in goal scoring. Right now we’ve lost that and we have to get it back.”

“Your evaluation of the performance?”

“Unacceptable. In one word, unacceptable.”

“What did Roland Nilsson say to you after the match?”

“Not a word,” I said.

“Does that bother you?”

“Not in the slightest,” I said, ending the interview.

# # #

tenthreeleader · May 12, 2009

Thursday, January 29

Two headlines greeted me this morning – neither of them palatable.

“The Very Mad Stad” greeted me from the Post’s online edition and I knew I’d see the same in print tonight as I sat down to breakfast. My laptop was already as hot as my temper. I was still stewing both over the loss and in losing out to the smooth-as-silk Nilsson, who had told media that while he thought I was qualified to manage in the Premiership now, I “wasn’t the best fit” for my club.

“We watched him,” Nilsson was quoted by Weatherby as saying. “You cannot expect to have continued success in this league, or in this game, with the mentality of American football. You can’t just go out onto the pitch and start breaking bodies. You have to be patient. You have to have finesse. Our own difficulties with key injuries meant we could not do that to the extent we liked earlier this season but my hope is that this win will help us get on the track to where we deserve to be.”

“Where he deserves to be is twelfth place,” I snarled to myself as Patty joined me at the breakfast table.

“Honey, let it go,” she advised. “It’s not as bad as that.”

“Come on,” I said. “This guy tells the world he thinks I don’t have the right mental makeup to manage in this league and you tell me it’s not as bad as that? It’s worse!”

I took a too-large gulp of coffee and burned my throat on top of it all. It was not shaping up to be a very good day.

I had just read the second headline in The Guardian: “Reading’s Beast-ly Purchase” was plastered across the top of the back page and had an exclusive on our negotiations with Baptista.

“That is absolutely the last thing in the world I need,” I said. “I don’t need that getting out until it’s ready.”

“Why not?” Patty asked.

“I have a director who is now going to be climbing inside my suit until that deal is signed. I have other things to worry about today.”

“Such as?” She crossed behind me and for the first time in far too long, my wife gently massaged my shoulders.

“Such as how I’m going to deal with this,” I said, turning my laptop screen toward her. Weatherby’s sidebar article was now on my screen, with a second headline that made me as mad as the first:

“Kitson: Rigdway locked the changing room door”

# # #

Balthazars · May 12, 2009

Still excellent, but you don't need me to tell you that!

roysin · May 12, 2009

*bow to the master*.. excellent story and i was hooked on the moment i read the first post..

tenthreeleader · May 13, 2009

Gentlemen, I appreciate the kindness, and roysin, welcome to the Rat Pack!

___

It could be worse. We could be Arsenal.

Arsene Wenger’s side was blanked for the third straight match yesterday, and by a rather unlikely source. Derby was the opponent and the match was at the Emirates. So they are now third, just ahead of us, after a goalless draw.

The new top side in the league is now Manchester United, which managed a 2-1 win at the Riverside against sliding Middlesbrough. Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez managed to pull back and exceed Julio Arca’s opener for Boro. However, both Chelsea and Arsenal have a match in hand on Coppell’s men and either or both could regain the top spot when that match is made up.

I’m also starting to worry about Liverpool. The champions are on a rampage, pulling within four points of us for fourth place with a match in hand after demolishing Spurs 3-0 at Anfield yesterday. It’s getting like a broken record – Fernando Torres opened the scoring and Dirk Kuyt closed it with a brace in the final fifteen minutes.

Newcastle manged a 1-1 draw at Birmingham with Geremi’s goal nine minutes from time equalizing Garry O’Connor’s first-half opener. As bad as Cardiff City has been for most of the season, Steve Bruce’s Blues have been only marginally better, and it’s starting to look like those two clubs are doomed to the drop.

Aston Villa continues their solid play, defeating Blackburn soundly at Ewood Park. Gabriel Agbonlahor and Soren Larson scored for Villa and Morten Gamst Pedersen scored for them too – to his embarrassment. The 3-0 final didn’t flatter Villa a bit.

You may be shocked to read this, but Dean Ashton scored for West Ham today at home to Charlton. Since Scott Parker did as well, that meant Mauro Zarate’s goal for the Addicks didn’t matter quite so much in a 2-1 win.

So we drop to fourth place now, and we have virtually no momentum in the league. Our performance against Coventry in our last win was hardly the stuff of legend and we got throttled on our own patch yesterday against a club whose manager I now neither like nor respect. That was guaranteed to put me in a bad mood at training today – and Kitson’s going to the media didn’t help matters either.

We have to get it right quickly – our next two matches are away to Bolton and United. If we really do lose the plot now, we may well not get it back this season.

# # #

I also need to make a decision about Maloney, who had his worst game in the shirt yesterday. Looking at the excruciatingly bad performance on video this morning, it was apparent that he had slid considerably from his excellent form of earlier in the season.

“Maloney to bench,” I noted on my pad. I didn’t like to write it, but I can’t have a performance that bad twice running, especially with the importance the Bolton match now carries.

I shut off the video and walked into the changing room at the indoor practice facility. As one, the players stopped what they were doing to hear me.

“I saw a lot of things I didn’t like on the pitch yesterday but now we are going to fix those things,” I said for openers. “I saw even more things in the morning online editions and the morning papers that are going to be corrected before we leave this room.”

I locked eyes with Kitson, who knew he was in for a roasting.

“The things that are said in this room stay in this room and it is just that simple,” I said. “The player who talks out of turn about what happens in this room is going to have trouble with me and I do not care who it is. We have a serious stretch of games coming up and it is vitally important that we all be focused on what we have to do to get three points out of Bolton on Sunday. The recent play of this team has now made that a necessity. I do not want anyone – and I mean anyone – going to media with what happens in this room. There will be sanctions if I discover otherwise. Do I make myself perfectly clear?”

No one made a sound. At least verbally, I was still in charge.

I nodded, told the players to get to training, and walked out the door. I nearly ran into Sidney Richmond.

“Baptista, eh, Rob?” he said, by way of greeting.

“Good morning, Sidney,” I said, taking the unusual step of using his first name since he had taken the liberty of using mine.

His eyes flickered for just a moment and he locked eyes with me. “If you deal with Real Madrid again, Rob, just know this: this time, you’d better get the player.”

With that, he turned and left. I sighed, and then went to run training. Before I did, though, I took Kitson aside for a conversation that was quite different than the one I had held in the changing room. It was also completely one-sided.

# # #

tenthreeleader · May 14, 2009

There was, again, no word from Alvarez and Madrid. So today, I hit Plan B.

In talking with Lobont – who was angry with himself for allowing the goal that he said he wouldn’t allow yesterday – I firmed up another opinion I have held for a few weeks now.

I have dipped into my knowledge of Italy for Lobont's countryman Nicolae Dica, a fine central midfielder currently under contract to Sampdoria. The fact that he is probably the best player in Serie B at the moment doesn’t change the fact that he is a hell of a fine footballer playing on a relegated club, and a very good second option to Baptista.

The fact that Alvarez is dragging his feet indicates to me that we’re going to have real trouble with Baptista. That isn’t exactly a surprise to me, but it is a disappointment nonetheless. I know it would be huge coup to sign him but the way things are going, no answer is the same as a “no” answer.

So I spoke with Lobont about Dica.

“You’d do well to get him,” Lobont advised. My own trust in his words was bolstered by the fact that no one has bid silly money to take my top keeper off my hands either. So if it all works out, we may have both of them here next season. That would be just fine with me.

The video I’ve seen indicates that Dica is a player with excellent positional sense who has the intelligence to know when to get forward. The idea here, as I have mentioned before, is to have another solid option at the raider position so I can move Maloney to the right side of midfield. The reason for this is that I’ve seen virtually nothing of note out of Emerse Faé for about the last six weeks and frankly I’m tired of it.

Maloney knows our system, he plays it very well with the exception of last weekend, and I like him on the right side, especially in our attacking sets, a lot better than Faé. It’s time to do something that will help get us over the hump and winning again, and this is about the best option I’ve got at the moment.

I can’t spend the £15-£18 million it will take to bring in a studhorse central midfielder so I have to go to the ‘second tier’ of players in terms of sale value, while still looking for the kinds of players who will help us win now. It’s a great challenge and I don’t blame the scouts for not having all the answers this time. I sought out their collective opinions based on the same video I had seen and the verdict was surprisingly positive. So, late this afternoon, we placed an inquiry to Italy.

# # #

tenthreeleader · May 15, 2009

Friday, January 30

The word is in from Madrid. And it’s “no”.

Despite meeting Baptista’s demands, we got a denial from the player today. This tells me that someone was lying – which certainly is not new in the world of football – but it also comes at another bad time for me.

A double whammy also came this morning, when Patty told me she wants to go back to Los Angeles. So it hasn’t been a very good week.

First things first. There are few things more disquieting for me as a husband than to wake up next to my beautiful wife only to hear her tell me she’d rather wake up someplace else for a few weeks.

It was hard the first time, when she left carrying the baby. Now, with Patty contemplating a return to Los Angeles by herself, it was even worse.

I didn’t say much when she talked with me about it this morning. The contact from IMG came yesterday when I was bawling out the squad for its play on Wednesday night. But with the team leaving for the northwest tonight to prepare for Bolton on Sunday, the very real thought of coming home to an empty house made me put on the brakes to leave for the ground while she and I talked things through.

“How soon is this supposed to happen?” I asked. “Honestly, Patty, are you really ready to make the trip? Emotionally, are you ready?”

She rolled over onto her elbows and hovered over me, as she always does when she wants my undivided attention. Considering that she looks rather amazing just a tiny bit rumpled first thing in the morning, she usually gets it.

“I think so,” she said. “I have to get on with my life and really, there’s only one way to do that. I have to start living.”

I nodded. Really, there was nothing else I could do.

“Rob, it’s only a few weeks. It’s nothing dramatic, believe me. I’m going to do a few shoots and I’ll be home as good as new. Really.”

“And what happens if the McGuire thing gets hot while you’re gone?”

“They can wait,” she said simply.

“Subpoenas don’t work like that,” I said.

“It’s their issue, not mine,” she said. “If they want to drag me all the way back across the Atlantic, they can go ahead and try. I get to try to live my life, though, and I think people will respect that.”

Sometimes I’m amazed at how little I seem to know when someone has a belief that they won’t shift. I have been rough on my team over the last 48 hours but trying to shift my wife from this thought is more difficult than man-management.

I’d call it “wife-management”, but she would slap me, and I’d hate that. So I simply leaned back into the pillows.

“Rob…honey…don’t worry so.” She reached over and smoothed my hair off my forehead.

“Why wouldn’t I?” I finally said. “The pressure is on now, we’re starting to slip in results, there are people waiting for me to fail, and you’re leaving. I try not to worry and I know the sun will come up tomorrow. But I may not enjoy it.”

“You ought to enjoy it,” she said, now moving more fully over me. “Because your wife loves you. Time and distance won’t change that. Now, relax.”

# # #

tenthreeleader · May 16, 2009

So the start of the day was a downer. I love Patty too, but I do feel it’s easier to love someone if you happen to be on the same continent with them.

We talked about her latest trip for awhile before I had to leave for the training ground. Once there, we had a brief session with the players before heading to the airport.

Throughout the afternoon we traded text messages and that was better than nothing. She may leave as early as Sunday morning on the long flight west from London to New York and from there to Los Angeles.

Meanwhile, we headed to the airport for a quick trip to Manchester and a coach to Bolton. It was a bit of a different travel situation.

I went from one downer to another as I arrived at my office to find the message light on my phone flashing. That’s nothing new – and unfortunately, neither was the message on it.

It was Alvarez, telling me curtly that despite our generous salary offer, Baptista did not want to come to Reading. I muttered an oath under my breath, hung up the phone, and headed to my locker to change clothes for training.

I put on my Rat Pack shirt. It is now back in vogue.

# # #

The financial department had a message for me as well. Sampdoria will sell Nicolae Dica, so that was at least some consolation. There are things he does as well as Baptista – and they happen to be things that fit well with the central midfielder role in my tactic. If he will agree to come here, the midfield problem will be nicely patched up – but at a cost slightly higher than it would have cost for Baptista.

That doesn’t matter so much to me, as the player sales and salary savings I’ve achieved in this window have bolstered my available transfer funds to the point where the extra outlay won’t be a huge problem. My issue is with attitude.

More importantly, with Richmond’s attitude. We’re now not playing well, we’re dropping in the table, and we’ve just lost another Real Madrid player with a name. When this hits the press – and it will – it’s not going to be a fun day.

I’d ask my wife for support, but she’ll be halfway around the world. I’m on my own.

# # #

tenthreeleader · May 17, 2009

Saturday, January 31

As is the case in Reading, Bolton has a hotel attached to its ground. So as we stayed in the DeVere Whites hotel, we watched the day go by able to look over the field of tomorrow’s contest.

In the early afternoon, we watched today’s matches from our hotel and had final discussions with Sampdoria about Nicolae Dica.

A purchase price of £6 million has been agreed, and the beauty of this deal is that Dica’s personal terms are more palatable than Baptista’s. We’ll come out close to even on the overall terms of the deal – which will be enough for Madejski.

Still, though, I’m frustrated. Obviously, we don’t have the name recognition yet to lure players like him into the fold, and the only way to get there is to get to Europe. Which is harder to do without players of Baptista’s caliber. So it’s a vicious circle. And I have to remind myself to be patient – long-term club building takes time.

I also got a phone call today from Sven-Göran Eriksson offering £6.7 million for Leroy Lita. Had this been an ordinary season I would have accepted that bid outright for my third-choice striker, but the fact of the matter is that Leroy means so much to us now I can’t sell him even at that price. I wouldn’t have time to get a striker of his caliber on the window’s last day, and Sven knew it.

I declined the offer, and headed back to my day. Some of the players gathered in the hotel’s lounge to watch the matches on television while Sky Sports scrolled news of last-day signings on the bottom of the screen.

Newcastle dug deep to sign longtime Royal Nicky Shorey from Portsmouth for £13.75 million. Matt Derbyshire is on his way from Blackburn to Spurs for $11.75 million, while Steven Taylor is leaving Newcastle for Real Madrid for £16.5 million.

Antonio Valencia is back in the Premiership, heading to the Toon from Villareal for $7.25 million. Spurs then made another purchase, picking up Serdar Tasci from Stuttgart to bring Daniel Levy’s total bill for the day to £29.25 million, with £17.5 million of that going to the German club. Benoit Assou-Ekotto left Spurs for Blackburn for £3.2 million and was evidently not part of an exchange deal for Derbyshire, which I found interesting. And Jose Enrique helped replenish the bank balances at Newcastle, heading to Manchester City for £16.25 million.

While all this was going on, we watched Chelsea go back into the top spot in the Premiership with a 2-0 win at home to West Ham, with Didier Drogba and Giuseppe Rossi scoring the goals. I waited for my phone to ring with news from Italy – I wanted to handle any correspondence with the club myself so I was hoping for news early in the day.

All over Europe, agents and clubs were frantically registering last-day transfers while I was simply waiting to hear from Italy.

# # #

Sky_Blue_Adam · May 18, 2009

Finally caught up on this fantastic read, having read American Calcio beforehand.

I'm sure you don't need me to tell you but both stories are brilliant and I've found myself unable to stop reading half the time! Keep it up

tenthreeleader · May 18, 2009

Sky_Blue_Adam, welcome to the forum and welcome to the Rat Pack. You've certainly taken the scenic route to get here, by way of Calcio, but I am very glad you took the time!

___

Our brief shadow play and run-through at the Reebok this morning was uneventful. The players know what is at stake tomorrow and I really didn’t have to say a whole lot. I’ve put pressure on them with the reactions I’ve had to recent matches but now my decision is now much pressure to put on them for tomorrow.

Maloney won’t make the starting eleven for the first time all season. He was poor against Portsmouth and I had a discussion with the player about it today. That in itself will send a message – he’s been one of our very best all season long but when the chips are down, what matters the most is how you’re playing at the moment. Dagoberto was frankly not very good against Pompey as well, so I have a decision to make about him on top of it all.

To make it a hat trick of conversations, I called Kitson in to talk about his recent form. His talking to the press about the post-match reaction against Portsmouth still rankles with me and he knows it. I told him in no uncertain terms that he had better buck up his ideas for tomorrow.

Point being, even though we have a comparatively thin squad, no one is irreplaceable. We have a number of players who are coasting at the moment. Even though the resources may not be there to spend £15 million on the last day of the window, I have players who aren’t playing who want to show their mettle and who I know will play with grit. I need better. It is time for better.

# # #

Liverpool has announced its intention. They are the hottest team in the Premiership and made up their match in hand on us today by winning 3-1 at Derby. For once it wasn’t Torres and Kuyt doing the damage –it was Kuyt from the spot, Kuyt from open play and then Steven Gerrard scoring the goals to offset Nene’s strike for the home team.

The champions are now one point behind us and level on games. However, no one can figure out Arsenal, which is suddenly in free fall. Today it was Everton defeating the Gunners at Goodison Park – and with some ease. James Vaughan started things twenty minutes into the match and Andrew Johnson finished them with a second half brace. It’s now three losses on the spin for Arsene Wenger with nary a goal to be found in any of them.

Man City is also cooling off after their recent run of form, with Newcastle getting goals from Nicky Shorey, Vagner Love and Alan Smith to beat Eriksson’s men 3-2. Rolando Bianchi and Georgios Samaras were on target for the visitors but their challenge for the European places is starting to cool.

Aston Villa and Cardiff slugged it out to a 1-1 draw with the youngster Sam Williams continuing to impress for Dave Jones. John Carew scored for Villa.

Spurs are also starting to look better overall, dismissing hapless Birmingham by 3-1. Nicolas Anelka, Ashley Young for the second straight match and Jermaine Jenas scored for Spurs while Garry O’Connor at least got on the scoresheet for Steve Bruce.

Charlton and West Brom played a goalless draw that extended the Baggies’ winless string in the league to 13 matches, but the game of the day was at Fratton Park. Portsmouth continued their improved play, surviving Darren Bent’s hat trick for Middlesbrough to win 4-3 behind strikes from Dave Nugent, Luizao, Jermain Defoe and Matthew Taylor.

# # #

We headed into the evening hours and I spent most of the time either on the phone to the club offices or watching television to see any late transfers. For me, any word on progress with Dica was worth watching for.

Finally, the phone rang. It was 10:30 GMT and it was our legal department. Nelson Mathews was up late doing his job – and helping us with a signing I felt was vital.

I answered, to the news that Dica had agreed terms with ninety minutes to spare.

“Best news I’ve had all day,” I said. “How’s the paperwork coming?”

“Ours is filed,” Mathews replied. “Waiting on Sampdoria. We’ve done our bit.”

“They’ll be in a hurry,” I said. “What club outside its top flight wouldn’t mind six million extra for the bank balance?”

“Quite right, Rob,” he answered. “Get some rest and good luck tomorrow.”

I went to bed feeling good. Tomorrow will be a better day.

# # #

tenthreeleader · May 19, 2009

Sunday, February 1

Bolton (10-3-10, 12th place) v Reading (12-9-3, 4th place) – EPL Match Day #25

The phone rang at 12:10 a.m.

“Rob, this is Nelson Mathews. Sampdoria didn’t get the paperwork filed.”

I sat bolt upright in the hotel bed, suddenly in a sweat. “You’re kidding me,” I snapped. “What in the hell happened?”

“Just what I told you, unfortunately,” he answered. “We filed the paperwork but Sampdoria’s didn’t reach the authorities until five minutes ago. When I found out, I called you.”

“So he comes in July?”

“Yes.”

“Oh, no,” I moaned. “This is going to be ugly. Does the chairman know?”

“I didn’t want to wake him.”

“Well, sooner or later he’s going to find out. Better sooner than later. Call him. He’ll want to know and I know it’s not going to go over well. Yet that’s none of your worry.”

“Okay, Rob,” he replied. “Try to get some sleep.”

Not surprisingly, sleep would not come.

# # #

The chairman was not in a good mood when he called at 7:00.

“I’ve been briefed,” he said. “I want you to know I’m surely not upset at you but rather at the way Sampdoria conducted themselves. I need to know if you feel Dica will be a useful player to us next season.”

“I wouldn’t have made the request for him if I thought otherwise, and I have to be honest about that,” I said. “He is a fine player who will fit well with our basic tactic. He gives me other offensive options – but I must also be honest and say I wanted him here this season.”

“For six million pounds, I would want the same thing,” he replied, irritation in his voice.

“I’m sorry,” I repeated.

“Don’t be sorry,” he said. “There will be people who have to answer for this, though. It is not your fault that another club didn’t do its work properly. I’d imagine there will be someone at Sampdoria in need of a P45 when word of this hits the press. They could probably use the money and some idiot messed it up for them.”

“Not that this worries either of us.”

“In terms of short-term balances, no,” the chairman answered. I could only imagine the expression on his face as he spoke. I could see his brow creasing and was glad I wasn’t in the same room with him. I have learned to avoid the piercing stare that comes when he’s displeased – and we were both in a towering anger at that moment.

“But in terms of our team for the rest of the season, it disturbs me as much as it disturbs you,” he added. “You must do the best you can with what you have, of course. We are reasonably injury-free at the moment so it is up to you to keep the club moving forward.”

“Of course,” I said. “But what about Richmond?”

“I’ll worry about Sidney,” he replied. “You worry about getting three points off Sammy Lee today.”

# # #

Kryston · May 19, 2009

Finally caught up with the story from the writer that inspired me to write mine. Haven't had the time to go through the prequel, "American Calcio" but had been keeping tab on the Glasgow Rangers story as well. :thup:

Felt sorry for Rob. Things hadn't been jolly on the pitch and in the household for the past few weeks.

Perhaps that's the bane of a Premiership manager as we had seen quite a few warded for heart operation (i.e. Houliier, Kinnear) while other just quit to spend time to watch more TV (i.e. Jacques Santini).

Even Sir Alex Ferguson's spouse was nagging at when is he ever going to retire from the game.

For a EPL manager to blossom, I guess you really need a supportive other half who could stand the schedule.

Not that Patsy is not supportive, I think the run of events would have crumble the strongest person around as well.

mark wilson27 · May 19, 2009

Great read as always Tenthree..good to see your Mod duties aren't interfering with your writing

Mousey_MCFC · May 19, 2009

Absolutely fantastic read, starting reading this a few weeks back and only just caught up, but the way you make the story feel so real is astonishing. Just yesterday I was discussing impact substitutes with some friends, and I had Leroy Lita on the tip of my tongue, before realising this was only in your game

Superb story, I'll be keeping up to date with this no doubt.

calgaryballer · May 19, 2009

Tough break on Dica. In FM07 I brought him to FC Kobenhaven and he was a gem of a player. I actually think Reading might of come in for him after a season or two of dominating Denmark

tenthreeleader · May 20, 2009

Gents, thanks for the comments and kind words. I was darned disappointed when the window passed and the game told me I had to wait on Dica. Kryston and Mousey, welcome to the Rat Pack!

___

It didn’t take long for word to hit the media. Of course, the word reached that Nicolae Dica would be joining us on July 1, leading to the obvious question of why it wouldn’t be happening right away.

Not the least of the questioners was Dica himself, who had some pointed comments in the Italian media this morning when word got out. He had his bags packed and was literally ready to head to the airport to fly in to London when word reached him that he isn’t going anywhere for six months.

His agent, presumably upset at missing a large payday for Dica’s new contract with us, was the fourth member of the group who was in a foul mood. For once, I had a completely agreeable conversation with a player agent as a result.

None of us was happy. And unfortunately, we were a laughingstock. That will kick Sidney Richmond right in his Berkshire-sized pride.

So we met as a team this morning and I informed them of what had happened. Faé, who had figured out the reason for the move before anyone else, looked on with a mixture of relief and disappointment. He knew it was his spot that was in jeopardy. For an attacking winger, to have two assists and no goals this late into the season is an indication that he either needs better ideas or better skills. Since one is easier to find than the other, he knew he needed a big day today.

But in going over the team sheet, the surprise was Maloney. Hunt would get the start on the left side of midfield with Kalou slotting into the middle. Frankly, I like that arrangement as well – I certainly don’t mind a player of Salomon’s abilities playing behind my strikers – so I had reason for optimism as we walked to the changing rooms for the match.

I had already decided what I wanted to say. The look of apprehension on Dillon’s face wasn’t met with a corresponding look on mine. It was odd enough for Kevin to notice and to tell me.

“You aren’t worried today, Rob?” he asked.

“No reason to be,” I said. He looked at me.

“Are you sure you’re feeling well?” he asked, in an attempt at humor.

“Look, putting more pressure on them won’t help,” I said. “These guys know what’s up – and they also know that after what happened with Dica, nobody is coming in here to take their jobs. Hopefully that will help them ease up a little bit.”

He said nothing in return, simply walking alongside me as we finally reached the visitors’ changing room underneath the stadium proper.

I held the door open so my players could pass through, looking each man in the eye as he passed. They all looked back at me, which I thought was a good sign. Even Kitson and Maloney, two players presently on my list, had the right demeanor and approach.

# # #

Spav · May 20, 2009

Excellent as always, tenthree. :thup:

Wegason · May 20, 2009

I've finally caught up with this so I must say congratulations on maintaining your excellent high standards. A real shame you missed out on both Baptista and on Dica not joining until July.

salkster2102 · May 20, 2009

Haven't commented for a while but have been following the story every day. I share your frustration regarding dica.

tenthreeleader · May 21, 2009

Gentlemen, thank you. As an aside, when the clock passed and I didn't get the player, I said a bad word. But don't tell anyone ...

___

You could forgive a longtime Bolton supporter for feeling unloved by the English footballing public.

They have won the FA Cup three times – most recently in 1958 when most of the nation was cheering for their opponents, Manchester United, shortly following the Munich air disaster. What some consider their most famous match other than the 1958 final was one they lost – the FA Cup “Matthews Final” in 1953 to Blackpool, where the immortal Sir Stanley Matthews helped rally the Seasiders from 3-1 down to a famous 4-3 win at Wembley.

Even the move from the club’s traditional home, Burnden Park, to the Reebok Stadium had controversy attached to it. Some fans didn’t like leaving the “homestead”, as often happens when new facilities are built. Others didn’t like the corporate name, which is now commonplace in today’s sporting world. Still others didn’t like the club moving out of Bolton proper and into the Middlebrook Retail Park, where the stadium is located.

You can’t please everyone, though, but what has pleased most fans of the club is Sammy Lee’s success in the UEFA Cup this season. While Wanderers haven’t set the world on fire this season, they have reached the knockout stages in Europe, which may well save Sammy’s season.

Bolton entered play twelfth in the table with talent that shouldn’t be twelfth, and that fact isn’t lost on any of the home fans, some of whom seemed to gather early for the purpose of standing in silence during warmups.

That was fine with me. Anything that would take the fans out of the game met with my approval. Silence was golden, in this case.

We then retreated to the changing room for my talk and if they were expecting harsh words they weren’t to be found from me. “We’ve talked a lot over the last few days about my expectations,” I began, and faces looked at me wondering what blast they would receive.

“Today we are going to talk about how much fun it can be to play this game,” I continued. “I want you to understand that the reason you played the game as children was because it was fun. The reason you’re playing it now is perhaps different, but today if we’re going to get three points out of here we need to remember what it was that got us here, and that was by playing our style of game and making our opponent react to us. We haven’t done much of that lately. Go out today and enjoy your football and make them sorry you came here today.”

Dillon’s eyebrows looked like they were going to crawl up his forehead and hide in his hair, but as we lined up to take the pitch his words were plain.

“I hope you know what you’re doing, Rob,” he said.

# # #

We kicked off and Bolton immediately threw players forward trying to keep us on the back foot. Since we seem to be living on our back foot lately, this was not an unfamiliar situation for us.

Andranik got the first half-chance of the match, taking a quick pass from Kevin Nolan about twenty-five yards from goal and trying a first-time shot. However, an alert Pazienza charged down the shot and it deflected high into the air, with Sonko finally getting control to clear it to safety.

It was too early to see if my words were being taken to heart, but our play seemed to have a bit of extra zip. We worked the ball right through the middle of the park to Kalou, and getting his first start in the raider position, he seemed to relish the challenge. Now the ball was dropped to Pazienza, who looked up and saw Kalou starting an early run about thirty yards from goal.

His pass back to Kalou was on the floor, giving Salomon time to look up. He took two steps to his right, and unleashed an unstoppable shot from 25 yards out that curved delightfully around the outstretched arms of Oscar Ustari on the way to the top left corner of his net.

It was a powerful strike and above all it was a fast start on the road. The ball caromed downward off the back goal support and stretched the twine to give us the early lead while Kalou and his teammates celebrated the seventh goal of a terrific season for him.

The bench came alive, even Maloney enjoyed the quality of his replacement’s strike, and Lee looked on like someone had kicked his dog in the Bolton dugout. It was a dream start.

Then we started looking like we were having fun. A moment of magic had done a world of good – Kalou’s opportunistic strike had raised the level of everyone’s play.

I thought back to my favorite scene from one of my favorite movies, Eight Men Out. It’s the story of the Chicago “Black Sox” throwing the 1919 World Series, and the scene is the one where the gamblers fixing the Series aren’t giving the players the money they had promised.

In the scene, the Sox play one game straight, to show the gamblers they still control the outcome, and destroy the Cincinnati Reds. They’re having fun, the ragtime music playing during the scene is wonderful, and we looked like we were having just as much fun as Eddie Cicotte, Shoeless Joe Jackson and the boys.

Obviously, there’s no gambling money involved here on the part of players, but the mood was the same as in the movie. The Sox were laughing, cavorting, and playing very well indeed. Now my players were reacting the same way.

There was an extra spring to our steps, the extra pass suddenly didn’t seem too hard to try or too hard to make, and our movement on and off the ball was markedly better.

In short, we were fun to watch again. That in itself meant a lot. We were relaxing right there on the pitch and it showed in our play.

Now we were back at them, with Hunt getting into the play given a rare start on the left side of midfield. His pace was starting to cause trouble for Antonio Barragán as he beat the defender not once but twice down the left wing, the first time for a raking cross that just missed Kitson’s noggin as the big redhead crashed his way into the Bolton box.

Kitson too was showing his desire to play and make amends. He reacted with annoyance to missing the header even though Hunt’s cross was a shade too tall for him. I want players who will evaluate their own play while they’re playing, and Kitson evidently felt he could have done more.

So there was a change in attitude as well. Dillon looked at me with a sort of “okay, I guess you do know what you’re doing” expression on his face, and we turned back to watch the action.

Hunt was into it again, catching Barragán in possession and starting a quick break down the left. His cross this time was late, as he took the ball all the way to the byline before hooking it back into the box.

He found Dagoberto, whose half-volley was both on target and saved in stunning fashion by Ustari, who parried the ball straight back up the middle. His parry found Kalou, whose shoulder swerve had freed him from Nolan’s defensive attentions.

He took one step and drilled a low shot from the top of the box that gave Ustari no time to react. It was 2-0 to us with just eighteen minutes on the clock, I looked like a genius for moving Kalou to the middle, and we were flying high.

It was a great start, and we carried on our improved play for the rest of the half. We controlled possession, we dictated tempo, and we didn’t let them anywhere near our goal to complete a very nice first half.

Steve Bennett blew for halftime and we headed to the rooms two to the good. My halftime talk wasn’t that much different from the one that had come before the match.

“Remember how much fun it is to play this game when you’re relaxed?” I said. “That was a great first half of football but remember that you’ve still got 45 minutes to go. How much fun you have is up to you. Work the system, work the ball into space and make chances for yourselves. You know they can’t hold us down either wing, so let’s get after it in the second half and get this job done. You’re halfway home.”

Dillon then took the floor to discuss his observations on Bolton’s 4-4-2 and the mood was great right up to the second half kickoff. Just 45 minutes to go.

# # #

Sky_Blue_Adam · May 22, 2009

Forgot to mention, gutted about your team beating Coventry.. we almost got it!

tenthreeleader · May 22, 2009

Sorry about that, Sky Blue!

___

Lee must have said something profound at halftime. I’ve never known him to be profane, necessarily, but he put the fear of God into his team.

We did push them around pretty well in the first half so it wasn’t surprising to me that they would come out with some energy after the second half kickoff.

We held them to two attempts on target in the first half and they added a third three minutes after the restart. Theo Walcott and El-Hadji Diouf worked a neat little 1-2 at the top of our area with Diouf forcing Lobont into a fine save with a rising drive from eighteen yards that the keeper tipped over the bar.

We moved into a counter game and we were dangerous soon after that, with Nolan caught in possession by Faé. He started a quick counterattack with the overlapping Ferreira on the right, and Paolo put a fine early ball into the box for Kitson. He redirected the ball, forcing an acrobatic save from Ustari that held his team in the match.

The ball went behind for a corner and we were looking increasingly good value for our performance. The minutes wore on and really, I couldn’t find anything to complain about. And when was the last time you heard me say that?

Finally, though, just before the hour, Bolton started to put it all together. Walcott, the on-loan whiz kid from Arsenal, made a play worthy of Arsene Wenger’s first team when he completely skinned Sonko with a little step-over move from Nicky Hunt’s entry ball. Just like that, Sonko was left for dead and just like that, Lobont was fishing the ball out of the back of his net after a sublime strike from Walcott.

With 55 minutes on the clock, Bolton was right back in the match and it was time for yet another gut check for my team. Which way would we go this time? Would it be in the right direction with more positive play or would it be back into the malaise?

I motioned for Sonko, and the defender approached tentatively as we prepared to kick off. “Shake it off,” I told him as he passed. “Stick your nose in there and stop him next time. You can do this.”

After all Sonko and I have gone through together, I suppose he probably thought I was going to roast him. That, today, would have been counterproductive. We had a match to win and a slide in team play that we needed to stop.

So we went back at it. Now back in the match, Bolton surged forward and Bikey went into Bennett’s book for a ticky-tack obstruction call where the defender was trying to shield the ball but caught a piece of Diouf’s shoulder as the two raced for it near the touchline.

Bikey showed some frustration but certainly was within the bounds of normal dissent, and I frowned at the thought of a central defender in the book in this situation. Obviously, he’d have to be careful.

Which is why six minutes later I was grossly disappointed to see him trudging off, the victim of a second yellow card for a shirt pull, again on Diouf. Bennett wasted no time in marching up to send the player off, before anyone on the pitch had had the chance to dissent.

Now we were down to ten, against an opponent who smelled blood. This was going to be interesting.

# # #

Mr.G 24 · May 22, 2009

Damn, I was hoping that I was reading a complete story but once I go to page 6 I knew it wasn't happening, now I have to wait. But I can live, keep up the good work, it has been a joy to read.

tenthreeleader · May 23, 2009

Mr. G, I appreciate the kind words. Happy to add to your load of required reading, and welcome to the Rat Pack!

___

Dillon now motioned me over. “Rob, I strongly recommend full defensive,” he said, as I waved for Gaspari to get warm in a hurry. Bikey trudged past me on the way to the changing rooms, furious by the look on his face but perhaps not fully comprehending what had happened to him. That sounds strange in getting sent off, but his look of disgust, I felt, was more for the referee than for placing himself in a position where he could get sent off. Both fouls were soft in my view, but Bennett was in a carding mood all of a sudden and players have to know how to handle that situation when it arises.

Gaspari prepared to take the pitch and I had another choice I needed to make since I agreed with Dillon. Harper also entered the match to give us a second holding midfielder with Kitson and Hunt sacrificed for tactics. The big striker approached as I took him off with a disappointed expression on his face.

“Not your fault, big man,” I said, shaking his hand as he came off. “We need men at the back now.” That meant Gaspari alongside Sonko for the final minutes of the match and one up front in the form of Dagoberto.

Yet that didn’t mean we were through with the idea of forcing play. We still had Kalou and Faé on the pitch in addition to Dagoberto, even though we were now down to a single striker.

“Get in there and press them!” I screamed to Faé, who now had his chance to make a real impact and knew it. Kalou also looked ready to create some havoc so even down to ten men, I wasn’t about to lose the newfound optimism I felt.

So the match moved on. They pushed hard, but I had the central defenders drop deep into near-sweeper positions with the holding midfielders playing just above the fullbacks, essentially giving me a 2-4-2-1 formation. With nine men behind the ball and Dagoberto waiting to pounce and counter, we were still hard to break down.

Finally, Lee staked everything on one throw of the dice. Twelve minutes from time, he made all three of his substitutions – bringing on Daniel Braaten, Scott Sinclair and Filipe for Jlloyd Samuel, Tranquillo Barnetta and Ismael Aissati.

Reacting to this, I pulled us back to full defensive, and prepared to watch my players man the pumps. We were in for a rough final ten minutes.

# # #

Bolton now did to us what we had been doing to other clubs for the last two weeks. They generated scoring chances that wound up nowhere near the target.

First was Braaten, scooping over from fifteen yards. Then it was Sinclair, contriving to miss after Gaspari left him open right at the penalty spot, when it would clearly have been easier to score. Finally, it was Diouf, dragging a fine opportunity wide of Lobont’s left post seven minutes from time.

That was three in six minutes. It was starting to get a little nerve-wracking and I checked my watch. Dillon called out from the bench.

“Rob, that won’t make it go any faster,” he said. “You’ve done that five times in the last five minutes.”

I hadn’t even realized. Sheepishly, I turned to my deputy before I realized that it was my watch and I could look at it as often as I bloody well wanted to.

Turning back to the action, I saw Kalou release Dagoberto with a long ball that relieved the pressure and which was most welcome. The Brazilian took the ball toward the far corner to slow the match down, which was something else I liked.

Then he shocked me by wheeling around Abdoulaye Meite and cutting sharply to the middle, advancing on Ustari from the keeper’s left. Ustari raced out to cut down the angle – only to see Dagoberto thread the needle to the keeper’s right, his split-legged attempt to save at feet just a hair too late. The ball rolled home for Dagoberto’s eleventh goal of the season – and it came at the perfect time.

Shocked and pleased at the same time, I threw a fist into the air as the shot rolled into the net, the three points now much closer to becoming reality. The weight was off our shoulders and the Bolton bench and crowd was silent.

The silence was even more golden than it had been before the match. We’ll take it.

Bolton 1 (Theo Walcott 6th, 55)

Reading 3 (Kalou 7th, 5; 8th, 18; Dagoberto 11th, 84)

A – 27, 342, The Reebok Stadium, Bolton

Man of the Match – Salomon Kalou, Reading (4)

# # #

Kryston · May 23, 2009

Great victory over the Trotters, especially the sucker punch by Dagoberto with 10 men down.

Little Sammy got built the composure to his side.

tenthreeleader · May 24, 2009

Thanks, Kryston ... we've been scuffling a bit and hopefully the three points will put things right.

___

“Pressure off, Rob?”

I wasn’t aware it was on, Stefano,” I said, as Emiliani wrote furiously. As in angry. He didn’t look happy. And like a bad lira, he has a habit of showing up at the wrong time.

“Be serious,” he challenged. This time, I was rescued by an unlikely source.

“Rob, tell us about Kalou,” Weatherby interrupted with a sidewise glance at Emiliani that told me she didn’t appreciate him souring her interview source. So the reporter who had once stood up for Emiliani after I pulled his press credential in the Sonko matter now was upset at him – not for doing his job, but for making it harder to do hers.

I like Jill Weatherby but let’s be honest – in some matters, all media think alike. The irony wasn’t lost on me, but I still had a question to answer.

“Great match, picked us up right off the deck and made things happen.”

“I thought you said there was no pressure,” Emiliani interrupted.

“When I’m talking to you, no,” I said. “For everyone else, it’s different.”

# # #

We moved up to third place today. United fell at Old Trafford to one of its trouble teams, Blackburn Rovers. Roque Santa Cruz scored a shock opener three minutes into the match and they made it stand up, moving us to third place and dropping Arsenal to fourth. The Gunners have a match in hand and can leap past us with a win.

That’s assuming they can score a goal, which they have had an amazing amount of trouble doing of late. Their scoreless string is now at four matches, and for us it comes at the perfect time.

World summary

Championship (promotion and playoff places)

Sunderland 59, Wigan 57, Fulham 52, QPR 50, Ipswich 49, Wolves 48

League One (promotion and playoff places)

Bristol City 60, Leeds 57, Stoke 52, Oldham 49, Peterborough 46, Bournemouth 46

League Two (promotion and playoff places)

Brentford 59, Rotherham 57, Leyton Orient 56, Tranmere 53, Cheltenham 53, Swindon 51, Stevenage 51

Conference National (promotion and playoff places)

Rushden 63, Aldershot 59, Kidderminster 52, Oxford 52, Kettering 48

Ligue One - Lyon 59, PSG 47, St Etienne 45

Bundesliga - HSV 38, Mainx 35, Bayern Munich 34

Eredivisie – Feyenoord 51 PSV 45, Roda JC 45

Serie A - Lazio 42, Atalanta 42, Inter 37

SPL - Celtic 57, Rangers 52, Hibernian 42

La Liga - Real Madrid 45, Barcelona 41, Valencia 40

# # #

Kewell08 · May 24, 2009

Have you perhaps overused the "bad lira/cheque" thing..?

Excellent as usual though.

tenthreeleader · May 25, 2009

Kewell, that's an interesting observation. I did a search and found the phrase used twice in this story, but haven't searched Calcio. You could well be right. Anyhow, perception is nine-tenths of reality sometimes so I'll take that to heart. Thanks for the honesty. It will make me a better writer.

___

Monday, February 2

We do turn around and go right back to the northwest on Saturday. We’re at Manchester United, it’s a huge match, and all the talk about Coppell now wrecking the hopes of his old team will be running through our heads this week.

Coming off the three points of yesterday, focus will be more important than ever. We had some light work this afternoon after flying in from Manchester last night. Today was a day to take stock of where we are heading into the weekend – and I have some decisions to make.

Kalou was great as the raider, but Maloney will eventually need a chance to earn his place back. How soon will that happen? Hunt was acceptable as Kalou’s understudy, but does my best eleven at the moment include him? What about Faé? He has showed me virtually nothing in terms of offensive creativity over the last two months and that was the reason we moved for Dica in the first place. Does he keep his place, or do we make another move?

And finally, there is this to consider: do I dare mess around with my eleven that much when we are playing at Old Trafford? The pulsating 4-4 draw we played with them at the Mad Stad earlier in the season taught me lessons about approaching matches of that type. So it’s possible that I may put off changes until we clear that Red hurdle. If we clear it.

There’s one change, though, that I can’t put off. Bikey won’t play due to his red card on Sunday, so Gaspari heads into the eleven for United. He’s going to get thrown into the fire, but my feeling is that the young Italian can handle it. I saw a focused player at the afternoon session today and I didn’t even approach him about his task this weekend – which will more than likely be Louis Saha.

# # #

Offspring8 · May 25, 2009

Big game in the race at the top, here's to hoping that you stuff United

Oh and I quite like the story, it's not the worst I've seen well done

tenthreeleader · May 26, 2009

Thanks, Offspring ... hopefully I can break into your personal top ten

___

Sidney Richmond’s hostility is starting to seep to the surface, as I was asked to recount the January transfer window at this morning’s board meeting.

This wasn’t something I was looking forward to, obviously. Results haven’t exactly gone our way this month either, so the atmosphere of accomplishment that we’ve enjoyed over the last few months had started to dissipate a bit when I reported to the directors’ board room at the stadium.

He entered, sat across the way from me at the large center table, and said nothing. That was fine with me too. Madejski entered, as the last to arrive, and the meeting began.

We went through the financials, which were in better shape than they would have been if I had splashed £5-6 million on either Baptista or Dica before the deadline, and it appears we’re going to make it through the season just fine.

That was the good news. The tension started to rise after that, when the “Manager’s Question Time” began.

Having watched Prime Minister’s Questions more than a few times over the preceding years, I got a taste of what the real men in charge must have felt as Richmond zeroed in regarding Madrid and Baptista.

He’s entitled to do that as a director. Obviously, he dares not push too hard with the chairman and owner in the meeting, but he has no problem letting me know his feelings and even less of a problem expressing his irritation.

“I did warn about the loss of prestige this club would endure if we were unsuccessful in pursuit of another Madrid player,” he said. “You chose to ignore that warning. I ask you now, why?”

“I am looking to improve this team and not pay over the odds to do it,” I explained. “January is notorious for players going for higher than their value and it would not have been prudent to pay more than some available players were worth.”

“But it was Madrid again,” he said. “I again ask you to simply answer my question!”

I looked at him with a neutral expression. “Because the player I wanted was there, Mr. Richmond,” I said. “Again, I remind you that not every move made in football works out the way you plan. We did have a more than acceptable fallback point in Dica and he will join us in the summer.”

Now he lost his temper, slamming a fist on the table. “And not in time for this season!” he thundered. “Incompetence!”

Madejski glared across the table. “Mr. Richmond, that’s quite enough,” he said. “The incompetence was not ours, and I will not have displays of that nature in my board room! Do I make myself absolutely clear?”

The director and the owner now locked eyes and crossed swords. “I’m not pleased, Sir John,” he said. “It needs to be said. I will have my opinion. That is my right as a director. And if I choose to express that opinion, I will do so in the manner of my choosing.”

I couldn’t resist. “Watch that public image, now,” I cautioned.

He grew red-faced. “How dare you…” he began, and I simply smiled.

“Rob,” Madejski cautioned. “Let’s keep this out of the personal, shall we?”

“Of course,” I said with the assurance of a manager who knows he’s on good ground. And I am.

I understand Richmond’s frustration, even as I don’t care for his method. Things happen in this game. They aren’t always pleasant. I can certainly attest to that. The business side of the game is the one that reaches out and bites me more often than not, though – so when he says I need to improve there, he’s right.

I just won’t let him take a pound of flesh off me. That won’t do.

# # #

James_W · May 26, 2009

Keep it up 10/3, as usual an enthralling read. Was that a Merchant of Venice reference at the end there?

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