Reviving the Legend *repost*

[Donners]

May, 2039

Manchester City, Premier League, Home

City are in the lower half of the table, though safe from relegation. They sold a number of players in January, such as Albania left winger Michael Schnellrieder (₤2.2M to Rangers) and defender Karl Baker (₤1.6M to Barnsley), adding talented right back Silva (₤950K from Deportivo) and centre back Jamie Muggleton (₤3.9M from Hearts).

Gonzalez was dangerous early, having a shot saved and setting up Rafael, who was also unable to break through. We had complete control of the first half without managing to score. Oliva came off the bench in the second half and had three shots in five minutes. The first two missed, but he scored with the third. City never threatened, especially with a player sent off late. With 22 shots, a mere goal was disappointing.

Newcastle, Premier League, Away

Newcastle will finish 8th or 9th depending on the outcome of this, the final game of the season. Anderson returned to our side after scoring five goals against Nottingham Forest reserves. They added former Rushden left back Jimmy Mathieson as part of a deal which saw striker Sean Wheeler go to Chelsea, also buying Arsenal midfielder Peter Milner for ₤11.5M. Former Rushden centre back Doctor Khoza was sold to Porto for ₤4.7M and Norway left winger Kjetil Nilsen went to Villarreal for ₤2.6M.

Dan Spellman opened the scoring in what is quite possibly his last Rushden game. Mathieson equalised just after half time and they scored again in the 71st to complete a terrible end to the season for Rushden.

[Donners]

The season in review

Summary

| Pos   | Inf   | Team          |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   | ECC   | Rushden       |       | 38    | 25    | 7     | 6     | 65    | 33    | +32   | 82    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   | ECC   | Arsenal       |       | 38    | 21    | 7     | 10    | 67    | 38    | +29   | 70    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   | ECC   | West Ham      |       | 38    | 18    | 13    | 7     | 51    | 29    | +22   | 67    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   | ECC   | Man Utd       |       | 38    | 18    | 12    | 8     | 48    | 29    | +19   | 66    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   | UC    | Liverpool     |       | 38    | 18    | 8     | 12    | 47    | 30    | +17   | 62    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   | UC    | Sheff Utd     |       | 38    | 17    | 11    | 10    | 41    | 28    | +13   | 62    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 7th   |       | Leicester     |       | 38    | 16    | 13    | 9     | 43    | 27    | +16   | 61    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 8th   |       | Newcastle     |       | 38    | 14    | 14    | 10    | 33    | 29    | +4    | 56    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 9th   | UC    | Tottenham     |       | 38    | 14    | 11    | 13    | 33    | 38    | -5    | 53    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 10th  | ITC   | West Brom     |       | 38    | 12    | 12    | 14    | 45    | 49    | -4    | 48    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11th  |       | Everton       |       | 38    | 13    | 9     | 16    | 50    | 56    | -6    | 48    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 12th  |       | Middlesbrough |       | 38    | 12    | 11    | 15    | 42    | 36    | +6    | 47    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 13th  |       | Sunderland    |       | 38    | 11    | 14    | 13    | 29    | 34    | -5    | 47    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14th  |       | Bolton        |       | 38    | 12    | 9     | 17    | 47    | 51    | -4    | 45    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 15th  |       | Man City      |       | 38    | 9     | 15    | 14    | 42    | 48    | -6    | 42    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 16th  |       | Chelsea       |       | 38    | 8     | 14    | 16    | 35    | 58    | -23   | 38    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 17th  |       | Leeds         |       | 38    | 8     | 12    | 18    | 27    | 49    | -22   | 36    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 18th  | R     | Aston Villa   |       | 38    | 10    | 6     | 22    | 34    | 59    | -25   | 36    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 19th  | R     | Wigan         |       | 38    | 7     | 14    | 17    | 33    | 50    | -17   | 35    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20th  | R     | Nottm Forest  |       | 38    | 7     | 8     | 23    | 22    | 63    | -41   | 29    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

| Pkd   | Inf   | Name                 | Apps  | Gls   | Ast   | MoM   | Pas   | Tck   | Drb   | Sh T  | Av Rat| 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| GK    | Unh   | Aslan Genç           | 39    | -     | -     | 1     | 51%   | -     | -     | -     | 6.87  | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S1    | Wnt   | Craig Sinclair       | 36    | 4     | 5     | 3     | 64%   | 2.94  | 0.17  | 46%   | 7.22  | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| AMC   | Hol   | Jesús González       | 31 (5)| 7     | 5     | 4     | 76%   | 1.35  | 0.77  | 42%   | 7.00  | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DMC   | Hol   | Petr Zbozinek        | 31    | 8     | 3     | -     | 75%   | 2.48  | 0.90  | 57%   | 7.16  | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S2    | Unh   | Attila Pál           | 30 (3)| 2     | 3     | 5     | 75%   | 2.51  | 0.43  | 29%   | 7.21  | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Wnt   | Nenad Lekovic        | 30 (1)| 1     | 8     | 4     | 66%   | 1.93  | 2.37  | 45%   | 7.29  | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S5    | Wnt   | Marek Piwowarczyk    | 30 (1)| 1     | 1     | 1     | 66%   | 2.48  | 0.20  | -     | 7.26  | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S3    | Wnt   | Mohamed Né           | 26 (2)| 12    | 9     | 2     | 76%   | 0.61  | 1.62  | 58%   | 7.11  | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| ML    | Wnt   | Dominic Holden       | 26 (1)| 2     | 7     | 2     | 70%   | 1.99  | 2.96  | 35%   | 7.22  | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DC    | Wnt   | James Gibbs          | 25 (2)| 2     | 1     | 2     | 74%   | 3.09  | 0.36  | 61%   | 7.19  | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Hol   | Anastasios Maladenis | 24 (2)| -     | -     | 1     | 70%   | 2.65  | -     | -     | 6.92  | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DC    | Hol   | Pereira              | 24    | -     | 2     | 2     | 64%   | 2.72  | 0.17  | -     | 7.08  | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S4    | Hol   | José Antonio Oliva   | 21 (6)| 11    | 5     | 1     | 68%   | 0.18  | 1.80  | 41%   | 7.00  | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Hol   | Ricardo Avila        | 21 (5)| 8     | 5     | -     | 77%   | 0.79  | 1.21  | 45%   | 6.92  | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Wnt   | Kristian Strand      | 20 (2)| 4     | 5     | 2     | 70%   | 1.70  | 2.38  | 50%   | 7.32  | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DMC   | Unh   | Fredrik Prahl        | 16 (2)| 1     | 1     | -     | 79%   | 2.59  | 0.42  | 33%   | 7.17  | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Trn   | Nikos Skouras        | 15 (5)| 4     | 1     | 1     | 69%   | 2.02  | 0.38  | -     | 7.00  | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| MR    |       | Dan Spellman         | 13 (6)| 1     | 1     | -     | 75%   | 2.57  | 1.32  | 36%   | 7.05  | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Hol   | Nikos Tsichlas       | 13    | 2     | 2     | -     | 65%   | 0.26  | 1.72  | 34%   | 6.69  | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Hol   | Leandro              | 10 (6)| -     | 1     | -     | 73%   | 0.91  | 2.28  | -     | 6.75  | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Hol   | Nuno                 | 10 (4)| 2     | 5     | -     | 74%   | 0.32  | 1.70  | 42%   | 6.86  | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DC    | Hol   | Wisam Saad           | 8 (2) | -     | -     | 1     | 60%   | 2.58  | 0.12  | -     | 6.70  | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Wnt   | Rafael               | 8 (1) | 5     | 3     | -     | 66%   | 0.14  | 1.10  | 75%   | 7.22  | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Hol   | Bjørn Rexhaj         | 7 (1) | 1     | -     | -     | 67%   | 0.43  | 0.57  | -     | 6.50  | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| FC    | Hol   | Anderson             | 7 (1) | 2     | -     | -     | 77%   | 0.60  | 1.51  | 26%   | 6.63  | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Wnt   | Mario Milojevic      | 6     | -     | -     | -     | 41%   | -     | -     | -     | 6.83  | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| FC    | Wnt   | Abderrazak Haddad    | 4     | 1     | -     | -     | 75%   | 0.25  | 1.75  | -     | 7.00  | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Hol   | Inanç Mete           | 3 (1) | -     | -     | -     | 40%   | -     | -     | -     | 6.50  | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Wnt   | Nelson               | 1     | -     | -     | -     | 65%   | -     | -     | -     | 7.00  | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

Lekovic continued his popularity with other players, named PFA Player of the Year after being runner-up last season. Piwowarczyk, Zbozinek and Lekovic made the Team of the Season and I was Manager of the Year for the eighth time.

It is not often that you can win the league by 12 points and say it was a bad season. However, aside from the league (and even then, only the first two-thirds of it), we were awful. Being knocked out in the first knockout round of the Champions League is our worst finish since 31/32. Our Carling Cup exit was the earliest since 27/28. While we went out in the third round of the FA Cup last season as well, we at least made the final of those other two competitions. Last season was disappointing because we fell so short. This season was bad, because we didn't even get close to the latter stages.

While I had a few concerns about our scoring ability, we did get significantly more league goals than the last two seasons. However, we also conceded more than the last four, which is a worry when our new number one keeper, Genç, played almost the whole season. He has certainly overtaken Mete, but will have a tough job to hold his own spot with Nilsen and Milojevic getting a taste this season.

Defence was not a problem, though we conceded a few too many goals. Pereira is nearing the end but held up well, while Sinclair, Skouras, Piwowarczyk, Gibbs and Maladenis were regular contributors.

The midfield was strong, with Gonzalez emerging as a goal scorer when the strikers were down. Strand and Holden held the left wing, and Lekovic was excellent on the right.

Striking was obviously the main problem. Oliva scored four late goals to break into double figures for the season, but Né and Avila were the only ones to look like regular threats. Considering the reserves scored at tremendous rates – Anderson got five in a game and 18 for the season, while Tsichlas had 10 in a dozen games – one would have thought one of them would step up, but no such luck.

We have a lot of work to do next season, but firstly I have to decide what changes to make to the squad. Oliva and Spellman are among those out of contract, and I'm still not sure whether to re-sign them.

The reserves won their league by a mile (goal difference +50), as did the Under-18s.

Around the world: major awards and results

Rushden Supporters’ Player of the Year:

Nenad Lekovic

World Player of the Year:

Darko Milosavljevic (Milan)

World Footballer of the Year:

Carlos Valdez (Valencia)

England:

Winner: Rushden \o/

Relegated: Aston Villa, Wigan, Nottingham Forest

Promoted: MK Dons, Barnsley, Huddersfield

Spain:

Atlético

Italy

Napoli

Champions League:

Real Madrid

UEFA Cup:

Juventus

[Donners]

I'm afraid I'm again going to be away without internet access during the week for the next month or so. Apologies in advance for the lack of updates over this period. I've made this a double update so we're at least started on the next season.

The Transfers

Players In

| Date               | Person             | From               | Fee                | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.7.2038           | Leandro            | Benfica            | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.7.2038           | Piwowarczyk, Marek | Rangers            | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 10.7.2038          | Bruno              | Porto              | £50K               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6.8.2038           | Straub, Ralf       | Stuttgart          | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 24.8.2038          | Revivo, Ron        | M. Tel-Aviv        | £75K               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 29.9.2038          | Sköld, Love        | Hammarby           | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.1.2039           | Leonardo           | Paraná             | £240K              | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.1.2039           | Callejón, Raúl     | Alicante           | £1.9M              | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|                    | Total              |                    | £2.3M              | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

Players Out

| Date               | Person             | To                 | Fee                | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20.6.2038          | Spencer, John      | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20.6.2038          | Johnson, Brian     | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.7.2038           | Gardner, Nicky     | Milan              | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.7.2038           | Little, Mark       | Wigan              | £170K              | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.7.2038           | Tóth, Lajos        | Leeds              | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.7.2038           | Vargas, Rónald     | Lazio              | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.7.2038           | Bigné, Yassin      | Udinese            | £1.3M              | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.7.2038           | Schouw, Kim        | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.7.2038           | Aros, Alexis       | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.7.2038           | Marsden, Julian    | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.7.2038           | Gray, Eddie        | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.7.2038           | Williams, Lee      | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 21.7.2038          | Mikhailov, Eugeny  | Deportivo          | £15M               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 25.8.2038          | Hulshoff, Richard  | Leeds              | £2.5M              | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 21.1.2039          | Holm, Inge         | Real Madrid        | £12.25M            | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|                    | Total              |                    | £31M               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Loans Out

| Date               | Person                | To                 | Fee                | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 22.6.2038          | Ouattara, Valentin    | Hearts             | Loan               | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5.7.2038           | Robson, Tom           | Dundee Utd         | Loan               | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11.7.2038          | Sødahl, Thorbjørn     | Dundee Utd         | Loan               | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 13.7.2038          | de Haan, Dennis       | Hibernian          | Loan               | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 13.7.2038          | Saad, Wisam           | Offenbach          | Loan               | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 13.7.2038          | Figueroa, Rafael      | Offenbach          | Loan               | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3.8.2038           | Stiansen, Eivind      | Charlton           | Loan               | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 8.8.2038           | van Persie, Marco     | Portsmouth         | Loan               | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 9.8.2038           | Gandía, Antonio       | R. Sociedad        | Loan               | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 13.8.2038          | Mertakkas, Michalis   | Bradford           | Loan               | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 17.8.2038          | Legrand, Jacques      | Basel              | Loan               | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 19.8.2038          | Clément, Jean-Charles | Burnley            | Loan               | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 24.8.2038          | Duff, Andy            | Chesterfield       | Loan               | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 28.8.2038          | Revivo, Ron           | Offenbach          | Loan               | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 29.8.2038          | Molina, Fabián        | Offenbach          | Loan               | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2.9.2038           | Haug, Morten          | Fulham             | Loan               | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20.10.2038         | Eira, Finn            | Yeovil             | Loan               | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 13.11.2038         | Beale, Alex           | Ipswich            | Loan               | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 16.11.2038         | Olsen, Jan Fredrik    | Swansea            | Loan               | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 19.1.2039          | Majrashi, Mohammed    | 1860 München       | Loan               | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 19.1.2039          | Meland, Erik          | Aston Villa        | Loan               | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20.1.2039          | Everitt, Jimmy        | Leyton Orient      | Loan               | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|                    | Total                 |                    | £0                 | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

We had moderate success in the transfer market this season. Piwowarczyk was the big star, making the Team of the Season after his free signing. Leandro was the only other player to get a run in the seniors, and he was not too impressive. He will have time to improve, but this wasn't a great start.

The big players we lost had little impact at their new clubs. Aros struggled in the Championship and Vargas did nothing for Lazio. Mikhailov was the only one to have any substantial success, with 17 La Liga goals.

Of the loanees, Tom Robson made the SPL Team of the Year, Sødahl was third as SPL Young Player of the Year, Gandia played a full La Liga season, Majrashi was good in the Bundesliga and Everitt scored a few Championship goals.

Pre-season, 39/40

I had to deflect interest for a few players, including striker Tsichlas, defender Andy Duff and keeper Nelson. Pál and Gonzalez also caused problems by demanding new contracts.

₤33.5M was paid out to shareholders, though we finally got a decent sponsorship deal of ₤6M per year.

USA offered me a job as international manager but I refused, sticking with Norway.

As July approached, the big bids came in. The first losses were out of contract players. Right back David Herreros went to Deportivo, Mete to Galatasaray and the biggest one, Dan Spellman to Milan. With big bids coming in, I sold Nikos Skouras to Barcelona for ₤12.75M, Attila Pál to Real Madrid for ₤23.5M (due to his demands for a new contract) and smashed the club record – left winger Kristian Strand joined Valencia for ₤40M. Young striker Thorbjørn Sødahl then went to Newcastle for ₤7.5M. I held onto Oliva despite his contract expiring, though of course any club able to meet his wage demands can snatch him away at will.

That's a lot of losses, particularly as I did not have a single transfer arranged. Still, on a closer look, it's not that bad. Strand has a direct replacement in Holden, Sødahl is one of countless strikers, Spellman missed a lot of games through injury, Skouras wasn't getting much of a go with no full backs in my formation and Pál never had enough impact on goals for my liking.

The sales continued as I sought to rebuild the squad. Young keeper Dave Tate went to Sunderland for ₤1.1M and I released left back Fabien Molina to Man City for free after he refused to go on loan to my affiliate. I accepted a ₤10M bid from Newcastle for Tsichlas, but he decided to go on loan to Sheffield United instead. We have a few prominent players on loan, with Rafael at Dundee Utd and Leonardo at Celtic. Coach Rudiger Bruns was snatched by Port Vale as an assistant, and replaced by David Maggi.

I eventually brought in six players for a total of ₤3.1M, mostly as long-term options. I have sent my scouts to try and track down some obscure new signings for the coming year.

The Premier League title odds were quite remarkable – Rushden as 2-1 favourites, then West Ham next at 14-1. Man U, Arsenal, Liverpool and Newcastle are expected to be thereabouts.

[Donners]

The Club

Home Ground: Nene Park, Irthlingborough - capacity 51,850

Rivals: Kettering, Northampton (fierce); Peterborough, Oxford, Luton

Reputation: Worldwide

Estimated Value: ₤149M

Balance ₤1,087M

Transfer Budget: ₤582M

Media Prediction: 1st

Board Expectation: Win the title

Fan Expectation: Win the title

Staff

Chairman: Ryan Woods

Assistant Manager: Ferreira

Coaches: Robert Bicanic, Cosimo Bodini, Dmitry Belkov. Greg Paterson, David Maggi, Matteo Pizzi, Kirk Moore, Massimo Pinto (General)

Physios: Carmine Laurenza, Edson

Scouts: Andy McWilliam, Drew Black, Danny Russell, Martin Kaya, Esteban, Fraser Soutar

The Squad

| Pkd     | Inf     | Name                         | No.     | Squad Status | Cnt     | Weekly wage | Expires   | Value   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| FC      | Wnt     | José Antonio Oliva           | 18      | First Team   | F/T     | £45,000     | -         | -       | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DC      | Wnt     | Craig Sinclair               | 6       | First Team   | F/T     | £40,000     | 30.6.2041 | £15M    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| ML      | Wnt     | Dominic Holden               | 19      | First Team   | F/T     | £42,500     | 30.6.2041 | £17.75M | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| GK      | Bid     | Aslan Genç                   | 1       | First Team   | F/T     | £12,500     | 30.6.2042 | £3.3M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S1      | Wnt     | Wisam Saad                   | 3       | First Team   | F/T     | £6,500      | 30.6.2042 | £3.5M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| FC      | Wnt     | Mohamed Né                   | 8       | First Team   | F/T     | £12,500     | 30.6.2043 | £11.25M | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Wnt     | Pereira                      | 13      | Rotation     | F/T     | £15,000     | 30.6.2040 | £700K   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S2      | Bid     | Petr Zbozinek                | 34      | Rotation     | F/T     | £10,000     | 30.6.2040 | £4.5M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Inj     | Nuno                         | 39      | Rotation     | F/T     | £12,500     | 30.6.2041 | £9.5M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DC      | Loa     | Marek Piwowarczyk            | 35      | Rotation     | F/T     | £13,250     | 30.6.2040 | £3.3M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Wnt     | Mohammed Majrashi            | -       | Rotation     | F/T     | £16,500     | 30.6.2041 | £4.3M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| MR      | Bid     | Nenad Lekovic                | 22      | Rotation     | F/T     | £22,500     | 30.6.2041 | £15M    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| AMC     | Unh     | Jesús González               | 32      | Rotation     | F/T     | £12,250     | 30.6.2041 | £6.75M  | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S4      | Bid     | Ricardo Avila                | 11      | Rotation     | F/T     | £25,000     | 30.6.2040 | £7.75M  | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DMC     | Unh     | Fredrik Prahl                | 28      | Rotation     | F/T     | £4,000      | 30.6.2040 | £7.25M  | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Wnt     | Anderson                     | 20      | Rotation     | F/T     | £13,750     | 30.6.2042 | £6M     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DMC     | Wnt     | James Gibbs                  | 17      | Rotation     | F/T     | £12,500     | 30.6.2041 | £6.5M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       |         | José Antonio Jiménez Jiménez | 30      | Rotation     | F/T     | £10,000     | 30.6.2043 | £2.4M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Wnt     | Valentin Ouattara            | -       | Rotation     | F/T     | £7,250      | 30.6.2043 | £3.8M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Wnt     | Leandro                      | 16      | Backup       | F/T     | £16,500     | 30.6.2041 | £7M     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Wnt     | Eneko Duarte                 | -       | Backup       | F/T     | £15,000     | 30.6.2042 | £2.6M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S5      | Wnt     | Abderrazak Haddad            | 10      | Backup       | F/T     | £4,700      | 30.6.2041 | £6.5M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DC      | Bid     | Anastasios Maladenis         | 27      | Backup       | F/T     | £3,600      | 30.6.2042 | £3.5M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       |         | Erik Meland                  | -       | Backup       | F/T     | £2,100      | 30.6.2042 | £2.9M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Wnt     | Marco van Persie             | -       | Backup       | F/T     | £7,250      | 30.6.2041 | £2.3M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Wnt     | Erik Knol                    | -       | Backup       | F/T     | £6,000      | 30.6.2040 | £3.5M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Wnt     | Nelson                       | 38      | Backup       | F/T     | £1,000      | 30.6.2042 | £1.8M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Wnt     | Raúl Callejón                | -       | Backup       | F/T     | £2,100      | 30.6.2041 | £2.2M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Inj     | Mario Milojevic              | 14      | Hot Prospect | F/T     | £2,200      | 30.6.2040 | £2.9M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S3      | Bid     | Tom Robson                   | -       | Hot Prospect | F/T     | £6,000      | 30.6.2042 | £1.5M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Bid     | Antonio Gandía               | -       | Hot Prospect | F/T     | £3,700      | 30.6.2042 | £1.5M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Loa     | Bjørn Rexhaj                 | 9       | Hot Prospect | F/T     | £11,500     | 30.6.2041 | £6M     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Bid     | Jimmy Everitt                | -       | Hot Prospect | F/T     | £725        | 30.6.2042 | £3.7M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Loa     | Michalis Mertakkas           | -       | Youngster    | F/T     | £2,400      | 30.6.2041 | £3.5M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Bid     | Per Edman                    | -       | Youngster    | F/T     | £375        | 30.6.2040 | £4M     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Loa     | Alex Beale                   | -       | Youngster    | F/T     | £1,100      | 30.6.2042 | £1.7M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Unh     | Jacques Legrand              | -       | Youngster    | F/T     | £3,300      | 30.6.2040 | £4.3M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Wnt     | Jamie Berry                  | -       | Youngster    | F/T     | £350        | 30.6.2040 | £2M     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Wnt     | Gary Guild                   | -       | Youngster    | F/T     | £800        | 30.6.2040 | £2M     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Wnt     | Fabio Gigliotti              | -       | Youngster    | F/T     | £4,000      | 30.6.2042 | £3.3M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Inj     | Gerard van Strien            | -       | Youngster    | F/T     | £1,500      | 30.6.2040 | £1.5M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Yth     | Ben Popovich                 | -       | Youngster    | Yth     | £110        | 30.6.2040 | -       | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Yth     | Rocky Bresciano              | -       | Youngster    | Yth     | £110        | 30.6.2040 | -       | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Yth     | Julian Orr                   | -       | Youngster    | Yth     | £110        | 30.6.2040 | -       | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Yth     | Nikola Ismaili               | -       | Youngster    | Yth     | £110        | 30.6.2040 | -       | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Yth     | Phil Rowe                    | -       | Youngster    | Yth     | £110        | 30.6.2040 | -       | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Inj     | Markus Barth                 | -       | Youngster    | Yth     | £110        | 30.6.2040 | -       | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Wnt     | Shane Robinson               | -       | Youngster    | F/T     | £600        | 30.6.2040 | £1.8M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Wnt     | Robert Ulmer                 | -       | Youngster    | F/T     | £325        | 30.6.2040 | £1.3M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Wnt     | Love Sköld                   | -       | Youngster    | F/T     | £1,100      | 30.6.2041 | £1.7M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Wnt     | Marius Rudi                  | -       | Youngster    | F/T     | £3,100      | 30.6.2042 | £625K   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Inj     | Lorenzo van Duijvenbode      | -       | Youngster    | F/T     | £925        | 30.6.2042 | £45K    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

Wage Budget: £6,005,780

Total Weekly Wages at 6/8/39: £443,302

Senior Players: 19

Reserve Players: 33

U-18 Players: 13

[Note that players classed as Backup, Prospect or Youngster will not be profiled (with a few exceptions), and are regarded as reserve players]

Player [Pos, Nationality, Height, Age] – Rushden Seasons, Rushden League Games, Rushden League Goals

Goalkeepers

Aslan Genç [GK, TUR – 7 Caps, 176cm, 25] – 6, 49, 0

Solid enough last season, and signed up for three more years. He did well enough to displace Mete, yet not quite enough to seal the number one spot. There will definitely be others waiting in the wings.

Mario Milojevic [GK, AUT – 3 Caps, 179cm, 23] – 4, 5, 0

Didn't do much in his handful of league games, and may have been overtaken by Nelson as next in line. I will try to sign him up for a few more seasons.

Nelson [GK, POR – 3 U21 caps, 177cm, 21] – 3, 1, 0

Newly signed to a three-year deal and looking like a star of the future. Should get a few games.

Defenders

Eneko Duarte [D/Wb L, ESP, 180cm, 25] – 0, 0, 0

Snapped up on a free transfer from Betis, though he played in La Liga with Alicante on loan last season. He's a smart player with moderate skills who will be a handy backup, even though I don't really have a position for him.

Per Edman [D/Wb/M L, SWE – 1 Cap, 179cm, 21] – 3, 0, 0

Perhaps a chance to get a game with Strand gone, though really he's much better as a defender.

James Gibbs [D C/DM, ENG – 1 Cap, 181cm, 23] – 6, 54, 1

Played probably his best season in 38/39, though he was more reliable than spectacular. He should get more responsibility with Pál gone, given his tremendous skill.

Premier League Player of the Month September 2038

Fabio Gigliotti [D/AM L, ITA – 1 U21 cap, 193cm, 19] – 0, 0 0

An unusually tall player signed for free from Lazio. He has some pace but lacks a bit of skill. A prospect at best.

Jose Antonio Jimenez Jimenez [D C, ESP – capped at U19 level, 183cm, 22] – 0, 0 0

Bought for ₤2.4M from Sevilla, Jimenez Jimenez has good pace for a centre back but will require more experience before he makes it into the senior side.

Anastasios Maladenis [D C, GRE – 7 Caps, 176cm, 23] – 4, 36, 0

Had another quite consistent season, and looks like a real player of the future. With Pereira in his final season, Maladenis should become a fixture in the side.

Premier League Young Player of the Month March 2038

Pereira [D C, BRA – 72 Caps, 181cm, 35] – 5, 113, 0

Did not play as many games as usual last season, but was good enough when he was in. He's been signed up for one last season to ensure stability in the defence.

UEFA Defender of the Year runner up 2026

Marek Piwowarczyk [D LC/M L, POL – 15 Caps, 173cm, 28] – 1, 27, 1

A surprise success, given that he was only expected to play as a backup. I'd be far happier if he could play as a right back, but he performed well at centre back last season.

Premier League Team of the Season 38/39

Fredrik Prahl [D C/DM, SWE – 22 Caps, 184cm, 23] – 4, 36, 2

Prahl is out of contract at the end of the season and is demanding quite a large wage increase. I'm not sure whether to re-sign him or not at this point, though he does have an important role to play with Pál gone.

Wisam Saad [D C, IRQ – 12 Caps, 177cm, 23] – 3, 10, 0

Finally got a work permit after three seasons at Offenbach, and played in the seniors for the latter part of last season. He did not do all that well, considering that he looks to have remarkable talent, but hopefully he will be more settled this season.

Craig Sinclair [D C, ENG – 33 Caps, 180cm, 25] – 6, 129, 9

Had by far his worst season at Rushden, failing to get a single Man of the Match award (compared to 7 in each of the previous two years). He is still young and will hopefully recover.

Premier League Young Player of the Month January 2034, February 2034; Premier League Player of the Month December 2036, December 2037; Champions League Best Player 2034, Champions League Dream Team 33/34, 35/36, 36/37; PFA Player of the Year third placed 37/38; Premier League Team of the Season 37/38

#4 best Rushden average rating, =#4 most Rushden Man of the Match awards, #8 most Rushden games

Marco van Persie [D C/DM, HOL – 10 U21 caps, 176cm, 24] – 1, 0 0

Having been bought for ₤3.2M, it's important that van Persie steps up this season. He doesn't look to have developed as I'd hoped, having been quite mediocre on loan at Portsmouth in the Championship.

Midfielders

Ricardo Avila [AM/F C, ARG – 11 Caps, 184cm, 28] – 2, 41, 12

Was not nearly as impressive in his second season, and missed the last few months through injury. He should be available for the start of the season, but may find his spot has been taken by Gonzalez.

South American Team of the Year 2034, Werder Bremen Supporters' Player of the Year 34/35; Champions League Dream Team 37/38; Supporters Player of the Year 37/38

Raúl Callejόn [M C, ESP – capped at U19 level, 184cm, 18] – 0, 0 0

Bought for ₤1.9M from Alicante, Callejόn is talented even at his young age, and will be given time to develop further.

Jesus González [AM C, VEN – 41 Caps, 178cm, 27] – 6, 96, 13

Finally played a full senior season, and really stepped up as a goal scorer with the strikers out of form. With Avila having missed much of the pre-season, he will have first crack at the attacking midfield spot.

Dominic Holden [AM L, ENG – 10 Caps, 182cm, 25] – 7, 71, 7

Has now seen off the main challenger for the left wing, which means that Holden should play a full season. He certainly has the ability – and the wage – to do so.

SPL Young Player of the Month February 2033, December 2033, January 2034; Scottish PFA Young Player of the Year runner-up 2034; Premier League Young Player of the Month October 2034, December 2034, March 2035; English PFA Young Player of the Year 2035; Champions League Best Player runner up 36/37

Erik Knol [AM R, HOL – 1 U21 cap, 180cm, 24] – 1, 0, 0

Achieved nothing in his first season after a ₤1.9M purchase. He has some ability but has no place in the side at this point.

Leandro [AM RL, BRA – 23 Caps, 180cm, 27] – 1, 9, 0

Dropped out of the side during the season, and while he dominated in the reserves, he is yet to make a convincing case for a regular role.

Nenad Lekovic [AM RC, SER – 30 Caps, 183cm, 27] – 5, 50, 3

Had an excellent season, setting up eight goals in the league alone and being recognised by the Rushden fans as our best player. He will again have a big role to play this season.

Champions League Dream Team 37/38; Supporters' Player of the Year 38/39; PFA Player of the Year 2039, runner-up 2038

Mohammed Majrashi [AM R, SAU – 9 Caps, 173cm, 29] – 2, 7, 1

Was on loan at 1860 München all last season. Given that he's contracted for two more years, I either need to find a role for him or offload him.

Erik Meland [DM, NOR – 4 U21 caps, 181cm, 23] – 2, 1, 0

Played fourteen EPL games with Aston Villa on loan last season, and will hopefully be ready to play a backup role this season.

Mohamed Né [AM LC/F, IVO – 12 Caps, 172cm, 22] – 2, 30, 14

Scored a goal every second league game, which was crucial when our strikers struggled so much. He could play a bit more on the left wing with Strand gone, though I prefer him as a striker.

Premier League Young Player of the Month April 2038, January 2039; Premier League Player of the Month November 2038

Tom Robson [DM, ENG – 5 U21 caps, 180cm, 22] – 3, 0, 0

Has been around for long enough to be ready to make an impact. He's had two good seasons in the SPL and has been signed up for a few years after Pál was sold.

Championship Young Player of the Month February 2037; SPL Young Player of the Month August 2037, October 2037; Scottish PFA Young Player of the Year third placed 2038; SPL Team of the Year 37/38, 38/39

Petr Zbozinek [DM/AM RC, CZE – 54 Caps, 180cm, 30] – 6, 89, 14

Quite a handy player last season, scoring eight league goals (through long shots and penalties) from a defensive midfield position. He should play more with Pál gone, though I may not re-sign him.

Premier League Team of the Season 38/39

Forwards

Anderson [sT, ITA – 10 U21 caps, 176cm, 22] – 4, 22, 3

Continues to be incredibly destructive in the reserves and attract attention from big clubs without performing in the league. It's time he stood up.

SPL Young Player of the Month February 2036; Scottish PFA Young Player of the Year 2036

Abderrazak Haddad [sT, MOR – 13 Caps, 183cm, 22] – 2, 4, 1

A very quick and talented striker who earned a work permit last season. He should be ready to take a major role in the seniors this season.

Nuno [sT, POR – 14 Caps, 180cm, 27] – 8, 60, 21

Was incredibly disappointing last season, scoring just one league goal and missing many months with injury. He still has the pace and skill to be a danger, but needs to perform.

Premier League Player of the Month September 2037

José Antonio Oliva [AM/F C, ESP – 23 Caps, 182cm, 28] – 9, 133, 65

Managed to score a few goals last season, but did not do enough to earn a new contract. He's still around on pretty big wages, and I won't be too bothered if he is taken.

English PFA Player of the Year 2036, runner-up 2035; Premier League Golden Boot equal winner 34/35; Premier League Team of the Season 34/35, 35/36; Champions League Dream Team 34/35, 35/36, 36/37; Champions League Golden Boot 34/35, 36/37; Supporters Player of the Year 34/35, 35/36

#2 most Rushden goals; =#4 most Rushden assists

Valentin Ouattara [sT, SWI – 5 U21 caps, 185cm, 21] – 2, 3, 0

After playing a few games in his first season, Ouattara went to Hearts on loan and played well. He has been signed up to a new contract and he should get a chance in the seniors.

Bjørn Rexhaj [sT, NOR – 7 U21 caps, 175cm, 22] – 3, 6, 1

Did not really do a lot in his first season in the seniors, rapidly dropping back to the reserves. He will be given the chance to develop, but on his wages I expect more.

2038 Scottish PFA Young Player of the Year

Overview

I have 14 fewer players in the squad this season, with a number of senior players as well as reserves gone. There is an obvious gap in the squad, but the main side is made up of established players.

Goalkeeping: Genç has done enough to be the first choice, though Nelson and Milojevic will rotate through.

Defence: We have stacks of left back options in the seniors and reserves, and absolutely none for right back. Thus, I have to again go with three across the back.

Midfield: Despite losing two senior players, we have enough options to cover all positions.

Forward: Some of the strikers really need to step up, and with Ouattara back in the squad, we'll hopefully find a combination that works.

First XI

I had intended to switch to a 4-4-2, but with few options for right back (especially with Spellman injured), that's just not possible. Same formation as last season.

GK: Aslan Genç

CB: Marek Piwowarczyk

CB: Craig Sinclair

CB: Anastasios Maladenis

DM: Fredrik Prahl

DM: James Gibbs

RM: Nenad Lekovic

LM: Dominic Holden

AM: Jose Gonzalez

CF: Mohammed Né

CF: Jose Antonio Oliva

Sub: Ricardo Avila

Sub: Wisam Saad

Sub: Abderrazak Haddad

Sub: Petr Zbozinek

Sub: Tom Robson

Captain: Craig Sinclair, Pereira

Penalties: Wisam Saad, Petr Zbozinek, James Gibbs

Free Kicks: (L) Dominic Holden, Eneko Duarte; ® Craig Sinclair, Nenad Lekovic

Corners: (L) Marek Piwowarczyk, Mohammed Né; ® Pereira, James Gibbs

Throw Ins: (L) Leandro, Mohamed Né; ® Nenad Lekovic, Petr Zbozinek

Playmaker: Mohammed Né, James Gibbs, Tom Robson

Target Man: Craig Sinclair, Pereira

[Donners]

August, 2039

Manchester United, Community Shield, Neutral

United finished fourth for the second time in a row, and have been very busy in the transfer market. The departure list was dominated by one man, England playmaker Liam Allen, who went to Atlético for an insane ₤58M. Croatia left back Danijel Sopic went to Juventus for a more reasonable ₤2.8M, international team-mate Antonio Jankovic went to Betis for ₤825K and former England striker Mick Oakley was released after 15 years at the club. Their proceeds from the sale of Allen went on several purchases, including keeper Florentino Fernández (₤18.75M from Palermo, as a replacement for 38-year-old Antony Canoville), Turkey midfielder Ali Ugur (₤28M from Milan), young striker Will Morris (₤6M from Celtic), Leicester left back David Sadler (₤4.4M) and Barcelona utility Silvio Verdiani (₤6.5M).

We had an early shot on goal when Né played a one-two with Gonzalez, but couldn't beat the keeper. Genç did well to keep out a long-range effort in the 21st, and three minutes later, an Oliva shot was parried to Né, who tapped in. Sinclair made an excellent interception before half time and launched a counter-attack that saw a long-range shot from Né barely kept out. Tom Robson came on for his début in the second half after Zbozinek picked up a knock. Né had a goal disallowed in the 77th but with United rarely on target, that one goal was enough.

That turned out to be Oliva's last game for the club – he accepted a contract from Milan and joined them a few days later.

Manchester United, Premier League, Away

Our first game of the league season was against the side we just defeated in the Community Shield. Genç had to pull off a great save only a couple of minutes into the game, and he was spared by a bad shot a minute later. Aside from one great solo effort from Lekovic, we were outplayed in the first half, and it was only through good work from Genç that we were level. He held up against one more shot, then conceded in the 58th to England striker Neil Herbert. Nenad Lekovic responded almost immediately for Rushden, and with few shots to either side in the remaining half hour, it was a 1-1 draw.

Leicester, Premier League, Home

Leicester just fell short of European qualification for the second straight season, and have been raided by other clubs. They lost players like former Rushden right winger Abdul Al-Shemmari (₤6M to Sheffield United), former Wales utility Brett Gordon (₤2.4M to West Brom), Ukraine right back Ruslan Baklanov (₤9M to Liverpool), left back David Sadler (₤4.4M to Man U) and Bosnia midfielder Bojan Marjanovic (free to Tottenham). They signed numerous replacements, including Ireland left back Nathan Bower (₤4M from Man City), Liverpool right back Lee Downing (₤3.8M), Livorno defender Andrea Marchisio (free) and Rennes defender Souza (free).

Leicester had a shot within fifteen seconds of the commencement of the game. Fortunately, it went well wide, but a header in the fifth minute saw Nelson make a save. He made another two in the next six minutes, while Né finally had our first attempt of the game in the 12th. The first half was pretty even, though Né played pretty much a lone hand as an attacking player, while Leicester had several options. Lekovic made a big impact in the 57th, scoring with a direct free. Thanks to Nelson's early saves and a fairly solid performance from all players, we held on for the win.

Though that was a fairly positive start to the season, we lost defenders Sinclair and Prahl for a month each through training injuries.

[Donners]

September, 2039

West Brom, Premier League, Away

West Brom did quite well in their return to the EPL, scraping into the top half. Jimenez made his début at centre back. Having spent quite a while in the Championship, they are continuing to build their squad. The brought in a dozen players; among them, Kuwait midfielder Fahad Al-Margb (free from St Mirren), Olympiakos midfielder Tore Helm (free), 33-year-old Wales utility Brett Gordon (₤2.4M from Leicester) and Betis defender Aitor Gallego (₤1M). They also loaned in veteran Swiss defender Michael Weib from Racing and former Spain midfielder Jose Alejo from Barcelona.

The only shots of the first half came from free kicks. All four were to Rushden, and the only one that was on target was a Holden shot which was saved. A terrible attempted clearance from the West Brom keeper opened the door for Né, but he passed to partner Anderson, who was offside. Né again failed to get around the keeper after a great interception and pass from Holden, and with an injury time shot from Lekovic going well wide, it was just one point for Rushden.

Panathinaikos, Champions League Group B, Home

Panathinaikos have not made it past this stage in my time at Rushden. Croatia striker Hrvoje Milinovic is fairly dangerous and Greece right back Tasos Tsakalidis is solid, but their overall squad is mediocre.

Gonzalez had a mixed start, making a great run then missing with the finish, and later having a goal disallowed as offside. Another Rushden goal was ruled out in the 62nd, with Né adjudged to have committed a foul. Haddad couldn't beat the keeper from point-blank range and it was not until the final six minutes that Né headed in a free from Holden. That was enough, albeit belated.

Huddersfield, Premier League, Home

Huddersfield bounced back from relegation, albeit from sixth spot in the Championship. They then lost striker Luke Beeston to Boston Utd for ₤5.75M and teenage partner Paul Donnelly to Newcastle (₤2.9M). They spent that money on several players, including Sweden left winger Johan Eriksson (₤3.5M from Bolton), Cyprus right winger Christos Savva (free from Cardiff), Poland midfielder Lukasz Mikolajczak (₤1.7M from West Brom) and veteran ex-Holland and Rushden midfielder Thom Eerhart (free after being released by Newcastle). I rested a number of players for this game, with wingers Majrashi and Leandro playing their first game of the season.

Nuno put a shot right across the face of goal two minutes in. An Aros-like run saw Gonzalez, covering almost half the pitch and evading two defenders, open the scoring in the 15th. Haddad scored out of absolutely nothing with an incredible 30-yard strike in the second half, yet he failed to beat the keeper from inside the area a few minutes later. Nuno managed to chip over the keeper for a third Rushden goal late in the game. Haddad had one disallowed in injury time. A good solid win, especially with the likes of Lekovic, Genc, Maladenis, Holden and Né rested.

Chelsea, Premier League, Away

Chelsea have finished in wildly varying positions in the last few seasons, nearly falling into the relegation zone last year. They lost a few significant players for no compensation – England keeper Richard Martin (Aberdeen), young striker Gonzalo Vila (Marbella) and Serbia centre back Ljubisa Mihajlovic (Olympiakos) and also sold Czech keeper Josef Toman (₤5.5M to Köln), Austria defender Ernst Hauser (₤3.9M to Lazio) and yet another keeper, former England international Doug Johnston (₤2.3M to Man City). Remarkably, they did not sign any replacement keepers despite losing three quality options, and are relying on two mediocre young players. Instead, they bought midfielder Brian Hadland (₤6.75M from Rangers), right back Graham Powell (₤5.5M from Leeds), Latvia midfielder Kristaps Dibrivny (₤3M from Sunderland) and Holland right back Jan Bakker (₤1.2M from Newcastle).

We went behind in just three minutes after Chelsea scored via a corner. After some back-and-forth play, a terrific Lekovic pass from the right wing found Nuno in space, and he was able to duck around the keeper to equalise before half time. The second half was utterly uneventful, leaving us to record our third draw from five league games.

I finally appeased in-form midfielder Gonzalez by signing him to a one-year contract extension with a significant wage increase. Lekovic is the next challenge.

Dinamo Bucharest, Champions League Group B, Away

Another member of our weak group, Bucharest have no players of note and no history of success in this competition. Gonzalez celebrated his new contract, finding space to run at the keeper and score at the near post in the 30th. Tom Robson scored with one of his typical long-range efforts in the second half, and when Lekovic received the ball on the corner of the area, he did brilliantly to twist away from his marker and smack the shot into the top corner. Gonzalez soured the win by picking up a red card for an errant elbow

Middlesbrough, Premier League, Home

Middlesbrough are top of the table at this very early stage, which is good considering they have been in the lower half of the table for the last few years. This is even more surprising after they sold former Rushden striker Simon Semb to Barcelona for ₤17.5M and Ireland midfielder Scott Lawrence to Birmingham (₤575K), and also lost Switzerland left back Daniele Ronchetti to Salamanca for free. They spent a bit of money on Birmingham left back Stevie Fowler (₤2.9M), Morocco left back Bruce Guittard (free from Monaco) and Ecuador defensive midfielder Armando Minda (₤1.7M from Cardiff). Ex-Rushden striker Phil Conroy has scored five goals in as many games.

Haddad tried to repeat his goal against Huddersfield, just missing from 30 yards. He also missed in the 17th from inside the area after a great long pass from Maladenis sent him through. Gonzalez and Né both had shots saved as Rushden dominated without managing to score. Nelson blocked a shot from Conroy, Middlesbrough's first attempt coming after half an hour. The game was an arm wrestle after that, with neither side having much of a chance to score. With ten minutes to go, Gonzalez intercepted a Middlesbrough attack and played the ball forward. Both Né and Haddad were clear of the defence, and it was the former who collected the ball and rounded the keeper to score. Haddad then scored in injury time to cap off a good win.

[Donners]

October, 2039

Sheffield United, Premier League, Away

Sheffield United did remarkably well last season, jumping up to sixth spot in just their second season after promotion. Striker Adam Rudge did remarkably well for his limited ability, and will now be aided by new wingers Abdul Al-Shemmari (₤6M from Leicester) and Michael Thompson (₤1.8M from Newcastle), with defender Jose Delgado (₤3M from Roma) also added to the squad.

We got off to a terrific start, when a cross from Holden was knocked in by a Sheffield defender. The lead didn't last long, with perennial overachiever Adam Rudge scoring in the tenth. That man nearly put them ahead eight minutes later, with a shot flying over Nelson and slamming into the bar. Gibbs and Nuno both put shots over the bar as the half ended scoreless. Rudge had two shots in the first minute of the second half, but Gibbs created a big opportunity with a pass to Haddad. He was past the defence and got most of the way around the keeper, but the ball was barely tapped over. We finally scored again in the 70th, with Nuno rising over the keeper to head in a cross from partner Haddad. That was his 50th for the club, and a quite important one. Lekovic made a crucial interception six minutes later, keeping out a shot when Nelson was out of position. A long run from Lekovic in the final minute was ended by a foul in the area, and Saad scored from the spot to complete the win.

Arsenal, Premier League, Home

Arsenal were the closest side to us in the league in 38/39, though still several games behind. Their squad has had some significant changes, with Scotland midfielder Kenny Stewart (₤18.75M to Newcastle), forward Craig Muldowney (₤6.75M to Deportivo), Wales striker Paul Davis (₤5.5M to Newcastle) and former Rushden and Spain midfielder Francisco Matoso (₤1.2M to Sevilla) all gone. Though those departures were from the front half of the pitch, the signings were more diverse, from former Rushden right winger Walter Gonzalez (₤11M from Roma) to England left back Alex Wordsworth (₤8.75M from Milan), South Africa full back Richard Petersen (₤6M from Palermo), Argentina centre back Pablo Vargas (₤7M from Sunderland) and England utility Kane Reddington (₤5M from Sunderland). All up they spent ₤47M on building for another title run, and also loaned in Milan's Spain midfielder Ruben Martinez.

Avila, who has had a poor start to the season, shot well over the bar in the opening minute. Nuno had a shot from quite close range after receiving a pass from Holden, though he could not beat the keeper. Lekovic put Rushden ahead before half time with a classic curling free. Nelson had to make a terrific save in the 52nd and at the other end, a soft touch from Nuno allowed Anderson to drill in a shot from outside the area. Even when left one-on-one with former Rushden striker Itay Mizrahi, Nelson was able to come out on top. That was another impressive win against a top side.

Porto, Champions League Group B, Home

Porto add a bit of strength to our otherwise poor group, having made it well past this stage on several occasions. They feature top-class Brazil striker Santos, Japan forward Yasuhiro Ohta, young France midfielder Nicolas Perrin and Norway left winger Thomas Olsen in a very talented squad. Cyprus defender Michalis Mertakkas made his début for Rushden.

Avila had an early chance to score when a Nuno header fell to him in the area. As he has often done this season, he missed badly. Haddad had an even better chance when a long Zbozinek pass floated over the defence, and he was equally unsuccessful. Nelson barely managed to keep out a Santos header just before half time, as we went in level. Gibbs had a header of his own saved in the 60th and with a late miss from Lekovic, it looked like the game would end scoreless. However, two minutes into injury time, Robson sent a corner into the box. Defender Mertakkas, on début, rose above the keeper and headed it in. A fantastic start to his career, and a good win for Rushden.

Everton, Premier League, Away

Everton had a solid season after promotion, and again look settled in a mid-table spot. They lost Slovenia left back Milos Ulen to Villarreal for free and sold veteran midfielder Marco Palumbo to Torino for ₤375K, but signed several new first team players. Among them are former Rushden striker Alessio Musolino (free from AZ), South Korea left back Jang Sung-Kyoo (free from Bordeaux) and Holland midfielder Roel Bosman (free from PSV).

Everton took just two minutes to score through Bosman, with a series of passes getting around our defenders all too easily. Nelson had to save a close-range header just a few minutes later to prevent things getting even worse, but an exceptional 35-yard free from Zbozinek whistled into the back of the net to bring the game level after a dozen minutes. Nuno was twice denied in the remainder of the first half, which ended level. Everton had several shots as the second half got going, but after missing several fairly simple shot, they scored through Uruguay veteran Pedro from a seemingly impossible angle. With our only goal coming from something of a fluke, it was perhaps not surprising that we failed to regain parity, and suffered our first loss of the season. Before this game, we had only conceded three goals in eight league games.

Walsall, Carling Cup 3rd round, Home

For a change, we drew a far weaker side in a cup competition – League One team Walsall. That was a chance for the likes of Majrashi, Jimenez, Mertakkas and Duarte to get a run. We took the lead through an own goal in the 15th but really struggled to create many chances after that. It took a long-range goal from Prahl in the 60th to finally double our lead, and we finished with just the two goals.

Newcastle, Premier League, Home

Newcastle did surprisingly badly last season, falling to eighth after being runners-up three times in a row. Manager Christian Chivu walked out late in the season to go to Roma, with American Matt Lara replacing him. Lara well and truly cleared out the squad, with ₤87M worth of sales along with the release of former Rushden and Holland midfielder Thom Eerhart. Two of the big sales were to Atlético, Ireland winger Sean Christie (₤21M) and Wales forward Noel Wright (₤20.5M), with England midfielder Dean Cartwright sold to Barcelona for ₤27M and Bosnia left winger Damir Kodro to Betis for ₤5.75M. The new faces include Mexico winger Adrian Corona (₤21.5M from Lazio), Scotland midfielder Kenny Stewart (₤18.75M from Arsenal), promising right winger Mark Connell (₤8.75M from Aberdeen), Wales striker Paul Davis (₤5.5M from Arsenal) and Rushden striker Thorbjorn Sodal (₤7.5M).

Gonzalez had a shot parried in the third minute and in the 26th, he intercepted a pass and knocked the ball forward for strikers Avila and Haddad. The former got to it and outran the defenders as he charged to the area. He made it around the keeper as the defenders converged, but his shot was agonizingly weak, and they were able to get to it and clear it off the line. Mertakkas slammed a shot into the crossbar from 30 yards and Haddad wasn't able to get around the keeper as a completely dominant Rushden failed to score in the first half. It got worse in the 71st. Not only was Nuno's shot parried, Gonzalez missed the open goal and hit the post. So many chances, and no more than a point. Avila was put out for two months with broken ribs, which is not a problem as he's done nothing this season.

Porto, Champions League Group B, Away

A draw here would confirm our progression from the group stage. Reserve striker Valentin Ouattara came up for his first game in a couple of years. Lekovic quickly got us on the right track, scoring a 30-yard free kick in just the third minute. Porto played reasonably well in the first half, and only a fingertip save from Genç prevented an equaliser on half time. Lekovic looked to have set up Ouattara's first goal for the club in the 60th, but the striker was ruled offside. Gibbs quickly made up for that, heading in a corner from Piwowarczyk. Two goals were more than enough to ensure our progression, even with two games left.

[Donners]

November, 2039

Man City, Premier League, Away

City dropped towards the relegation zone on 38/39, though they are looking better under new manager Jamie Adams (formerly of Sunderland). He offloaded Swiss winger Didier David (free to Messina), veteran Ireland keeper Peter Ledgister (released) and Ireland left back Nathan Bower (₤4M to Leicester), and after buying Chelsea keeper Doug Johnston (₤2.3M), signed numerous players for free. Of those, Celtic right winger Liam Harper, Southampton defender Peter Goodfellow and Treviso midfielder Valerio Cavina have all played a few games.

After some back-and-forth play in the early minutes, Leandro had the ball out on the left side of the area. He flicked it in for young Sweden striker Ouattara, who scored his first goal for the club. He nearly scored a second with a tremendous run around two defenders, instead blazing over the top. With a couple of late City shots thankfully going over, the Ouattara goal made the difference.

Chelsea, Carling Cup 4th round, Home

We drew 1-1 with Chelsea a couple of months ago. It took just twenty seconds for Rushden to score, with Leandro and Né coming forward, and the former finding the latter inside the area for a shot into the top corner. Strikers Anderson and Haddad had a similar charge at the defence in the 12th. Anderson found his parter with a shot pass, and though Haddad was tackled by a defender, the ball spilled back to his partner. Anderson got the shot away, but couldn't get it past the keeper, and the chance went begging. Anderson and Zbozinek had several shots saved in the following minutes, while Chelsea didn't have a single attempt for the half. Anderson and Gonzalez wasted opportunities to extend the lead in the second half, and it took Né to finally seal it in injury time with another strike from a tight angle.

MK Dons, Premier League, Away

MK Dons have bounced straight back from the Championship. They retained most of their EPL squad, and those players, like Norway striker Ole-Kristian Dahlen and left back Raúl Garcia, led them back. However, after promotion they lost a key player, Romania keeper Florin Sava, to Atletico for ₤7.75M. Two ex-Rushden players also left – midfielder Aitor Gutierrez (released) and defender Junior M'Bami (₤1.1M to Huddersfield).They managed to get Ireland utility Mark Flynn from Hearts and midfielder Atle Larsen from Dortmund for free, but even with Newcastle right back Steve Green on loan, their side is actually weaker than when they were in the Championship. With Sava gone, 37-year-old ex-Diamond and Norway keeper Adem Moe is their first choice. Dominic Holden returned for Rushden.

Nelson did very well to keep out a dangerous long shot in the 24th, and was fortunate that one that got past him a few minutes later was ruled offside. We didn't have any real chances ourselves, finishing the half scoreless. Lekovic came close, with two curling frees saved. Holden put a free kick of his own wide in the final moments, ensuring a scoreless draw. Defensive midfielder Erik Meland made his début off the bench.

Panathinaikos, Champions League Group B, Away

This was an unimportant game, with Rushden already qualified. Fringe players Ouattara, Anderson and Robson missed several shots between them as our first half dominance went to waste. Ouattara finally scored after half time, and Né scored late in the game to cap it off.

Leeds, Premier League, Home

Leeds have barely survived their last two years in the EPL and new manager Ben Mitchell has made quite a few changes. He sold off underperforming Scotland midfielder/forward Marco Fox (₤10.5M to Valencia) and right back Graham Powell to Chelsea for ₤5.5M. Only some of that income was spent, with Slovenia centre back Ales Markovic (₤3.8M from Juventus), left winger Peter Darlington (₤4.9M from Celtic), centre back Marcos (₤2.8M from Liverpool) and Japan utility Kunihiro Kurashiki (free from Juventus) boosting their squad.

A loose defensive pass from Leeds saw Gonzalez appear out of nowhere to volley in from 30 yards just four minutes into the game. A long free from Duarte floated from beyond half-way to the area, where Ouattara made it 2-0 with a header. Leeds quickly hit back with Duarte caught behind his opponent when a pass went into their area. It was 2-1 at half time, but we were able to extend the lead in the second half. A Jimenez header from a corner was parried to Haddad, who poached our third goal.

Barnsley, Premier League, Home

Barnsley came back immediately from the Championship, their first stint there for thirty years. They were over twenty points behind MK Dons and only added moderate players like Northern Ireland centre back Jimmy Brown (₤2.1M from Arsenal), Poland left back Kamil Markiewicz (free from Crystal Palace), Ireland right back Sammy Wright (free from Hearts), veteran Sweden midfielder Kiell Gustavsson (₤325K from Barcelona) and a remarkable player, 21-year-old Spain midfielder Raúl Gallardo for just ₤240K from Barcelona. He has somehow played three international games for Spain despite never getting above Barcelona's B side.

Haddad and Sinclair earned corners in the first ten minutes, and Ouattara put a shot over during a counter-attack. Holden had two free kicks saved in the first half hour. It took a pass from Prahl which floated over a defender to finally see us break through, though most of the credit must go to striker Haddad, who fired a powerful shot straight past the keeper. He actually missed an easier chance moments later when he received a Sinclair free in the box, and hit the side netting after a run in the 33rd. With thirteen shots to one at half time, it was somewhat disappointing that we weren't further in front. Eventually we got our second when a Holden free took a huge deflection, and a few minutes later Gonzalez added a third from the spot.

Duarte was the surprise runner-up as Player of the Month, our loaned-out striker Nikos Tsichlas was Young Player of the Month and I was Manager of the Month.

[Donners]

December, 2039

Bolton, Premier League, Away

Bolton fell into the lower half of the table last season and between the seasons they lost China utility Yu Shuang (₤2.3M to Lazio), winger Jason Smith (₤4.9M to Arsenal) and Sweden left winger Johan Eriksson (₤3.5M to Huddersfield). They bought Sweden keeper Fredrik Karlsson (₤4.8M from Levante, formerly of Rushden) and got some good free signings – left back Cakmak Eerit (Pisa), Scotland left winger Paul Bayliss (Cardiff) and centre back Gerard Jacobs (Ajax).

While we started reasonably well, Sinclair gifted ex-Diamonds striker Mark Hayward a goal with a pass right across the area. For a change, we had very few chances, and with our usual poor conversion rate, we did not manage to score. That was a pretty bad loss against one of the weaker sides in the league, and it brings Arsenal level with us on 29 points.

Dinamo Bucharest, Champions League Group B, Home

Our last game of the group phase was meaningless, though it was pleasing to see Anderson get a rare goal six minutes in. Holden and Gonzalez quickly added goals of their own. Dinamo hit back with one from a counter-attack, only for Gonzalez and Robson to extend the lead with two more before half time. Prahl scored our sixth in the second half to complete an emphatic win.

Tottenham, Premier League, Home

Despite coming off a 9th place finish, Tottenham have had a terrible start to the season with just one win from fourteen games. They lost no players of significance and bought Croatia midfielder Ante Bozic (₤6.25M from Cesena), Bulgaria defender Ventsislav Kostadinov (₤3.2M from Newcastle), Slovenia defender Andrej Simeunovic (₤2.7M from Mallorca), Puerto Rico defender Luis Arquero (₤750K from Pumas), Denmark striker Lasse Jensen (free from Sunderland), Bosnia midfielder Bojan Marjanovic (free from Leicester), 35-year-old Ghana keeper Kofi Tanko (free from Sampdoria), Norway midfielder Frederik Sorensen (free from Reggina) and former Rushden defender Gavin Boyd (free from Real Madrid). Why did I spend all that time listing those new players? Because every damned one of them is in their first team. No wonder they have slumped so badly when they have nine new players pushing aside last season's first XI!

With frees from Holden and a long shot from Haddad saved, we played out our usual half of frustration – the majority of chances with nothing to show for it. Ouattara set up a few opportunities with little headers into space, most notably in the 50th when Gonzalez got through the defence, but couldn't beat the keeper. It took a full hour before Ouattara was finally able to get a little touch on a Holden cross to beat Tanko. One goal wasn't much from eight on-target shots, though with Tottenham failing to have a single attempt, it didn't really matter.

Liverpool, Premier League, Away

Fifth for the last two years, Liverpool are slightly off the pace though still within European contention. They released a couple of veterans, most notably Israel defensive midfielder Maor Cohen, and sold right back Lee Downing (₤3.8M to Leicester), centre back Marcos (₤2.8M to Leeds) and England full back Carl Logan (₤9.75M to West Ham). Their two big signings were direct replacements – Ukraine right back Ruslan Baklanov (₤9M from Leicester) and Cameroon centre back Guy Serge (₤13.75M from Lens).

Genç had to make a brilliant save in the 3rd, and again a few minutes later. Haddad should have put us ahead against the run of play, but he headed a Lekovic free kick over the bar. Then again, Liverpool should have scored in the 25th when striker Richard Scott beat Piwowarczyk to a ball in the area, but he hit the side netting. Genç continued his outstanding game with another save in the 33rd, but was soon beaten by former Rushden winger Tor Magnus Pedersen. Ouattara twice failed to get around the keeper in the second half. On the second occasion, however, partner Haddad was in position to collect the parry, and did not miss the open goal. Ex-Rushden forward Ollie Burton came off the bench and nearly restored Liverpool's lead, hitting the outside of the post. It was a very even game and a draw was a fair result.

Bolton, Carling Cup 4th round, Away

One of our two losses for the season was recorded against Bolton just a few weeks ago, though Australian Mark Hayward, who scored the decisive goal, was injured for this game.

Né had a shot turned over the bar in the third minute, and Prahl hit the post with the resulting corner. Though we had several more shots, most were from long range. When a chain of passes got Bolton through the defence, they were left with a simple tap-in to take the lead. Anderson was quiet for much of the first half, but a pass from Holden finally found him with a bit of space in the area. His shot was turned to partner Né, who levelled the score. Both Anderson and Né had space in the area in the 67th. The Brazilian passed sideways to Né, but it was slow enough for the keeper to get across to cover the shot. That was the only significant chance of the second half, sending us into extra time.

Genç nearly gifted Bolton a goal, with a weak clearance that went to a striker on the edge of the area. Thankfully, the return strike was weak, and he was able to save it. Ouattara came on to replace Anderson after 90 minutes, and was well-placed to receive a cross from Né at the end of the first half of extra time. He nodded it into the box, where Zbozinek finished the job with a tap-in. However, Ouattara was ruled offside, and the goal was struck out. Bolton nearly went ahead in the 110th, hitting the bar with a direct free. Not only did we clear it, the counter attack took us right to the other end, where Zbozinek hit the back of the net for the second time in extra time. This time it counted, and we held on to progress to the semi final.

Sunderland, Premier League, Home

After a lower-half finish, Sunderland have made substantial changes to their squad. There were two significant sales to Arsenal, Argentina centre back Pablo Vargas (₤7M) and utility Kane Reddington (₤5M), with Latvia midfielder Kristaps Dibrivny off to Chelsea for ₤3M and former Rushden striker Lasse Jensen joining Tottenham for free. They strengthened their forward power with Austria striker Michael Hopfer (₤8M from Norwich, formerly of Rushden) and Brazil striker Nunes (₤5M from Benfica), with Barnsley right winger Phillip Gamble (₤3M), Barcelona left back Branislav Bogdanovic (₤1.3M from Barcelona) and two free signings – Paraguay centre back Guillermo Servin (Frankfurt) and Rangers centre back Scott Conway – rounding out the squad.

A missed header from Duarte gifted former Rushden striker Béla Szili a goal in the 23rd. Sunderland had most of the early attacking play, hitting the bar a few minutes later. Duarte failed to make amends when Gamble conceded a free on the edge of the area, with the defender's free kick punched clear. However, striker Anderson headed in a cross from Majrashi to bring us level. Another defensive error, this time from Prahl, forced Genç to make a good save to prevent us falling behind again. There was an equally good save at the other end from a close-range Lekovic effort. We were very lucky in the 56th. Genç came out too far and left a striker with a shot at an open goal, but it was put over. Just as the game looked like finishing in a draw, Lekovic found space in the area to collect a clearance from Mertakkas, and he squeezed in a goal at the near post. That wasn't all, though, with a header from Hopfer floating over Genç in injury time. It drifted toward the goal, flicked the bar and bounced away. We managed to get it clear, and took a hard-earned three points.

Manchester United, Premier League, Home

United have been fourth for the last two seasons and are similarly placed at the end of 2039. We've already faced them twice, with a 1-0 win in the Community Shield and 1-1 draw in the league. England striker Chris Preston has a dozen goals already – our high-scorers, Gonzalez, Né and Lekovic, have half that.

Haddad intercepted a pass in the midfield and passed back to allow our forwards to charge ahead. Eventually Gibbs sent in a long pass which found Né on the break past the defence, but he shot wide. Preston likewise got through our defence in the 29th, and thankfully shot over. With Leandro off injured, Né went to the left wing and Nuno returned from a back injury. Né won a header on the left wing, heading forward to defensive midfielder Meland. From 30 yards, Meland sent the ball hurtling into the back of the net. Majrashi missed a far easier shot from inside the area a few minutes later, and we then lost Lekovic to another rough tackle. Majrashi made amends for his miss with a sharp pass to Nuno on the edge of the area, and the striker made full use of it with a powerful strike to make it 2-0 on half time. Those two players combined to set up a third, Haddad, with another goal in the 50th and United's day got worse with a player sent off a few minutes later. We did not add to the score, which was comprehensive enough. Majrashi played his best game for the club and Nuno made a promising return. The only sour note was the news that Leandro was put out for a month with a broken wrist. Craig Sinclair will also miss a month with a groin strain.

Mertakkas was runner-up as Young Player of the Month and Lekovic's strike against Sunderland was Goal of the Month. We are not as far ahead of the pack as we were last year, and are actually three points behind league leaders Arsenal (albeit with a game in hand). We haven't had any real stand-out players, with the key stats all shared across a wide number of players – a far cry from the dominance of Aros and Oliva in recent years. There have been a few surprises, with Avila now in the reserves and Sinclair on the fringe of the side, but Majrashi has stepped up remarkably well.

| Pos   | Inf   | Team          |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |       | Arsenal       |       | 20    | 12    | 6     | 2     | 24    | 8     | +16   | 42    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | Rushden       |       | 19    | 11    | 6     | 2     | 28    | 9     | +19   | 39    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Middlesbrough |       | 20    | 11    | 4     | 5     | 29    | 17    | +12   | 37    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Newcastle     |       | 19    | 10    | 3     | 6     | 23    | 13    | +10   | 33    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Sheff Utd     |       | 19    | 10    | 3     | 6     | 24    | 23    | +1    | 33    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Liverpool     |       | 19    | 8     | 7     | 4     | 22    | 16    | +6    | 31    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 7th   |       | Man Utd       |       | 19    | 9     | 3     | 7     | 32    | 27    | +5    | 30    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 8th   |       | Sunderland    |       | 20    | 7     | 8     | 5     | 22    | 19    | +3    | 29    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 9th   |       | Bolton        |       | 20    | 8     | 5     | 7     | 21    | 19    | +2    | 29    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 10th  |       | Man City      |       | 20    | 6     | 10    | 4     | 13    | 11    | +2    | 28    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11th  |       | MK Dons       |       | 20    | 6     | 8     | 6     | 23    | 23    | 0     | 26    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 12th  |       | Everton       |       | 19    | 7     | 4     | 8     | 27    | 29    | -2    | 25    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 13th  |       | West Ham      |       | 19    | 6     | 6     | 7     | 23    | 21    | +2    | 24    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14th  |       | West Brom     |       | 20    | 5     | 7     | 8     | 18    | 20    | -2    | 22    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 15th  |       | Leicester     |       | 20    | 4     | 9     | 7     | 20    | 25    | -5    | 21    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 16th  |       | Leeds         |       | 20    | 3     | 10    | 7     | 15    | 23    | -8    | 19    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 17th  |       | Barnsley      |       | 20    | 2     | 11    | 7     | 13    | 20    | -7    | 17    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 18th  |       | Chelsea       |       | 20    | 3     | 7     | 10    | 14    | 27    | -13   | 16    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 19th  |       | Tottenham     |       | 19    | 3     | 6     | 10    | 12    | 25    | -13   | 15    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20th  |       | Huddersfield  |       | 20    | 2     | 3     | 15    | 9     | 37    | -28   | 9     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

[Donners]

January, 2040

Young right back Abdullah Al-Bishi arrived on a free transfer from Al-Nassr, and while he is good enough to get a work permit, I'll give him the rest of this season in the reserves to acclimatise.

West Brom, Premier League, Home

Despite holding us to a scoreless draw early in the season, West Brom are struggling towards the bottom of the table. They've brought in a couple of cheap signings to boost their squad, but have such a bland and mediocre side that it's hard to see them achieving much.

Haddad should have put us ahead in five minutes, instead blazing over from the corner of the box. West Brom flooded the defence, with the ball constantly getting trapped in their area with Rushden unable to get a shot through. Zbozinek caught them off-guard in the 33rd, intercepting a pass in the middle and charging ahead. He found Haddad to his left, but the striker couldn't get past the keeper. However, just a minute later he did brilliantly to spin around his defender to collect a long pass down the left from Né and strike Rushden into the lead. They repeated the move just on half time to double the lead. That was the final score – a nice, solid win.

Leicester, Premier League, Away

Leicester are towards the middle of the table and, unlike West Brom, have forked out some cash to improve their team. Aberdeen keeper Richard Martin, capped seven times for England, was bought for ₤3.4M, and Scotland defensive midfielder Craig Youngson joined for ₤8M from Newcastle.

We had our first chance just a couple of minutes in. Robson somehow threaded a pass through a crowd to Né in the area. His shot was parried back out of the area to Zbozinek, who had a go immediately. His effort came back off the crossbar, and was cleared. Leicester had no such trouble with a follow-up shot of their own, moving ahead in the 10th. Our quick answer through Haddad was ruled offside, and we went further behind before half time when a striker was able to follow up a parry from his own shot. With Haddad and Zbozinek missing fairly straightforward shots in the second half, it clearly just wasn't our day.

Wigan, FA Cup 3rd round, Home

Wigan were relegated from the EPL last season, and still have a reasonable squad including Ireland keeper Adie O'Brien. Majrashi missed a sitter early on, and Nuno had several attempts saved. Wigan forced Nelson into a few saves on either side of the break, though the majority of shots were Rushden's. Nuno got around the keeper, only to shoot wide, while partner Anderson was denied twice. With 11 shots saved by O'Brien, we could not break the deadlock and will face a replay.

Manchester United, Carling Cup semi final leg 1, Away

We beat United 3-0 last month. Since then, they released former Australia striker Chris Josifovski and bought Saudi winger Yousif Al-Kaltham for ₤12.5M from America. Bjorn Rexhaj came up for his first senior game of the season, after scoring four in a half for the reserves.

Ex-Diamond Ibrahim Tolba hit the bar 90 seconds into the game, and Genç had to turn a header over the top a few minutes later. United got into the area on several occasions, while we were constantly losing the ball in the midfield. Tolba had another go in the 38th, failing to get past Genç, and again couldn't get around him in injury time. United were clearly on top, and we were fortunate to end the first half level. Even when a deflected pass caught Genç out of position, he was able to cover a 50th minute shot with a diving save. Rexhaj had a rare shot saved at the other end a few minutes later. Mertakkas conceded a free right on the edge of the United area on the hour mark. He was fortunate not to concede a penalty, and we cleared the free. The second half was more even than the first, and with another Genç save, we looked capable of keeping them scoreless. We went one better in the 89th minute. Gibbs took a free kick and swung it into the box, where Erik Meland headed in a vital away goal. Unfortunately for Genç, United broke through almost immediately in response, but while our keeper was denied a deserved clean sheet, we at least have an away goal advantage.

Huddersfield, Premier League, Away

Bottom of the table Huddersfield look like going straight back to the Championship. They have just two players who have scored more than once for the season. They've added China midfielder Wang Xiaoguang, but they need a lot more than one player.

While the gap in quality between the sides was evident, nobody would have predicted that it would take exactly 12 seconds for Rushden to be ahead. The keeper collected a weak shot from Ouattara moments after the kick-off and inexplicably passed straight back to him, leaving the young striker with a simple finish. Partner Rexhaj scored one for himself eight minutes later, and the two continued to pepper the goal through the first half with five shots each. When a long clearance from a set piece found Ouattara and Rexhaj past the defence, it was only a question of which one would score. The former's shot was parried to the latter for our third goal. We unfortunately lost Ouattara to a knock, but Meland didn't need a striker, scoring himself from 25 yards. The 4-0 win had a downside, with Ouattara out for three months with a torn groin muscle.

Wigan, FA Cup 3rd round replay, Away

Holden and Lekovic both returned from injury to fill the wing positions. After a frustrating scoreless draw in the first game, we barely even managed to threaten keeper O'Brien in the first half hour. Rexhaj managed to do what we couldn't a few weeks ago, finally getting one past O'Brien just on half time. With both the scorer and partner Nuno forced off with knocks, substitute Anderson had to play as a lone striker. He scored our second, which proved valuable with Wigan getting a late goal. Even with late misses from Anderson and Gonzalez, we held on to progress to the fourth round.

Chelsea, Premier League, Home

Chelsea are in relegation territory, despite drawing 1-1 with us earlier in the season. In January, they have added former-Rushden left back Tom Jennings (₤100K from Sevilla), 35-year-old former Wales keeper Danny Bell (₤140K from Tottenham) and Norway utility Alexander Hansen (₤1.1M from Crystal Palace).

A fantastic free kick from Holden curled into the top corner from 30 yards for a 6th minute lead. Gonzalez hit the same spot four minutes later, striking in our second after taking a pass from Nuno on the corner of the area. Lekovic did the hard work for Anderson, intercepting a pass, running to the area and finding him with a cross, but the striker's weak shot was easily kept out. Nuno missed a similarly good chance created by Holden, and then a header. It looks like my search for a regular strike team will continue for a while. To be fair, Nuno did eventually score in the 44th, as we finished the half three goals up. With both strikers missing several sitters – Nuno was on-target for just one of five shots – 3-0 was the final score.

Manchester United, Carling Cup semi final leg 2, Home

Having managed to get an away goal in the drawn first leg, we had a tiny advantage for the second. However, we were totally outplayed in that game, and needed to improve here to progress. United have also changed their squad, with Italy defender Angelo Battaglia (₤18.5M to Roma), England sweeper John Simpson (₤7.75M to Napoli) and Macedonian centre back Vladimir Toleski (₤5.5M to Leganes) all gone. To replace that big hole in defence, they bought USA centre back Anfonso Russell (₤4.7M from Roma) and Holland defender Jens Koevermans (₤5M from Sampdoria).

It took something special from Gonzalez to put us ahead – an incredible shot from an angle that curled right around the keeper. A counter-attack just four minutes later saw Nuno add a second, but that only served to wake United up. They had three shots in quick succession, scoring in the 23rd to make the aggregate 3-2. Genc had to pull off a good save to keep out a free just before half time, which would have put them ahead on goal difference if it had beaten him. We had a few crosses from wingers Majrashi and Holden cut out as both sides fought for the decisive goal. In the 64th, Anderson sprinted for the area, and was tugged down as he got there. The penalty was awarded, and Saad put it through to give us some breathing room. As it turned out, that was more than enough – 4-2 on aggregate.

Bournemouth, FA Cup 4th round, Home

Bournemouth are in League One, and only just came up from League Two. Nonetheless, they did a far better job of closing us down than United did in the previous game. It took 45 minutes for Rushden to score, and even then it came from a Piwowarczyk penalty. On the other side of the break, a long Bournemouth pass somehow went right between Maladenis and Mertakkas. That left a forward who spent most of his career in the Conference, David Denney, to put a shot past Nelson and make it 1-1. Our scoring form of the last few games was totally gone, and we will again fave a replay.

With the transfer window closing, the big bids came in. I was not able to get an Arsenal bid for Prahl high enough, but did manage to send backup winger Leandro to Porto for ₤10M. The big challenge came when Valencia made an offer for centre back Craig Sinclair. Though a giant of the side for some time, he was not great last season and has not shown any sign of improving this year. I got the bid to ₤23.5M with a sell-on clause, and he departed. Finally, I released Pereira to Cordoba, since he is no chance of playing again for Rushden.

I decided to spend up a bit to celebrate breaking our record for sales in a season (₤118M). I firstly re-signed James Gibbs, who has stepped into Sinclair's leadership role at the back. I then signed five new players, spending ₤3M on Italy Under-19 right back Christian Veneruso. The Reggina player will start in the reserves. Three of the other new signings don't have work permits, so they are long-term options, and the other is also not going to play for a while.

Majrashi was runner-up as Player of the Month. Né will miss most of February through international duty.

[Donners]

February, 2040

Middlesbrough, Premier League, Away

Middlesbrough are title contenders after years of mid-table finishes. England striker Phil Conroy is responsible for much of their success, and he is now joined by Antonio (₤3.1M from Braunschweig) and George Dodds (₤950K from Bristol Rovers) after they sold Martyn Case to Man City for ₤1.7M.

Genç had to make a save after just twenty seconds, but his counterpart was even worse off – Middlesbrough conceded a penalty in the fifth, and Saad put it in. Middlesbrough equalised in the 12th, and we lost the in-form Majrashi to injury. Nuno should have put us back in front when he rounded the keeper in the 33rd, but only hit the side netting. That was particularly costly when Middlesbrough put through another before half time. Into injury time, Nuno went on a long run from the midfield. He lost the ball, regained it, made it to the area and was dispossessed again. He got the ball back for a third time and shot straight at the keeper. Somehow, it went past him and in for our second goal. Middlesbrough nearly regained their lead in the 51st when a long ball our of their defence caught Genç out of position. He managed to get a hand to Conroy's shot, which was enough to deflect it wide. Piwowarczyk had an even better chance in the 55th, shooting at an open goal with the keeper out of the box, but he somehow got back to punch it over. Middlesbrough then got their third, thanks to a direct free kick. Rushden had no answer, falling to third spot on the table.

Sheffield United, Premier League, Home

Sheffield are matching last season's effort of a top-half place. They have made no changes to the squad that lost 3-1 to us last time. Our striker Nikos Tsichlas has scored nine goals for them, but is ineligible for this game. Wales striker Adam Rudge leads with fifteen.

We went behind from the first shot of the game, with a straight long-range shot apparently catching Nelson unaware. Meland needed something more spectacular, with a wickedly curling ball evading both defenders and the keeper to equalise from 25 yards. Neither side could get close to their goal, with all the shots coming from a fair distance out. Holden came close with two free kicks, each saved. Just as we entered the final moments of the game, Robson spotted Rexhaj unmarked on the edge of the area. He immediately fired it at the near post, putting Rushden ahead. That was a valuable win, bringing us back to second place and within a point of Arsenal at the top.

Bournemouth, FA Cup 4th round replay, Away

After such a dismal effort against a League One opponent last time, I hoped for a big improvement here. Instead, we went behind after just two minutes. Nuno hit back in the fourth, only for Bournemouth to quickly regain their lead in the 15th. Lekovic had a chip saved in the 27th. Nuno pounced on the rebound, only to also be denied by the keeper. Thankfully, Avila was in position to get the loose ball, tapping into the open goal – a long-overdue success for the Argentinian. Still, we were merely level at half time, and Bournemouth had actually had more chances.

James Gibbs came off the bench late in the game, and immediately created a chance for Anderson with his terrific passing. However, the striker missed, as he usually does. He missed twice more in the 70th, but in the 83rd, had a simple chance when Holden crossed to him in the box. Somehow, he hit the post, and we remained level. Nelson had to make a save to get us to extra time. That extra time was mostly uneventful, until a defender backed into Anderson in the area. A penalty was awarded, though it seemed harsh. Zbozinek, who I'd brought off the bench for his penalty taking ability, made no mistake, and we held on for the final five minutes. It was completely unconvincing, but at least we made it through.

Arsenal, Premier League, Away

This loomed as the biggest league game of the season, with Arsenal one point ahead of us at the top of the table, having played an extra game. Oddly, their only stand-out player is Wales defender Alvin Cook, with left back Alex Wordsworth also quite useful. Their forwards are quite mediocre, led by ex-Rushden striker Marcel Huisman who has ten goals from 23 games. They are missing several players through injury, including fellow ex-Diamond striker Itay Mizrahi. They bought no players in January and sold Colombia defender John Essomba to Newcastle for ₤17M. Goals to Lekovic and Anderson saw us beat them last time.

Disastrously, Gonzalez conceded a penalty by knocking over Huisman in just the third minute. Cook went to take the shot, and put it wide. Gonzalez had a couple of shots from long range without success. Nuno made a great sweeping run down the right and found Rexhaj ahead of his marker. However, he failed to beat the keeper. Arsenal had a free on the edge of the area, and somehow had former Rushden centre back Kristian Gaup unopposed. Genç parried his effort straight to Cook, who hit the bar. Gibbs cleared, and we ended the half scoreless. The second half was uneventful until the last three minutes, when Lekovic had a free right on the corner of the area. He found Nuno in the box, but his close-range header was tipped over. We had to settle for a point, remaining in second spot.

Woking, FA Cup 5th round, Home

Our ostensibly easy FA Cup run continued with a League One side. Then again, we struggled badly against the last one we faced, so that didn't necessarily mean a certain victory. Defender Marco van Persie, midfielder Jacques Legrand and striker Rafael Figueroa made their début following na 8-0 reserves win and keeper Mario Milojevic returned to the side. We had seven shots in the first twenty minutes without breaking through. It took the 15th shot – a Meland special from 30 yards – to finally put us ahead. Woking had three players sent off in the second half, and yet still we could not extend the lead. Unbelievably, with two minutes to go, a long ball into the area was collected by a Woking player, and they equalised. With eight men, and 22 shots to 3, they were level. It finished that way, and yet again we must face a replay..

PSV, Champions League 1st knockout round, leg 1, Away

PSV are a reasonable side, though they rarely make it past this point. Veteran striker Koen van Toorn has some ability, and is partnered by rising Holland Under-21 prospect Dennis Hofstede. Keeper Dave de Vris is solid.

Strikers Figueroa and Anderson provided the few highlights of the first half hour, with several shots at goal earning saves. The two combined in the 33rd, with Anderson receiving a pass from his partner on the edge of the area. With no defenders in sight, PSV keeper de Vris came out of the box, only to see the striker shoot the ball behind him and into the open net. Anderson had four other attempts in the first half saved, while Avila had the best opportunity of all to score, and put it wide. Figueroa had a shot cleared off the line thirty seconds into the second half, but earned a penalty later on. Zbozinek's effort from the spot was saved, the 15th save for PSV in the game. The frustration continued with another Figueroa shot kept out in the final minutes, but when he had yet another parried in injury time, Anderson ducked in to score our second. A fairly small return for massive dominance.

Arsenal, Carling Cup Final, Neutral

We drew with Arsenal just a few weeks ago, and now face them in an attempt to win the Carling Cup for the first time, having been runners up in 2021 (to Arsenal), 2027 (Man U), 2033 (Man U) and 2038 (Middlesbrough). We were without Haddad, Ouattara and Majrashi, while they were missing ex-Rushden striker Itay Mizrahi and England left back Alex Wordsworth.

We had an early opportunity in the 8th, when Holden floated a free into the area. Anderson had space for the header, but after being so accurate last game, he put this one well over. Lekovic was on target from outside the area, but couldn't get past the keeper. Former Rushden defender Kristian Gaup nearly put Arsenal ahead on half time, with his free deflecting off the wall. Genç managed to get there in time, and the half ended scoreless. Nuno did not return after the break due to a knock, with Rexhaj replacing him.

Meland headed a Holden free kick over the bar in the 57th, just as Anderson did in the first half. After that, there really was little to speak of. Arsenal had a couple of corners which were comfortably cleared, Anderson missed on a counter-attack and other than that, neither side really looked like getting in a position to score. We went to extra time, which was even more uneventful. A bad clearance from Genç put us in a bit of trouble, but Gibbs managed to set things right.

That took the game to penalties, with Rushden starting off. We took an early lead, with Saad successful, then Genç making the save. However, that quickly evened up with Zbozinek unsuccessful and former Rushden striker Salvatore Chiappara making it 1-1 after two. Gibbs then missed our third, and we went behind. The fourth saw things level up again at 2-2, with Mertakkas' goal unanswered. Jimenez and Gaup scored the fifth. Our game was nearly ended with Jesus Gonzalez missing, only for one-time Rushden loanee Walter Gonzalez to do the same for Arsenal. Anderson again put us in a precarious position, but Genç made the save. Still we could not get a fourth goal, as Rexhaj was unsuccessful. This time Arsenal scored their fourth from eight attempts, and it was all over. 3-4 on penalties, and a fifth Carling Cup loss for Rushden.

Woking, FA Cup 5th round replay, Away

After an embarrassing 1-1 draw against the League One side in the last attempt, we needed to do a heck of a lot better here. Rexhaj gave us the start we needed, scoring after four minutes. Zbozinek, who created that goal, score one himself just four minutes later, connecting to a Robson free with a diving header. We kept the pressure on, and Rexhaj added his second in the 23rd. Rafael Figueroa scored his first for the club to make it a 4-0 lead at half time, and the struggle of the previous game against Woking was a distant memory. Zbozinek scored his second with a header after half time, and Figueroa completed a 6-0 drubbing late in the game. An infinitely superior performance in the second attempt.

[Donners]

March, 2040

Newcastle, Premier League, Away

Newcastle are off the title pace but certainly in position for a European spot. Since our scoreless draw, they sold three first team players – midfielder Craig Youngson (₤8M to Leicester), Scotland left back Jimmy Mathieson (₤8.75M to West Ham) and Croatia striker Zoran Bajlo (₤6M, also to the Hammers). However, they spent a hell of a lot more. 20-year-old defensive midfielder Albert Santos (₤14.25M from Sporting CP), ex-Rushden right back Even Henden (₤9.25M from Napoli), South Korea forward Jung Sang-In (₤825K from Incheon), West Ham utility Anton Currie (₤5M), Colombia centre back John Essomba (₤ 17M from Arsenal) and Japan forward Masatada Tominari (₤27M from Benfica) all now have places in their senior squad.

A free kick which inexplicably floated through a pack of players gifted Newcastle a goal in the 9th minute. Jimenez lost a contest for a high ball to see them score a second mid-way through the first half. With all their new faces, it was one who joined at the start of the season, Wales striker Paul Davis, with both goals. With misses to Gonzalez and Rexhaj the best we could muster, Rushden looked in deep trouble. The second half saw no improvement. Even a terrific run from Figueroa around two defenders only ended with the ball in the crowd, and we just never looked like scoring. We already have five league losses for the season, which is just one less than last season.

PSV, Champions League 1st knockout round, leg 2, Home

With a 2-0 win, and total dominance, in the first leg, we went into the second with some confidence. Gonzalez was our most dangerous player, with five shots in the first half. He should really have scored in the 25th when a Nuno shot was parried to him, yet he missed the open goal from inside the area. Fellow midfielder Lekovic managed to extend the aggregate to 3-0 before half time, and while we again wasted numerous shots, PSV scored from their only on-target shot of the game. It meant nothing though, with Rushden progressing with a 3-1 aggregate.

Barnsley, FA Cup 6th round, Home

Barnsley are one of the weaker sides in our league, and they went down 3-0 in our last encounter. Since then, they've added utility Stig Sund (₤975K from FC Københaven), who is not really going to make a difference.

Though Rushden had a number of shots at goal in the first quarter-hour, all were from outside the area and unsuccessful. The trend continued for the rest of the half, albeit with fewer chances. Rexhaj came closest with a curling free which was punched wide just before the break. He again had a go from long range, this time from general play just thirteen seconds into the second half. It had the same result too, punched away. We had a huge scare in the 89th when a Barnsley corner floated over Genç. It nearly went directly into the goal, and would have if not Saad, who booted it away. That left the game to finish scoreless, with yet another replay for Rushden.

Everton, Premier League, Home

Everton beat us back in October, despite being in the lower half of the table. The only change to their side since then has been the addition of Bulgaria defender Nikolay Topalov (₤275K from Inter). Veteran Uruguay striker Pedro has fifteen goals for the season and Holland midfielder Roel Bosman is a good player.

Jacques Legrand created a chance a couple of minutes in, finding Gonzalez in the area, but his shot was saved. Genc had to make a desperate dive to keep out a powerful Everton shot from the edge of the area, but was left in a terrible position in the 19th when he parried straight to a striker. Thankfully, the shot went way over the open goal despite the close range. Rexhaj failed to capitalise with a close-range shot of his own a few minutes later, albeit with the keeper in the way, and we went into the break scoreless. Rushden certainly had the majority of shots for the game, with Gonzalez consistently on target, but we failed to break through. With Lekovic missing a late free, we could only take a point from the game. That was our third league game in a row without a win.

Manchester City, Premier League, Home

City have improved slightly on last season. They are still in the bottom half, but at least a bit further from the relegation zone. In January, they added Middlesbrough striker Martyn Case (₤1M) and Portugal left winger Antonio (₤9M from Cruz Azul). They do not have any players with more than two goals for the season.

City were a man down in under ten minutes thanks to an errant elbow, yet new signing Case managed to score from 30 yards. We only made their keeper work twice in the first half, with a Gibbs free held and a Rexhaj volley parried and cleared. Gonzalez had a shot from inside the area saved early in the second half, then missed in the 71st. Shortly after that miss, we received a free in the midfield. Jimenez brought the ball forward to Anderson, who found space, swept into the area and struck home an equaliser from a tight angle. Nonetheless, despite being the better side and having a numerical advantage, City still looked like coming away with a point. It was still level two minutes into injury time when Anderson again broke into the area. He looked to have lost the ball to a defender, but regained it and again scored from a tight angle. A belated win, keeping us in touch with Arsenal. They are three points ahead, but we have played 29 games to their 30.

Barnsley, FA Cup 6th round replay, Away

We managed a big win in our last replay, albeit against a League One side rather than a fellow EPL team. Still, it started promisingly enough, with Holden crossing into the area twice in the first twenty seconds. The first was quickly cleared, the second was received by Nuno, who forced a save. Direct frees from wingers Holden and Lekovic were kept out, and Né missed a pretty straightforward shot from inside the area in the 25th. Barnsley did get forward a few times, but Genç was solid and Piwowarczyk made some clearances when needed. With another Lekovic free going straight into the keeper's hands, it was scoreless at the break. We also lost Anderson in the first half, with Avila coming on as a replacement. Avila played through partner Nuno in the 60th, but just as in the opening minute of the game, he couldn't get past the keeper. Nuno then shot over a minute later, and Genç had to make a good save from Barnsley's counter-attack. It took a pin-point pass from Holden, which covered a third of the pitch, to find Avila open in the area. He scored just his second goal of the season, giving us the lead at last. That was enough to finally put us into the semi final.

West Ham, Premier League, Home

Remarkably, this is our first league game against West Ham this season. After three successive third-place finishes, the Hammers have dropped to 8th. In addition to the three players involved in transfers with Newcastle (see the first game of this month), they bought Australia left winger Damian Ouliaris (₤5.25M from Napoli) as a replacement for Belgian Perry van den Ouweland (₤7.75M to Lazio). France right winger Jerome Dumas was also sold to Wigan for ₤775K.

Genç did well to keep out a header from close range three minutes into the game. Crosses from wingers Holden and Lekovic were cut out by former Rushden defender Lebo Thwala on the first two attempts, but it was third time lucky for Lekovic in the 20th. His curling ball found Rexhaj, who headed past another former Diamond, Davide Silvestri. A terrible defensive pass gifted Figueroa a goal five minutes later. We had a lot of the play, though West Ham were far from out of it. All it took was an error from Genç, coming out too far for a high pass, for them to score a late goal. It was just the one goal though, with Rushden retaining the lead for the final eight minutes. That put us on top of the table on goal difference, with eight games to go. However, Liverpool have also emerged as title contenders, equal with us on 60 points.

West Ham, Premier League, Home

After such a long wait for our first league game against the Hammers, we played them again a few days later. Coming in with momentum from the previous game, we nearly took the lead in the first minute, with Figueroa's effort barely saved. Rexhaj and Holden also caused them problems, though Genç was not free from work at the other end. After the break, we again had a shot in the opening minute of a half. Rexhaj was denied there, but partner Figueroa put us ahead a couple of minutes later. One of my Norway players, Silvert Stromme, then responded for West Ham to make it 1-1. They kept us quiet for the remaining half-hour, and the game ended as a draw.

[tenthreeleader]

Donners, the thing that really stands out to me about your work is how you manage to keep your transactions and player movement straight after all this time in regens. It's really outstanding, the depth of your game history is terrific, and obviously you keep winning matches to keep it all fun. Great work.

[Donners]

Something far more enjoyable and valuable than winning matches is receiving feedback on the story. You provide that for many writers here, and I'm sure they appreciate it as much as I do.

April, 2040

Valencia, Champions League quarter final leg 1, Away

Valencia have won this competition four times in the last decade, including against us in 2038. Even with recently-sold defender Craig Sinclair unavailable for this game, they have plenty of familiar names – Jorge Cantú in goal, Sergio Santaella and Richard Nilson at full back, Kristian Strand on the wing and Denis Larrainzar up forward. Yet another ex-Diamond, Fabien Lesage, was out injured. We lost Saad to international duty, and they were without Uruguay striker Carlos Valdez for the same reason.

Jimenez set up a good chance early, playing Figueroa through for a run into the box. He got there unopposed, but put the shot wide. Valencia seemed to get most of their team into the area in the 13th. Genç did well to keep out shots from Strand and Larrainzar, but a third one got past him. Though that was the only goal of the half, Valencia were quite clearly the better side. We opened the second half as we did the first, missing a shot. Gibbs was the culprit this time. However, the original culprit, Figueroa, was able to make amends in the 50th, scoring on a counter-attack. Unfortunately, we were only level for ten minutes. Genç made a horrific blunder, passing straight to Larrainzar while well out of the box, with the ball sent straight back past him and into the open net. At least we came away with an away goal, but we could have had the advantage if not for our keeper's mistake.

Leeds, Premier League, Away

Leeds are just barely above the relegation zone, after two years of barely surviving. In January, they sold left back Roberto Mele to Wigan for ₤3.1M and bought Aberdeen's Richard Peat for the same price as a direct replacement. Northern Ireland midfielder Brian McEvoy also joined from Norwich for ₤700K. For Rushden, keeper Nelson came in for his first game in months.

Rexhaj forced a save from long range within 18 seconds, then had another kept out six minutes later from inside the box, having been found by a long Gibbs pass. Figueroa was likewise denied from close range in the 15th, and yet another Rexhaj shot was saved a minute later. Figueroa took too long after receiving a long pass at the edge of the area in the 34th, and was tackled. The ball spilled out to Né, who fired off a shot...which resulted in another save. Not only did we fail to score from a dozen first-half shots, Leeds managed to get a goal just on half time from their third attempt.

There were three more Leeds saves to start the second half, and even with things getting more desperate, we still could not break through. Né had another effort from inside the box kept out, and we were still behind going into the final ten minutes. Figueroa and Rexhaj broke free of the defence in the 81st, with the former finding his young partner just outside the area. He waited far too long, allowing the keeper to move into position to parry his shot. For the first time in the game, we got lucky – the parry went to Figueroa, and he made no mistake. Still, that merely brought us level against a lowly side, so the job was not yet done. Né was brought down just outside the area as he charged forward, and it was deemed a fair challenge. Caught out of position, our defenders could not stop their counter-attack, and Leeds restored their lead going into injury time. Rexhaj missed a shot four minutes into injury time, and the final whistle blew moments later. An embarrassing loss, which could cost us the title.

Valencia, Champions League quarter final leg 2, Home

Like the first leg, this began with Figueroa getting one-on-one with the keeper, only to miss. He made up for it in the 15th, though, heading in a long throw. 2-2 on aggregate. Valencia were far quieter than the previous game, hardly having any shots in the first half. However, they did manage to score five minutes into the second, scoring at the near post when a striker was left unopposed at the edge of the box. That put us behind on aggregate, and wiped out our away goal advantage with what was their only on-target shot to that point.

Haddad twice challenged the keeper in the final ten minutes, without success. We got a late chance when Gonzalez intercepted a pass in our half and volleyed a 30-yard shot, but it was saved. In contrast to the first leg, we were the better side, yet with a goal each despite ten on-target shots to one, it looked like progression would be decided by that first game. However, just as we entered injury time, Gibbs intercepted a long Valencia pass, and found Meland in the centre circle. He hit it long to Figueroa, who quickly sent in a shot. It was parried to partner Haddad, who, having been repeatedly denied, finally managed to find the back of the net.

That took us to extra time, the first half of which ended without incident. Still locked on 3-3, I brought on Zbozinek and Piwowarczyk as specialist penalty takers in case the second half was unremarkable. Instead, both sides had multiple chances to score. Gonzalez and Zbozinek both missed shots from just outside the area, while Strand slammed one into the crossbar for Valencia. With five minutes to go, the Valencia keeper sent a long ball past the half-way mark. James Gibbs, the clear Man of the Match, returned the ball with a long header. Figueroa ran onto it and charged free of the defenders. The keeper came out, but he slipped a soft shot past him, and into the open net. 4-3 on aggregate, and that was enough. Valencia are clearly the more talented side, but we managed to scrape through – and surely can't face a bigger challenge in the final stages.

Reading, FA Cup semi final, Neutral

It's been a long run in the FA Cup, with a replay in each of our four rounds. We're finally at the finals, and face League One side (albeit the league leaders) Reading. We have struggled against lowly sides, and they feature a striker who was a regular scorer when they were in the Championship (Bruce Barr) and a promising young midfielder (Stewart Urquhart).

Majrashi brought the ball down the right in the fifth minute, drawing three opponents. He still managed to get a pass through to Rexhaj on the corner of the area, who had his shot saved at the near post. Legrand was beaten to a high cross by the keeper a few minutes later, and Rexhaj was unable to get past him when he broke past the defence in the 8th. Né had a simple chance in the 10th when a Majrashi pass found him in the area in space. However, he put it wide.

After plenty of good opportunities in those early minutes, they completely dried up for Rushden. Indeed, Reading looked closest to scoring in the second half, with Bruce Barr slamming one shot into the woodwork, and Urquhart coming close with a few frees. With no replays at this stage of the tournament, we went straight to extra time after 90 minutes of scoreless play.

Extra time was quite uneventful, aside from the dismissal of Erik Meland for a second yellow card. That left the place in the final to be determined by penalties. We were behind from the beginning, with the first shot from Zbozinek saved. We equalised from the second round of shots, and it was 2-2 after three. However, with Marco van Persie missing our fourth, we were left 2-3 behind with one shot to go. Genç kept out the Reading effort, but Majrashi had his saved, knocking us out of the FA Cup.

MK Dons, Premier League, Away

Dons are towards the bottom of the table, though a few points clear of the relegation zone. They held us to a scoreless draw late last year. Since then, they have released veteran striker Shaun Priest and bought Brentford midfielder Tony Walton (₤1.3M), Sunderland centre back Darren Crosby (₤2.6M) and Parma winger Kristoffer Hauge (₤1.3M).

A deflected Holden free kick earned a save in the first 30 seconds. We were the dominant side of the first half, with numerous shots on target. From a Van Persie long range effort to a Nuno angled shot and a Lekovic free, they were all saved. We started the second half with some rapid-fire passing which brought the ball to Haddad. He took a shot which was parried to Nuno, and Nuno was able to tap it into the open goal. It was frustrating that we could not score a second, with even a brilliant Lekovic free saved at the post. Nelson had to make a couple of saves in the 65th before Saad could boot the ball clear, avoiding an unjust equaliser. At long last, Haddad scored a terrific solo goal, charging down the right side of the area and slamming his shot into the opposite side of the goal for our second. However, with Arsenal beating highly-placed Manchester United, they remain four points ahead, having played an additional game.

Bolton, Premier League, Home

We faced Bolton twice late last year, losing in the league but knocking them out of the Carling Cup. They are in European contention, though their only transfer in January was the sale of Belgian winger Jaap Gabriels (to Birmingham for ₤2.6M).Australian striker Mark Hayward, originally from Rushden, has 16 goals for the season.

Dominic Holden missed an early shot after good work from Haddad, but earned a corner in the 14th with a deflected free. Gibbs curled it into the box, where Haddad rose over the keeper to head it home. Nuno doubled the lead on a break six minutes later, played through by an excellent ball from Lekovic. Holden hit the bar with a free later in the half, which ended with Rushden totally on top. Haddad continued that dominance with his second goal in the 60th, completing a solid 3-0 win. Arsenal let through two goals against bottom-placed Huddersfield, but still scraped through with a 3-2 win.

Porto, Champions League Semi Final leg 1, Away

Porto are a strong team, and have made it to this point on four occasions during my time as a manager. However, they have not made it to the Final. Their stars include Brazil winger Leandro, bought from us in January and thus ineligible for this game, Japan forward Yasuhiro Ohta, Uruguay winger Fernando Vargas (suspended for this leg) and France defensive midfielder Nicolas Perrin.

Strikers Haddad and Nuno shot over the bar in the first fifteen minutes. That moderate early burst turned out to be the only attacking flair shown by either side in the first half. Porto had the best chance in the 49th, with a shot right on the edge of the area. It cannoned back off the bar, and was desperately booted out by Meland. Lekovic missed a free at the other end from much further out, and Haddad skimmed the bar from 35 yards. Gonzalez broke into the area late in the game and collected a Meland pass, but the keeper was able to come out and block his shot. The defensive clearance was weak, and Gibbs took control of it in the midfield. He found Nuno with a powerful pass, and it was a simple finish from the edge of the area past the out-of-position keeper. An away goal, and we had taken a big step to the Final.

Tottenham, Premier League, Away

Tottenham are in the relegation zone and five points away from the side above them. Despite their situation, their only move in January was to loan in former Rushden right back Rene Hofman from Newcastle. A goal to Ouattara was the difference back in December, and he returned from a torn groin muscle on the bench.

Tottenham took the lead in just six minutes, with a striker left far too open in the box. We had a very frustrating game, made worse by the importance of the result. Nuno missed absolutely everything, but really we just didn't create quality chances for anyone. We did not deserve to win, and though Tottenham weren't great, their early goal was the difference. The only consolation was that Arsenal suffered a shock 0-4 loss to Chelsea. However, we have really cost ourselves the title with such bad losses against Leeds and Tottenham.

Mertakkas was Young Player of the Month.

| Pos   | Inf   | Team          |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |       | Arsenal       |       | 36    | 20    | 10    | 6     | 47    | 27    | +20   | 70    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | Rushden       |       | 35    | 19    | 9     | 7     | 51    | 22    | +29   | 66    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Liverpool     |       | 36    | 17    | 11    | 8     | 43    | 27    | +16   | 62    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Middlesbrough |       | 36    | 18    | 8     | 10    | 49    | 36    | +13   | 62    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Sunderland    |       | 36    | 15    | 13    | 8     | 46    | 35    | +11   | 58    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Man Utd       |       | 35    | 18    | 4     | 13    | 49    | 40    | +9    | 58    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 7th   |       | Newcastle     |       | 35    | 16    | 9     | 10    | 37    | 28    | +9    | 57    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 8th   |       | Bolton        |       | 36    | 16    | 7     | 13    | 39    | 35    | +4    | 55    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 9th   |       | Sheff Utd     |       | 36    | 13    | 8     | 15    | 39    | 44    | -5    | 47    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 10th  |       | West Ham      |       | 36    | 11    | 11    | 14    | 44    | 41    | +3    | 44    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11th  |       | Leicester     |       | 36    | 10    | 14    | 12    | 36    | 40    | -4    | 44    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 12th  |       | Leeds         |       | 36    | 10    | 14    | 12    | 32    | 38    | -6    | 44    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 13th  |       | Man City      |       | 36    | 9     | 16    | 11    | 23    | 22    | +1    | 43    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14th  |       | Chelsea       |       | 36    | 10    | 13    | 13    | 34    | 41    | -7    | 43    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 15th  |       | Barnsley      |       | 35    | 9     | 15    | 11    | 25    | 27    | -2    | 42    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 16th  |       | MK Dons       |       | 35    | 10    | 11    | 14    | 34    | 43    | -9    | 41    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 17th  |       | Everton       |       | 36    | 11    | 8     | 17    | 44    | 55    | -11   | 41    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 18th  |       | Tottenham     |       | 35    | 10    | 8     | 17    | 35    | 46    | -11   | 38    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 19th  | R     | West Brom     |       | 36    | 6     | 10    | 20    | 33    | 52    | -19   | 28    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20th  | R     | Huddersfield  |       | 36    | 7     | 5     | 24    | 29    | 70    | -41   | 26    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

[Donners]

May, 2040

Porto, Champions League Semi Final leg 2, Home

Both sides were off-target in the opening half hour, with Porto striving to cancel out our away goal and Rushden trying to extend the lead. The decisive moment came in the 33rd, when Figueroa was knocked over in the area as he went for a long pass. A penalty was awarded, and Saad made no mistake from the spot. Porto's chances looked to have nosedived when they had a player sent off for a second yellow in the 60th. However, all it took was a powerful shot from 20 yards to put them back in the game with an away goal. 2-1 on aggregate, and another Porto goal would put them in front. Né came off the bench for Nuno, and as we entered the final quarter hour, he collected a long ball out of defence from Mertakkas. He made a swerving run into the area and slammed in a terrific goal. That was absolutely crucial, with Porto scoring their second in injury time. The goal from Né meant we still led on aggregate, and their second away goal did not matter with the final whistle blowing moments later.

Liverpool, Premier League, Home

Liverpool are fourth on the table and were ahead of us for a brief time a few weeks ago. Despite being a title contender, they actually weakened their squad in January, selling Norway midfielder Daniel Nilsen to Napoli for ₤17M. They only bought 33-year-old former Brazil full back Marcos during the transfer window. Leading scorer Freddie Vargas was omitted for this game, with England veteran Richard Scott the lone striker. Their best player, Spain centre back Mikel Vázquez, looms as our toughest challenge to score.

Haddad created an early chance, running to the left corner and crossing it in to partner Figueroa. Vázquez headed it to the edge of the area, where Gonzalez fired it back in...only for it to be deflected straight back out by Vázquez. Figueroa got the ball in the 17th but was dispossessed as he entered the area. Haddad collected the loose ball, and with the keeper caught out of the box, he was able to tap in a simple goal. Only a great save denied Gonzalez after a clever pass across the area from Figueroa, and Haddad was unlucky not to double his tally in the 28th, hitting the side netting from close range. Arsenal and Middlesbrough were 1-1 at half time.

A poor Liverpool defensive pass early in the second half was intercepted by Gonzalez. He hit it straight ahead to Figueroa, who was brought down inside the area. A penalty and red card resulted, and Saad doubled the lead. The lead was extended further in the 67th, as Gibbs headed in a floating free from Holden. Saad scored from another penalty, and the only disappointment was that Liverpool ruined Genç's clean sheet in the 85th. Unbelievably, we received a third penalty in injury time, and centre back Saad completed his hat-trick. 5-1, and with Arsenal going down 1-2 to Middlesbrough, we are suddenly a big chance to take top spot – just one point away with a game in hand.

Barnsley, Premier League, Away

Barnsley are safely in the middle of the table. We beat them 3-0 in the league and 1-0 in a FA Cup replay. Their squad is quite small and unremarkable. This game brings us level to Arsenal on 37, and a draw will be enough to put us on top through goal difference. We face 7th placed Sunderland in the final game, while Arsenal are against mid-table Sheffield United.

A bad pass across the area from Robson almost gifted Barnsley a goal in the opening minute. The only thing that saved Genç was a terrible shot that went over the bar from inside the area. Figueroa made them pay with a brilliant strike on an angle that whistled into the back of the net from the edge of the area. Unfortunately, Barnsley equalised in the 20th with a long shot while Genç was out of position. Figueroa tried to repeat his goal in the 28th, approaching from a similar position, but this time the keeper made the save. A long shot from Gibbs was kept out, but Piwowarczyk was an unlikely scorer in the 38th, curling one in from 25 yards. Though morale was high at half time, we did not create many chances in the second half. It didn't matter, with Barnsley rarely threatening. That put us two points clear on top, with one game to go.

Sunderland, Premier League, Away

Our fate was in our hands as we entered the final game. With a goal difference 15 ahead of Arsenal and 72 points to their 70, even a draw to their win would give us the title. However, a loss could throw it away. Rexhaj was the only player I was unable to select, with Haddad and Figueroa making up the forward pairing. We beat Sunderland 2-1 back in December, with goals to Anderson (now in the reserves) and Lekovic. Sunderland made a couple of big signings from Inter after that, picking up Qatar defender Mohammed Ballan (₤4.1M) and South Korea centre back Kang Jung-Ho (₤7.25M). Ex-Diamond Béla Szili has a dozen goals for the season, and he is partnered by another former Rushden striker, Michael Hopfer. Interestingly, one of the players lining up for Sheffield United against Arsenal is our on-loan striker Nikos Tsichlas.

Holden had the first shot of the game, with a 7th minute free held by unremarkable keeper Adam Radford (their regular keeper is injured). Haddad made a nice run down the left in the 19th, but though he made it in the area, he was on to tight an angle to score. Holden created the best chance of the first half hour with a fabulous ball into the area which caused all sorts of chaos. Figueroa collided with two defenders and the keeper as they went for the ball, which spilled out of the area. There were no Rushden players to take advantage, and it was cleared. A poor kick from Genç almost gifted Sunderland a goal, which was only avoided by his desperate lunge to punch it over. He had to keep out a header from the resulting corner as well, and we quickly launched a counter-attack. Gibbs sent the ball away, and Haddad brought it down the left with another good run. He made it parallel to the area and crossed in for Robson. His shot was nothing special, but with a massive deflection off a defender, it went wide of the keeper and into the net. We suffered a big blow just after that, with Gibbs going off injured. Just before half time, Sunderland had a corner, and Hopfer rose above Genç to head in just his third goal of the season. That made it 1-1, with Arsenal and Sheffield United scoreless at half time.

A Lekovic cross found fellow winger Holden in the 50th, but he headed over. Haddad made another good run three minutes later, again crossing into the box. The keeper pushed it away from the oncoming Figueroa, but straight to Gonzalez, who slipped a shot through the crowd to restore the lead. We then lost another defender, with Piwowarczyk joining Gibbs back in the rooms. After an hour, we were 2-1 up, while Arsenal were still locked in a scoreless tie. That was rendered irrelevant in the 68th, with Jacques Legrand scoring his first ever Rushden goal via a chip over the keeper. At least, that seemingly ended the contest – Sunderland scored just two minutes later to keep it alive. It was Hopfer again, aided by a terrible attempted clearance from Duarte. We responded just as quickly, though. Within a minute, Figueroa came down the right and crossed to Haddad in the box. In an attempt to get the ball away from our striker, a defender knocked the ball straight into the net. 4-2, and still no score in the other game. That was still the situation at the final whistle. A sixth consecutive title for Rushden.

Manchester United, Champions League Final, Neutral

That left just one game to go in the season. After disappointing exits in the domestic cups, it would be nice to do well here. We lost Piwowarczyk to a long-term hip injury, but Gibbs managed to come up for the game, albeit somewhat tired. We have played United five times this season, with 1-1 and 3-0 results in the league, a 1-0 win in the Community Shield and a 4-2 aggregate win in the Carling Cup semi final. They finished fifth in the league, with England striker Chris Preston the golden boot winner. International team-mate Scott Hunter and ex-Diamond Ibrahim Tolba make up a dangerous attacking force, while France midfielder Salim Remy is one of the best in the world. Shame I let him go for ₤7M a decade ago...

The game couldn't have begun much worse. Saad managed to dispossess Hunter as he approached the area just after the kick-off. The ball spilled wide, and was slammed past Genç by a winger for a goal within 30 seconds. We fought back immediately. Figueroa had a shot saved a minute later, and when Lekovic crossed to Haddad in the 7th, he headed in an equaliser. We were back to where we started, but looking like the better side. Haddad had a shot from point-blank range parried after a corner, and he couldn't get a follow-up shot in. Holden came down the left in the 30th, crossing into the area. Haddad collected it, and from a tight angle, managed to squeeze in a great goal at the near post. That was his 15th for the season, and second of the game. Just a minute later, they repeated the move. This time Haddad was a bit further out, at the corner of the area, but he spun and drilled it in to complete a remarkable hat-trick in barely half an hour. The rest of the game was just delaying the celebrations – our second Champions League victory, and a great way to end the season.

[Donners]

The season in review

Summary

| Pos   | Inf   | Team          |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   | ECC   | Rushden       |       | 38    | 22    | 9     | 7     | 62    | 26    | +36   | 75    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   | ECC   | Arsenal       |       | 38    | 20    | 11    | 7     | 48    | 29    | +19   | 71    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   | ECC   | Middlesbrough |       | 38    | 20    | 8     | 10    | 53    | 37    | +16   | 68    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   | ECC   | Liverpool     |       | 38    | 18    | 11    | 9     | 47    | 32    | +15   | 65    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   | UC    | Man Utd       |       | 38    | 20    | 5     | 13    | 54    | 42    | +12   | 65    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   | UC    | Newcastle     |       | 38    | 18    | 9     | 11    | 41    | 30    | +11   | 63    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 7th   |       | Sunderland    |       | 38    | 15    | 14    | 9     | 48    | 39    | +9    | 59    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 8th   | ITC   | Bolton        |       | 38    | 16    | 7     | 15    | 40    | 40    | 0     | 55    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 9th   |       | Leicester     |       | 38    | 11    | 15    | 12    | 39    | 42    | -3    | 48    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 10th  | UC    | Sheff Utd     |       | 38    | 13    | 9     | 16    | 39    | 45    | -6    | 48    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11th  |       | Tottenham     |       | 38    | 13    | 8     | 17    | 40    | 48    | -8    | 47    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 12th  |       | Chelsea       |       | 38    | 11    | 13    | 14    | 36    | 43    | -7    | 46    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 13th  |       | Barnsley      |       | 38    | 10    | 15    | 13    | 28    | 31    | -3    | 45    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14th  |       | Leeds         |       | 38    | 10    | 15    | 13    | 34    | 41    | -7    | 45    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 15th  |       | West Ham      |       | 38    | 11    | 11    | 16    | 44    | 44    | 0     | 44    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 16th  |       | Man City      |       | 38    | 9     | 17    | 12    | 24    | 24    | 0     | 44    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 17th  |       | MK Dons       |       | 38    | 10    | 13    | 15    | 36    | 46    | -10   | 43    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 18th  | R     | Everton       |       | 38    | 11    | 8     | 19    | 45    | 59    | -14   | 41    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 19th  | R     | West Brom     |       | 38    | 8     | 10    | 20    | 36    | 52    | -16   | 34    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20th  | R     | Huddersfield  |       | 38    | 7     | 6     | 25    | 30    | 74    | -44   | 27    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

| Pkd   | Inf   | Name                         | Apps    | Gls   | Ast   | MoM   | Pas   | Tck   | Drb   | Sh T  | Av Rat| 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| MR    | Hol   | Nenad Lekovic                | 46      | 7     | 5     | 4     | 66%   | 2.01  | 2.75  | 50%   | 7.30  | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DMC   | Hol   | James Gibbs                  | 44 (3)  | 2     | 8     | 9     | 77%   | 3.26  | 0.56  | 50%   | 7.55  | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| AMC   | Hol   | Jesús González               | 43 (2)  | 9     | 5     | 1     | 75%   | 1.81  | 1.18  | 48%   | 7.18  | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| ML    | Hol   | Dominic Holden               | 42      | 3     | 10    | 2     | 68%   | 2.19  | 2.79  | 45%   | 7.45  | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DC    | Hol   | Wisam Saad                   | 41 (1)  | 7     | -     | 3     | 67%   | 2.21  | 0.24  | -     | 7.29  | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| GK    | Hol   | Aslan Genç                   | 41      | -     | -     | -     | 48%   | -     | -     | -     | 6.76  | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DC    | Hol   | José Antonio Jiménez Jiménez | 36 (1)  | -     | 3     | 2     | 64%   | 3.16  | 0.14  | -     | 7.24  | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S6    | Hol   | Erik Meland                  | 35 (2)  | 5     | 1     | -     | 81%   | 2.25  | 0.56  | 48%   | 7.22  | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Hol   | Michalis Mertakkas           | 33      | -     | 4     | 2     | 64%   | 2.53  | -     | -     | 7.24  | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| FC    | Hol   | Abderrazak Haddad            | 30 (3)  | 16    | 7     | 5     | 73%   | 0.17  | 2.28  | 56%   | 7.27  | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DMC   | Hol   | Tom Robson                   | 27 (6)  | 3     | 9     | 3     | 78%   | 2.47  | 0.53  | 55%   | 7.18  | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S4    | Hol   | Mohamed Né                   | 26 (9)  | 8     | 6     | 4     | 77%   | 1.25  | 1.28  | 52%   | 7.11  | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Inj   | Marek Piwowarczyk            | 26 (4)  | 3     | 3     | 4     | 69%   | 2.60  | 0.48  | 54%   | 7.20  | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S7    | Hol   | Nuno                         | 26 (4)  | 11    | 7     | 2     | 73%   | 0.24  | 2.08  | 46%   | 7.00  | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S1    | Hol   | Petr Zbozinek                | 23 (17) | 5     | 2     | -     | 73%   | 2.45  | 0.92  | 57%   | 6.95  | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S3    | Hol   | Nelson                       | 23      | -     | 1     | -     | 47%   | -     | -     | -     | 6.74  | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Wnt   | Anderson                     | 22 (3)  | 8     | 3     | 2     | 71%   | 0.18  | 1.77  | 56%   | 7.12  | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DC    | Hol   | Fredrik Prahl                | 21 (3)  | 2     | 3     | -     | 78%   | 2.73  | 0.31  | 38%   | 7.13  | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S2    | Hol   | Anastasios Maladenis         | 21 (2)  | -     | -     | 1     | 73%   | 2.07  | 0.47  | -     | 7.09  | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Hol   | Eneko Duarte                 | 19 (3)  | -     | 1     | -     | 62%   | 1.72  | 0.10  | -     | 7.00  | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Hol   | Mohammed Majrashi            | 19 (2)  | -     | 4     | 1     | 71%   | 1.87  | 2.57  | 33%   | 7.38  | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| FC    | Hol   | Rafael Figueroa              | 17 (2)  | 6     | 7     | -     | 71%   | 0.06  | 1.87  | 55%   | 7.16  | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Hol   | Bjørn Rexhaj                 | 16 (1)  | 7     | 1     | -     | 70%   | 0.25  | 2.03  | 61%   | 7.06  | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S5    | Hol   | Ricardo Avila                | 12 (6)  | 2     | 2     | -     | 73%   | 0.63  | 1.09  | 41%   | 6.89  | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Hol   | Valentin Ouattara            | 10 (3)  | 5     | 3     | 2     | 62%   | 0.41  | 2.64  | 50%   | 7.08  | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Hol   | Marco van Persie             | 9       | -     | -     | -     | 81%   | 1.97  | 0.31  | -     | 7.11  | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Hol   | Jacques Legrand              | 6 (2)   | 1     | -     | -     | 68%   | 1.13  | 2.26  | -     | 7.13  | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Wnt   | Mario Milojevic              | 3       | -     | -     | -     | 46%   | -     | -     | -     | 6.67  | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

Gibbs was named PFA Player of the Year and was in the Team of the Year with Lekovic. Tom Robson was runner-up as the Champions League Best Player, and he, Lekovic, Maladenis and Holden made the Dream Team. I was Manager of the Year, and moved to the top of the England Hall of Fame, and #13 overall.

Though there were frustrating and disappointing moments, particularly in our FA Cup run and a few late league losses, the success in both the EPL and Champions League make this one of our most successful seasons. It's even more impressive that we did it with so many senior players departing – have a look at the transfer summary and you'll see some of Rushden's most notable players.

James Gibbs was the big star of the season, finally stepping up to become the key player he always looked capable of being. Saad also became an important part of our defence in his first full season, as did Mertakkas.

Moving to the midfield, and there were more good stories, with Tom Robson the top player in the Champions League and Meland solid, each in their first full Rushden season. We were more reliant on the experienced players though, with Holden and Lekovic involved in 25 goals between them. Veteran Majrashi was a surprise success for a while, but poor morale and injury lowered his performance in the second half of the season.

There was yet another new face leading the way among the forwards, with Haddad the leading scorer. Figueroa was a good foil and Rexhaj stepped up.

The only real disappointment was the goalkeeping, with Genç, Milojevic and Nelson all far from sealing their place in the side.

The reserves and Under-18s won their leagues yet again.

Around the world: major awards and results

Rushden Supporters’ Player of the Year:

James Gibbs

World Player of the Year:

Marcos Moreno (Roma)

World Footballer of the Year:

Carlos Lencina (Milan)

England:

Winner: Rushden \o/

Relegated: Everton, West Brom, Huddersfield

Promoted: Nottingham Forest, Wigan, Leyton Orient

Spain:

Valencia

Italy

Juventus

Champions League:

Rushden \o/

UEFA Cup:

Sheffield United

[Donners]

The Transfers

Players In

| Date               | Person                        | From               | Fee                | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11.7.2039          | Duarte, Eneko                 | Betis              | Free               | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11.7.2039          | Jiménez Jiménez, José Antonio | Sevilla            | £2.4M              | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 12.7.2039          | Gigliotti, Fabio              | Lazio              | Free               | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14.7.2039          | Pregja, Rigers                | KF Ulpiana         | Free               | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14.7.2039          | Rudi, Marius                  | Zaragoza           | £625K              | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 15.7.2039          | van Duijvenbode, Lorenzo      | AGOVV              | £45K               | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 10.8.2039          | Nielsen, Bjørnar              | Sandefjord         | £7K                | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.11.2039          | Mavridis, Andreas             | Panionios          | Free               | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.1.2040           | Suroor, Saeed                 | Al-Hilal (KSA)     | Free               | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.1.2040           | Al-Bishi, Abdullah            | Al-Nassr (KSA)     | Free               | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20.1.2040          | Jasso, Enrique                | Tecos              | Free               | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 23.1.2040          | Gaitán, Cristian              | Unión              | £55K               | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 31.1.2040          | Veneruso, Christian           | Reggina            | £3M                | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 31.1.2040          | Muhr, Mario                   | Leoben             | Free               | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 31.1.2040          | Ümit, Bayraktar               | G. Birligi         | Free               | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|                    | Total                         |                    | £6.25M             | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

Players Out

| Date               | Person                | To                 | Fee                | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20.6.2039          | Robinson, David       | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20.6.2039          | Kostovski, Dusan      | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20.6.2039          | Cotton, Dean          | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20.6.2039          | Talbot, Sam           | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.7.2039           | Skouras, Nikos        | Barcelona          | £12.75M            | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.7.2039           | Clément, Jean-Charles | AZ                 | Free               | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.7.2039           | Herreros, David       | Deportivo          | Free               | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.7.2039           | Spellman, Dan         | Milan              | Free               | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.7.2039           | Mete, Inanç           | Galatasaray        | Free               | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.7.2039           | Pál, Attila           | Real Madrid        | £23.5M             | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2.7.2039           | de Haan, Dennis       | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2.7.2039           | Robertson, Luke       | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4.7.2039           | Strand, Kristian      | Valencia           | £40M               | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6.7.2039           | Sødahl, Thorbjørn     | Newcastle          | £7.5M              | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 17.7.2039          | Molina, Fabián        | Man City           | Free               | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 26.7.2039          | Tate, Dave            | Sunderland         | £1.1M              | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 9.8.2039           | Bresciano, Rocky      | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 17.8.2039          | Oliva, José Antonio   | Milan              | Free               | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 27.1.2040          | Leandro               | Porto              | £10M               | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 30.1.2040          | Sinclair, Craig       | Valencia           | £23.5M             | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 31.1.2040          | Pereira               | Córdoba            | Free               | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|                    | Total                 |                    | £118M              | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

Loans Out

| Date               | Person             | To                 | Fee                | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 27.6.2039          | Duff, Andy         | St. Mirren         | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4.7.2039           | Straub, Ralf       | Hearts             | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 7.7.2039           | Leonardo           | Celtic             | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 8.7.2039           | Figueroa, Rafael   | Offenbach          | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 10.7.2039          | Haug, Morten       | St. Mirren         | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 13.7.2039          | Revivo, Ron        | Zaglebie           | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14.7.2039          | Rafael             | Dundee Utd         | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 16.7.2039          | Pregja, Rigers     | Offenbach          | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 25.7.2039          | Stiansen, Eivind   | St. Mirren         | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 30.7.2039          | Tsichlas, Nikos    | Sheff Utd          | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 30.7.2039          | Eira, Finn         | St. Mirren         | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 9.8.2039           | Bruno              | Hereford           | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 9.8.2039           | Olsen, Jan Fredrik | Stoke              | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11.8.2039          | Gandía, Antonio    | Alicante           | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 13.8.2039          | Guild, Gary        | Swansea            | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14.8.2039          | Gigliotti, Fabio   | Bradford           | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14.8.2039          | Sköld, Love        | Northampton        | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 22.8.2039          | Edman, Per         | Catania            | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 25.8.2039          | Beale, Alex        | Stoke              | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 30.8.2039          | Rudi, Marius       | Watford            | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 30.8.2039          | Knol, Erik         | Rangers            | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3.1.2040           | Suroor, Saeed      | Offenbach          | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 24.1.2040          | Sköld, Love        | Charlton           | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 30.1.2040          | Everitt, Jimmy     | Hearts             | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 8.3.2040           | Gaitán, Cristian   | AIK                | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 8.3.2040           | Ümit, Bayraktar    | AIK                | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|                    | Total              |                    | £0                 | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

The big story of the transfers was the departures. Oliva, Spellman, Pál and Sinclair are among our most notable players of all time, and Pereira, Strand, Leandro, Skouras and Mete were solid senior players. Strand and Sinclair were certainly big successes at their new clubs, though considering we got plenty of money for them, I can hardly complain. The others were quite unremarkable.

Only the first two new signings, Duarte and Jimenez, got a run in the seniors. Most are the signings are as long-term prospects, and several don't have work permits, so it will be a while until we see how they have worked out.

The players loaned out included some remarkable successes. Leonardo was runner up as the Scottish PFA Players' Player of the Year, in a season, scoring 18 SPL goals at the age of 19. In contrast, the more experienced Rafael was barely sighted in the same league. Edman was a good player in Serie A and Ron Revivo looked brilliant at Zaglebie. Tsichlas scored eleven EPL goals at Sheffield United.

[Donners]

Pre-season, 40/41

We are now the top-ranked side in Europe following our double last season. A monstrous ₤68M was paid out to shareholders, though that was less than half our profit for the season.

It became clear pretty early on that the squad was going to undergo a pretty big shake-up. I elected not to renew the contracts of several senior players, and they quickly agreed terms to move elsewhere.

Eight-figure bids for Tsichlas and Leonardo came in, which I managed to deflect with higher counter-offers which they were unwilling to meet. Maladenis was also popular, with several bids around ₤8.5M from major European clubs. Israeli left back Ron Revivo attracted plenty of attention after his fine season at Zaglebie

Coach Dmitry Belkov and scout Martin Kaya departed at the ends of their contracts, replaced by David Crawford and Lukasz Dragon.

However, the big story was the players. Young defender Fredrik Prahl went to Juventus, utility Zbozinek moved to Liverpool and forward Avila joined Valencia – yet another Diamond to add to their squad. Chelsea snatched teenage striker Jamie Berry, winger Erik Knol went to Sheffield United and Leeds bought utility Marius Rudi for ₤775K. I released Piwowarczyk, who was out for four months with a hip injury. I sold veteran right winger Mohammed Majrashi to 1860 München for ₤4.8M. With young defender Eneko Duarte unhappy, I had to let him go when Real Sociedad came in with a ₤5.5M bid. It's going to be hard to have full backs when they keep walking out after a few seasons.

I made two much-needed purchases, keeper Luciano Ortiz for ₤2.3M from Central and right back Christian Veneruso for ₤3M from Reggina. There were several good free signings, including yet another striker and a few for the back half.

An ongoing frustration was young left back Per Edman, demanding huge wages after his good Serie A season and refusing to sign a new contract. He will enter the new season with an uncertain future.

Speaking of big wages, I finally managed to appease Lekovic with a substantial pay increase on a new contract. I also re-signed Haddad, Saad (runner-up as UEFA Defender of the Year) and wonderkid Leonardo. I sent backup keeper Nelson out on loan, and tried but failed to offload strikers Nuno and Rafael.

We were made 7-4 favourites to win the title, far ahead of Arsenal (10-1), Man U and Liverpool (16-1).

[Donners]

The Club

Home Ground: Nene Park, Irthlingborough - capacity 53,500

Rivals: Kettering, Northampton (fierce); Peterborough, Oxford, Luton

Reputation: Worldwide

Estimated Value: ₤173M

Balance: ₤1,167M

Transfer Budget: ₤637M

Media Prediction: 1st

Board Expectation: Win the title

Fan Expectation: Win the title

Staff

Chairman: Ryan Woods

Assistant Manager: Ferreira

Coaches: Robert Bicanic, Cosimo Bodini, Lukasz Dragon, Greg Paterson, David Maggi, Matteo Pizzi, Kirk Moore, Massimo Pinto (General)

Physios: Carmine Laurenza, Edson

Scouts: Andy McWilliam, Drew Black, Danny Russell, Esteban, Fraser Soutar, David Crawford

The Squad

| Pkd     | Inf     | Name                         | No.     | Squad Status | Cnt     | Weekly wage | Expires   | Value   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DC      | Wnt     | Wisam Saad                   | 3       | Key Player   | F/T     | £17,000     | 30.6.2044 | £6.5M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| ML      | Wnt     | Dominic Holden               | 19      | First Team   | F/T     | £42,500     | 30.6.2041 | £27M    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| MR      | Wnt     | Nenad Lekovic                | 22      | First Team   | F/T     | £38,000     | 30.6.2042 | £14M    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| AMC     | Inj     | Jesús González               | 32      | First Team   | F/T     | £30,500     | 30.6.2042 | £10.5M  | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| GK      |         | Aslan Genç                   | 1       | First Team   | F/T     | £12,500     | 30.6.2042 | £3.8M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DMC     | Wnt     | James Gibbs                  | 17      | First Team   | F/T     | £29,500     | 30.6.2043 | £18.5M  | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| FC      | Int     | Abderrazak Haddad            | 10      | First Team   | F/T     | £16,250     | 30.6.2044 | £12M    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S3      |         | Mohamed Né                   | 8       | First Team   | F/T     | £12,500     | 30.6.2043 | £12.75M | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| FC      | Int     | Rafael Figueroa              | 13      | First Team   | F/T     | £7,000      | 30.6.2043 | £6.5M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S5      |         | Nuno                         | 39      | Rotation     | F/T     | £12,500     | 30.6.2041 | £8.75M  | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Int     | Anderson                     | 20      | Rotation     | F/T     | £15,750     | 30.6.2042 | £6.75M  | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DC      | Int     | José Antonio Jiménez Jiménez | 30      | Rotation     | F/T     | £10,000     | 30.6.2043 | £3.6M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       |         | Abdullah Al-Bishi            | 4       | Rotation     | F/T     | £7,750      | 30.6.2043 | £3.2M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Int     | Oussama Hadir                | 25      | Rotation     | F/T     | £13,750     | 30.6.2043 | £4.7M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       |         | Luciano Ortiz                | 31      | Rotation     | F/T     | £5,000      | 30.6.2043 | £2.3M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       |         | Christian Veneruso           | 5       | Rotation     | F/T     | £10,000     | 30.6.2044 | £2.9M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       |         | Andrey Osipov                | 16      | Rotation     | F/T     | £16,500     | 30.6.2043 | £5.75M  | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       |         | Valentin Ouattara            | 12      | Rotation     | F/T     | £7,250      | 30.6.2043 | £5.75M  | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Loa     | Rafael                       | -       | Backup       | F/T     | £7,500      | 30.6.2041 | £4.3M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       |         | Mario Milojevic              | 14      | Backup       | F/T     | £5,500      | 30.6.2042 | £3.1M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S2      | Bid     | Tom Robson                   | 15      | Backup       | F/T     | £6,000      | 30.6.2042 | £5.25M  | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DC      | Bid     | Michalis Mertakkas           | 33      | Backup       | F/T     | £2,400      | 30.6.2041 | £4.7M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S1      | Inj     | Anastasios Maladenis         | 27      | Backup       | F/T     | £3,600      | 30.6.2042 | £3.7M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DMC     | Bid     | Erik Meland                  | 36      | Backup       | F/T     | £2,100      | 30.6.2042 | £5.25M  | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S4      | Wnt     | Jacques Legrand              | 26      | Backup       | F/T     | £4,500      | 30.6.2043 | £5.5M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Wnt     | Marco van Persie             | 37      | Backup       | F/T     | £7,250      | 30.6.2041 | £2.7M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Bid     | Antonio Gandía               | -       | Hot Prospect | F/T     | £3,700      | 30.6.2042 | £4.1M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Wnt     | Bjørn Rexhaj                 | 9       | Hot Prospect | F/T     | £11,500     | 30.6.2041 | £5.75M  | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Unh     | Per Edman                    | -       | Hot Prospect | F/T     | £375        | -         | -       | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Wnt     | Jimmy Everitt                | -       | Hot Prospect | F/T     | £725        | 30.6.2042 | £4.5M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Wnt     | Leonardo                     | -       | Hot Prospect | F/T     | £1,700      | 30.6.2044 | £5.25M  | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Inj     | Eivind Stiansen              | -       | Hot Prospect | F/T     | £1,300      | 30.6.2043 | £2M     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Int     | Bruno                        | -       | Hot Prospect | F/T     | £4,000      | 30.6.2041 | £1.7M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       |         | Gian Paolo Pasquini          | -       | Hot Prospect | F/T     | £2,900      | 30.6.2043 | £140K   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Bid     | Ralf Straub                  | -       | Youngster    | F/T     | £2,000      | 30.6.2041 | £1.1M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Wnt     | Finn Eira                    | -       | Youngster    | F/T     | £2,000      | 30.6.2043 | £2.6M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Wnt     | Nikos Tsichlas               | -       | Youngster    | F/T     | £600        | 30.6.2041 | £6.25M  | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Bid     | Fabio Gigliotti              | -       | Youngster    | F/T     | £4,000      | 30.6.2042 | £2.9M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Bid     | Ron Revivo                   | 6       | Youngster    | F/T     | £4,700      | 30.6.2043 | £2.8M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Wnt     | Gerard van Strien            | -       | Youngster    | F/T     | £1,500      | -         | -       | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Ctr     | Phil Rowe                    | -       | Youngster    | F/T     | £110        | -         | -       | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Wnt     | Robert Ulmer                 | -       | Youngster    | F/T     | £525        | 30.6.2043 | £1.2M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Yth     | Adam Evans                   | -       | Youngster    | Yth     | £110        | 30.6.2041 | -       | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Inj     | Goce Ivanovski               | -       | Youngster    | Yth     | £110        | 30.6.2041 | -       | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Yth     | Vladimir Maslo               | -       | Youngster    | Yth     | £110        | 30.6.2041 | -       | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Yth     | Sean Whalley                 | -       | Youngster    | Yth     | £110        | 30.6.2041 | -       | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Yth     | Aaron Castro                 | -       | Youngster    | Yth     | £110        | 30.6.2041 | -       | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Wnt     | Federico Cioffi              | -       | Youngster    | F/T     | £975        | 30.6.2043 | £2.9M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Wnt     | Andreas Mavridis             | -       | Youngster    | F/T     | £550        | 30.6.2042 | £1.8M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       |         | Jørgen Andreassen            | -       | Youngster    | F/T     | £900        | 30.6.2042 | £1.9M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Wnt     | Bjørnar Nielsen              | -       | Youngster    | F/T     | £350        | 30.6.2042 | £3.2M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Inj     | Christoph Meinhardt          | -       | Youngster    | F/T     | £400        | 30.6.2042 | £1.9M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       |         | Mario Muhr                   | -       | Youngster    | F/T     | £325        | 30.6.2042 | £1.4M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Wnt     | Martijn Hasselbaink          | -       | Youngster    | F/T     | £675        | 30.6.2042 | £1.6M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       |         | Anders Tønseth               | -       | Youngster    | F/T     | £775        | 30.6.2043 | £7K     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Wage Budget: £7,006,911

Total Weekly Wages at 6/8/40: £407,653

Senior Players: 18

Reserve Players: 37

U-18 Players: 13

[Note that players classed as Backup, Prospect or Youngster will not be profiled (with a few exceptions), and are regarded as reserve players]

Player [Pos, Nationality, Height, Age] – Rushden Seasons, Rushden League Games, Rushden League Goals

Goalkeepers

Aslan Genç [GK, TUR – 11 Caps, 176cm, 26] – 7, 70, 0

Not really good enough last season. He let through less than a goal a game in the league, but I think that was more due to our defence than his form. He will face a struggle to hold his spot.

Mario Milojevic [GK, AUT – 3 Caps, 179cm, 24] – 5, 6, 0

Signed for a couple more years despite failing to find a first team spot. This is a make-or-break year.

Luciano Ortiz [GK, ARG – 17 U21 caps, 180cm, 22] – 0, 0, 0

The only notable purchase between seasons, Ortiz comes from Central for ₤2.3M. He looks to have remarkable talent for such a young player and will rotate through the senior side.

Nelson [GK, POR – 1 Cap, 177cm, 22] – 3, 17, 0

Sent out on loan to Sporting CP to further develop his promising ability.

Defenders

Abdullah Al-Bishi [D/Wb R, SAU – 23 U21 caps, 177cm, 23] – 1, 0, 0

A promising defender, signed for free from Al-Nassr mid last season and given six months in the reserves to acclimatise. I still won't be playing full backs, so he will have a bit more time to get settled in the seconds. The mental side of his game is exceptional.

Per Edman [D/Wb/M L, SWE – 10 Caps, 179cm, 22] – 4, 0, 0

A successful season with Catania on loan in Serie A has gone to his head, and he is not even looking at contract offers. Oddly, he is still remaining at the club despite being without a contract, so I can use him if I want. Unfortunately, he's a far better left back than winger, so I don't really have a spot for him.

James Gibbs [D C/DM, ENG – 9 Caps, 181cm, 24] – 7, 71, 2

At long last, the departure of Pál saw Gibbs step up and realise his potential. He was our best player last season and, with three years left on his contract, will hopefully continue to dominate.

Premier League Player of the Month September 2038; PFA Player of the Year 2040; Premier League Team of the Year 39/40; Supporters' Player of the Year 39/40

Fabio Gigliotti [D/AM L, ITA – 1 U21 cap, 193cm, 20] – 1, 0, 0

Looked fairly good in the Championship last season and will have another season of development ahead.

Jose Antonio Jimenez Jimenez [D C, ESP – capped at U19 level, 183cm, 23] – 1, 25, 0

Made it into the seniors faster than expected, and was a regular member of the side. He is a solid and useful player to have at the back.

Anastasios Maladenis [D C, GRE – 12 Caps, 176cm, 24] – 5, 46, 0

Didn't play as much as I expected last year, with only ten league games. He needs to step up and seal a place, or I might accept some of the large bids that have come in for him. Still, he was very good in Europe, so his talent is unquestioned.

Premier League Young Player of the Month March 2038; Champions League Dream Team 39/40

Michalis Mertakkas [D C, CYP – 22 Caps, 183cm, 21] – 2, 16, 0

A surprise success last season, bursting into the senior side after spending the previous season on loan at Bradford. He's very good in the air but his marking is a real weakness. This is the last year of his contract and I'm struggling to re-sign him.

Apollon L Supporters' Player of the Year 36/37; Premier League Young Player of the Month April 2040

Andrey Osipov [D C, BLR – 15 Caps, 181cm, 23] – 0, 0, 0

Signed for free from Lyon, after a very good season in Ligue 1 last year. He has a lot of pace and terrific defensive skills, and should get a run.

Ron Revivo [D L, ISR – 3 U21 caps, 175cm, 23] – 2, 0, 0

Was able to get a work permit on talent alone after a tremendous season at affiliate Zaglebie. He's a true defender with a very good understanding of the game. May not get a regular run, but is at least an option if I decide to use full backs for some reason.

Wisam Saad [D C, IRQ – 16 Caps, 177cm, 24] – 4, 38, 5

Was the key figure among our back three, stepping up to be a very strong and reliable defender. He even managed to score a hat-trick from the penalty spot! Now signed for four more years and sure to be a valuable part of the team.

Marco van Persie [D C/DM, HOL – 10 U21 caps, 176cm, 25] – 2, 4, 0

Unfortunately looks to have been a waste of money, failing to find a regular spot in the team after two years. This is his last chance.

Christian Veneruso [D/Wb R, ITA – capped at U19 level, 175cm, 21] – 0, 0, 0

Bought for ₤3M from Reggina, despite mediocre performances in Serie B. He has the ball skills of a midfielder and could probably be used as an attacking full back – if I ever have one.

Midfielders

Finn Eira [AM C, NOR – 3 U21 caps, 180cm, 23] – 3, 0, 0

A quite talented player, who has been around for years without really making an impression. He looks to have the ability but has shown little at weaker leagues on loan.

League One Young Player of the Month November 2038

Antonio Gandía [M C, ESP – capped at U19 level, 182cm, 23] – 4, 0, 0

Has played two full seasons in La Liga with Real Sociedad and Alicante over the last two years, and it's time for him to find a spot. He's a true playmaker who could set up many goals. I'm not sure that I have a spot for him, though.

Jesus González [AM C, VEN – 49 Caps, 178cm, 28] – 7, 123, 18

Had another successful season, certainly displacing Avila in the attacking midfield role and again scoring goals regularly. He is an important part of the side.

Oussama Hadir [DM, MOR – 21 Caps, 182cm, 22] – 0, 0, 0

Having spent the last few years in the lower leagues of Italy before his free transfer move to Rushden, it's hard to assess Hadir. My coaches regard him as a potential great player, but I'll need to be convinced.

Dominic Holden [AM L, ENG – 16 Caps, 182cm, 26] – 8, 95, 9

Had a very strong season on the left wing, and with Legrand not quite in a position to challenge him, Holden will again be a regular in the side. However, he is demanding massive wages to extend his contract, and he may go at the end of the year.

SPL Young Player of the Month February 2033, December 2033, January 2034; Scottish PFA Young Player of the Year runner-up 2034; Premier League Young Player of the Month October 2034, December 2034, March 2035; English PFA Young Player of the Year 2035; Champions League Best Player runner up 36/37; Champions League Dream Team 39/40

#6 Most Rushden Assists

Jacques Legrand [AM LC, SWI – 6 Caps, 176cm, 24] – 3, 5, 1

A talented and quick player who will be auditioning for the left wing position with Holden likely to go. He still needs to develop but has potential.

Nenad Lekovic [AM RC, SER – 35 Caps, 183cm, 28] – 6, 76, 7

Was not as impressive as in his breakthrough year of 38/39, but was still a solid member of the first team. With Zbozinek gone, he has more responsibility on the right wing.

Champions League Dream Team 37/38, 39/40; Supporters' Player of the Year 38/39; PFA Player of the Year 2039, runner-up 2038; Premier League Team of the Year 39/40

Erik Meland [DM, NOR – 4 U21 caps, 181cm, 24] – 3, 20, 3

Settled nicely into a senior role, scoring some terrific long-range goals. I'd like him to use his exceptional passing ability a bit more.

Mohamed Né [AM LC/F, IVO – 24 Caps, 172cm, 23] – 3, 50, 15

Scored just one league goal, compared to ten the previous year. Admittedly, he did play more in the midfield, and may again with our excess of forwards.

Premier League Young Player of the Month April 2038, January 2039; Premier League Player of the Month November 2038

Tom Robson [DM, ENG – 5 U21 caps, 180cm, 22] – 4, 16, 1

Shared the defensive midfield role with Meland and Gibbs, and looked okay in his first senior season – particularly good in Europe. Like the other two, he is a great passer and dangerous from long range.

Championship Young Player of the Month February 2037; SPL Young Player of the Month August 2037, October 2037; Scottish PFA Young Player of the Year third placed 2038; SPL Team of the Year 37/38, 38/39; Champions League Dream Team 39/40; Champions League Best Player runner-up 39/40

Forwards

Anderson [sT, BRA – 1 Cap, 176cm, 23] – 5, 33, 7

Only played eleven league games, and managed just one goal in ten cup games. Time to stand up or be sold. He made his international début for Brazil, despite playing for Italy at youth level.

SPL Young Player of the Month February 2036; Scottish PFA Young Player of the Year 2036

Rafael Figueroa [sT, MEX – 2 Caps, 178cm, 22] – 3, 9, 3

Earned a work permit after three years on loan at affiliate Offenbach, and is secured for three more seasons. He has great pace and is very cool under pressure.

Abderrazak Haddad [sT, MOR – 22 Caps, 183cm, 23] – 3, 28, 13

I said that he should be ready for a major role, and he certainly stepped up with a dozen league goals and a hat-trick on the biggest stage of all. Signed for four seasons and sure to be a valuable player.

Leonardo [sT, GER – 5 U21 caps, 181cm, 19] – 1, 0, 0

Looking like an absolute superstar in the making, dominating in the SPL despite only being 19. I'll keep him at the club this season to ensure he gets the maximum benefit from our facilities and coaches.

SPL Young Player of the Month October 2039, January 2040, February 2040, April 2040; Scottish PFA Young Player of the Year runner-up 2040; SPL Team of the Year 39/40

Nuno [sT, POR – 21 Caps, 180cm, 28] – 9, 75, 29

The most expendable of our strikers, though unfortunately there seems to be no interest in him. He can certainly score, but is injured too often.

Premier League Player of the Month September 2037

=#8 Most Rushden Goals

Valentin Ouattara [sT, SWI – 5 U21 caps, 185cm, 22] – 3, 11, 4

Looks like an impressive sharpshooter, scoring quickly in a number of games. He lost a bit of momentum with an injury in January, and is right to go this season.

Bjørn Rexhaj [sT, NOR – 7 U21 caps, 175cm, 23] – 4, 16, 5

Made a bit more of an impression this season, scoring a handful of goals. I will look to re-sign him, but wouldn't mind a sale.

2038 Scottish PFA Young Player of the Year

Nikos Tsichlas [sT, GRE – 3 Caps, 178cm, 22] – 3, 9, 2

Spent the year on loan at fellow EPL side Sheffield United, scoring 11 league goals. He is extremely quick and has plenty of talent, but isn't quite ready for a regular role.

Overview

The wage bill has been cut, but I think the squad is still strong. The main loss is versatility, since Zbozinek and Piwowarczyk could play in both defence and midfield. However, I can still cover the positions pretty well.

Goalkeeping: Genç wasn't great last season, and Ortiz is still young. Our weakest area..

Defence: Annoyingly, I still don't really have enough full back options to play the positions regularly, so it will be three at the back again. We have plenty of options there.

Midfield: The first team spots are established but there are several players on the rise, like Legrand and Hadir, to keep them honest. The lack of backup for the right wing is an issue.

Forward: A stack of options, with Haddad the clear favourite but plenty of possible combinations.

First XI

I still can't leave this formation until I have more backup for the full back spots.

GK: Aslan Genç

CB: Wisam Saad

CB: Jose Jimenez Jimenez

CB: Michalis Mertakkas

DM: Erik Meland

DM: James Gibbs

RM: Nenad Lekovic

LM: Dominic Holden

AM: Jose Gonzalez

CF: Rafael Figueroa

CF: Abderrazak Haddad

Sub: Anastasios Maladenis

Sub: Mohammed Né

Sub: Nuno

Sub: Jacques Legrand

Sub: Tom Robson

Captain: Aslan Genç, Wisam Saad

Penalties: Wisam Saad, James Gibbs, Michalis Mertakkas

Free Kicks: (L) Dominic Holden, Ron Revivo; ® Tom Robson, Nenad Lekovic

Corners: (L) Mohammed Né, James Gibbs; ® Erik Meland, Anastasios Maladenis

Throw Ins: (L) Mohamed Né, Jacques Legrand; ® Nenad Lekovic, Wisam Saad

Playmaker: Mohammed Né, James Gibbs, Tom Robson

Target Man: Valentin Ouattara, Michalis Mertakkas

[Donners]

August, 2040

Reading, Community Shield, Neutral

I was missing a number of players for this game, with Gonzalez and Maladenis injured and Anderson, Figueroa, Haddad, Hadir and Jimenez on international duty. Ortiz, Revivo and Al-Bishi came in for their first games.

A terrific pass from Lekovic across the area found Nuno in a bit of space, but his shot was saved. We had plenty more shots in the first half, but the decisive moment was when Meland shoved an opponent in the area at the other end. Reading took the lead with the resulting penalty, despite ten shots to two at half time. An absolutely appalling error from Ortiz, coming well outside the area and giving the ball away in the 55th, gifted Reading a second. With Rushden unable to score, Reading were handed the win by Rushden errors.

Nottingham Forest, Premier League, Home

Forest have bounced straight back from relegation, winning the Championship. However, their top performers last season, 33-year-old midfielder Rob Bolt and striker Nick Buxton, are mediocre players who struggled in the EPL last time, which is not promising. Hence, they have bought a number of players, including Liverpool left winger Srdjan Vujicic (₤1.7M), Morocco and Middlesbrough left back Brice Guittard (₤425K), Bulgaria centre back Ivan Aleksiev (₤70K from Napoli) and signed for free Lithuania striker Andrius Butkus (from Leeds), Rushden youth striker Shane Robinson and Sweden winger Kent Andersson (Pisa). They have also loaned in former Rushden midfielder Sebastian Morales from Liverpool and Newcastle right back Steve Green.

After such a frustrating start to the season, we began this game promisingly. Lekovic skimmed the bar with a third-minute header, and it only took four more minutes for Figueroa to score the first Rushden goal for the season. There were two very familiar names involved in the next goal,but unfortunately, neither plays for Rushden these days. Morales intercepted a poor pass from Mertakkas and found Julian Marsden, with the ex-Diamond forward levelling the scores after 11 minutes. Fortunately, it didn't take too long to restore the lead. When Gonzalez had a shot parried, Figueroa was in position to tap in his second. Though we should have led by more at half time, with misses to Figueroa and Haddad, we were at least in front. Figueroa again came close to a hat-trick in the 56th, hitting the post. It took an own goal from an attempted clearance to finally seal a 3-1 win.

Sheffield United, Premier League, Away

Sheffield dropped to 10th last season, after their best finish of 6th in 38/39. They sold Australia wing back Alex Young to Celtic for ₤1.3M but brought in far more quality – Norway centre midfielder Lars Flesvik (₤10.25M from Palermo), his international team-mate, left winger Andre Strand (free from Cesena), Celtic forward Tom Walker (free) and our right winger Erik Knol (also free).

There were a few misses at either end in the first half hour. Lekovic made it into the area in the 32nd and was promptly tripped, earning a penalty. Saad put us ahead from the spot, and after Genç made a good save from dangerous striker Adam Rudge, Figueroa doubled the lead just before half time by heading in a Holden free kick. The second half was highlighted by some excellent saves from Genç, including in the 80th when Veneruso gave the ball up to Andre Strand just outside the area. Genç was terrific, and only just shaded as Man of the Match by new defender Andrey Osipov in the 2-0 win.

Sheffield United, UEFA Super Cup, Neutral

It was an all-England Super Cup, with Rushden winning the Champions League and Sheffield United the Super Cup. Having lost this Cup in our three attempts, to Man U in 2027, Valencia in 2030 and Sevilla in 2037, it would be nice to finally add our name to the trophy. Having just beaten them 3-1, we at least had momentum on our side.

Each side opened with a missed shot with Nuno for Rushden and former Diamond Abdul Al-Shemmari for Sheffield United both going wide. A good cross from Lekovic saw Nuno force a save in the 7th, and a Figueroa header was kept out a few minutes later. As usual, Adam Rudge was Sheffield's main threat, challenging Genç several times in the scoreless first half.

We had the better of the second half, though Nuno went off injured. Lekovic and Gibbs forced a number of saves, but from our seven on-target shots, nobody managed to break through. The only event of extra time was a second yellow to a Sheffield player, bringing the game to penalties.

After each side was successful from the first attempt, Genç made a save on their second. Mertakkas scored to put us ahead, and with Genç saving their third, Gonzalez put us 3-1 ahead. We didn't even need a fourth shot, with Genç completing a hat-trick of saves to secure our first UEFA Super Cup.

Leeds, Premier League, Home

Leeds survived another unconvincing season in the EPL and made several steps to shoring up their squad. After clearing out left winger Peter Darlington (₤4.8M to Leicester), they spent ₤26M on new faces. Among those are left winger Aleix Rodriguez (₤7M from Sevilla), Egypt centre back Ibrahim Hassan (₤3.5M from Betis), Scotland striker Gary Sutherland (₤6.25M from Aston Villa), Wigan midfielder Tom Davis (₤5.5M), Bulgaria centre back Martin Vladimorov (free from Rangers) and Vicenza keeper Enrico Macri (free).

This game was all but over after seven minutes. The very first shot of the game saw Per Edman head in a Lekovic free, and Haddad stole the ball seconds after the kick-off. He and partner Figueroa burst forward, and Haddad's pass to the latter saw Figueroa score our second in a minute. The high-priced Leeds side had no answers to that sudden onslaught, and with Jimenez and Saad solid at the back, that one-minute burst was the difference on the scoreboard at the final whistle.

[Donners]

September, 2040

Middlesbrough, Premier League, Away

Middlesbrough had their best-ever finish in the EPL last season, coming third. Former Rushden striker Phil Conroy led their scoring, and he already has five goals this season. They have also added another ex-Diamond, Portugal centre back Ronald (₤1.7M from Real Madrid) as well as striker Pal Lindgrasmo (₤5.25M from Palermo) and midfielder Alejandro Martinez (₤7.25M from Barnsley).

Gonzalez managed to get in a long volley on a loose ball, which was only kept out by a desperate dive. Genç saved a close-range shot from Lindgrasmo at the other end, but in the 22nd, he parried a Conroy shot straight to an opponent for a tap-in. An Ouattara attempt at a quick response missed by a huge distance, and Conroy soon added a second for Middlesbrough. Conroy scored again with fifteen minutes to go as Rushden failed to even challenge Middlesbrough. 0-3.

Dinamo Kiev, Champions League Group C, Home

Dinamo Kiev tend to be cannon fodder for this part of the competition, though their Uruguayan striker Fedir Gerus is quite dangerous.

Rushden took the lead within five minutes, thanks to a typical run and strike from Jesus Gonzalez. Figueroa continued his terrific season with our second goal, and a few minutes later earned a penalty. Gibbs had his penalty saved for the second time in three games, as we finished the first half with ten on-target shots and two goals, compared to our opponents' single off-target attempt. Figueroa scored his second and our third after being played through by a header from partner Ouattara. Né came off the bench and earned a penalty in the 66th. Gibbs stepped up once again, and it was third time lucky – ending the game 4-0.

Newcastle, Premier League, Home

Newcastle have been around European qualification for the last twenty years, and this season looks likely to see that trend continue. They made substantial transfers in January, with their most notable sale being right winger Mark Connell, to West Ham for ₤14M. Veteran center back Mark Jukes was sent to Barnsley for ₤2.8M and right back Dumitru Neacsu went to Roma for ₤4.1M. They spent ₤59M on new players, many of them defenders. Morocco centre back Olivier Collet (₤16.75M from Man City), Austria left back Manuel Schmidt (₤15.5M from Inter), full back Carl Logan (₤12.25M from West Ham) reshaped their defence, with midfielders Michele Bruni (₤8.75M from Lazio) and Kristaps Dibrivny (₤5.75M from Chelsea) adding further depth.

Lekovic hit the crossbar in the fifth minute, while Genç had to make a save from a close-range strike ten minutes later. A big deflection off a pass sent Figueroa on a run forward. He found partner Né, but he was on such an angle that it was impossible to squeeze a shot past keeper Javier Tchadkijian. A half-pitch run from Holden was likewise thwarted at the end by Tchadkijian, and with Genç holding up against a few challenges, the first half ended scoreless. A long-range Newcastle strike blasted them into the lead out of nothing in the 57th, leaving us a tough task to regain parity given that we'd already had several chances denied. Substitute Rexhaj had an opportunity with twenty minutes to go, when a pass from Figueroa deflected off a defender and caught Tchadkijian off-guard. However, the young striker took too long to shoot, and the keeper covered it. Just when it looked like we would finish with a loss, a Lekovic free was met with a header by Gibbs. It took a big enough deflection off a defender to finally get in. It was classed as an own goal, but it was great work by Gibbs to salvage a draw. However, with 17 shots to 8, we should have taken the full points.

Manchester City, Premier League, Away

City were not far from relegation last season and have started this year off slowly. It doesn't help that they sold their best player, Morocco centre back Olivier Collet, to Newcastle for ₤16.75M. They spent only a small fraction of that, signing former Rushden utility Marek Piwowarczyk for free and buying Portugal defender Ferreira (₤1.7M from Napoli) and Bosnia left back Branislav Bogdanovic (₤2.7M from Sunderland). After a couple of bad league results, I decided to change the formation around, just for this game. I went with four at the back and three in the centre, so Lekovic could finally have a break. Midfielder Antonio Gandía started on the pitch for his first game, while prodigy Leonardo was on the bench for the first time.

Neither side made much of an impression in the first half-hour, with a few wild shots at each end. City took the lead in the 36th through a free kick. Our second half was just dismal, not even threatening to score even with the début of budding superstar striker Leonardo off the bench. Worse, we conceded a second goal to our lowly opponent. So much for that experiment – back to the usual formation. This is a really worrying start to the season.

Galatasaray, Champions League Group C, Home

Galatasaray are mostly cannon fodder for this stage, though they did make it as far as the semi final back in 12/13. Argentina forward Cristan San Roman is a reasonable player.

After such a bad league result, Lekovic gave us a positive start with a fantastic 35-yard free which whistled into the back of the net. Lekovic combined with Leonardo a few minutes later, flicking up a pass for the young striker to head in his first Rushden goal. Leonardo did even better on the half-hour mark, volleying in a goal after a pass was deflected into his path. An error from Holden gifted Galatasaray a goal just before half time, but a Saad penalty in the final moments sealed a convincing 4-1 win, which could mark the arrival of Leonardo.

Tottenham, Premier League, Home

Tottenham have begun this season poorly, despite a few mid-table finishes over the last few years. Their only notable departure was Norway full back Torgeir Dahl (₤3.7M to Sampdoria), while they signed Celtic right back Asa Freeman (free), striker Chris Livingstone (free from Aberdeen) and young forward Kevin Smith (₤2.4M from Hearts).

Having opened his Rushden account in the previous game, Leonardo took a mere three minutes to add to it here, heading in a Gibbs free kick (with help from a deflection off his marker). A fine pass from partner Rexhaj set up Gonzalez for our second in just eight minutes, and Leonardo put through his second mid-way through the half. That left us with a solid half time lead, and we had most of the play after the break. Lekovic scored from another long-range free kick and defender Jimenez completed a 5-0 rout by heading in a Gibbs corner in the final minutes.

[Donners]

October, 2040

There were more than two weeks before our first game of the month, due to international matches. Genç was put out for the month with a knee injury.

Lyon, Champions League Group C, Away

Lyon have won a handful of Ligue 1 titles over the last decade, but have had minimal success in this competition. Their squad is unremarkable, particularly with their two most valuable players, Ukraine striker Andriy Sakhno and his partner, Serbian Goran Simic, out injured.

With their two main strikers out, Lyon got most of their attacking flair from teenage winger Joel Amri, who had a number of shots at goal in the first half. Ortiz was rarely challenged, but they did have a worrying number of attempts. For Rushden, the best we could manage was a few wild attempts from Haddad and Lekovic which were similarly non-threatening. Ouattara came off the bench and caused them a few problems, most notably with a header in the 74th which was barely tipped away. Neither side came any closer to scoring than that, with the game ending scoreless.

Wigan, Premier League, Home

Wigan are in second spot at this early stage, despite suffering a 6-0 hammering against mid-table Leicester a few weeks ago. They bounced straight back from the Championship as runners-up, thanks to a solid back half led by Ireland keeper Adie O'Brien. They lost midfielder Tom Davis (₤5.5M to Leeds) and signed Wales midfielder Steve Addison (₤6M from Hearts) as a direct replacement. Their other signings, defensive midfielder Kjetil Pilskog (₤2.3M from Pisa), Czech full back Michael Lukas (₤2.8M from Dinamo Kiev) and former Diamonds striker Yaser Al-Abdullah (₤450K from Newcastle) boosted their depth. Oussama Hadir made his début to give Gibbs his first rest of the season, and Jimmy Everitt also came up for the reserves so that Lekovic could have a rest.

Osipov was forced off injured after only five minutes. In a worrying first half, we had just one shot, which Rexhaj put off the crossbar. However, we only took three minutes into the second half to go ahead, with Leonardo heading in a cross from fellow young gun Jimmy Everitt. Everitt himself heading in a goal ten minutes later, and with Wigan failing to put a shot on target, we got an easy win.

Both Ortiz and backup keeper Milojevic were injured at training, which was a concern with Genç already out and Nelson on loan and unable to be recalled.

Rochdale, Premier League, Away

Rochdale are towards the bottom of League One, but last season showed that we could not afford to be complacent. With all my keepers out, I had to bring up fifth-choice Gerard van Strien.

In a dull first half, Ouattara, Haddad and Robson missed six shots between them. Having had a pretty terrible game, Ouattara finally hit the back of the net in the final five minutes with a header, and then added another in injury time for a belated 2-0 win.

Leicester, Premier League, Away

Leicester have been a mid-table side for the last three years. They lost a couple of significant players, namely Ireland defensive midfielder Craig White (₤4.6M to MK Dons), Scotland keeper Craig Tierney (₤2.8M to Real Sociedad) and Colombia defender Jose Delgado (₤9M to Barcelona). They didn't spend a lot of that income, bringing in just 33-year-old USA right back Raul Bragg (₤350K from West Ham) and left winger Peter Darlington (₤4.8M from Leeds). Holland forward Arie van der Lee scored a hat-trick in their demolition of Wigan last month. I was still stuck with van Strien as keeper.

We had a number of attacks cut out in the first quarter-hour, with forward passes from Hadir and Robson cut out. Van der Lee could have scored when he got through the defence in the 16th, but did not trouble van Strien with his wide shot. We took the lead ten minutes later with Jimmy Everitt rising over the keeper to head in a cross from fellow young winger Jacques Legrand.

Lyon, Champions League Group C, Home

Lyon were still missing their two top strikers, as they were in our scoreless draw at the start of the month. I was unable to select van Strien, as he was not registered for this competition, so an injured Genç had to start in goal.

In the sixth minute, Jimmy Everitt came down the right and tried to cross into the box. His ball deflected off his marker and drifted to the edge of the area. Né ran to it and promptly spun and drilled it into the top corner. Figueroa and Robson had shots saved in the following minutes. Né missed from similar distance, but just on half time, he was sent through by a nice little header from Figueroa. He made a great run straight for the area, and put through his second. Genç was fortunate to not be troubled in the first half. However, Lyon finally got a close-range shot a couple of minutes into the second, and easily beat him to pull one back. Robson scored with a free kick to ensure we remained on top, and Ouattara completed a 4-1 win with a late header.

| Pos   | Inf   | Team          |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |       | West Ham      |       | 10    | 7     | 1     | 2     | 16    | 8     | +8    | 22    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | Sunderland    |       | 10    | 6     | 3     | 1     | 10    | 4     | +6    | 21    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Rushden       |       | 9     | 6     | 1     | 2     | 16    | 7     | +9    | 19    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Newcastle     |       | 10    | 4     | 6     | 0     | 10    | 3     | +7    | 18    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Middlesbrough |       | 9     | 5     | 2     | 2     | 16    | 9     | +7    | 17    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Barnsley      |       | 10    | 4     | 4     | 2     | 14    | 10    | +4    | 16    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 7th   |       | Bolton        |       | 10    | 4     | 3     | 3     | 9     | 11    | -2    | 15    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 8th   |       | Wigan         |       | 10    | 4     | 3     | 3     | 9     | 13    | -4    | 15    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 9th   |       | Arsenal       |       | 10    | 4     | 2     | 4     | 11    | 8     | +3    | 14    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 10th  |       | Liverpool     |       | 9     | 3     | 3     | 3     | 5     | 3     | +2    | 12    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11th  |       | Man Utd       |       | 10    | 3     | 3     | 4     | 12    | 14    | -2    | 12    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 12th  |       | Man City      |       | 10    | 2     | 6     | 2     | 5     | 7     | -2    | 12    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 13th  |       | Leeds         |       | 10    | 4     | 0     | 6     | 7     | 10    | -3    | 12    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14th  |       | Leicester     |       | 10    | 2     | 4     | 4     | 10    | 9     | +1    | 10    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 15th  |       | Tottenham     |       | 10    | 2     | 4     | 4     | 8     | 13    | -5    | 10    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 16th  |       | Leyton Orient |       | 9     | 3     | 1     | 5     | 5     | 10    | -5    | 10    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 17th  |       | Nottm Forest  |       | 10    | 2     | 3     | 5     | 9     | 14    | -5    | 9     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 18th  |       | Sheff Utd     |       | 10    | 2     | 3     | 5     | 9     | 14    | -5    | 9     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 19th  |       | MK Dons       |       | 10    | 1     | 4     | 5     | 5     | 10    | -5    | 7     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20th  |       | Chelsea       |       | 10    | 0     | 4     | 6     | 6     | 15    | -9    | 4     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

[Donners]

November, 2040

Barnsley, Premier League, Away

Barnsley had a safe finish in their first season back and are again looking for a mid-table spot. They lost regular midfielder Alejandro Martinez (₤7.25M to Middlesbrough) and defender Karl Baker (₤1.8M to Boston United), but overall strengthened their squad with a number of signings. Among those are Newcastle centre back Mark Jukes (₤2.8M), young Abderdeen striker Aiden Watts (₤3.1M), veteran Qatar striker Jamal Mohammed (free from AZ) and Swiss right back Martin Tews (free from Duisburg). Though still far from fully fit, I selected Genç in goal rather than go with van Strien.

Haddad was sent through by a sharp Robson pass in the third minute, and was denied only by a good save. The striker raced toward the area again seven minutes later, only to be held back before he could get there. Lekovic took the free, and drilled it into the back of the net. Haddad continued to dominate, without actually managing to score – having two more shots saved, and earning another free which was sent over. Lekovic had a third free kick late in the first half and floated it into the box. Haddad was there and in space, finally heading in his first goal of the season (having set up four). We could not afford to get complacent, though, with the unfit Genç beaten in the 66th to make it 2-1. Jimenez and Saad provided much-needed protection for their keeper with some good tackles, and with Lekovic dodging the defence to score his second late in the game, we walked out with a solid 3-1 win.

Everton, Carling Cup 4th round, Away

Everton are in the Championship, having finished 18th in the EPL last season. They lost a lot of players, from 37-year-old Poland keeper Alexander Karlsen (released) to 20-year-old Nigeria winger Abdul Mohammed (₤3.2M to Aston Villa) but are mounting a promotion challenge led by new keeper Graeme Ward (free from Crystal Palace) and Australia striker Jamie Davis.

Everton managed some good set-up play but wasted it with weak finishes. Gonzalez put one shot from a tight angle across the face of goal, and with his next opportunity from a similar position, he decided to centre. This time he found a team-mate, and Haddad beat the keeper with a well-placed shot. Partner Figueroa scored in the 37th, having received a long ball out of defence from Mertakkas. Genç did not face many challenges, and keeping out a free kick in the second half was all he needed for a clean sheet.

MK Dons, Premier League, Away

Dons were just one spot above relegation in 39/40, and are at risk of going down this season. After selling Northern Ireland utility Mark Flynn to West Brom for ₤3.9M, and letting Slovenia winger Anton Majoros go to Doncaster for ₤1.4M, they spent ₤13.25M on new faces. The most expensive was Bolivia defender Limberg Torres (₤5.25M from Portuguesa), followed by Ireland defensive midfielder Craig White (₤4.6M from Leicester) and Norway forward Alexander Hansen (₤3.3M from Chelsea). They also signed several players for free, including Australia striker Fabian Delev (Standard), Northern Ireland full back John Brown (Real Madrid) and Sweden defender Emre Andersson (Valencia).

Rushden had a number of shots in the first half hour, including a powerful drive from Robson, all of which were dealt with by 38-year-old ex-Rushden and Norway keeper Adem Moe. He only managed to parry a free from Lekovic though, and Leonardo pounced on the rebound to give us a 35th minute lead. The wonderkid continued to impress, setting up partner Figueroa for a second in the 60th. MK Dons hit back with one late goal, but we were clearly the dominant side and took the 2-1 win.

Dinamo Kiev, Champions League group C, Away

We lost both Saad and Gonzalez to international duty, with a number of players who have become senior regulars, like Osipov and Hadir, ineligible. Still, we beat them 4-0 last time, so that shouldn't be a concern.

Despite seven shots between strikers Leonardo and Figueroa in the first half, it took 43 minutes for the latter to finally put us ahead after a fine pass from Né. Né, playing as an attacking midfielder in the absence of Gonzalez, quickly added one of his own before the break. Wingers Holden and Lekovic were terrific, and the latter set up the former to seal the win with our third goal. A simple win, and even simpler qualification from the group stage, with 13 points after 5 games.

Liverpool, Premier League, Home

Liverpool have started this season a little slowly for a team which was expected to be in European contention once again, despite spending far more than they earned from transfers. Their big loss was Germany midfielder Damian Seel (₤17.25M to Lazio), but they brought in a direct replacement with Peruvian Gianfranco Mujica (₤15.25M from FC Bayern) along with Holland winger Daniel Bosschaart (₤9.25M from Lazio), Bosnia forward Darko Ilic (₤5.5M from Barcelona), left back Petter Nilsen (₤6.25M from Napoli), Nigeria striker Victor Njoku (free from Almeria) and our own Petr Zbozinek (free). As if that wasn't enough, they brought in Norway left winger Odd Hansen on loan from Milan, so that he can compete at both club and international level with another ex-Diamond, Tor Magnus Pedersen.

Lekovic had the first shot of the game; his sharply-curving free kick punched away from the top corner. The midfielder had five shots in the first half, four of them saved and one wide. Liverpool did not pose much of a threat, but were able to hold us off despite our numerous chances. Ouattara started the first half badly, blazing way over after being played through by a long ball out of defence. However, in the final 20 minutes, he was there to head in a chipped pass from Jimenez. With Liverpool still offering nothing, that was really all that we needed. A late goal to Figueroa was just a bonus. That was our sixth consecutive league win.

Sunderland, Premier League, Away

Sunderland are on top of the table despite our recent winning streak. That's quite a rise from their 7th place last season, and lower half finishes for two years before that. Their new signings are fairly unremarkable – Sweden striker Petter Ulander (₤6.5M from Pisa), young midfielder Ivo Gerrits (₤2.1M from Mallorca) and a handful of backups – but with ex-Diamond Béla Szili scoring regularly, they've pulled off plenty of tight wins.

33-year-old Bosnian striker Lazar Stojanovic caused us a lot of problems in the early minutes, and eventually put Sunderland ahead. In contrast, it was a teenager who scored for Rushden, with Leonardo continuing his impressive form with a 38th minute equaliser. Figueroa broke through the defence shortly after half time, and was only denied by a good save. Edman and Hadir missed shots later in the half as the clash of the top sides petered out to a 1-1 draw.

Mertakkas was named Young Player of the Month and I was runner-up as Manager of the Month.

[Donners]

December, 2040

Galatasaray, Champions League group C, Home

We returned to Nene Park against a side we belted 4-1 in our last encounter. After we had five shots saved in the first half-hour, the floodgates were opened by a 25-yard strike from Robson. In the next ten minutes, defender James Gibbs scored twice – first from a penalty, then with a long-range strike that was at least a match for Robson's. Striker Figueroa bettered their efforts with a 30-yard goal early in the second half, and then Robson finished the game with the best of the lot – a curling 35-yard free. A 5-0 hammering to emphasise our progression from this stage.

Auckland City, Club World Championship Semi Final, Neutral

We have a side-trip to Japan as an awkward interruption to the season, by virtue of winning the Champions Cup. Fortunately, our opponents are not a major threat, made up of unknown New Zealand players. That gave me the opportunity to rest a few players, but we were still two goals up after ten minutes, with both scored by out-of-favour striker Nuno. Winger Jacques Legrand added another from 30 yards to establish our dominance in the first half. Legrand set up Nuno to complete his hat-trick in the second half, and a long-range strike from Hadir completed a second straight 5-0 rout.

Pumas, Club World Championship Final, Neutral

I again rested players, despite this being the final. Pumas are a pretty good side, with Lebanon left winger Mohammad Shatila , Brazil striker Ferreira and Argentina midfielder Miguel Ruiz among their stars.

A second-minute counter-attack led by Edman saw Rushden have the first shot, with Ouattara's effort saved. Ouattara was everywhere in the early minutes, putting a second shot into the side netting and having a third deflect off a defender. It was third time lucky, with Nuno ducking in to collect the loose ball and score. The strikers had ten shots between them in the first half, with Rushden clearly on top at the break. They had another five in the first few minutes of the second half, and the fact that the score was still only 1-0 highlighted why they aren't in the side more often. Nuno finally got his second late in the game to belatedly seal the victory – our second win in this competition.

Bristol Rovers, Carling Cup quarter final, Home

Though we returned to England after our trophy win, the disruption to the league season continued with a Carling Cup game. Our opponent was League One side Bristol Rovers, who feature striker Chris Park as their only player of note.

Figueroa had a shot cleared off the line in the opening minute. He had another effort saved moments later, while Everitt headed over the bar. Robson forced a parry with a long-range free in the 18th. The ball fell to Figueroa, who had his follow-up kept out. Haddad was the next to have a go, and though a defender partially blocked it, that only succeeded in knocking it past the keeper and in for our first goal. The strikers swapped roles in the 27th, with Haddad's parried shot knocked in by Figueroa. A sneaky dive from Figueroa late in the half fooled the referee, and Gibbs scored with the penalty. With Ortiz keeping out occasional shots from Rovers, and a late goal from a direct free from Robson, we took a 4-0 win.

Bolton, Premier League, Away

Finally back to the league (with the sides above us having played four more games), and against a title contender. Bolton were 8th last season and are looking a little better so far this time around. That is despite the big loss of England centre back Matthew Talbot, sold to Milan for ₤16.5M, and the retirement of midfielder Julio Campos. Their replacements were minimal, with Macedonia centre back Nenad Vasilev (₤4.2M from Celtic), Stoke midfielder Micky Ryan (free) and Angola striker Mateus (free from San Lorenzo) the only notable additions to their squad.

Aside from a long-range shot from Né, which was saved, neither side looked like scoring in the first half. Another long-range shot from Né was saved in the 68th, and with nobody else able to put their shots on target, it didn't look like either side would manage to score. With the game entering injury time, Bolton made a late attack. Albania striker Hasan Vata was clearly offside as he collected a pass, but he was allowed to continue, and put them ahead with what proved to be the winning goal. Leonardo was put out for a month with a pulled hamstring.

Nottingham Forest, Premier League, Away

This Boxing Day clash saw us face a side we beat 3-1 at home. Forest are doing badly, and could well be relegated. Rushden had plenty of shots in the first half hour. Most were from a fair distance out, with Gibbs, Robson, Gonzalez and Holden all unsuccessful. Nuno had two shots from inside the area, and missed both. A free kick from Gibbs in the 37th set up a goal at last, with Lekovic heading it in. With Ortiz making a few good saves, and Rushden in control for most of the game, that one goal was enough.

Sheffield United, Premier League, Away

We beat Sheffield United twice at the start of the season; 2-0 in the league and on penalties in the UEFA Super Cup. They have not had a particularly good year, sitting in the middle of the table with no stand-out players.

Sheffield United were barely seen in the first half, and were only kept level through poor finishing from strikers Rexhaj and Figueroa. It took an incisive pass from Né to send Figueroa through for an unmissable goal which finally put us ahead. A penalty from Saad in the second half made sure of the win.

Mertakkas was named Young Player of the Month again.

[Terk]

Belated congratulations on the Champions League win (even better than you did Man Utd in the final ). I expect nothing less than a repeat this season, and given how easy qualification from the group was, I don't think that's asking too much

[mark wilson27]

Brilliant story thats all I can say, I've never had the patience to stay with a game this long 2040 very impressive....cant wait for more

[Donners]

I appreciate the kind words and faith. I honestly don't think I can continue with this much longer. I've started a post-graduate law course in addition to full-time work, and it's hard to justify the amount of time this story takes up. Still, I'll go on as long as I reasonably can.

January, 2041

With the transfer window open, the bids came in for several Rushden stars. Though I deflected interest in striker Leonardo, I did sell defender Anastasios Maladenis to Real Madrid for ₤11M (the player wanted to go to that club) and striker Bjørn Rexhaj to Palermo for ₤9M (his contract expired at the end of the season). I made one signing, teenage Polish right winger Adam Lis for ₤500K from Wisla, as a prospect.

Leeds, Premier League, Away

Leeds look safer than they have for a few years, sitting in the middle of the table. They've already made a couple of moves to start the month, selling Brazil defender Marcos to Deportivo for ₤3.7M and buying former Rushden keeper Marcus Bergseth for ₤900K from Cardiff.

Nuno played an unusual role, turning playmaker for midfielder Tom Robson to send in a powerful shot, which was saved despite a deflection. Leeds' first shot was likewise deflected, but unfortunately, it went past Ortiz to put them ahead after only seven minutes. Holden had a few free kicks saved, and then when Nuno was upended in the area, Saad couldn't beat the keeper from the spot. It didn't look like it was going to be our day, until Haddad dribbled around a defender and struck in an equaliser. Rushden had double Leeds' shots in the second half, but despite good work from Ortiz to keep us level, and ten shots between our strikers alone, we only took a point.

Preston, FA Cup 3rd round, Away

Preston are pushing for promotion from League One, and have a reasonably solid squad by that league's standards. We don't have a great record against weaker sides in these sort of games, so I didn't rest too many players.

Nuno quickly eliminated thoughts of another failure against a lowly side, heading in a goal from a Né cross after five minutes. Né had a terrific start to the game, earning a penalty which was put through by Saad, then scoring one himself after Ouattara had a shot parried. Nuno scored his second late in the half, and Saad completed the win with a second penalty – a comfortable 5-0 win.

Newcastle, Carling Cup semi final, leg 1, Away

We continue to be distracted by cup games, though at least it's better than an early exit. Newcastle are a big challenge, sitting third in the league – though they are only three points ahead of us despite playing four more games. They held us to a 1-1 draw in our last encounter, and their only change since then was the sale of right back Even Henden to Middlesbrough for ₤7.5M. They are missing several players through injury, including leading scorer Paul Davis and Uruguay keeper Javier Tchadkijian.

A long ball out of defence from Lekovic sent Nuno into the area in the third minute, but he couldn't get around the keeper. In contrast, Newcastle took their first chance, with veteran striker Henry Lopez scoring from a parried shot. Mertakkas managed to prevent them poaching a goal in the same fashion a few minutes later. He had to save the day again late in the half, this time with a tackle, and we took advantage with a goal in injury time. Though it was credited as an own goal, Nuno created it with his shot. With the only event of the second half being a fractured arm suffered by Edman, we finished this first leg with a slight advantage through an away goal.

Middlesbrough, Premier League, Home

Middlesbrough are just into the top half, which is a bit of a fall from last season. They spent ₤10M on new players at the start of this month, with right back Even Henden (₤7.5M from Newcastle), right winger Kristoffer Hauge (₤1.4M from MK Dons) and defender Steve McDermott (₤2.8M from Man U) added. England striker Phil Conroy already has 15 goals for the season. Erik Meland and Rafael returned to the seniors after terrific reserve form.

The first chance of the game was created by a long through from Lekovic, but Figueroa wasted it with a high shot. The two new inclusions, Meland and Rafael, played a neat one-two, which was rendered by a shot from Meland which was even worse than the Figueroa miss. Just as it looked like being a bad first half for Rushden, Figueroa was brought down in the area. Saad put us ahead from the spot to put us ahead at the break. Middlesbrough continually pressed our defence, but we held up well. Captain and Man of the Match Saad did most of the work, ensuring our one-goal win.

Though Rafael broke back into the side with good reserve form, I released him to Nottingham Forest for free, since I wasn't going to re-sign him at the end of the season. Leicester also stole uncontracted backup Gerard van Strien, and I sold right back Abdullah Al-Bishi to Villarreal for ₤8M.

Preston, FA Cup 3rd round replay, Home

With an already packed schedule, the last thing I wanted was another game thrown upon us due to a scoreless effort. I certainly didn't want extra time in this game to make things even worse, so it was a relief to see Nuno put us ahead within five minutes. Saad scored from a penalty, and Né poached a parried shot for a third inside half an hour. Nuno did as he tends to do, dominating a weak side with his second before half time. Saad continued to add to his goal tally with another penalty in the second half, completing a 5-0 win.

Newcastle, Premier League, Away

Our second of three games against Newcastle this month almost began with a disaster, with Genç having to save a Lopez shot just a dozen seconds in. Instead, it turned out to be a brilliant start, with a long pass from Jimenez headed in by Ouattara for a third-minute lead. It did not last long, though. Newcastle had several good attacks, and though Genç made some saves, he was beaten in the 17th to level the scores. They took the lead on the half-hour mark, and our day got much worse with Saad sent off for a second yellow card. Newcastle scored a third before half time, and it got even worse in the second half. Much worse. Not one, not two, but three more goals to Newcastle completed an embarrassment for Rushden. That was our biggest loss in over a decade, and frightening considering we'd only conceded 12 goals in 18 games to that point.

Newcastle, Carling Cup semi final, leg 2, Home

That's about the worst possible form that could be taken into a game, having just lost 1-6 to the same opponent. I changed things around, sacrificing a defensive midfielder to play four at the back, with Eivind Stiansen making his début at left back.

However, we got off to a fantastic start, with Figueroa continuing his fabulous season by breaking through the defence and chipping the keeper for a seventh-minute lead. A cross from Everitt was deflected into the path of the on-fire striker in the 23rd, and he doubled the lead. We took that lead into half time, and absolutely dominated after half time. After numerous saved shots, a penalty from Gibbs made sure of our progression to the final, despite a late Newcastle goal.

Sheffield United, FA Cup 4th round, Home

We beat Sheffield United at the end of last month, though since then they have added Belgium left back Marco Costi (₤1.7M from Betis) and forward Tobias Bauer (₤1.5M from Cardiff).

The first half was quite unimpressive, with Veneruso heading over and a handful of misses from the likes of Legrand and Gonzalez. Figueroa came closest in the 44th, having a shot tipped away. With a chip from Ouattara and wild cross from Né also kept out by the opposing keeper, we will have yet another game added to the schedule with the rematch of this round.

Manchester City, Premier League, Home

Despite beating us 0-2 early in the season, City are dangerously close to the relegation zone. Curiously, they opted to sell their leading scorer, Holland striker Fred van Bremen, to Barcelona for ₤16.5M. Centre back Jamie Muggleton also left for Newcastle for ₤5.75M. Their replacements are young Rangers striker Gary Bowden (₤5M), Tottenham utility Asa Freeman (₤5.25M) and Bosnia forward Damir Kodro (₤11.25M from Betis).

Figueroa quickly erased memories of our last game against City, volleying in a great goal from a Veneruso pass. The defender's pass was terrific, and also came about through his interception of a clearance. James Gibbs doubled the lead mid-way through the half, heading in a Né free kick. City did put a number of shots on target, but a Man of the match performance from Ortiz in goal kept them at bay. 2-0, reversing the result of our earlier encounter.

[Donners]

February, 2041

Tottenham, Premier League, Away

Tottenham are bottom of the table, and we hammered them 5-0 in our first encounter. Utility Asa Freeman (₤5.25M to Man City) and Portugal left back Jose Frederico (₤1.6M to West Brom) have left the sinking ship, though Vitesse left back Jorg de Jager joined.

Nuno had a few chances early, with one saved, one wide and one hitting the back of the net – that last one set up by a header into the area from Holden. Tottenham rarely threatened, and we walked out with a simple 1-0 win.

Sheffield United, FA Cup 4th round replay, Away

This is the return match from our draw last month. Anderson was added to the senior side, having scored a rather impressive seven goals against Liverpool reserves last week.

A poor pass from former Diamond Erik Knol sent Rushden into a counter-attack straight after the kick-off. Gonzalez propelled us forward with a long ball, and strikers Leonardo and Anderson exchanged passes as they neared the area. It was the latter with the shot, and he celebrated his return to the seniors with a goal inside a minute. He nearly had another in the 12th, hitting the woodwork from another counter-attack. Partner Leonardo had two more shots to end the half, forcing top saves with each.

Though we had seemed to be on top for most of the game, a volley from a corner brought Sheffield level in the 63rd. Leonardo tried to single-handedly win the game, with no less than six shots on target – four in the final 25 minutes – but could not get through unheralded keeper Matt Pears. Extra time came and went, and we went to penalties. After Saad and Gibbs were successful, Ortiz gave us the advantage by saving their second shot. With Mertakkas, Nuno and Leonardo making no mistake, they didn't even need their fifth shot – 5-3 to ensure our progression.

Leyton Orient, Premier League, Away

Orient look destined to bounce straight back down to the Championship, having had just five wins for the season. They've added to their massive list of signings, with former Northern Ireland striker Barry Kelly (₤20K from Rangers) and former Sweden left winger Kent Magnusson (free from Racing) joining their motley squad.

Strikers Haddad and Ouattara proved ineffective in the first twenty minutes, and it took the man playing behind them, Né, to collect a loose ball, evade a defender and score in the 23rd. He then set up Ouattara for our second in three minutes, taking us to a comfortable lead. Orient were not completely out of the game, and a goal from a late substitute gave us a bit of a scare. However, it was their last chance of the game, and we walked out as the winners.

Coventry, FA Cup 5th round, Home

Yet another Cup game to disrupt our league campaign. Coventry are in the Championship, having fallen to League One as recently as a few years ago. They have some good players, including recently-signed Poland forward Dawid Szcztoka and striker Ian Talbot, who has 22 goals for the season.

A spectacular volley from Né put Rushden ahead after five minutes. Anderson was unfortunately not able to perform as well as he did in his first game back, missing a shot and then going off injured. Undeterred, Né added a second, and Ouattara headed in another just after half time. Ortiz made a good late save to ensure we got a comfortable 3-0 win.

Benfica, Champions league 1st knockout round, leg 1, Away

In more than ten attempts, Benfica have only got past this stage once – and that was back in 09/10. Their squad is not bad at all, highlighted by Bruno, who can play at either end of the pitch. He is just one of several Brazil internationals, with midfielder Pereira, striker Souza and winger Tiago just a few more.

There were shots at either end in the first few minutes. In the 12th, Holden made a great interception on the left wing and charged forward. He somehow avoided all the defenders and made it into the area. It looked like he could have scored one of the best goals in the club's history, but he shot over the bar. Né played Ouattara through in the 26th, but the striker couldn't get past the keeper. Figueroa switched the roles, heading across to Né at the top of the area a minute later. Né got past the keeper, but slammed it into the woodwork. Benfica had few chances, yet made the most of them – scoring in the 37th. Né should have equalised just after the break when he was one-on-one with the keeper. Instead, he sent in a weak shot which was easily held. With a Robson free kick flying over and a late Holden header deflected, it looked like we would finish the leg behind. However, with five minutes to go, Ouattara hit the ball into a crowded area. It somehow got through to Robson, who curled in an equaliser from the edge of the area. That away goal gives us a slight advantage for the second leg.

Huddersfield, Carling Cup Final, Neutral

Huddersfield are fighting for promotion to the Premiership, the year after being relegated. Striker Tom McGarry is a decent player, but otherwise they are quite poor. We have lost in this competition five times, as recently as last season.

A wild cross from Holden almost put us ahead in the first few minutes, but a more deliberate attack, with Né passing to Figueroa, who struck from 20 yards, saw us score in the 7th. Rushden kept the pressure on, and that unstoppable Figueroa put through his second from the edge of the area just on half time. Huddersfield did not have a single shot for the game, and we cruised to the simplest of 2-0 wins to finally add the Carling Cup to the trophy cabinet.

Né was rewarded for his terrific season with increased wages and a further extension to his contract.

[Donners]

March, 2041

Leicester, Premier League, Home

Leicester are in their usual spot of the last few seasons, in the upper part of the middle of the table. They snatched our uncontracted keeper Gerard van Strien and bought Morocco centre back Nordine El Idrissi (₤160K from Catania) and sold Scotland keeper Ally Perry to Chelsea for ₤3M. Austria defender Andreas Hickersberger has been terrific for them.

Strikers Ouattara and Figueroa had a shot each in the first five minutes. The former missed, the latter did not. Leicester were completely kept out of the game, with Mertakkas particularly impressive in defence. Né was a constant threat from the attacking midfielder role, and he set up a second for Figueroa late in the game.

Benfica, Champions league 1st knockout round, leg 2, Home

With a 1-1 draw away, we only had a slight advantage going into this leg. It got a lot bigger just 47 seconds in. An attempt to clear the ball out of defence was intercepted by a high leap from Ouattara, who headed across to partner Figueroa. He slipped the ball past the unaware keeper to make it a 2-1 aggregate. Figueroa had a shot saved in the 11th, then earned a penalty a minute later. Saad put it through, and then doubled his tally in the 24th with another spot kick. Benfica hit back just before the break with a shot which deflected off Gibbs, but an aggregate lead of 4-2 with 45 minutes to play looked pretty safe. Bruno and Souza both missed with headers early in the second half, which was quite a relief – another away goal to Benfica at that point would have put us right on the back foot. Instead, they failed to score, and we are through to the next stage.

Manchester City, FA Cup 6th round, Home

We beat City 2-0 in the league in January, and they are missing new signing Asa Freeman through injury. Figueroa continued his stellar season, scoring in the second minute. Saad also added to his mounting tally, with a penalty in the 20th to make it 2-0. Ouattara joined in the party with a goal of his own two minutes later, and then scored the best so far with a 30-yard rocket before half time. Yet another penalty, once again no mistake from Saad – 5-0 at half time. A sharp pass from Né saw Figueroa put his second in off the post to make it a 6-0 rout. The only sour note was that Ouattara went off injured shortly after the break, turning out to have suffered a broken arm which will keep him out for a month.

Chelsea, Premier League, Home

We have now played an incredible 5 to 6 fewer league games than any other side in the EPL. This is a stand-alone game, so at least we close the gap a little bit, but it's going to be tight in the next few months. A win here would put us on top, despite the games difference. In contrast, Chelsea are 17th, though we curiously haven't played them yet this season. Their decline from last season's 12th spot could be put at least in part to their ₤36.5M worth of departures – including England defender Shaun Jeffrey (₤13.75M to Lazio), striker Sean Wheeler (₤7.5M to Sunderland), Latvia midfielder Kristaps Dibrivny (₤5.75M to Newcastle), right back Graham Powell (₤5.75M to West Ham) and Norway forward Alexander Hansen (₤3.3M to MK Dons). They spent just ₤3.8M replacing them, with ₤3M of that on Scotland keeper Ally Perry (from Leicester), who has played just one game. They did get two very cheap 20-year-old prospects, Paraguay defender Ricardo Díaz (₤675K from Libertad) and Fiji striker Robert Lal (₤100K from Nadi). They have also loaned in Newcastle left back Tony Weaver from Newcastle and Racing striker Juan Arroyo, but it obviously isn't enough.

Tom Robson had three free kicks in the first quarter-hour, and was not successful with any of them. Strikers Nuno and Anderson did not have a single shot between them in the entire first half, and we ended it scoreless. The introduction of Figueroa off the bench and an incredible three red cards to Chelsea in the final ten minutes should have seen Rushden go ahead. Instead, mediocre keeper Tommy Beattie turned into Superman, saving eleven shots to somehow deny us the three points.

Barnsley, Premier League, Home

Barnsley are in the lower half of the table and are apparently not too displeased with that, having added just Cook Islands midfielder Benjamin Tangi from Sheffield Wednesday (₤800K) over January. Veteran Qatar striker Jamal Mohammed is still a threat.

After such a frustrating game, it only took two shots for Rushden to break through this time around. Gonzalez missed an early header, but Haddad was able to pounce on a loose ball and poach a goal in the 25th. We didn't have many chances after that, though, and they equalised soon after half time though Mohammed. We lacked the spark that we had against Chelsea, and did not restore the lead. That means that Rushden remain a point off the top, albeit with four games in hand.

Wigan, Premier League, Away

Wigan are in the bottom half, though a few spots from relegation. Unlike Barnsley, they spent up big in order to survive, with seven players added during the window. Ireland striker Gavin Cox (₤4.6M from Dundee United), Holland defender Edwin de Groot (₤1.6M from Leece), UAE left back Khamis Omar (₤150K from Liverpool), Australia forward Chris Aleksic (₤180K from Newcastle Jets) and Wales striker Ian Kamara (₤2.1M from Dundee United) have all been added to their senior squad.

Unusually, we were on the back foot in the first half. Ortiz had to make a number of saves, and we offered very little in an attacking sense. Even when we finally did get through their defence, with a Meland pass cutting through a crowd, Haddad wasted it with a terrible finish. A scoreless draw.

West Ham, Premier League, Home

West Ham are fighting for the title and are close to us on points, though from more games. Despite this, they opted to sell a few senior players in January, including Egypt left winger Walif Youssef (₤5.25M to Villarreal), young Austria keeper Andreas Friesenbichler (₤1.2M to Lazio) and Macedonia left back Adnan Kacurkov (₤2.9M to Bolton). Their replacements are full back Lukas Grob (₤2.6M from Gladbach) and France defender Nicolas David (₤750K from Saint Etienne). We lost both Figueroa and Leonardo to international duty, leaving us with the uninspiring pair of Haddad and Anderson. Keeper Mario Milojevic came up for his first game of the season.

A long ball out of defence from Stiansen found Anderson on the edge of the area in the 21st minute. With three defenders closing from behind, and the keeper coming out at him, he coolly evaded them and tapped a shot into the open goal. Another long defensive pass, this time from van Persie, set up partner Haddad, who made it 2-0. West Ham hit back in the 34th – and scored again four minutes later. A two goal lead was wiped out in four minutes, and we were back to where we started. Both Anderson and Haddad charged forward on a counter-attack with two minutes left in the half. Haddad lost the ball to a tackle, but it spilled out to Anderson, who slammed in his second from the edge of the area.

Milojevic had to make a save just a minute into the second half, and Haddad kept their keeper busy at the other end four minutes later. There was no saving a 20-yard rocket from Anderson in the 55th – a hat-trick for a player who was in the reserves last month, and a two-goal buffer. A sharp pass from Everitt set up Anderson for his fourth, ensuring the win. Unfortunately, that did not put us on top, as Newcastle have the same number of points and a superior goal difference – albeit from three more games.

I was given a new four-year contract from Rushden on ₤190K per week, and was named Manager of the Month. I also re-signed striker Nuno for two more years.

| Pos   | Inf   | Team          |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |       | Newcastle     |       | 30    | 15    | 12    | 3     | 41    | 13    | +28   | 57    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | Rushden       |       | 27    | 17    | 6     | 4     | 43    | 22    | +21   | 57    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | West Ham      |       | 31    | 16    | 9     | 6     | 37    | 25    | +12   | 57    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Middlesbrough |       | 31    | 15    | 5     | 11    | 43    | 34    | +9    | 50    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Sunderland    |       | 31    | 14    | 8     | 9     | 32    | 24    | +8    | 50    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Man Utd       |       | 29    | 14    | 6     | 9     | 37    | 28    | +9    | 48    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 7th   |       | Arsenal       |       | 29    | 12    | 9     | 8     | 33    | 21    | +12   | 45    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 8th   |       | Leicester     |       | 31    | 11    | 12    | 8     | 29    | 20    | +9    | 45    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 9th   |       | Leeds         |       | 31    | 11    | 12    | 8     | 33    | 28    | +5    | 45    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 10th  |       | Bolton        |       | 31    | 9     | 16    | 6     | 26    | 27    | -1    | 43    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11th  |       | Liverpool     |       | 30    | 9     | 10    | 11    | 24    | 23    | +1    | 37    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 12th  |       | Sheff Utd     |       | 30    | 10    | 7     | 13    | 30    | 33    | -3    | 37    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 13th  |       | Barnsley      |       | 31    | 9     | 10    | 12    | 30    | 36    | -6    | 37    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14th  |       | Man City      |       | 30    | 8     | 12    | 10    | 18    | 20    | -2    | 36    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 15th  |       | Wigan         |       | 31    | 9     | 9     | 13    | 21    | 36    | -15   | 36    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 16th  |       | MK Dons       |       | 31    | 8     | 8     | 15    | 22    | 37    | -15   | 32    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 17th  |       | Chelsea       |       | 30    | 5     | 13    | 12    | 27    | 36    | -9    | 28    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 18th  |       | Tottenham     |       | 31    | 6     | 8     | 17    | 28    | 49    | -21   | 26    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 19th  |       | Leyton Orient |       | 29    | 7     | 5     | 17    | 16    | 37    | -21   | 26    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20th  |       | Nottm Forest  |       | 30    | 3     | 11    | 16    | 20    | 41    | -21   | 20    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

[WLKRAS]

This remains brilliant Donners, fantastic effort to get to 2041 as well

[Donners]

Thanks. Pretty scary to think that I'm contracted to 2045!

April, 2041

Sevilla, Champions League Quarter Final, leg 1, Away

Sevilla have suffered an astonishing fall from grace this season – having not finished lower than 6th for a decade, they are 20th. They've not really lost any stars or suffered injuries to key players, so this is quite baffling. Serbia forward Dusan Paunovic (formerly of Rushden) and Algeria right back Sid Ahmed Korichi are among their under-performing stars.

Holden and Lekovic missed with early frees. A quite innocuous shot from 25 yards out somehow got past Ortiz, putting Sevilla ahead in the 20th. We had two far better chances, with close-range headers from Né and Leonardo, but both were turned over the bar. The second half was much quieter than the first, and with our only decent chance blazed over by Holden, we will go into the second leg a goal down.

Chelsea, Premier League, Away

Having thrown away two points in our last encounter, it was important to get a win here. Gonzalez and Anderson were absent through international duty. A good save was the only thing that kept out an early Nuno shot, while Figueroa did not even challenge the keeper with three attempts. Both strikers were denied several times after the break, until Nuno finally broke through with half an hour to go. We had a second ruled offside in the 70th, but Figueroa finally sealed it in injury time. That finally put us on top, three points clear of Newcastle and West Ham with two and three games respectively in hand.

MK Dons, Premier League, Away

Dons are dangerously close to relegation at this late stage of the season. Despite this, they added no players during the transfer window, and actually sold left winger Evgeni Ivanov (₤2.5M to Bradford), centre back Adam Johnson (₤850K to Port Vale) and right winger Kristoffer Hauge (₤1.4M to Middlesbrough). Norway striker Ole-Kristian Dahlen has 15 goals for them, and only one other player has more than two for the season.

Dons had a player sent off in under ten minutes, but we failed to take advantage. The only on-target shots we had were long-range frees from Gibbs, and they were dealt with by 38-year-old Adem Moe. Even with another Dons player sent off in the 79th, we continued to waste chances. It looked like we had finally broken the deadlock in the 85th, only for Leonardo's goal to be ruled offside. A very disappointing draw, throwing away two points just as we did against Chelsea last month.

Sevilla, Champions League Quarter Final, leg 2, Home

Since we went into this game already a goal behind, a good start was essential. Dominic Holden managed to dodge a defender in the third minute and put the ball into the area, but it was promptly cleared. Defender Saad had more success with a much less attractive pass, with a ball hacked out of defence somehow finding Nuno in space. He was left one-on-one with the keeper, and won the battle to make it a 1-1 aggregate. The danger for Rushden was the chance that Sevilla could score an away goal, and that happened through a free kick in the 20th. That put us behind on aggregate, and meant we had to score at least twice to make it to the semi. Nuno and Figueroa both missed in the following minutes. In the 34th, Lekovic came down the right and crossed into the area. Figueroa found space, and this time he scored. It was 2-2 on aggregate at half time, with Rushden behind on an away goal.

Figueroa missed a long volley at the start of the second half, and though he evaded a defender in the 61st, his shot was saved. However, it spilled to Né, who put us ahead with the follow-up. A goal to Sevilla would put them back ahead on away goals, but it was Rushden on the front foot. Né missed twice, and though Sevilla threatened with their only shot of the second half, Ortiz was good enough to keep it out. A 25-yard free from Lekovic finally sealed a 4-2 aggregate win for Rushden.

Arsenal, FA Cup Semi Final, Away

We've already won the Carling Cup, are in a good position to take the league title and still alive in the Champions League, so it would be great to make the final of this competition. Bizarrely, we have not yet played 8th placed Arsenal in the league yet, with two games in three days listed for later this month. They released veteran Jamaican striker Peter Carr and sold Peru defender Juan Espinoza (₤16M to Valencia) at the end of last season, bringing in Poland forward Lukasz Sobolewski (₤19.5M from Barcelona), defender Thomas Steen (₤10.5M, also from Barcelona), Denmark midfielder Erkan Caner (₤9M from Galatasaray) and South Korea utility Lee Jung-Hyun (₤5.75M from Cesena). They have also loaned in Romania right back Dumitry Neacsu from Roma. Former Rushden striker Marcel Huisman has 20 goals for the season.

The first half hour of the game was utterly uneventful. The first shot of the game didn't come until the 35th minute, with a Lekovic free held. We took the lead just after half time, with Haddad scoring from a scramble after a Rushden corner. Gibbs kept the pressure on with some terrific long shots, and though there were a handful of misses from Anderson, our one goal was enough.

Manchester United, Premier League, Home

United are in position for a European spot, though they are not a threat for the title. As with Arsenal, we have not yet played United this season. With over ₤60M each of sales and purchases, their squad changed quite a bit from the side which was 5th last year. Their big inclusion was Spain centre back David Sanchis (₤21.5M from Roma), with new partner Kim Jae-Min (₤18M from Inter). Much of their income came for Saudi winger Yousif Al-Kaltham (₤30.5M to Atletico), and Algeria utility Sid Korichi (₤11.75M to Sevilla) also left. Newcastle have jumped two points ahead of us, but we have played three fewer games.

A counter-attack launched by Figueroa saw his partner, Anderson, put Rushden ahead after six minutes. Ortiz kept out a shot from England striker Chris Preston, but the chances dried up after that. Indeed, the next chance wasn't until the 47th minute, when a one-two exchange saw Anderson play through Né for our second. We were fortunate that young England forward Scott Hunter was only accurate with one of five shots, and that one was held by Ortiz. A solid 2-0 win, putting us on top for the moment.

Sunderland, Premier League, Home

Sunderland are fourth on the table but are ten points behind us. They held Rushden to a 1-1 draw early in the season, and since then they have added Chelsea striker Sean Wheeler (₤7.5M) and loaned in MK Dons midfielder Jan Damen, while selling backup keeper Adam Radford (₤2.7M to Rangers). Ex-Rushden striker Béla Szili has 18 goals for them.

There were extremely few chances in the first half. Indeed, there was not a shot on target until Meland found Haddad in space in the 43rd minute. His shot from the edge of the area went over the keeper and into the back of the net for the lead. Ortiz had to make some terrific saves in the second half, with mistakes from Meland and van Persie opening the door for Sunderland. With a late Szili header kept out, we were able to hold on. With Newcastle held to a draw by Nottingham Forest, we moved further ahead on top of the table. They also drew with Sheffield United two days later.

Middlesbrough, Champions League Semi Final, leg 1, Home

Middlesbrough are towards the top of the table, and beat us 0-3 last September, though we won our last encounter through a penalty back in January. They are missing their second-highest scorer, Pal Lindgrasmo, due to a knee injury, but England (and ex-Rushden) striker Phil Conroy has 21 for the season. Among their other former Diamonds are defenders Even Henden and Ronald.

We couldn't have got off to a worse start, with Phil Conroy putting Middlesbrough ahead in just two minutes. That actually turned out to be their only shot of the half, with Rushden totally on top from that point. Of course, we have had plenty of games where we dominated without scoring, so it was a relief when Leonardo made it 1-1 in the 34th. Meland skimmed the bar late in the half, and a few minutes into the second half, Né broke the Rushden record for assists in a season when he found Figueroa, who put us ahead. He was denied twice by 35-year-old keeper Peter Ledgister, but when a Leonardo shot was parried to his feet, he tapped in his second in the 71st. Conroy woke up late, and really tested Ortiz with two sharp strikes. Fortunately, our Man of the Match keeper was up to the challenge, and avoided conceding another goal. The only downside was the loss of Holden to a knee injury in the final moments, which will put him out for a month.

Arsenal, Premier League, Away

We knocked Arsenal out of the FA Cup just last month. Haddad, the scorer in that game, was out injured, while Figueroa and Robson were rested. After a shot from Leonardo in the sixth minute, there were absolutely no chances at either end. We did not play particularly well, and when ex-Diamond Salvatore Chiappara scored for Arsenal in the second half, Rushden had no answer. That was our first league loss since Newcastle belted us 1-6 back in January.

Arsenal, Premier League, Home

We only had a few days to wait for an opportunity to get revenge. We put four shots on target in the first twenty minutes, two of them terrific frees from Lekovic which were barely tipped over. The other two were also dealt with by Serbia veteran Predrag Mitrovic. Milojevic had to make a good save of his own from former Rushden striker Salvatore Chiappara as the half ended scoreless. Arsenal began the second half with a burst of shots, with Milojevic again having to work hard to keep out a shot from another former Diamond, Marcel Huisman. We finally had success at the other end in the 60th, with Anderson breaking through the defence to put Rushden ahead. Yet another familiar name, Itay Mizrahi, had a shot saved by Milojevic, and we walked out with the win.

Middlesbrough, Champions League Semi Final, leg 2, Away

Our 3-1 win gave us a substantial advantage for this leg, though our opponents did have an away goal. We started badly, with Middlesbrough scoring after only 11 minutes through young Ireland striker Nick Cooke. We hit back through Leonardo in the 17th, restoring the two-goal buffer and giving us a valuable away goal. His good work was soon undone by Nenad Lekovic, who was sent off for a two-footed tackle. Middlesbrough only took three minutes after that dismissal to again cut our lead, and it was 4-3 on aggregate at half time.

The game was evened up when Middlesbrough had a player sent off for a second yellow soon after half time. Nuno missed three shots in the second half, but we still retained our lead right up until the 89th minute. Just as injury time approached, Middlesbrough had a shot on goal. Ortiz barely kept it out, but the ball spilled to Cooke, who scored his second. 4-4, and with an away goal each, we were set for extra time. Or so it seemed. Former Rushden right back, who set up the previous goal, crossed into the area with injury time almost expired. It deflected off Veneruso and into the path of Cooke, who completed his hat-trick and dealt Rushden a devastating blow to knock us out of the Champions League. I would have loved to have defended this title, particularly with the league all but sewn up and the Carling Cup already won, so it's really disappointing to go out in this fashion.

I was named Manager of the Month.

[Donners]

May, 2041

Leyton Orient, Premier League, Home

Orient are dangerously close to relegation, despite the presence of on-loan Rushden midfielder Raúl Callejόn and the free signing of veteran Sweden left winger Kent Magnusson from Racing in January. Anderson put us ahead in the tenth minute, heading in an Edman cross, and from then on we were on top. Orient offered little threat, in keeping with their position, and a late free from Lekovic sealed the win.

West Ham, Premier League, Home

West Ham are just off the pace for the title, despite selling Egypt winger Walid Youssef (₤5.25M to Villarreal) and Macedonia left back Adnan Kacurkov (₤2.9M to Bolton) in January. Our players, particularly wonderkid Leonardo, kept West Ham's ex-Diamond keeper Abdullah Al-Dossari under plenty of pressure, with five saves in the first half. While it was still scoreless deep into the second half, our own Milojevic did not hold up nearly as well as Al-Dossari when he was put under pressure. The Hammers scored twice in the final ten minutes to condemn us to a loss. However, with Newcastle also suffering a loss, to Middlesbrough, our seventh successive title win was confirmed.

Manchester United, Premier League, Away

We beat United 2-0 last month, but I rested several players for this game, with the title already confirmed. Our second-string side was gifted a goal after seven minutes, with a wayward United defensive pass evading the keeper and going in for an own goal. Van Persie then returned the favour, conceding a penalty that saw them equalise, and they then went ahead on a counter-attack. Meland and Stiansen formed an unlikely pair for the latter to score our equaliser on the half-hour mark, only for United to make it 2-3 just before the break. Their star England strikers, Scott Hunter and Chris Preston, added another goal each in the second half, and while Stiansen managed to score his second late in the game, it was only a consolation in the 3-5 loss.

Liverpool, Premier League, Away

Despite their spending spree at the start of the season, Liverpool have only made it to a mid-table spot. To cover some of those costs, they sold Spain midfielder Mikel Vázquez to Athletic for ₤17.5M in January. Though it was a fairly even game, a curling shot from Leonardo and sharp strike from Gonzalez made it 2-0 before half time, and that was the final score.

Bolton, Premier League, Home

Bolton are another mid-table side, though in January they added England utility Jimmy Huckerby (₤3.6M from Man U), Macedonia left back Adnan Kacurkov (₤2.9M from West Ham) and Israel midfielder Moshe Magen (₤2.1M from Siena). This was again an even game, but despite five shots to Leonardo, we did not manage to score this time around. Bolton did not threaten Milojevic, and we ended the league season with a scoreless draw.

Middlesbrough, FA Cup Final, Neutral

That left just one game to go in a very long season, but there was no doubting the motivation for this one – not just a chance to make it a treble, but to avenge our Champions League exit. Unfortunately, we were missing leading scorer Figueroa due to international duty.

We started on the back foot, with Ortiz having to keep ex-Diamond Phil Conroy out in the third minute. Scotland midfielder Gary Durie also caused problems, as we did not have a single shot in the first half hour. However, after having to do so much offensive work. Ortiz then set up an attack with a long clearance in the 40th. His pass found Gonzalez in plenty of space, and from 30 yards, he simply curled a shot into the back of the net. Gonzalez was just everywhere in the second half, and though Ortiz still had a bit of work to do, we held on to win our second FA Cup.

[Donners]

The season in review

Summary

| Pos   | Inf   | Team          |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   | ECC   | Rushden       |       | 38    | 23    | 8     | 7     | 56    | 30    | +26   | 77    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   | ECC   | Newcastle     |       | 38    | 19    | 15    | 4     | 51    | 21    | +30   | 72    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   | ECC   | Man Utd       |       | 38    | 19    | 8     | 11    | 51    | 38    | +13   | 65    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   | ECC   | Sunderland    |       | 38    | 18    | 9     | 11    | 45    | 30    | +15   | 63    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   | UC    | West Ham      |       | 38    | 18    | 9     | 11    | 43    | 33    | +10   | 63    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   | UC    | Arsenal       |       | 38    | 16    | 10    | 12    | 39    | 27    | +12   | 58    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 7th   | UC    | Middlesbrough |       | 38    | 17    | 7     | 14    | 53    | 46    | +7    | 58    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 8th   |       | Leicester     |       | 38    | 13    | 15    | 10    | 34    | 27    | +7    | 54    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 9th   | ITC   | Leeds         |       | 38    | 13    | 15    | 10    | 46    | 40    | +6    | 54    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 10th  |       | Liverpool     |       | 38    | 12    | 13    | 13    | 33    | 31    | +2    | 49    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11th  |       | Bolton        |       | 38    | 10    | 18    | 10    | 31    | 36    | -5    | 48    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 12th  |       | Man City      |       | 38    | 11    | 14    | 13    | 29    | 28    | +1    | 47    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 13th  |       | Sheff Utd     |       | 38    | 12    | 11    | 15    | 38    | 41    | -3    | 47    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14th  |       | Wigan         |       | 38    | 12    | 10    | 16    | 28    | 42    | -14   | 46    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 15th  |       | Barnsley      |       | 38    | 11    | 11    | 16    | 34    | 45    | -11   | 44    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 16th  |       | MK Dons       |       | 38    | 9     | 12    | 17    | 26    | 42    | -16   | 39    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 17th  |       | Leyton Orient |       | 38    | 11    | 6     | 21    | 25    | 50    | -25   | 39    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 18th  | R     | Chelsea       |       | 38    | 8     | 14    | 16    | 34    | 43    | -9    | 38    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 19th  | R     | Tottenham     |       | 38    | 8     | 10    | 20    | 35    | 57    | -22   | 34    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20th  | R     | Nottm Forest  |       | 38    | 5     | 15    | 18    | 27    | 51    | -24   | 30    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

| Pkd   | Inf   | Name                         | Apps  | Gls   | Ast   | MoM   | Pas   | Tck   | Drb   | Sh T  | Av Rat| 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DC    | Wnt   | José Antonio Jiménez Jiménez | 51    | 1     | 2     | 1     | 68%   | 2.41  | 0.16  | 27%   | 7.39  | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DC    | Hol   | Michalis Mertakkas           | 48 (1)| -     | 3     | 3     | 67%   | 2.95  | 0.21  | -     | 7.33  | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DMC   | Wnt   | James Gibbs                  | 46 (2)| 6     | 7     | 4     | 79%   | 2.51  | 0.59  | 55%   | 7.44  | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DC    | Hol   | Wisam Saad                   | 46    | 10    | 1     | 2     | 67%   | 2.88  | 0.07  | 92%   | 7.28  | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| MR    | Wnt   | Nenad Lekovic                | 41 (1)| 7     | 11    | 2     | 66%   | 2.69  | 3.23  | 49%   | 7.43  | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| GK    | Hol   | Luciano Ortiz                | 41    | -     | 1     | 2     | 48%   | -     | -     | -     | 7.20  | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Unh   | Rafael Figueroa              | 38 (1)| 27    | 12    | 5     | 72%   | 0.16  | 2.05  | 60%   | 7.41  | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| ML    | Wnt   | Mohamed Né                   | 35 (5)| 9     | 18    | 8     | 76%   | 1.44  | 1.89  | 49%   | 7.53  | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DMC   | Wnt   | Tom Robson                   | 33 (2)| 5     | -     | 1     | 78%   | 2.79  | 0.84  | 53%   | 7.34  | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Trn   | Dominic Holden               | 33 (2)| 1     | 6     | 7     | 73%   | 2.31  | 3.89  | 44%   | 7.46  | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| AMC   | Hol   | Jesús González               | 30 (1)| 4     | 5     | -     | 73%   | 1.77  | 1.07  | 48%   | 7.13  | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S4    | Unh   | Per Edman                    | 27 (4)| 1     | 5     | -     | 73%   | 1.87  | 1.20  | 54%   | 7.00  | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S3    | Wnt   | Jimmy Everitt                | 25 (3)| 2     | 4     | 1     | 68%   | 2.00  | 2.64  | 31%   | 7.29  | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S5    | Hol   | Marco van Persie             | 24 (2)| -     | 1     | 1     | 77%   | 2.29  | 0.21  | 57%   | 7.00  | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S1    | Hol   | Abderrazak Haddad            | 22 (3)| 8     | 6     | -     | 75%   | 0.32  | 2.40  | 40%   | 7.04  | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| FC    | Wnt   | Leonardo                     | 21 (2)| 10    | 2     | 1     | 71%   | 0.14  | 1.91  | 59%   | 7.13  | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Wnt   | Valentin Ouattara            | 20 (8)| 9     | 10    | 2     | 65%   | 0.19  | 2.06  | 50%   | 7.29  | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Hol   | Erik Meland                  | 19 (5)| -     | 4     | -     | 76%   | 2.80  | 0.20  | 35%   | 7.08  | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Hol   | Christian Veneruso           | 18 (7)| -     | 2     | -     | 67%   | 3.11  | 0.33  | -     | 6.96  | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Slt   | Aslan Genç                   | 17    | -     | -     | -     | 50%   | -     | -     | -     | 6.88  | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Wnt   | Nuno                         | 15 (4)| 10    | 1     | 3     | 69%   | 0.32  | 1.79  | 51%   | 7.21  | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Trn   | Oussama Hadir                | 14    | 1     | 1     | -     | 79%   | 2.70  | 0.29  | 37%   | 7.21  | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| FC    | Wnt   | Anderson                     | 13 (1)| 8     | 2     | 1     | 68%   | 0.24  | 1.04  | 52%   | 7.14  | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S2    | Wnt   | Jacques Legrand              | 12 (9)| 1     | 6     | -     | 71%   | 1.21  | 2.22  | 30%   | 6.95  | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Hol   | Eivind Stiansen              | 9 (1) | 2     | 2     | 1     | 72%   | 2.78  | 0.11  | -     | 7.10  | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Wnt   | Andrey Osipov                | 9     | -     | -     | 1     | 65%   | 2.74  | 0.36  | -     | 6.89  | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Bid   | Mario Milojevic              | 8     | -     | -     | -     | 51%   | -     | -     | -     | 6.88  | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Wnt   | Robert Ulmer                 | 4 (1) | -     | -     | -     | 66%   | 3.23  | 0.46  | -     | 7.00  | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Hol   | Ron Revivo                   | 1     | -     | -     | -     | 66%   | 3.00  | -     | -     | 6.00  | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

Gibbs was runner-up as Champions League Best Player, and Ortiz, Holden, Gibbs, Lekovic, Figueroa and Robson made the Champions League Dream Team.

This was an unquestionably successful season, with our first-ever treble. Indeed, we'd only won the FA Cup once in our history, so to win both that and the Carling Cup for the first time is terrific. Of course, we also won the league, with a few games to go – our seventh-straight league title, and tenth in eleven seasons. However, the terrible exit from the Champions League against Middlesbrough casts quite a shadow over our season. To lose to two goals in the final minutes, particularly to a domestic side, was unforgivable.

We finally got a settled first team keeper, with Ortiz taking over the role in his first season at the club. He played well, and with a consistent defensive line-up (Mertakkas, Jimenez and Saad played nearly 150 games between them), we were good in most games. However, big defeats at the hands of Newcastle (1-6), Man U (3-5, albeit with some players rested) and Middlesbrough (1-4, in that infamous game) are concerning.

Gibbs and Robson were terrific as defensive midfielders, and Meland and Hadir provided decent support. The midfield was strong, with Lekovic and Holden on the winds. Né broke the club record for assists while playing as an attacking midfielder, and Gonzalez rotated through the role with some success.

The big star was Figueroa, with 27 goals for the season – bettered only by Jose Oliva in 34/35 and Laurie Dalla Valle back in the lower leagues. He was ably supported by a number of options, including young star Leonardo and veteran Nuno.

The reserves and Under-18s dominated their leagues, as always. Tsichlas scored 21 goals in 15 games and Anderson managed seven in one 9-0 slaughter.

Around the world: major awards and results

Rushden Supporters’ Player of the Year:

Mohammed Né

World Player of the Year:

Jose Zabalza (Real Madrid)

World Footballer of the Year:

Jose Zabalza (Real Madrid)

England:

Winner: Rushden \o/

Relegated: Chelsea, Tottenham, Nottingham Forest

Promoted: West Brom, Huddersfield, Bradford

Spain:

Valencia

Italy

Roma

Champions League:

Valencia

UEFA Cup:

Newcastle

[Donners]

The Transfers

Players In

| Date               | Person               | From               | Fee                | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20.5.2040          | Andreassen, Jørgen   | Brann              | Free               | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5.6.2040           | Hasselbaink, Martijn | NAC Breda          | Free               | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14.6.2040          | Meinhardt, Christoph | Thun               | Free               | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.7.2040           | Ivanovic, Zoran      | Partizan           | Free               | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.7.2040           | Ortiz, Luciano       | Central            | £2.3M              | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.7.2040           | Hadir, Oussama       | Vicenza            | Free               | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.7.2040           | Osipov, Andrey       | Lyon               | Free               | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 12.7.2040          | Tønseth, Anders      | Brann              | £7K                | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 12.7.2040          | Pasquini, Gian Paolo | Siena              | £140K              | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.1.2041           | Lis, Adam            | Wisla              | £550K              | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|                    | Total                |                    | £3M                | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

Players Out

| Date               | Person                | To                 | Fee                | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 19.6.2040          | Barth, Markus         | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 19.6.2040          | Popovich, Ben         | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 19.6.2040          | Orr, Julian           | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 19.6.2040          | Ismaili, Nikola       | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.7.2040           | Prahl, Fredrik        | Juventus           | Free               | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.7.2040           | Berry, Jamie          | Chelsea            | Free               | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.7.2040           | Olsen, Jan Fredrik    | Siena              | Free               | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.7.2040           | Zbozinek, Petr        | Liverpool          | Free               | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.7.2040           | Rudi, Marius          | Leeds              | £775K              | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.7.2040           | Avila, Ricardo        | Valencia           | Free               | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.7.2040           | Knol, Erik            | Sheff Utd          | Free               | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.7.2040           | Piwowarczyk, Marek    | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.7.2040           | Robinson, Shane       | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2.7.2040           | Robinson, Shane       | Nottm Forest       | Free               | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4.7.2040           | Majrashi, Mohammed    | 1860 München       | £4.8M              | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 9.7.2040           | Duarte, Eneko         | R. Sociedad        | £5.5M              | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3.1.2041           | Maladenis, Anastasios | Real Madrid        | £11M               | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6.1.2041           | Rexhaj, Bjørn         | Palermo            | £9M                | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 10.1.2041          | Al-Bishi, Abdullah    | Villarreal         | £8M                | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 19.1.2041          | Rafael                | Nottm Forest       | Free               | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 22.1.2041          | van Strien, Gerard    | Leicester          | Free               | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|                    | Total                 |                    | £39M               | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

Loans Out

| Date               | Person                   | To                 | Fee                | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 23.6.2040          | Sköld, Love              | Dundee Utd         | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 8.7.2040           | Jasso, Enrique           | AIK                | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 8.7.2040           | Ivanovic, Zoran          | Offenbach          | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 9.7.2040           | Suroor, Saeed            | Offenbach          | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 10.7.2040          | Nelson                   | Sporting CP        | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11.7.2040          | Pregja, Rigers           | Offenbach          | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14.7.2040          | Guild, Gary              | Airdrie Utd        | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 15.7.2040          | Callejón, Raúl           | Leyton Orient      | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 21.7.2040          | Duff, Andy               | Rangers            | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 8.8.2040           | van Duijvenbode, Lorenzo | Port Vale          | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 9.8.2040           | Haug, Morten             | Reading            | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 12.8.2040          | Beale, Alex              | Blackburn          | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 15.8.2040          | Bruno                    | Bristol Rovers     | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 15.8.2040          | Gigliotti, Fabio         | Ternana            | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20.8.2040          | Stiansen, Eivind         | West Brom          | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 26.11.2040         | Gaitán, Cristian         | AIK                | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 27.11.2040         | Jasso, Enrique           | AIK                | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 24.1.2041          | van Duijvenbode, Lorenzo | Brentford          | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 27.1.2041          | Straub, Ralf             | Brentford          | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 28.1.2041          | Gandía, Antonio          | Real Madrid        | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5.2.2041           | Hasselbaink, Martijn     | Colchester         | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|                    | Total                    |                    | £0                 | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

Youth In

| Date               | Person             | To                 | Fee                | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 19.6.2040          | Scarsella, Jimmy   | Rushden            | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 19.6.2040          | Pastore, Andrea    | Rushden            | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 19.6.2040          | Chandler, Luke     | Rushden            | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 19.6.2040          | Perkins, Chris     | Rushden            | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 19.6.2040          | Robinson, Tony     | Rushden            | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 19.6.2040          | Williams, Philip   | Rushden            | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|                    | Total              |                    | £0                 | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

Only three of our new faces played senior football, with Ortiz the lone regular in the side. He certainly excelled, taking over the top keeping role from Genç and holding it through the season. Osipov and Hadir spent much of the year in the reserves, but should have a role in the future. The others will take time to develop.

There were plenty of players who departed, but none who had any notable success. The likes of Prahl, Maladenis and Zbozinek were solid without ever starring.

Some of the players loaned out did well. Love Skold made the SPL Team of the Year, the players at Offenbach did well, Gandía had a handful of games for Real Madrid and Callejόn played a full season in the EPL, named Premier League Player of the Month and PFA Young Player of the Year runner up.

[Donners]

Pre-season, 41/42

We suffered a big loss early in the season, with Dominic Holden's monstrous wage demands prompting a free transfer to Napoli. Talented young striker Nikos Tsichlas also opted to depart, agreeing terms with Milan, and midfielder Love Skold went to Valencia. I had arranged a ₤3.9M transfer for a terrific Colombian full back, but he was denied a work permit even after an appeal, so I didn't go through with it.

I fended off bids for Leonardo (some over ₤22M), Callejόn and Stiansen. I accepted a ₤7.75M Liverpool bid for Nuno, but he rejected their contract. Real Madrid bid ₤20M for Anderson and ₤9.5M for Everitt. I rejected the latter, but bumped the Anderson bid up to ₤23.5M. They agreed, and the inconsistent striker was on his way. Also departing was Tom Robson, who took interest in a bid from Juventus, which I negotiated to ₤16M. Fellow defensive midfielder Erik Meland went to Porto for ₤10M. Another player to leave was reserve striker Zoran Ivanovic, off to Roma for ₤7.5M. Left back Ron Revivo went to Sevilla for ₤8.5M.

Turkey striker Bayraktar Ǖmit and uncapped Albanian Rigers Pregja gained work permits, and were signed to three-year deals. Immediately, some huge bids came in for Pregja, including one from Sevilla which offered ₤8M and a star striker. Not wanting to lose Pregja, I rejected that bid. Those two signings freed me to sell Nuno to Sunderland for ₤5.5M, taking me to ₤71M of sales for the off-season – and that's with the loss of Tsichlas, Holden and Skold for free.

Despite all those departures, I only brought in four players. Three were free transfers, and I spent ₤2.6M on Holland left back Luc Vergouwen. I also finally re-signed troublemaker Per Edman.

Gibbs and Saad were named the top two defenders in Europe. Figueroa was third as Forward of the Year.

Incidentally, a 15-year-old left winger promoted from my youth academy is already valued at ₤2.4M. With so many players leaving, it would be nice to produce some of our own players. Of course, I did not need to sell any of those – our bank balance is over a billion pounds. However, I don't want to leave unhappy players at the club.

Note: I suspect this will be the final season of this story. What I have written of it so far has been done over a period of five months, which gives you an indication of how limited my time is. My reign does not seem to be coming to a natural end, whether through sacking or a particularly brilliant achievement (unless you count the continued success of Rushden), so I apologise if the ending does seem a bit arbitrary. I just don't think that it's fair to myself or anyone who reads it if this is written purely out of a sense of obligation. I trust a million words written over a period of 30 months is about enough.

[Donners]

The Club

Home Ground: Nene Park, Irthlingborough - capacity 55,150

Rivals: Kettering, Northampton (fierce); Peterborough, Oxford, Luton

Reputation: Worldwide

Estimated Value: ₤178M

Balance: ₤1,256M

Transfer Budget: ₤690M

Media Prediction: 1st

Board Expectation: Win the title

Fan Expectation: Win the title

Staff

Chairman: Ryan Woods

Assistant Manager: Ferreira

Coaches: Ondrej Geri, Cosimo Bodini, Lukasz Dragon, Greg Paterson, David Maggi, Matteo Pizzi, Kirk Moore, Massimo Pinto (General)

Physios: Carmine Laurenza, Edson

Scouts: Andy McWilliam, Drew Black, Danny Russell, Esteban, Fraser Soutar, David Crawford

The Squad

| Pkd     | Inf     | Name                         | No.     | Squad Status | Cnt     | Weekly wage | Expires   | Value   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DC      | Wnt     | Wisam Saad                   | 3       | Key Player   | F/T     | £17,000     | 30.6.2044 | £10M    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| MR      |         | Nenad Lekovic                | 22      | First Team   | F/T     | £38,000     | 30.6.2042 | £14M    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| AMC     |         | Jesús González               | 32      | First Team   | F/T     | £30,500     | 30.6.2042 | £9.5M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DMC     | Inj     | James Gibbs                  | 17      | First Team   | F/T     | £29,500     | 30.6.2043 | £18.5M  | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| ML      |         | Mohamed Né                   | 8       | First Team   | F/T     | £27,500     | 30.6.2044 | £24M    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| FC      |         | Rafael Figueroa              | 13      | First Team   | F/T     | £21,000     | 30.6.2045 | £23.5M  | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Wnt     | Aslan Genç                   | 1       | Rotation     | F/T     | £12,500     | 30.6.2042 | £3.6M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Bid     | José Antonio Jiménez Jiménez | 30      | Rotation     | F/T     | £10,000     | 30.6.2043 | £5M     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       |         | Abderrazak Haddad            | 10      | Rotation     | F/T     | £16,250     | 30.6.2044 | £9.5M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Wnt     | Oussama Hadir                | 25      | Rotation     | F/T     | £13,750     | 30.6.2043 | £5.75M  | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DC      |         | Michalis Mertakkas           | 33      | Rotation     | F/T     | £24,000     | 30.6.2044 | £5M     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| GK      |         | Luciano Ortiz                | 31      | Rotation     | F/T     | £5,000      | 30.6.2043 | £6.25M  | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S1      | Bid     | Per Edman                    | 29      | Rotation     | F/T     | £12,500     | 30.6.2043 | £1.3M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S3      | Wnt     | Jimmy Everitt                | 7       | Rotation     | F/T     | £725        | 30.6.2042 | £7M     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DR      |         | Christian Veneruso           | 5       | Rotation     | F/T     | £10,000     | 30.6.2044 | £2.3M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       |         | Luc Vergouwen                | 34      | Rotation     | F/T     | £7,500      | 30.6.2045 | £2.6M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| FC      | Wnt     | Leonardo                     | 21      | Rotation     | F/T     | £1,700      | 30.6.2044 | £8.75M  | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S2      | Wnt     | Andrey Osipov                | 16      | Rotation     | F/T     | £16,500     | 30.6.2043 | £6M     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Loa     | Nelson                       | -       | Rotation     | F/T     | £1,000      | 30.6.2042 | £2.9M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Wnt     | Valentin Ouattara            | 12      | Rotation     | F/T     | £7,250      | 30.6.2043 | £7M     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Bid     | Mario Milojevic              | 14      | Backup       | F/T     | £5,500      | 30.6.2042 | £2.9M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Wnt     | Antonio Gandía               | -       | Backup       | F/T     | £3,700      | 30.6.2042 | £4.2M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S4      | Wnt     | Jacques Legrand              | 26      | Backup       | F/T     | £4,500      | 30.6.2043 | £5.5M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       |         | Marco van Persie             | 37      | Backup       | F/T     | £8,500      | 30.6.2044 | £3.4M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Wnt     | Morten Haug                  | -       | Backup       | F/T     | £2,500      | 30.6.2044 | £2.2M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S5      | Wnt     | Bayraktar Ümit               | -       | Backup       | F/T     | £10,000     | 30.6.2044 | £4.3M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DL      | Bid     | Eivind Stiansen              | 35      | Backup       | F/T     | £1,300      | 30.6.2043 | £3.2M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Wnt     | Rigers Pregja                | -       | Backup       | F/T     | £1,100      | 30.6.2044 | £5.75M  | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Wnt     | Gian Paolo Pasquini          | -       | Hot Prospect | F/T     | £2,900      | 30.6.2043 | £1.5M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Loa     | Ricky Matheson               | -       | Youngster    | F/T     | £4,000      | 30.6.2044 | £2.3M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Wnt     | Fabio Gigliotti              | -       | Youngster    | F/T     | £4,000      | 30.6.2042 | £3.5M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Wnt     | Phil Rowe                    | -       | Youngster    | F/T     | £140        | -         | -       | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Bid     | Abraham García               | -       | Youngster    | F/T     | £3,000      | 30.6.2043 | £2.8M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Wnt     | Adam Evans                   | -       | Youngster    | F/T     | £110        | -         | -       | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Inj     | Federico Cioffi              | -       | Youngster    | F/T     | £975        | 30.6.2043 | £2.7M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Wnt     | Andreas Mavridis             | -       | Youngster    | F/T     | £550        | 30.6.2042 | £2.1M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Wnt     | Adam Lis                     | 18      | Youngster    | F/T     | £650        | 30.6.2043 | £1.5M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Yth     | Marat Ignatjev               | -       | Youngster    | Yth     | £110        | 30.6.2042 | -       | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Yth     | Sonny Jarrett                | -       | Youngster    | Yth     | £110        | 30.6.2042 | -       | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Yth     | Jimmy Davies                 | -       | Youngster    | Yth     | £110        | 30.6.2042 | -       | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Yth     | Mikulas Kollar               | -       | Youngster    | Yth     | £110        | 30.6.2042 | -       | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Yth     | Martyn Driscoll              | -       | Youngster    | Yth     | £110        | 30.6.2042 | -       | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Yth     | Jim Elliott                  | -       | Youngster    | Yth     | £110        | 30.6.2042 | -       | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Yth     | Stuart Phillips              | -       | Youngster    | Yth     | £110        | 30.6.2042 | -       | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Wnt     | Mario Muhr                   | -       | Youngster    | F/T     | £325        | 30.6.2042 | £1.1M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Wnt     | Martijn Hasselbaink          | -       | Youngster    | F/T     | £675        | 30.6.2042 | £1.5M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Wnt     | Anders Tønseth               | -       | Youngster    | F/T     | £775        | 30.6.2043 | £1.2M   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

Wage Budget: £5,601,610

Total Weekly Wages at 10/8/41: £363,388

Senior Players: 20

Reserve Players: 27

U-18 Players: 13

[Note that players classed as Backup, Prospect or Youngster will not be profiled (with a few exceptions), and are regarded as reserve players]

Player [Pos, Nationality, Height, Age] – Rushden Seasons, Rushden League Games, Rushden League Goals

Goalkeepers

Aslan Genç [GK, TUR – 16 Caps, 176cm, 27] – 8, 82, 0

Dropped out of the side early in the season, and with so much competition around and a year left on his contract, this is probably the end of his time here.

Ricky Matheson [GK, SCO – 10 U21 caps, 187cm, 23] – 0, 0, 0

Brought in on a free transfer from Leeds, Matheson has a bit of EPL experience and comes recommended by a scout. He has a lot of work to do before he is ready for the first team, though.

Mario Milojevic [GK, AUT – 3 Caps, 179cm, 25] – 6, 14, 0

Played a handful of games in the seniors after good reserve form. He did not do enough to displace Ortiz, but should be thereabouts as a backup.

Nelson [GK, POR – 3 Cap, 177cm, 23] – 4, 17, 0

Had a very good season on loan with Sporting CP, and looks to be a very capable backup.

Luciano Ortiz [GK, ARG – 3 Caps, 180cm, 23] – 1, 17, 0

Did quite well in his first season, taking the number one role from Genç. Though he only played 17 league games, he was in goal for 41 overall, performing particularly well in the Champions League.

Champions League Dream Team 40/41

Defenders

Per Edman [D/Wb/M L, SWE – 18 Caps, 179cm, 23] – 5, 23, 1

Something of a whinger, Edman finally signed a new contract after months of complaining. He's a good left back, and though he had to play mostly as a winger last season, he will play in his preferred position this year.

James Gibbs [D C/DM, ENG – 9 Caps, 181cm, 25] – 8, 95, 3

Had another terrific season as a defensive midfielder. With Robson and Edman gone, he will still be playing that role despite being named one of the top defenders in Europe.

Premier League Player of the Month September 2038; PFA Player of the Year 2040; Premier League Team of the Year 39/40; Supporters' Player of the Year 39/40; UEFA Defender of the Year 2041; Champions League Dream Team 40/41

Morten Haug [D C, NOR – 4 U21 caps, 186cm, 23] – 3, 0, 0

Has spent three seasons out on loan, including a full season in the Championship in 40/41, and it's time he found a first team spot. Haug is signed for three more years, so he will be eased in.

Jose Antonio Jimenez Jimenez [D C, ESP – 5 Caps, 183cm, 24] – 2, 51, 1

Held his spot, and did well enough to make it into the Spain side. He started in a remarkable 51 senior games, and though he rarely excelled, he was always solid. Has a big role to play again.

Michalis Mertakkas [D RC, CYP – 28 Caps, 183cm, 22] – 3, 40, 0

Was eventually re-signed, on pretty big wages for a young defender. He also had a very solid season and will continue to be a regular – especially now that he has been trained as a right back.

Apollon L Supporters' Player of the Year 36/37; Premier League Young Player of the Month April 2040, December 2040

Andrey Osipov [D C, BLR – 23 Caps, 181cm, 24] – 1, 7, 0

Looked reasonable in a handful of games, but the other three were better, and he was relegated to the reserves. He should still be a reasonable backup.

Wisam Saad [D C, IRQ – 19 Caps, 177cm, 25] – 5, 65, 8

A fantastic defender, and very reliable from the penalty spot. Add in his leadership, and it's clear he's a vital part of our team.

Eivind Stiansen [D/Wb L, NOR – 7 U21 caps, 179cm, 23] – 3, 6, 0

Returned from a successful loan at West Brom to play a handful of senior games. He's moderately talented and should play a bit now we are using a left back.

Marco van Persie [D C/DM, HOL – 10 U21 caps, 176cm, 26] – 3, 22, 0

Played quite a few senior games and earned a new contract, though he never looked particularly impressive. A solid backup at best.

Christian Veneruso [D/Wb R, ITA – 3 U21 caps, 175cm, 22] – 1, 13, 0

Looked fairly good in his first season, following a ₤3M move. He looks quite talented and will play more of a role this season.

Midfielders

Jimmy Everitt [AM/F RC, ENG – 13 U21 caps, 177cm, 22] – 5, 15, 2

Stepped into a senior role and looked very good. He should be an excellent prospect for the future, and I will re-sign him shortly.

League One Young Player of the Month November 2038

Antonio Gandía [M C, ESP – capped at U19 level, 182cm, 23] – 5, 2, 0

Played a couple of senior games before heading off on loan to Real Madrid. He's played a lot of La Liga games, but it's time he found a role here. I may have difficulty re-signing him, as he's asking for a big wage increase.

Jesus González [AM C, VEN – 57 Caps, 178cm, 29] – 8, 142, 20

Lost his place to Né somewhat, but in such a long season he certainly had a role to play. This may well be his last season, considering his age and big wages.

=#8 most Rushden games

Oussama Hadir [DM, MOR – 27 Caps, 182cm, 23] – 1, 8, 0

Did fairly well in a few games, and with Robson and Meland gone, he will have more of a role.

Jacques Legrand [AM LC, SWI – 12 Caps, 176cm, 25] – 4, 14, 1

Did not do nearly as well last season as I hoped. This is an important season for him, as with Holden gone, the left wing is available.

Nenad Lekovic [AM RC, SER – 42 Caps, 183cm, 29] – 7, 100, 12

A veteran now, and an important part of the side. He scored a number of goals through free kicks and set up plenty more. This is the last year of his contract, and re-signing him may be hard.

Champions League Dream Team 37/38, 39/40, 40/41; Supporters' Player of the Year 38/39; PFA Player of the Year 2039, runner-up 2038; Premier League Team of the Year 39/40

Mohamed Né [AM LC/F, IVO – 30 Caps, 172cm, 24] – 4, 71, 17

Did not score a great number of goals,which was my complaint at the start of the season, but set up 17 – a club record. He has been signed up for a few more years, but will have to switch from his attacking midfield role to the left wing due to Holden's departure.

Premier League Young Player of the Month April 2038, January 2039; Premier League Player of the Month November 2038; Supporters' Player of the Year 40/41

#7 most Rushden assists

Luc Vergouwen [Wb L, HOL – 2 Caps, 177cm, 24] – 0, 0, 0

Bought for ₤2.6M from PSV, and doesn't look nearly as impressive as I thought. He has excellent pace but his skills need work.

Forwards

Rafael Figueroa [sT, MEX – 19 Caps, 178cm, 23] – 4, 30, 14

Had a terrific season, earning a new contract and scoring a fantastic 27 goals for the year – equal third-best in club history. However, only 11 of them were in the league, with devastating form in the Cups and Europe.

Champions League Dream Team 40/41

Abderrazak Haddad [sT, MOR – 29 Caps, 183cm, 24] – 4, 43, 18

After such an impressive end to the previous season, Haddad was not so good in 40/41. Though I've cleared out a lot of competition, there are a few more on the rise to challenge for his spot.

Leonardo [sT, GER – 3 Caps, 181cm, 20] – 2, 14, 6

Started his career at Rushden with a bang, but slowed up after a few games. His lack of pace is his major weakness, but that hasn't stopped some massive bids coming in. He is a brilliant target striker, especially for his size.

SPL Young Player of the Month October 2039, January 2040, February 2040, April 2040; Scottish PFA Young Player of the Year runner-up 2040; SPL Team of the Year 39/40

Valentin Ouattara [sT, SWI – 5 U21 caps, 185cm, 23] – 4, 21, 7

Played plenty of games outside the league, and proved to be a regular scorer. He missed a lot of games through injury, which raises questions over his durability.

Rigers Pregja [sT, ALB, 181cm, 19] – 2, 0, 0

Despite not even having a youth cap, Pregja earned a work permit through exceptional performances at Offenbach – scoring at a goal a game with a Man of the Match award in half his matches. He's a great target striker and has terrific skills.

Bayraktar Ǖmit [sT, TUR – 1 Cap, 180cm, 23] – 2, 0, 0

Also earned a work permit through his performances, in this case at AIK. He is a very skilful sharpshooter and is good in the air.

Overview

Despite a stack of sales, we still have a very strong side. There are some talented young players coming through, and I finally have a bit of cover at full back. This should be another good year.

Goalkeeping: Lots of options, with Ortiz the clear favourite, Nelson a great backup and Milojevic and Genç solid options.

Defence: Some full backs at last, and a very stable defence.

Midfield: The loss of Holden shouldn't be too bad, with Né able to take over on the left wing. It would be nice if Gandía could get some games.

Forward: Terrific, despite the sales, with some top young players coming through.

First XI

Full backs at last, with backups for every position.

GK: Luciano Ortiz

RB: Michalis Mertakkas

LB: Eivind Stiansen

CB: Jose Jimenez Jimenez

CB: Wisam Saad

DM: James Gibbs

RM: Nenad Lekovic

LM: Mohammed Né

AM: Jose Gonzalez

CF: Rafael Figueroa

CF: Leonardo

Sub: Per Edman

Sub: Jimmy Everitt

Sub: Andrey Osipov

Sub: Jacques Legrand

Sub: Bayraktar Ǖmit

Captain: Wisam Saad, Aslan Genç

Penalties: Wisam Saad, James Gibbs, Michalis Mertakkas

Free Kicks: (L) Oussama Hadir, Marco van Persie; ® Leonardo, Nenad Lekovic

Corners: (L) Mohammed Né, James Gibbs; ® Christian Veneruso, Jesus Gonzalez

Throw Ins: (L) Per Edman, Jacques Legrand; ® Nenad Lekovic, Wisam Saad

Playmaker: Mohammed Né, James Gibbs, Marco van Persie

Target Man: Valentin Ouattara, Michalis Mertakkas, Leonardo

[Donners]

August, 2041

I re-signed a number of players, including Everitt, Nelson and Gandía.

Newcastle, Community Shield, Home

With Rushden winners of both the league and FA Cup, we faced league runner-up Newcastle in the Community Shield. They had significant transfers both in and out, as usual. Among the bigger names to go were Holland forward Thijs Muhren (₤12.25M to Roma), midfielder Mark van Dijk (₤10.5M, also to Roma), Latvia midfielder Kristaps Dibrivny (₤9.25M to West Ham) and England full back Carl Logan (₤12M to Arsenal). Roughly the same amount of money was spent on new players, such as Scotland right winger Gary Henderson (₤13.5M from West Ham), left winger Dale Ewing (₤8.75M from Chelsea), and five more players aged 21 or under for ₤5M or so each. Obviously they are planning for the future.

Newcastle were totally on top in the first half. Ortiz had to make five saves, and we offered little at the other end. Leonardo brought us to life after the break, but with inconsistent finishing, he could not break through. Newcastle were kept far quieter, bringing the game to penalties. Ortiz continued his impressive game, giving us an early lead by saving their first shot. Saad, Mertakkas and Everitt made no mistake, and with Ortiz keeping out their third and fourth, we took a 3-1 penalty win despite a miss from Jimenez. That was our seventh Community Shield victory.

Bradford, Premier League, Home

Bradford were promoted from 6th place in the Championship, despite being 19th in that league the previous season. Even their best players, like left winger Luke Parker (₤3.7M from Dundee Utd) and defensive midfielder Harry Hope, are mediocre at best.

Ǖmit had the chance to start his Rushden career on a positive note when he intercepted a defensive pass in the fourth minute, but he shot wide of the goal. He had a header turned away a minute later. Figueroa had a number of shots at goal and Né and Hadir dominated the midfield, yet Rushden did not turn that into goals. Even with Bradford totally closed down, the scores were still level as we entered the final ten minutes. Né had a shot saved in the 86th. Thankfully, the ball spilled to Figueroa, who finally put us ahead. Leonardo headed in another in injury time to ensure an appropriate score.

Leyton Orient, Premier League, Home

Orient barely survived last season and are tipped to come last. They've added nine more players to their squad, notably Poland midfielder Andrzej Gorecki (₤3.5M from Spartak Moscow), Hull striker Jimmy Lee and Nigeria right winger Sani Okechukwu (₤2M from Portuguesa). With Gonzalez and Edman missing through injury, Vergouwen made his début on the left wing (with Né playing as an attacking midfielder) and Stiansen came in at left back.

We earned a corner in barely 40 seconds through a long-range Né shot. Jimenez headed it over the bar, but Saad put through a penalty a few minutes later. Figueroa had a goal in injury time ruled offside, and a Lekovic header ten minutes into the second half required an excellent save. It looked like being a fairly comfortable win, with Mertakkas and Ortiz on top of Orient's forwards, but a diving header from Lee with only four minutes to go put them abruptly on even terms. That didn't leave us long to hit back, but as the game entered injury time, Mertakkas made a defensive interception and cleared the ball long. Substitute Ouattara collected it and passed on to partner Figueroa. He made it into the area and chipped to the far post. The ball squeezed in, and the lead was restored. The final whistle blew soon after, with Rushden taking the 2-1 win.

Manchester United, Premier League, Away

United returned to the top three last season, though they weren't a huge threat to our title win. After manager Jose da Silva left them to join Napoli, they brought in former United player Fernando Torres from Milan to replace him. Brazil left back Alexandre followed his former manager to Napoli for ₤12.5M, and Torres brought in two Valencia players – Uzbekistan defender Ulugbek Kurbonov (₤13.5M) and Turkey defender Buyuk Zekai (₤8.5M).

The imposing pair of England strikers, Scott Hunter and Chris Preston, were kept pretty quiet in the first half, with Jimenez particularly solid in our defence. Milojevic also looked good in his first game of the season, making a few saves when United did get through. Our own strikers, Leonardo and Figueroa, had seven shots between them, and really should have put Rushden ahead. With saves from the former and poor shots from the latter, we went in scoreless. Figueroa went off in the second half with an elbow injury (which will put him out for a month), and the chances dried up for both sides. A scoreless draw.

[Donners]

September, 2041

Standard, Champions League, group D, Away

We are third in the list of favourites to win the Champions League, with Valencia and Leganés ahead of us, and Atlético and Real Madrid not far behind. As it happens, Leganés are in our group, along with Standard and Levski (Sofia). Standard haven't made it past this stage in my time at Rushden, and their only decent player is Croatia keeper Antonio Toplek. I was missing Umit, Figueroa, Mertakkas, Edman and Haddad through injury, and with Lekovic suspended and several players not registered, my selection options were limited.

We were unusually accurate with a number of first half shots, with Leonardo, Everitt and Ouattara testing Toplek. Unfortunately for us, he was up to the challenge, and the one time that we did beat him, it was ruled offside. A knock forced Ouattara off in the second half, and with van Persie missing several frees and Toplek saving the rest, our frustrations continued. Leonardo finally put us ahead in the 80th, and a counter-attack saw substitute Né add a second in the final moments.

Sheffield United, Premier League, Home

Sheffield have been a mid-table side for the last few years, and have seemingly weakened their side significantly between seasons. They have lost Norway midfielder Lars Flesvik (₤10.25M to Milan), right winger Erik Knol (₤4.6M to Tottenham), defender Gary Mimms (₤3.6M, also to Tottenham) and veteran left back Paul Donachie (released), among others. Their replacements are minimal – forward David Morante (₤2.7M from Newcastle), defender Darren Crosby (₤3.6M from MK Dons) and former Holland defender Serkan van den Hoogenband (₤200K from Porto).

After strikers Leonardo and Ouattara missed shots (wide and off the bar respectively), midfielder Nenad Lekovic showed them how it should be done with an excellent strike in the 23rd to put us ahead. Leonardo headed in a Né corner just after the break, and with Sheffield United failing to put together a significant attack, we cruised to the win.

Newcastle, Premier League, Away

We began the season with a tight game against Newcastle, winning on penalties. They are missing striker Henry Lopez and defender Olivier Collet, two of their stars.

Leonardo had two chances to give us the ideal start; unfortunately missing with both free kicks. Newcastle had a few shots of their own, and Ortiz had to make a couple of excellent saves. Our keeper was kept under constant pressure, and kept out both a shot and the follow-up from Belarus utility Alexandr Tarasov in the 65th. Veneruso hacked the ball clear, and Lekovic brought it through the middle. With a sharp pass, he found Né, who, clear of the defence, charged to the area and put us ahead. Just three minutes later, Gonzalez was tripped in the area and a penalty was awarded. With Saad rested, Gonzalez took it himself, and doubled the lead. That was valuable, with Newcastle pulling one back in the 83rd. They almost scored in injury time, but another fantastic save from Man of the Match Ortiz ensured our victory.

Arsenal, Premier League, Away

Arsenal are a title contender, though they did slip down the table a bit last season. After offloading winger Jason Smith (₤15.5M to Middlesbrough), Norway centre back Thomas Steen (₤11M to Atlético) and releasing former England striker Nick Hogg, they spent ₤81M boosting their squad. Brazil midfielder Ricardo was the biggest name, moving from Roma for ₤31.5M, with Italy centre back Alberto Poli (₤13.5M from Sampdoria), England forward Lewis Moore (₤12.5M from Roma), England full back Carl Logan (₤12M from Newcastle) and USA midfielder Jesus Suarez (₤7.5M from Fenerbahçe) all added to a squad which already features many stars.

We nearly got off to a terrific start. A second-minute corner from Né found defender Osipov, whose shot was only barely kept out. Another corner saw Jimmy Everitt shoot over, while Lekovic missed a shot from general play. Figueroa finally put us ahead in the 21st. Legrand missed several shots, which proved costly when Arsenal equalised with a free kick in the 65th. It would hurt to only take a point out of a game which we had controlled for the most part, and it was with some relief (for both player and manager) when a long cross from Veneruso floated over the area to Legrand, who hit the back of the net with his fourth attempt of the game. Osipov was terrific at the back, holding off their dangerous strikers to ensure our fifth league victory from six games.

I gave Jimenez a contract extension to 2045, since he has started this season in terrific form.

Leganés, Champions League, group D, Home

Leganés were actually named ahead of us as favourites to win this competition, which is rather baffling as this is their first time in the Champions League, and they were only fourth in La Liga last season. They have loaned in two forwards, and their most valuable player has a single cap for Italy. With Mertakkas injured and Veneruso ineligible, Gian Pablo Pasquini made his début at right back.

Figueroa took only 12 seconds to have a shot at goal, putting it just over the bar. Gibbs and Everitt put us two goals up after ten minutes, and Figueroa put through a brace before half time for a 4-0 lead. Gibbs added his second of the game to complete a convincing win.

West Brom, Premier League, Home

West Brom returned to the EPL by winning the Championship, though they are a fair chance to bounce back down. They lost their leading scorer from last season, with Ireland striker Paul Lea off to Barnsley for ₤3.8M. He was replaced by Turkey striker Zeki Basar (₤1.9M from Fenerbahçe), with Slovak Stefan Valent (₤2.5M from CSKA Moscow) and Lee Downing (₤2.8M from Leicester) boosting the defence. They also took Madagascar forward Bernard Randrianoelison after Chelsea released him.

Twice in the opening twenty minutes we had headers on goal from corners. The efforts from Saad and Everitt were both saved, as were another couple of shots on the half-hour mark from Figueroa. With two more frees from Jimenez saved on either side of the break, it was looking like Rushden would struggle to break through despite our dominance. Just as we seemed set for a draw, an 89th minute cross from Stiansen was headed home by Ouattara – a deserved win, albeit at the last minute.

I was named Manager of the Month for our undefeated effort over the last month.

[Donners]

October, 2041

Levski (Sofia), Champions League, group D, Away

The weakest side of our group, Levski rarely make it past this point. As has been the case with our games in this competition so far, we cruised to victory. Ouattara put us ahead after ten minutes, a Legrand cross was knocked in by a defender for our second and Jimenez capped off the win with our third in the second half. Levski did not have a single shot.

Wigan, Premier League, Home

Having survived their first season back in the EPL, Wigan looked to shore up their squad after losing Argentina midfielder Pedro Saenz to Villarreal on a free transfer. Despite bringing in nine players, they spent just ₤130K. Lithuania keeper Andrius Stankevicius (free from Getafe) is perhaps the only player of any note.

Valentin Ouattara was on fire in the early part of the game, opening the scoring in the fifth minute and hitting the post in the tenth. Gibbs headed in a Stiansen free kick to double the lead later in the half and, with Rushden totally in control, a deflected Legrand free kick made it 3-0 to complete a solid win.

Manchester United, Carling Cup 3rd round, Away

We have already faced Man U at Old Trafford this season, drawing back in August. In contrast to that scoreless game, both sides began brightly here. Leonardo and Né forced saves for Rushden, while Milojevic had to make several saves at the other end. It was our young star, Leonardo, who struck a decisive blow in the 34th, dodging a defender and striking the ball past the keeper from an angle. Though England striker Scott Hunter was proving to be a constant threat, we held up well enough. Better yet, Gibbs headed in a goal for the second game in a row, leaving us with a two-goal buffer at half time. With Milojevic putting in a Man of the Match performance, we kept them scoreless and progressed in the Cup.

Leeds, Premier League, Away

Leeds looked to have made themselves fairly comfortable in the EPL, finishing in the top half last season. However, they have had a horrific start; still yet to win a league game in 41/42. Losing almost ₤40M worth of players has probably contributed to their decline, with Greece striker Stefanos Vartziotis (₤11.75M to Barcelona), former Rushden right back Lajos Tóth (₤9M to Milan) and Bulgaria centre back Martin Vladimirov (₤4.2M to Udinese) among the senior regulars to go. They did spent ₤22M on replacements, including Barnsley midfielder Darren Murray (₤9.5M) and Denmark striker Martin Petersen (₤3M from Alicante), but the new players have not settled in well.

The first half was surprisingly even, with Leeds even threatening to score from a couple of free kicks. It didn't help that Leonardo missed a fairly simple chance when a Gibbs shot was parried into his path. We had a relatively small number of chances, but went ahead through Ouattara just on half time. Leeds were still looking better than expected though, and with a counter-attack, they pulled level in the 53rd. Having not offered a great deal of attacking flair for the game, it would take something special for Rushden to break through again – and it was Né who provided that. He made a fine interception in the midfield, charged forward and found Leonardo. This time the young striker was on target, restoring the lead. Gonzalez made certain of the win with our third in the final minutes.

Levski (Sofia), Champions League, group D, Home

After a comprehensive win in our previous game against Levski, I was free to rest a few players. Nonetheless, Figueroa had a header on goal within 20 seconds of the first whistle, and put us ahead a few minutes later. Partner Haddad added one of his own before half time. While Levski did manage a few shots, unlike the last game, Ortiz easily dealt with them. As he did against Leeds, Gonzalez scored our third to complete the victory.

[Donners]

November, 2041

Manchester City, Premier League, Home

City are looking to get out of the mid-table mire, bringing in former England centre back Paul Mudge (₤5.25M from Palermo), Coventry striker Ian Talbot (free), midfielder Mark Taylor (₤2.7M from Dundee Utd) and right back Jose Garcia Sierra (₤5M from Palermo) without losing any significant players.

An excellent move out of defence was finished by Figueroa heading in a Legrand cross for a 12th minute lead. Rushden had much of the first half play, and Leonardo and Gibbs were both unlucky not to extend the lead from good chances. A far harder chance, a 30-yard strike from Legrand, doubled the lead just before the break. Gibbs headed in his fifth goal of a terrific season a few minutes into the second half, and though City hit back from a free kick, Leonardo restored the three-goal lead from a Né cross with ten minutes to go. Né himself completed a big win, for a 5-1 final score.

The reserves beat West Ham 9-0, with five goals to Rigers Pregja in the first twenty-eight minutes, so we have no shortage of scoring options...

Sunderland, Carling Cup 4th round, Away

This is our first game against Sunderland this season. They are currently fourth in the league, the same position in which they finished last season. Their only player loss was veteran midfielder Mohamed Sultan, who was released to Aberdeen, and they strengthened their squad overall by bringing in Rushden striker Nuno (₤5.5M) and Barcelona centre back Rok Mihalic (₤5.25M).

Né twice sent the ball into our area in the first five minutes. The first was wasted when Leonardo gave away a free, and the second led to a counter-attack which saw Sunderland take the lead. Naturally, Nuno was the scorer. They scored again ten minutes later, leaving us looking at a very early exit in the Cup we are supposed to be defending. The frustration built with Lekovic missing two headers. It took some magic from Né, with a great run and long-range strike, to bring us within a goal at half time. The minutes ticked away with no real action until Né was upended just outside the area. Leonardo took the kick, and with the aid of a huge deflection off the wall, put it into the top corner. 2-2, with barely a dozen minutes left. We certainly had our opportunities in that time, with Gibbs and Figueroa both missing.

That took us to extra time. The only event of the first fifteen minute half was a header from another ex-Rushden striker, Béla Szili, which Milojevic dealt with. I brought on Jimmy Everitt as a penalty taker, replacing Figueroa. The second half of extra time was uneventful for the first ten minutes. In the 116th, Milojevic sent a goal kick into the centre circle. Leonardo rose above his marker and headed it forward. Jimmy Everitt broke free of the defence to run onto the ball, charging into the area. The keeper came out to meet him, but he got the shot away in time – a soft touch, rolling into the open net. 3-2, and that's how it remained at the final whistle.

Sunderland, Premier League, Home

That was nice momentum to take into our league game against the same side. Haddad, who has only played a few games this season, started off well. He had an early effort cleared off the line, then put us ahead in the 30th. James Gibbs continued his stellar form, scoring from a free kick before the break and leaving us in a much more comfortable position than in the Cup game. As in that game, Jimmy Everitt scored our third, though this time it was not nearly as crucial. An own goal just rubbed it in a bit more, though Sunderland did make it 4-1 late in the game through Nuno.

That win set a new Rushden record – 14 victories in a row, since our scoreless draw against Man U back in August. We have scored less than two goals only once in that period.

Standard, Champions League, group D, Home

We beat Standard 2-0 in our last encounter, and are well on top in our league. Rigers Pregja made his début after good reserve form. We took the lead after six minutes through a long-range strike. Everitt set up Figueroa for our second, and a quick burst saw Figueroa and Legrand score within a few minutes of each other to make it 4-0 at half time. Pregja scored his first for the club just after half time and then tapped in a parried shot from Legrand. The 19-year-old Albanian completed his début hat-trick in the final minutes, sealing a 7-0 win.

Liverpool, Premier League, Away

Liverpool slumped to 10th last season and have started even slower this time. New manager Stefan Olsson did not let any senior players go, instead boosting the squad with Colombia centre back Jose Delgado (₤11M from Barcelona), left winger Alex Rodriguez (₤9M from Leeds), Uruguay right back Ignacio Tejera (free from Hertha) and Scotland keeper Matt Smith (free from Crystal Palace).

Liverpool did well to cut out a few early Rushden balls into the area, and when one did get through the defence, Pregja headed it wide. Though we had most of the play, all it took was a loose clearance from Van Persie to gift Liverpool the first goal, with Ortiz caught out of position. We actually had few shots for the game, and even when Legrand hit the back of the net, he was ruled offside. That ended our 15-game winning streak,

Barnsley, Premier League, Home

After a brief flirtation with the top half seven years ago, Barnsley look to be settling into a barely safe lower-half position. They go into this season without midfielder Darren Murray (sold to Leeds for ₤9.5M) or Poland left back Kamil Markiewicz (₤2M to Chelsea) and their only signings of note are Ireland striker Paul Lea (₤3.8M from West Brom), former England forward Alan Marney (₤100K from Newcastle) and Bulgaria left back Plamen Hazurov (₤2.6M from Aberdeen).

Huddersfield, Premier League, Away

Huddersfield have returned to the EPL hoping to stay longer than in 39/40, when they finished bottom in their first season back. Defender Thomas Myhre (₤2.6M from Catania) is the only notable addition to their squad. Striker Tom McGarry, who netted 25 times in the Championship, has just one goal so far this season.

Rushden took only three minutes to snatch the lead, with Lekovic heading in a Hadir free kick. Figueroa should have made it 2-0 on a counter-attack, but after getting through the defence, he shot wide. However, partner Haddad did the job, collecting a long throw from Stiansen and burying it in the far side of the net. A Huddersfield defender headed a Né corner into his own net for a 3-0 finish.

Leonardo was Player of the Month, and I was Manager of the Month.

| Pos   | Inf   | Team          |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |       | Rushden       |       | 14    | 12    | 1     | 1     | 32    | 7     | +25   | 37    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | Bolton        |       | 15    | 7     | 6     | 2     | 20    | 14    | +6    | 27    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Newcastle     |       | 14    | 8     | 1     | 5     | 22    | 13    | +9    | 25    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Leicester     |       | 14    | 6     | 7     | 1     | 9     | 2     | +7    | 25    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Man Utd       |       | 13    | 7     | 3     | 3     | 21    | 10    | +11   | 24    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Middlesbrough |       | 14    | 6     | 5     | 3     | 19    | 15    | +4    | 23    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 7th   |       | Sunderland    |       | 15    | 5     | 7     | 3     | 14    | 11    | +3    | 22    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 8th   |       | Arsenal       |       | 14    | 6     | 2     | 6     | 18    | 14    | +4    | 20    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 9th   |       | Leyton Orient |       | 14    | 4     | 8     | 2     | 14    | 12    | +2    | 20    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 10th  |       | Man City      |       | 15    | 5     | 5     | 5     | 12    | 14    | -2    | 20    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11th  |       | Sheff Utd     |       | 13    | 5     | 4     | 4     | 15    | 13    | +2    | 19    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 12th  |       | Liverpool     |       | 15    | 6     | 1     | 8     | 8     | 12    | -4    | 19    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 13th  |       | West Ham      |       | 12    | 4     | 5     | 3     | 14    | 14    | 0     | 17    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14th  |       | Barnsley      |       | 16    | 4     | 4     | 8     | 16    | 23    | -7    | 16    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 15th  |       | Bradford      |       | 16    | 4     | 4     | 8     | 10    | 20    | -10   | 16    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 16th  |       | Huddersfield  |       | 16    | 2     | 8     | 6     | 4     | 11    | -7    | 14    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 17th  |       | Wigan         |       | 15    | 2     | 7     | 6     | 6     | 15    | -9    | 13    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 18th  |       | MK Dons       |       | 14    | 3     | 3     | 8     | 8     | 19    | -11   | 12    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 19th  |       | West Brom     |       | 14    | 2     | 3     | 9     | 4     | 14    | -10   | 9     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20th  |       | Leeds         |       | 15    | 0     | 8     | 7     | 4     | 17    | -13   | 8     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

[Donners]

December, 2041

Leganés, Champions League, group D, Away

Supposedly one of the favourites for this competition, Leganés were belted 5-0 in our last encounter, though they are second in our group. We again dominated, with a dozen on-target shots. Haddad put us ahead in the first half, and doubled the lead in the second. Hadir added another, and though we had a fourth ruled offside, three was sufficiently comprehensive.

Leicester, Premier League, Home

Having been just on the verge of European qualification for the last few years, Leicester have pushed into the top five so far this season. They lost Scotland defensive midfielder Craig Youngson to Atlético for ₤7.75M and full back Lee Downing to West Brom for ₤2.8M. They spent all that income on Poland striker Pawel Cichon (₤11.5M from Heerenveen), splashed out some more on Tunisia midfielder Mohamed Zitoun (₤7M from Chelsea) and picked up Macedonia midfielder Husein Markoski from Celtic on a free transfer. Add in two loanees, Greece left back Christos Karabatzakis (Sampdoria) and Rushden midfielder Finn Eira, and they have a substantially strengthened side.

Leicester kept us on our toes, with two shots over the bar in the first five minutes. Rushden made them pay with better finishing, with Lekovic heading in a cross from Legrand. Leicester continued to come close, slamming a shot into the bar in the 13th. Again, though, superior finishing made all the difference. Leonardo put through our second, having received a terrific pass from Né. Leicester finally got on the board in the 56th, leaving them plenty of time to equalise. Indeed, they did so with twenty minutes to go. Cichon had both, and our two-goal lead had been wiped out. That remaining time gave us plenty of time to hit back, and it only took four. For the second time in the game, a Legrand cross was buried in the back of the net by Lekovic. Legrand put through one of his own in the final minutes, and though Leicester were arguably the better side, we took a 4-2 victory.

MK Dons, Premier League, Away

Dons have barely escaped relegation over the last two seasons, and are dangerously close this year. They lost a few players, like defender Darren Crosby (₤3.6M to Sheffield United) and utility Martin Wharton (₤2.4M to Portsmouth), but had superior replacements including forward Brahim El Akchaouri (₤4M from Feyenoord), keeper Adam Hamilton (₤2.3M from Aston Villa), USA striker Brian Scott (free from Leverkusen), Belarus defender Leonid Kononov (free from Duisburg) and several others. It doesn't help that eight of their senior squad are currently injured. 39-year-old ex-Rushden and Norway keeper Adem Moe started this game in goal.

Leonardo had a shot form a corner just a minute into the game, which Moe barely turned over. Moe went on to make a series of saves over the first half, proving to be a real obstacle to the striker who was barely half his age. The veteran turned into Superman, keeping out eight shots from Leonardo alone, with a handful from Né and Haddad also denied. A few crucial misses from the forwards did not help our cause, and though Dons never looked likely to score, all we could manage was a single point for the scoreless draw.

Middlesbrough, Premier League, Home

Middlesbrough were seventh last season and are again pushing for a European spot even without star Norway striker Pal Lindgrasmo, who was sold to Lazio for ₤18.75M. Then again, they spent most of that money on Arsenal winger Jason Smith (₤15.5M) and also grabbed Bolton left back John Watts (₤2.2M) and Spain centre back Manuel Arraiz (₤3.9M from Real Madrid).

Legrand led a simply brilliant move down the left, bringing the ball forward from the middle, getting into position to receive a return pass from Leonardo and scoring with a brilliant angled strike from outside the area. He nearly set up Everitt in the 8th, with his close-range shot from Legrand's sharp pass barely parried. Figueroa collected a loose pass and chipped the keeper for our second. Middlesbrough did not look vaguely threatening until they managed to score from a corner with half an hour to go. Jimmy Everitt ensured there would be no comeback, scoring our third in the dying minutes. The only problem was the loss of Né for a month due to a twisted ankle.

Nottingham Forest, Carling Cup quarter final, Home

Forest were relegated from the EPL last season and are looking to head straight back, sitting second in the Championship. They haven't lost too many of their players from that season, and feature former Rushden striker Rafael.

After a sluggish start, Lekovic made the breakthrough, as he has many times this season. Leonardo doubled the lead just after the break, which was valuable given that Rafael scored for Forest in the 68th minute. That was one of their very few chances for the game, and with Leonardo and Lekovic keeping them busy, the 2-1 win put us through to the semi final.

Bolton, Premier League, Away

Having finished 11th last season, Bolton have taken great strides forward to sit in fourth spot. It is even more impressive when you consider that they lost ₤15.5M worth of players – notably keeper Robin Malone (₤5.5M to Newcastle), forward Anthony Gray (₤3.6M to St Johnstone) and left back John Watts (₤2.2M to Middlesbrough) – and spent only ₤2.1M on replacements like ex-Inter defender Anders Hopfner (free), Scotland left back Nikki Wood (₤1.8M from Villarreal) and Milan midfielder Paul Weatherstone (free). They also loaned in Newcastle right back Steve Green. With Né, Legrand and Edman all out injured, reserve player Fabio Gigliotti came up for his début on the left wing.

Bolton striker Hasan Vata had two shots from inside the area within the first five minutes, both dealt with by Ortiz. Aside from a few speculative efforts from Leonardo, the bulk of the play was with Bolton in the first half. Vata scored only a couple of minutes into the second half and could have had another when he rounded the keeper in the 49th, but hit the side netting. Nonetheless, they got their second goal through a free kick. Figueroa and Leonardo each had a chance to score late in the game, but neither did. That was our second league loss of the season.

Bradford, Premier League, Away

Bradford were promoted from sixth place in the Championship, having been in League One as recently as 35/36. They have tried to strengthen their squad with signings like Dundee United left winger Luke Parker (₤3.6M), Saudi forward Faisal Al-Yami (₤2.3M from Aston Villa), former Ireland striker Joe Allan (free from Norwich) and Northern Ireland striker Eamonn Phillips (free from Falkirk.

In contrast to the last game, Rushden began brightly. Haddad grazed the bar in the first minute, and Gonzalez scored not long after that. Rushden looked to be cruising until they poached a goal in the 30th. They soon had a player sent off though, and Haddad restored the lead before half time. Mertakkas completed the win with our third in the second half.

Manchester United, Premier League, Home

We have already played United twice this season, drawing with them in the league and knocking them out of the Carling Cup. After our recent bout of injuries to left wingers, we were now missing central attacking midfielders, with Gonzalez, Né, Legrand and Lekovic all out. Hadir and van Persie played in a flat four midfield.

United gave us a scare early, with former Rushden striker Ibrahim Tolba testing Milojevic in the first couple of minutes. However, Rushden struck the decisive blow, with Jimmy Everitt scoring in the sixth minute. Our midfield problems got worse when van Persie went off injured, but we improved on the scoreboard with a goal to Haddad. Haddad then set up van Persie's replacement, Gibbs, for our third goal of the first half. A penalty from Saad sealed a comprehensive hammering.

Hadir was Player of the Month, with Legrand second.

With the transfer window opening, I received plenty of bids. With our success, most players weren't interested in a move, but Ouattara was attracted by an offer from Valencia. Though the striker has been in good form this season, I have other options. The bid was negotiated to ₤16.5M, and he became the tenth former Rushden player in their current senior squad. Aslan Genç also departed, off to Leganes for ₤5.5M, since he was now fourth-choice keeper.

[Donners]

December, 2041

Leganés, Champions League, group D, Away

Supposedly one of the favourites for this competition, Leganés were belted 5-0 in our last encounter, though they are second in our group. We again dominated, with a dozen on-target shots. Haddad put us ahead in the first half, and doubled the lead in the second. Hadir added another, and though we had a fourth ruled offside, three was sufficiently comprehensive.

Leicester, Premier League, Home

Having been just on the verge of European qualification for the last few years, Leicester have pushed into the top five so far this season. They lost Scotland defensive midfielder Craig Youngson to Atlético for ₤7.75M and full back Lee Downing to West Brom for ₤2.8M. They spent all that income on Poland striker Pawel Cichon (₤11.5M from Heerenveen), splashed out some more on Tunisia midfielder Mohamed Zitoun (₤7M from Chelsea) and picked up Macedonia midfielder Husein Markoski from Celtic on a free transfer. Add in two loanees, Greece left back Christos Karabatzakis (Sampdoria) and Rushden midfielder Finn Eira, and they have a substantially strengthened side.

Leicester kept us on our toes, with two shots over the bar in the first five minutes. Rushden made them pay with better finishing, with Lekovic heading in a cross from Legrand. Leicester continued to come close, slamming a shot into the bar in the 13th. Again, though, superior finishing made all the difference. Leonardo put through our second, having received a terrific pass from Né. Leicester finally got on the board in the 56th, leaving them plenty of time to equalise. Indeed, they did so with twenty minutes to go. Cichon had both, and our two-goal lead had been wiped out. That remaining time gave us plenty of time to hit back, and it only took four. For the second time in the game, a Legrand cross was buried in the back of the net by Lekovic. Legrand put through one of his own in the final minutes, and though Leicester were arguably the better side, we took a 4-2 victory.

MK Dons, Premier League, Away

Dons have barely escaped relegation over the last two seasons, and are dangerously close this year. They lost a few players, like defender Darren Crosby (₤3.6M to Sheffield United) and utility Martin Wharton (₤2.4M to Portsmouth), but had superior replacements including forward Brahim El Akchaouri (₤4M from Feyenoord), keeper Adam Hamilton (₤2.3M from Aston Villa), USA striker Brian Scott (free from Leverkusen), Belarus defender Leonid Kononov (free from Duisburg) and several others. It doesn't help that eight of their senior squad are currently injured. 39-year-old ex-Rushden and Norway keeper Adem Moe started this game in goal.

Leonardo had a shot form a corner just a minute into the game, which Moe barely turned over. Moe went on to make a series of saves over the first half, proving to be a real obstacle to the striker who was barely half his age. The veteran turned into Superman, keeping out eight shots from Leonardo alone, with a handful from Né and Haddad also denied. A few crucial misses from the forwards did not help our cause, and though Dons never looked likely to score, all we could manage was a single point for the scoreless draw.

Middlesbrough, Premier League, Home

Middlesbrough were seventh last season and are again pushing for a European spot even without star Norway striker Pal Lindgrasmo, who was sold to Lazio for ₤18.75M. Then again, they spent most of that money on Arsenal winger Jason Smith (₤15.5M) and also grabbed Bolton left back John Watts (₤2.2M) and Spain centre back Manuel Arraiz (₤3.9M from Real Madrid).

Legrand led a simply brilliant move down the left, bringing the ball forward from the middle, getting into position to receive a return pass from Leonardo and scoring with a brilliant angled strike from outside the area. He nearly set up Everitt in the 8th, with his close-range shot from Legrand's sharp pass barely parried. Figueroa collected a loose pass and chipped the keeper for our second. Middlesbrough did not look vaguely threatening until they managed to score from a corner with half an hour to go. Jimmy Everitt ensured there would be no comeback, scoring our third in the dying minutes. The only problem was the loss of Né for a month due to a twisted ankle.

Nottingham Forest, Carling Cup quarter final, Home

Forest were relegated from the EPL last season and are looking to head straight back, sitting second in the Championship. They haven't lost too many of their players from that season, and feature former Rushden striker Rafael.

After a sluggish start, Lekovic made the breakthrough, as he has many times this season. Leonardo doubled the lead just after the break, which was valuable given that Rafael scored for Forest in the 68th minute. That was one of their very few chances for the game, and with Leonardo and Lekovic keeping them busy, the 2-1 win put us through to the semi final.

Bolton, Premier League, Away

Having finished 11th last season, Bolton have taken great strides forward to sit in fourth spot. It is even more impressive when you consider that they lost ₤15.5M worth of players – notably keeper Robin Malone (₤5.5M to Newcastle), forward Anthony Gray (₤3.6M to St Johnstone) and left back John Watts (₤2.2M to Middlesbrough) – and spent only ₤2.1M on replacements like ex-Inter defender Anders Hopfner (free), Scotland left back Nikki Wood (₤1.8M from Villarreal) and Milan midfielder Paul Weatherstone (free). They also loaned in Newcastle right back Steve Green. With Né, Legrand and Edman all out injured, reserve player Fabio Gigliotti came up for his début on the left wing.

Bolton striker Hasan Vata had two shots from inside the area within the first five minutes, both dealt with by Ortiz. Aside from a few speculative efforts from Leonardo, the bulk of the play was with Bolton in the first half. Vata scored only a couple of minutes into the second half and could have had another when he rounded the keeper in the 49th, but hit the side netting. Nonetheless, they got their second goal through a free kick. Figueroa and Leonardo each had a chance to score late in the game, but neither did. That was our second league loss of the season.

Bradford, Premier League, Away

Bradford were promoted from sixth place in the Championship, having been in League One as recently as 35/36. They have tried to strengthen their squad with signings like Dundee United left winger Luke Parker (₤3.6M), Saudi forward Faisal Al-Yami (₤2.3M from Aston Villa), former Ireland striker Joe Allan (free from Norwich) and Northern Ireland striker Eamonn Phillips (free from Falkirk.

In contrast to the last game, Rushden began brightly. Haddad grazed the bar in the first minute, and Gonzalez scored not long after that. Rushden looked to be cruising until they poached a goal in the 30th. They soon had a player sent off though, and Haddad restored the lead before half time. Mertakkas completed the win with our third in the second half.

Manchester United, Premier League, Home

We have already played United twice this season, drawing with them in the league and knocking them out of the Carling Cup. After our recent bout of injuries to left wingers, we were now missing central attacking midfielders, with Gonzalez, Né, Legrand and Lekovic all out. Hadir and van Persie played in a flat four midfield.

United gave us a scare early, with former Rushden striker Ibrahim Tolba testing Milojevic in the first couple of minutes. However, Rushden struck the decisive blow, with Jimmy Everitt scoring in the sixth minute. Our midfield problems got worse when van Persie went off injured, but we improved on the scoreboard with a goal to Haddad. Haddad then set up van Persie's replacement, Gibbs, for our third goal of the first half. A penalty from Saad sealed a comprehensive hammering.

Hadir was Player of the Month, with Legrand second.

With the transfer window opening, I received plenty of bids. With our success, most players weren't interested in a move, but Ouattara was attracted by an offer from Valencia. Though the striker has been in good form this season, I have other options. The bid was negotiated to ₤16.5M, and he became the tenth former Rushden player in their current senior squad. Aslan Genç also departed, off to Leganes for ₤5.5M, since he was now fourth-choice keeper.

[Donners]

January, 2042

Leyton Orient, Premier League, Away

We faced Orient early in the season, beating them 2-1. They haven't had a chance to make any moves since then, but are doing remarkably well for a side that was in League One a few seasons back – sitting in eighth place.

A fantastic 60-yard ball from Edman set up Ouattara for a goal in just the second minute. Ouattara and Hadir were dominant in the first half, and we were perhaps unlucky to go into the break only a goal up. That proved to be particularly unlucky when Orient managed to equalise a few minutes into the second half, when Osipov was beaten by young Norway striker Helge Seland. With both Gonzalez and Ouattara missing in the final minutes, we had to settle for the draw.

Crystal Palace, FA Cup 3rd round, Home

Palace are towards the bottom of the Championship and their leading striker, the oddly-named Heather Gibbs, is out injured. Nonetheless, this game was extremely flat and disappointing. Aside from a few shots from Everitt and Edman, we really offered nothing in attack. Pregja looked to have finally put us ahead a few minutes into the second half, only to be ruled offside. That was as close as we got, and we will have to have a rematch.

Arsenal, Carling Cup semi final, leg 1, Home

Arsenal are having a poor season; currently outside the top half. They have not yet bought a player during the transfer window, but that must surely be an option. Their two leading scorers, England forward Lewis Moore and ex-Diamond Salvatore Chiappara, are injured.

We had aerial dominance in the first twenty minutes, with Hadir and Pregja both winning headers in the area, but neither managed to score. We missed a number of shots in the second half, with Hadir and Pregja again unsuccessful. Figueroa came on for Leonardo late in the game, and deep in injury time, he got his chance. A loose header out of defence fell to him, and he dodged a defender and struck hope a belated winner. A valuable lead to take into the second leg, and we didn't concede an away goal.

Newcastle, Premier League, Home

Newcastle are second in the league, but are 11 points behind us from the same number of games (21). They have added Peru midfielder Oscar Guzman (₤8.5M from Morelia), and strikers Henry Lopez and Japan's Masatada Tominari are in good form.

Newcastle were out to show that they are genuine title challengers, and looked good in the first half. Their shooting was a little wayward, but our chances were few and far between. The first half ended scoreless, with Newcastle probably the better side. We started the second half well, with Saad having a header saved, but then lost Leonardo to an injury (which would subsequently put him out for a month). Nonetheless, Hadir forced a save with a long shot, and Leonardo's replacement, Figueroa, collected the parry to score in the 69th. That lead lasted a mere three minutes, as Newcastle equalised through a free kick. Edman missed an opportunity to put us back in front, blazing over from a Pregja cross. Newcastle won another free with two minutes to go, and again the ball was drilled into the back of the net. 1-2, and we did not manage to respond. That closed the gap at the top, as we suffered our third loss of the season.

Roma came in with a bid for left back Eivind Stiansen. He wanted to move, and I negotiated the bid to ₤13M and let him go. Gigliotti will take over at left back, rotating with Edman.

Crystal Palace, FA Cup 3rd round replay, Away

We had to perform better than the last time we faced Championship struggler Palace. That task was made harder by our lack of forward options, with Leonardo, Haddad, Everitt, Ǖmit and Legrand injured, Né on international duty and Ouattara recently sold. Nonetheless, we took the lead after 17 minutes, with Pregja heading in a free from Gigliotti. He probably should have had a hat-trick by half time, but instead missed once and had another two saved. It was left to partner Figueroa to finally score our second late in the game, sealing our progression.

Sheffield United, Premier League, Away

Sheffield United are in the middle of the table, and lost to us 2-0 at the start of the season. Since then, they have sent England right back Phil Greene to Man U for ₤6.25M and 35-year-old keeper Paul Turner. They have also bought two players from Catania, forward Saul Benito (₤1.3M) and Romania centre back Daniel Dogaru.

We suffered an early setback when Ortiz ventured out of his area to head clear a loose ball. The ball spilled to a Sheffield player, who managed to put the ball past the out-of-position keeper from 40 yards. Thankfully, it only took two minutes to negate that bad start. A long ball from Gibbs found Figueroa free of defenders, and he found partner Pregja for an equaliser. England keeper Matt Pears proved more difficult to beat after that, despite the best efforts of the Rushden players. Indeed, none of our players managed to beat him, but we still took the lead in the second half thanks to a terrible 30-yard back pass which missed the keeper entirely and rolled into the net. Wales striker Adam Rudge threatened Ortiz a few more times, but he held on to ensure we took the three points.

Arsenal, Carling Cup semi final, leg 2, Away

This away leg began with Rushden holding a one-goal advantage. Pregja tried to extend that, collecting a pass from partner Figueroa and trying to chip the keeper. That was saved though, as were two Gonzalez shots in an otherwise uneventful first half. Ortiz did not have to work until the 56th minute, when he kept out a header from ex-Diamond Marcel Huisman. Two violent acts from Arsenal players saw them reduced to nine men, and we easily held on to make it to the final.

Grays, FA Cup 4th round, Away

We were lucky enough to get a League Two side for this cup game. I brought in Nelson for the first time this season and gave right winger Adam Lis his début. We were handed the first goal through a penalty, which Mertakkas scored from. Pregja put through our second just before the break, and van Persie completed a simple win in the second half.

Arsenal, Premier League, Home

Yet another game against Arsenal – the third for this month. Unlike the other two, we managed to score in the first half, with James Gibbs receiving a free from Lekovic and spinning around to strike it home. Although their USA playmaker Jesus Suarez had a strong game, Arsenal had few opportunities to score and failed to trouble Ortiz when they did have them. Gibbs' goal was the difference, though we should have had another goal from our 16 shots.

[Donners]

February, 2042

West Brom, Premier League, Away

West Brom are in the bottom half, as expected. Their only new face since our last encounter is mediocre defensive midfielder Mike Donaldson, acquired for free from Airdrie.

Figueroa should have put us ahead after only four minutes, having beaten his opponent to a long Veneruso clearance to be one on one with the keeper. Though he missed there, he managed to collect a parried shot from Pregja to make it 1-0 twenty minutes later. Though we had the majority of chances for the first half, a poor clearance from Ortiz gave West Brom an equaliser before the break. That lasted only seconds, with an attack down the left seeing Gigliotti and Edman take the ball forward and then find Jimenez to head us back into the lead. A third looked to be only a matter of time, with Rushden having a dozen shots on goal, and van Persie finally provided it with an 80th minute free kick which whistled into the back of the net.

MK Dons, Premier League, Home

Dons are in an even worse state than West Brom, with only four wins for the season, though they did hold us to a scoreless draw. Since then, they've added Kilmarnock striker Jamie Jeffrey (free), Czech striker Jan Tobias (₤3M from Southampton) and left winger Darren Wilson (₤4.3M from Leeds).

We could well have been a few goals up after ten minutes, with Everitt and Pregja having several attempts. Though they were either wide or saved, there was no stopping a 14th minute Figueroa header, from Edman's terrific cross. Pregja added another with a header fifteen minutes later, and then the strikers combined for Pregja to have a double before half time. Pregja completed his second hat-trick in ten starts, heading in our fourth from a long Mertakkas ball. Three minutes later, it was 5-0. Gigliotti put through his first goal for the side from 25 yards, albeit with the aid of a deflection off a defender. Ortiz was denied a clean sheet by a late Jeffrey goal, though it was still a comprehensive win. We are now thirteen points clear on top, with a game in hand.

MK Dons, FA Cup 5th round, Away

Our chances of progression were pretty good, having just belted our 5th round opponent a few days ago. They were also missing both Jeffrey (cup tied) and Wilson (injured).

Pregja continued to torment MK Dons, with three shots in the first fifteen minutes. Unfortunately, none were successful, and we then lost Gigliotti to injury. Abderrazak Haddad was wayward in his first start since the beginning of the year, but pulled out a sublime strike from 25 yards to put us ahead in the 40th. Dons did manage a few shots in the second half, but Man of the Match Marco van Persie kept them honest, while substitute Vergouwen maintained the pressure at the other end with four shots. That was all we needed to progress to the 6th round.

Sporting CP, Champions League 1st knockout round, leg 1, Away

We haven't played Sporting CP much during our many years in continental competition. They have some very strong players, notably Brazil defender Silva, Albania striker Alban Gashi and Saudi midfielder Mohammed Hagawi.

Right from the first minute Sporting looked dangerous, with van Persie having to make a tackle in the area to protect Ortiz. Leonardo had a few unsuccessful attempts from free kicks, while Figueroa was twice denied after shots from inside the area. Figueroa had half a dozen shots for the game, and just could not beat uncapped Brazilian keeper Rodrigues. Ortiz looked to have kept us on track for at least a draw when he made a fine save in the 79th. However, when Gashi got around Saad five minutes later, there was no stopping his shot. That saw us fall to a 0-1 loss, and really leaves us with a tough task in the second leg.

Newcastle, Carling Cup Final, Neutral

Newcastle defeated us back in January through two late goals. They play three up front, and each of their three strikers has over ten goals for the season. Japan forward Masatada Tominari leads the way with 18. Their side is also substantially stronger with the purchase of of co-owned Morocco left winger Jaouad Hadji, with ₤22.5M paid to both Roma and Milan – a total of ₤45M. We have lost this Final five times, finally winning last season.

Newcastle had the first shot, hitting the side netting in the 7th. We did not offer much until the 21st, when Figueroa sent a cross in. Partner Haddad was fouled as he went for the ball, and a penalty was awarded. Saad, as usual, was on target from the spot, putting us ahead. Gibbs kept the pressure on with two free kicks, but a series of poor passes in defence nearly let Newcastle equalise. Thankfully, Milojevic eventually managed to get the ball clear, and we went into the break still in the lead.

That only lasted ten minutes into the second half, when Mertakkas gave away a penalty. Cameroon defender John Esomba put through the equaliser. Newcastle came forward again in the 70th, but Saad cleared and launched a counter-attack. Figueroa and Né took the ball to the area, and then centred to Gibbs. He passed forward to Haddad, who shot into the crowd. The 90 minutes ended with the scores 1-1, taking us to extra time. Aside from a weak long Gonzalez shot, neither side had a chance in the first fifteen minutes. Milojevic had to tip over a long effort in the 109th. Rigers Pregja came on as a specialist penalty taker, though he actually got a free kick which he put well wide.

We went to penalties, and we immediately put behind when Saad had his saved and Esomba scored. Astonishingly, we missed our first three shots, with Mertakkas and Gibbs also unsuccessful. Though Milojevic kept out their second and third shots, their fourth made it 2-0. Everitt was successful with our fourth, but with Newcastle scoring for the third time from their five, we didn't even need our final kick. Our sixth time as runner-up.

Wigan, Premier League, Away

Wigan are last in the EPL, despite bringing in four players in January., including Southampton keeper Barry Hardie (₤2.7M), Ireland midfielder Simon Mitchell (₤1.8M from Leeds) and Bulgaria defender Stefan Bozef (₤775K).

Strangely, Wigan had two chances in the first few minutes. Milojevic kept them out, but we could have easily gone a goal down. Né then went off injured, and it wasn't until the 43rd minute that we even had a shot on goal. In a rather dismal game, we also lost Everitt to a knock, and, with a Lekovic free kick saved, did not manage to score against the bottom side. Both injured players were put out for a couple of weeks.

Pregja was Young Player of the Month.

[Donners]

March, 2042

Leeds, Premier League, Home

We returned to Nene Park for the first time in five games. Leeds are close to the relegation zone, but having spent ₤17.5M on England striker Will Morris (Man U), it's pretty clear they intend to stay up. They have also loaned in former Rushden defender Jaap Zevenbergen from Napoli.

Although Leeds had the first couple of attacks, it was Haddad with a decisive shot past former Rushden keeper Kenneth Bergseth in the 12th. Partner Pregja added one of his own later in the half, and a long ball from Gibbs and fantastic 20-yard strike from Haddad soon made it 3-0. Haddad capped off a dominant game, for both the team and himself, by completing his hat-trick in the final minutes.

Sporting CP, Champions League 1st knockout round, leg 1, Home

In contrast to the disappointing performance against Sporting last time, Rushden took the initiative in the first half. The tone was set with two Gonzalez shots in the first five minutes, and strikers Figueroa and Pregja soon got in on the action. The former was denied, but when Gigliotti came down the left and crossed into the area, Pregja headed in a fine goal. That made it 1-1, and while it was tempting to go on the attack in search of a lead, we couldn't afford to concede an away goal.

That didn't look like happening with Rushden totally on top, and when Edman found Pregja in the area, we got that lead. Figueroa was denied the chance to give us a buffer against an away goal – even though he hit the back of the net in the 60th, he was ruled offside. A half-volley from Edman was saved in the 65th, and Milojevic had to keep out a shot at the other end. Pregja continued his fine game, with several shots on goal. With eight minutes left, Figueroa collected the ball on the right wing and hit it forward to his partner, who was playing deep. Pregja collected the ball and chipped the out-of-position keeper. The ball dribbled in – a third hat-trick in just over three months to the young striker, and progression in the Champions League for Rushden.

Sunderland, FA Cup 6th round, Home

Sunderland are fourth in the league, despite being beaten by Rushden 3-2 and 4-1 in November. The made no significant transfers in January. Their three ex-Rushden strikers, Michael Hopfner, Nuno and Béla Szili, have 30 goals between them for the season.

Luc Vergouwen got a rare run on the left due to our injury problems, and took full advantage of his opportunity. After his early cross into the area was cleared, he charged forward in support of a counter-attack. Gibbs, Lekovic and Gonzalez combined to get the ball to Leonardo, and when the young striker's shot was parried, Vergouwen was there to tap in the first goal. Sunderland quickly equalised from a free after Saad shoved over an opponent, and it was level at half time. We earned a free seconds into the second half, and Lekovic collected Edman's pass on the edge of the area, turned and blasted us back into the lead. Sunderland's only shot for the game was that first half free kick, leaving us with an easy win.

Unfortunately, we lost Gonzalez to a broken ankle, putting him out for two months. With Legrand, Everitt and Né also injured, we are really short at the attacking midfield spot.

West Ham, Premier League, Away

This is the first time we have played West Ham this season. They are only a few points from relegation despite finishing 5th last season, and their squad morale is low. Their transfers over the season have been substantial. Among those departing from the side were Scotland right winger Gary Henderson (₤13.5M to Newcastle), Australia left winger Damian Ouliaris (₤16.75M to Real Madrid), right back Graham Powell (₤6.5M to Newcastle) and former internationals Ross Laing and Andrew Fisher (released). However, they brought in plenty of quality players, like Latvia midfielder Kristaps Dibrivny (₤9.25M from Newcastle), Norway right back Even Henden (₤9.75M from Middlesbrough) and the unfortunately-named Israel forward Avi ****rit (₤16.25M from Benfica), so it's hard to understand their slump. They beat League One side Swindon 12-0 early in the season, but have only scored four goals in the last two months. I played three strikers due to our midfield injury woes.

Hammers striker Sivert Stromme had us on the back foot in the early minutes, twice forcing Milojevic to make saves. We quickly got back on track through strikers Haddad and Pregja, and it was the latter who got us ahead in the 29th, after a pass from his partner. The third striker, Figueroa, then set up Haddad for our second goal past former Rushden keeper Abdullah Al-Dossari. West Ham certainly had their chances, and were really quite even for much of the game. It took a Man of the Match effort from Saad and a great game from Milojevic to ensure we took the three points.

Manchester City, Premier League, Away

We belted City 5-1 back in November. Since then, they have lost left back Adam Jordan (₤1.8MN to Birmingham) and added former Rushden left back Tony Weaver (₤625K from Newcastle) and Bulgaria defender Ivaylo Kolev (₤650K from Saturn). On-loan Newcastle striker Paul Donnelly has 15 goals for the season; only five other players in their squad have scored for the seniors, and the next highest is five.

While Donnelly was the only threat, he was an all-too-potent one. He scored twice in the first 25 minutes, and we were dreadful in response. Figueroa had four shots and did not put one on target, and the rest of the side was no better. That was our first league loss since Newcastle beat us back in early January. Worse yet, we lost yet another midfielder, with Gigliotti going down with a twisted ankle. Legrand also suffered a dislocated shoulder just a week after resuming training, pretty much ending his season.

West Ham, Premier League, Home

At last we had some good news on the injury front, with Né returning to fill the left wing spot – though I still have to play three strikers in the absence of an attacking midfielder. Lekovic is playing on the right as the only other right winger, Everitt, is still out.

Haddad and Lekovic missed early shots, while Pregja was on target with headers. His first one was saved, but the second gave us a 36th minute lead. Edman created a lot of chances, frequently sending crosses into the area. It was another of those, late in the game, that saw Haddad take a shot. That was blocked, but in an effort to get the ball clear, a Hammers defender put the ball into his own net. Another 2-0 win against West Ham, and we are 13 points clear on top of the table with seven games left.

Saad and Pregja were third as Player of the Month and Young Player of the month respectively. I was Manager of the Month.

| Pos   | Inf   | Team          |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |       | Rushden       |       | 31    | 23    | 4     | 4     | 67    | 21    | +46   | 73    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | Newcastle     |       | 31    | 17    | 9     | 5     | 43    | 21    | +22   | 60    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Bolton        |       | 31    | 16    | 10    | 5     | 43    | 23    | +20   | 58    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Leicester     |       | 31    | 15    | 10    | 6     | 31    | 17    | +14   | 55    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Sunderland    |       | 31    | 13    | 13    | 5     | 33    | 20    | +13   | 52    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Middlesbrough |       | 31    | 14    | 8     | 9     | 40    | 34    | +6    | 50    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 7th   |       | Man Utd       |       | 31    | 13    | 10    | 8     | 40    | 29    | +11   | 49    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 8th   |       | Liverpool     |       | 31    | 14    | 6     | 11    | 26    | 25    | +1    | 48    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 9th   |       | Man City      |       | 31    | 11    | 8     | 12    | 28    | 28    | 0     | 41    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 10th  |       | Leyton Orient |       | 31    | 9     | 13    | 9     | 32    | 33    | -1    | 40    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11th  |       | Sheff Utd     |       | 31    | 9     | 11    | 11    | 31    | 33    | -2    | 38    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 12th  |       | Barnsley      |       | 31    | 9     | 10    | 12    | 34    | 37    | -3    | 37    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 13th  |       | West Brom     |       | 31    | 9     | 7     | 15    | 22    | 31    | -9    | 34    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14th  |       | Arsenal       |       | 31    | 8     | 9     | 14    | 31    | 37    | -6    | 33    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 15th  |       | Leeds         |       | 31    | 7     | 10    | 14    | 18    | 38    | -20   | 31    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 16th  |       | West Ham      |       | 31    | 7     | 9     | 15    | 28    | 43    | -15   | 30    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 17th  |       | Bradford      |       | 31    | 7     | 9     | 15    | 23    | 42    | -19   | 30    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 18th  |       | Wigan         |       | 31    | 4     | 14    | 13    | 19    | 32    | -13   | 26    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 19th  |       | Huddersfield  |       | 31    | 5     | 10    | 16    | 15    | 35    | -20   | 25    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20th  |       | MK Dons       |       | 31    | 5     | 10    | 16    | 20    | 45    | -25   | 25    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

[Donners]

April, 2042

Leganés, Champions League Quarter Final, leg 1, Home

Spanish side Leganés are in their first run at the Champions League. They are one of the better side in La Liga, with former Rushden keeper Aslan Genç and Colombia striker Luis Fradera (recently bought for ₤15.5M) their stand-out players.

The first half hour was fairly uneventful, with long-range misses from Hadir and Lekovic. There was a good opportunity in the 35th. Haddad played through Figueroa, who fired from inside the area. Genç parried to Pregja, and then managed to keep out the follow-up. Leganés were being totally outplayed, but while the chances mounted up for Rushden, the goals did not come. Figueroa missed a close-range header, while Lekovic and Hadir didn't get on target from nine shots between them. I brought on Gibbs and Leonardo for the final ten minutes, and they combined well after only a few minutes on the pitch. Gibbs' long ball found the young striker charging into the area...only for him to ram his shot into the crossbar. With 21 shots to one, we should have won by a long way. Instead, we now have to win away to make it to the semi final.

Sunderland, Premier League, Away

We knocked Sunderland out of the FA Cup just a few weeks ago, but struggled to take the lead here. Young wingers Vergouwen and Lis, along with striker Figueroa, all challenged keeper Dave Tate (who has conceded just five goals in fifteen games), without success. It took eight saves before we finally got through, taking the lead in the final fifteen minutes through Adam Lis. All that hard work was quickly undone when former Rushden striker Nuno equalised in the dying minutes. Just one point, but our lead at the top remains at 13 points thanks to Newcastle's draw with MK Dons.

Liverpool, Premier League, Home

Liverpool defeated us 0-1 back in November. Despite sitting eighth i\on the table, they are one of the lowest-scoring sides in the EPL, with just 27 goals for the season. In contrast, we have 68 – though, to be fair, the next-best has only 43.

We got off to a terrific start. Lis, fresh off a very good game against Sunderland, set up Haddad for a 6th minute lead. Haddad soon added a second, played through bu Leonardo, which looked like a substantial lead against a side with such limited scoring potential. They didn't even look like scoring one, let alone wiping out or lead, and Né capped off the victory with our third late in the game.

Leganés, Champions League Quarter Final, leg 2, Away

After only managing a draw despite absolute domination in the home leg, we now had to score away to progress to the semi. Unfortunately, our poor form from the first leg carried over here. From no less than ten first-half shots, we only challenged the keeper twice. Pregja was especially a culprit, missing a chance for a great start in the third minute, skimming the bar in the fifteenth and putting two more wide. Leganés were not as quiet as they were at Nene Park, breaking through our defence a few times but also missing. Just as it looked like the half would end scoreless, Haddad passed into the area. The weak clearance went straight to Né, who fired the ball into the back of the net. Despite racking up a remarkable eight shots in an hour, Pregja still couldn't score. His replacement, Figueroa, soon added his 50th goal for the club to ensure our progression.

West Brom, FA Cup Semi Final, Home

West Brom are in the lower half of the table, and have suffered 1-0 and 3-1 defeats against Rushden this season. There are no obvious threats in their squad, though of course all it takes is one goal to knock us out.

Though West Bromwich opened with a couple of shots, they did not look a realistic chance of scoring in the first half. Then again, neither did Rushden. The best we managed was a long-range shot from Vergouwen, which was easily held by the keeper. Edman and Lis sent in dangerous crosses at the start of the second half, but both were cleared. The minutes continued to tick away, and with West Brom playing just one striker, they had plenty of defenders to hold us off. The ninety minutes ended scoreless.

Ten minutes into injury time, Vergouwen was knocked over as he went for a ball in the area. A penalty was awarded, and captain Wisam Saad stepped up to take it. He took the shot that could put us into the FA Cup final...and sent it straight to the keeper. The disappointment did not last long, though. As the first half of injury time drew to a close, a long ball from Leonardo found partner Pregja in the area, and he headed us into an extra time lead. They never looked like scoring, and thanks to the belated strike, we pushed into the final.

Barnsley, Premier League, Away

A win here could see us seal the EPL title, since this is the fifth-last game and we are still 13 points ahead of Newcastle. Barnsley are a solid mid-table side, though they lost 3-0 to us last time. Young striker Aiden Watts has 19 goals for the season.

Though we started brightly, with on-target shots from Lekovic and Né, the game soon went downhill for Rushden. A bad clearance from Jimenez left Ortiz out of position with the ball at the feet of on-loan Chelsea midfielder Pal Dahl, who promptly put it into the back of the net from 30 yards. They scored again a few minutes later, and we did not look like coming back. With Newcastle defeating Leeds, we will have to wait at least another week to ensure our title win.

Huddersfield, Premier League, Home

Huddersfield were drubbed 3-0 last time we met, and are bottom of the table. The doomed side made no transfers in January. Just two of their players have scored more than a single goal this season, and those two have three and six respectively.

After such a bad start to the last game, it was a relief when Né headed in a goal after only five minutes. Unusually, that was our only shot of the first half, though Huddersfield did not offer much offence of their own. Né was fantastic in the midfield, with six key passes in addition to his goal. Though we missed a lot of late shots, we held onto the lead – ensuring our eighth consecutive Premier League title.

Valencia, Champions League Semi Final, leg 1, Home

Valencia won this competition last season, their sixth Champions League win and fourth in the last decade. They are littered with ex-Rushden players – keeper Jorge Cantú, defenders Craig Sinclair, Richard Nilsen, Nikos Skouras and Sergio Santaella, midfielders Kristian Strand, Juan Francisco Portillo, Love Skold and Odd Hansen and strikers Denis Larrainzar and Valentin Ouattara! Add in ₤35.5M Scottish midfielder Kenny Stewart and ₤46M Swiss playmaker Habib Rouquet, and there's no doubt about their star power.

Larrainzar, who never really hit his stride at Rushden, caused the most trouble in the opening minutes. Ortiz twice had to make saves from headers in the first twenty minutes, and then had to tip a third over on the half-hour mark. We started to launch some attacks of our own. Leonardo had a header held and Lekovic put a chip over the bar, but at least we were doing something. The best chance of the first half came in the 37th, when Leonardo received a pass from partner Figueroa. The young striker took a shot at goal...and sent it straight into the crossbar. Misses from Figueroa and Haddad closed out the half.

We continued our attacking mood in the second half. Leonardo rose above Nilsen to head down a high Jimenez pass, sending Figueroa through. He was one-on-one with keeper Cantú, but failed to beat him. In the 66th, Lekovic picked up a loose ball and send it to the edge of the area. Leonardo was there, and took the shot himself, blasting it straight into the back of the net. That was the wonderkid's first goal in 15 hours of game time, and it couldn't have been much more valuable. The lead did not last long, though. Ex-Diamonds Strand and Santaella brought the ball down the left, and crossed into the area. Edman's defensive header went straight to a striker, who volleyed in the away goal. That left us in a bad state, having conceded an away goal, but we weren't done yet. With three minutes to go, Lekovic charged down the right. He found Leonardo, who took the shot from close range. The keeper parried straight to Figueroa, who tapped in our second goal. 2-1 on the home leg, and a chance of making it through to the final

Leicester, Premier League, Home

Though we have won the title, a win against third-placed Leicester would be a nice bonus. We won 4-2 back in December. After that, they brought in Bulgaria striker Filip Ivanov (₤3.4M from Udinese), right winger Steve Newton (free from Northampton), Israel striker Haim Sasson (₤1.4M from Parma) and Macedonia defender Gjoko Blazevski (₤1.1M from Spartak Moscow.

Rushden attacked from the very beginning. Vergouwen and Né had shots saved inside 30 seconds of the kickoff, and Hadir had two goes from free kicks. Unfortunately, once that energy wore off, Leicester began to take control. Ortiz was kept under constant pressure, and conceded a goal by half time. In contrast to our fine start, we could offer nothing by way of attack. The game meandered to a conclusion, still 0-1 at the final whistle.

Valencia, Champions League Semi Final, leg 2, Away

We had a slight 2-1 lead from the home leg, but our opponents had an away goal on the board. Former Rushden defender Craig Sinclair had the first shot, heading a corner over the bar. Another two familiar names, Strand and Larrainzar, kept Ortiz busy through the first half. He held up well, though we did not manage a single shot in retaliation. Strand was a constant threat down the flanks, and it was one of his crosses that saw Haddad knock over an opponent in the area. A penalty was awarded, and ex-Diamond Sergio Santaella made no mistake. Rushden couldn't buy a shot all game, and even with the desperate situation of having gone behind on away goals, we could not create anything. The aggregate remained 2-2 at the end, with Valencia going through on their goal from the first leg.

Leonardo was Young Player of the Month, ahead of Adam Lis. Peterhead stole coach Cosimo Bodini as their new assistant, so I brought in Will Duncan to replace him.

[Donners]

May, 2042

Middlesbrough, Premier League, Home

Middlesbrough are fighting for a European spot, and are currently 6th. We beat them 3-1 late last year, but since then they've added Holland striker Theo Coolen (₤9.75M from Inter) and Scotland keeper Ally Perry (₤3.3M from Chelsea), at the expense of Norway right back Even Henden (₤9.75M to West Ham) and a handful of backups. Former Rushden striker Phil Conroy has 16 goals for the season.

Though Middlesbrough, unlike Rushden, actually had something to play for, it was the Diamonds who dominated. Leonardo pretty much put the game beyond doubt with a two-goal burst mid-way through the first half. Saad added a penalty after half time, and defender van Persie completed the rout with our fourth late in the game.

Bolton, Premier League, Home

The final game of the season was, like the last few, irrelevant to Rushden in terms of result. With the FA Cup final the following week, the only concern was making sure we didn't lose any players. Bolton are in a similar position to Middlesbrough, just inside European qualification. They have a few scoring contributors; ex-Diamond Mark Hayward leading the way with ten. They sold Wales defender Adam Graham to Lazio for ₤7.25M over the Summer, only bring in former Rushden defender Anders Hopfner on a free transfer.

Unlike our previous game, this was a tight and tough affair with neither side able to really challenge much. Marco van Persie was our shining light, with six key passes, but our forwards could not make much out of them. Bolton were similarly unsuccessful, and our season ended with a bland draw.

Chelsea, FA Cup Final, Neutral

Having been relegated last season, for the first time since 1987/88, Chelsea have bounced straight back by winning the Championship by a substantial margin and making it to the FA Cup final. Though they lost a few good players after relegation, Rushden youth product Jamie Berry and Fiji international Robert Lal form a dangerous striker partnership.

We were immediately put under pressure, with Berry breaking forward. Saad made a clean tackle, but Ortiz still had to make a save when the ball spilled to a striker. Ortiz was in action again in the 11th, this time holding a free kick. We hit back three minutes later when Edman collected a loose ball. He crossed over to fellow winger Adam Lis, who had his shot from just inside the area parried and cleared. Two more shots, from Lis and Leonardo, were saved in the following minutes. The best chance of the half came from a long Mertakkas clearance. Leonardo headed it into the path of Vergouwen, who broke into the area but only managed to hit the side netting.

Rushden dominated the second half, but Chelsea were solid in defence. Wayward shooting from Haddad did not help, and though Leonardo sent in a terrific shot in the 90th minute, a despairing save knocked it wide. Extra time saw an equally brilliant save from Ortiz to keep out a diving header. That was the only shot of the extra thirty minutes, and the exhausted players lined up for the penalties to decide the FA Cup.

We got off the the perfect start, going ahead when Saad scored and Ortiz made a save. Unfortunately, Mertakkas then had our second shot saved, and they scored to make it 1-1 after two. Gibbs and Chelsea were successful with shot number three, and Jimenez got our fourth. However, Chelsea's fourth went wide, meaning Haddad could win it with the fifth. Though his shooting is often wayward, he made no mistake here – 4-2 on penalties, and our third FA Cup (and second in a row) was in the bag.

[Donners]

The season in review

Summary

| Pos   | Inf   | Team          |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   | ECC   | Rushden       |       | 38    | 26    | 6     | 6     | 76    | 25    | +51   | 84    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   | ECC   | Leicester     |       | 38    | 20    | 12    | 6     | 40    | 19    | +21   | 72    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   | ECC   | Newcastle     |       | 38    | 19    | 13    | 6     | 53    | 30    | +23   | 70    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   | ECC   | Middlesbrough |       | 38    | 18    | 9     | 11    | 51    | 43    | +8    | 63    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   | UC    | Sunderland    |       | 38    | 15    | 17    | 6     | 41    | 25    | +16   | 62    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   | UC    | Bolton        |       | 38    | 16    | 14    | 8     | 45    | 30    | +15   | 62    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 7th   |       | Man Utd       |       | 38    | 16    | 13    | 9     | 50    | 35    | +15   | 61    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 8th   | ITC   | Liverpool     |       | 38    | 17    | 8     | 13    | 35    | 33    | +2    | 59    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 9th   |       | Leyton Orient |       | 38    | 13    | 14    | 11    | 37    | 37    | 0     | 53    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 10th  |       | Man City      |       | 38    | 14    | 9     | 15    | 39    | 38    | +1    | 51    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11th  |       | Barnsley      |       | 38    | 11    | 12    | 15    | 41    | 44    | -3    | 45    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 12th  |       | Sheff Utd     |       | 38    | 10    | 13    | 15    | 36    | 41    | -5    | 43    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 13th  |       | Arsenal       |       | 38    | 10    | 12    | 16    | 39    | 43    | -4    | 42    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14th  |       | West Brom     |       | 38    | 11    | 8     | 19    | 27    | 41    | -14   | 41    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 15th  |       | Bradford      |       | 38    | 9     | 12    | 17    | 26    | 46    | -20   | 39    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 16th  |       | Wigan         |       | 38    | 7     | 17    | 14    | 24    | 35    | -11   | 38    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 17th  |       | West Ham      |       | 38    | 7     | 15    | 16    | 31    | 47    | -16   | 36    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 18th  | R     | Leeds         |       | 38    | 8     | 12    | 18    | 24    | 49    | -25   | 36    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 19th  | R     | MK Dons       |       | 38    | 7     | 11    | 20    | 24    | 54    | -30   | 32    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20th  | R     | Huddersfield  |       | 38    | 6     | 13    | 19    | 20    | 44    | -24   | 31    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

| Pkd    | Inf    | Name                         | Position   | Morale | Form       | Con    | Apps   | Gls    | Av Rat | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DC     | Hol    | Wisam Saad                   | D C        | Good   | 7-7-7-8-7  | 100%   | 49     | 3      | 7.49   | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S2     |        | Rafael Figueroa              | ST         | Okay   | 7-7-6-6-7  | 99%    | 40 (4) | 17     | 7.20   | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -      |        | Nenad Lekovic                | AM RC      | Good   | 7-7-7-6-7  | 97%    | 40 (2) | 6      | 7.24   | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DL     | Hol    | Per Edman                    | D/WB/M L   | Good   | 7-7-8-7-7  | 100%   | 40     | -      | 7.22   | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DC     | Wnt    | José Antonio Jiménez Jiménez | D C        | Good   | 7-7-6-8-7  | 100%   | 39     | 2      | 7.51   | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| GK     |        | Luciano Ortiz                | GK         | Good   | 7-7-6-8-8  | 100%   | 36     | -      | 7.14   | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S3     | Unh    | Oussama Hadir                | DM         | Okay   | 8-7-7-8-6  | 98%    | 35 (1) | 1      | 7.42   | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| AMC    | Hol    | Mohamed Né                   | AM LC, F C | Good   | 7-7-6-8-7  | 100%   | 30 (5) | 7      | 7.46   | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| FC     |        | Leonardo                     | ST         | Good   | 9-9-9-7-7  | 100%   | 30 (4) | 12     | 7.47   | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DR     | Hol    | Michalis Mertakkas           | D RC       | Good   | 7-7-7-8-7  | 100%   | 29 (1) | 2      | 7.33   | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -      | Hol    | Jesús González               | AM C       | Okay   | 7-9-7-7-6  | 95%    | 28     | 5      | 7.29   | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S1     | Hol    | Mario Milojevic              | GK         | Okay   | 6-7-7-6-7  | 98%    | 27     | -      | 7.15   | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -      | Wnt    | Jimmy Everitt                | AM RC, F C | Okay   | 7-8-7-6-6  | 94%    | 26 (3) | 5      | 7.14   | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S5     |        | James Gibbs                  | D C, DM    | Okay   | 7-6-7-7-6  | 96%    | 25 (4) | 8      | 7.52   | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -      | Hol    | Andrey Osipov                | D C        | Okay   | 7-7-6-7-7  | 95%    | 25     | -      | 7.08   | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| FC     | Unh    | Abderrazak Haddad            | ST         | Okay   | 7-7-6-6-6  | 100%   | 24 (5) | 17     | 7.31   | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -      | Hol    | Rigers Pregja                | ST         | Good   | 7-9-10-6-8 | 99%    | 24 (3) | 16     | 7.30   | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -      | Hol    | Christian Veneruso           | D/WB R     | Good   | 7-7-8-7-7  | 96%    | 23 (1) | -      | 7.21   | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -      | Hol    | Jacques Legrand              | AM LC      | Good   | 7-8-7-9-7  | 83%    | 19 (1) | 6      | 7.65   | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| ML     |        | Luc Vergouwen                | WB L       | Good   | 7-7-8-7-7  | 100%   | 17 (4) | 1      | 7.14   | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DMC    | Inj    | Marco van Persie             | D C, DM    | Good   | 6-7-8-7-7  | 60%    | 16 (6) | 3      | 7.27   | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -      | Hol    | Fabio Gigliotti              | D/AM L     | Okay   | 9-7-8-7-7  | 95%    | 16     | 1      | 7.38   | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -      | Hol    | Gian Paolo Pasquini          | D/WB R     | Poor   | 7-6-6-6-6  | 100%   | 15 (6) | -      | 6.95   | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| MR     | Wnt    | Adam Lis                     | AM R       | Good   | 7-6-8-7-6  | 100%   | 12     | 1      | 7.25   | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S4     | Hol    | Morten Haug                  | D C        | Okay   | 9-8-7-7-7  | 95%    | 1 (1)  | -      | 7.00   | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -      | Bid    | Nelson                       | GK         | Good   | 8-7-8-6-7  | 99%    | 1      | -      | 8.00   | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

Lekovic and Saad made the Premier League Team of the Season. I was Manager of the Season for the tenth time. Lekovic was Football Writers Footballer of the Year, just ahead of Saad. Haddad was Champions League Best Player, with Saad again runner-up. Saad, Hadir, Haddad and Jimenez made the Dream Team.

Again we managed a double, taking the League and FA Cup, but suffered an unfortunate exit in the Champions League and loss on penalties in the Carling Cup. While we were particularly dominant in the league – 94 points being the most we've earned since 35/36 – those two disappointments keep it from being a great season.

We scored 20 goals more than last season, and the most we've scored in the EPL other than that amazing 35/36 season. Our goal difference was 51, again second only to 35/36.

Obviously, then, there was good work done at both ends of the pitch. Our keepers were really not particularly special, with Ortiz and Milojevic sharing duties without rising above the other. Much of the credit for our low number of goals conceded must go to the defence. Saad, Gibbs and Jimenez were particularly excellent, with Edman and Mertakkas holding down the full back positions and Fabio Gigliotti really impressing when he came up to cover for the former after Stiansen left.

In the middle, Legrand looked on track to be the best player of the season, but was denied by injuries which restricted him to 20 games. Né and Hadir were terrific – the former involved in 20 goals – and Lis broke into the side late.

The strikers were settled for the first time in a while, with Haddad and Figueroa as the senior pairing and Leonardo and Pregja pushing for a spot. All played a solid role.

Perhaps the best sign was the number of players who got settled into the side in the year of their senior début. Lis, Pregja, Vergouwen, Gigliotti and Pasquini all fall into this category, and each one of them could be a member of the side for years to come.

The reserves and under-18s won their leagues, as usual.

Around the world: major awards and results

Rushden Supporters’ Player of the Year:

Raphael Figueroa

World Player of the Year:

Carlos Valdez (Valencia)

World Footballer of the Year:

Nikolay Hadzhiev (Atlético)

England:

Winner: Rushden \o/

Relegated: Leeds, Huddersfield, MK Dons

Promoted: Chelsea, Northampton, Brentford

Spain:

Atlético

Italy

Roma

Champions League:

Atlético

UEFA Cup:

Lyon

World Cup 2042

Uruguay

[WLKRAS]

Another double, well done

[Donners]

The Transfers

Players In

| Date               | Person             | From               | Fee                | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.7.2041           | Stanisic, Milan    | Atlético           | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.7.2041           | García, Abraham    | Salamanca          | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.7.2041           | Vergouwen, Luc     | PSV                | £2.6M              | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.7.2041           | Matheson, Ricky    | Leeds              | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 23.8.2041          | Henriksen, Øyvind  | Rosenborg          | £26K               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 13.11.2041         | Fjørtoft, Tor-Arne | Fredrikstad        | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.1.2042           | Frederiksen, Mark  | FC Nordsjælland    | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4.1.2042           | Danielsen, Michael | Sandefjord         | £230K              | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 30.1.2042          | Rufer, Michael     | Aston Villa        | £1.3M              | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 30.1.2042          | Bell, Anton        | Deportivo          | £1.3M              | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|                    | Total              |                    | £5.5M              | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

Players Out

| Date               | Person             | To                 | Fee                | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20.6.2041          | Ivanovski, Goce    | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20.6.2041          | Maslo, Vladimir    | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20.6.2041          | Whalley, Sean      | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20.6.2041          | Castro, Aaron      | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.7.2041           | Holden, Dominic    | Napoli             | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.7.2041           | Straub, Ralf       | Aue                | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.7.2041           | Tsichlas, Nikos    | Milan              | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3.7.2041           | Anderson           | Real Madrid        | £23.5M             | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 7.7.2041           | Robson, Tom        | Juventus           | £16M               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 13.7.2041          | Ivanovic, Zoran    | Roma               | £7.5M              | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 25.7.2041          | Sköld, Love        | Valencia           | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 28.7.2041          | Meland, Erik       | Porto              | £10M               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6.8.2041           | Nuno               | Sunderland         | £5.5M              | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 10.8.2041          | Revivo, Ron        | Sevilla            | £8.5M              | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3.1.2042           | Ouattara, Valentin | Valencia           | £16.5M             | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3.1.2042           | Genç, Aslan        | Leganés            | £5.5M              | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14.1.2042          | Stiansen, Eivind   | Roma               | £13M               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 23.1.2042          | Gandía, Antonio    | R. Sociedad        | £9.5M              | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 30.1.2042          | Ümit, Bayraktar    | Racing             | £5M                | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|                    | Total              |                    | £121M              | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

Loans Out

| Date               | Person                   | To                 | Fee                | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 24.6.2041          | van Duijvenbode, Lorenzo | Dundee Utd         | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 30.6.2041          | Nielsen, Bjørnar         | Airdrie Utd        | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 30.6.2041          | Meinhardt, Christoph     | Dundee Utd         | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2.7.2041           | Guild, Gary              | Airdrie Utd        | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11.7.2041          | Suroor, Saeed            | Offenbach          | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11.7.2041          | Callejón, Raúl           | Racing             | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 12.7.2041          | Eira, Finn               | Leicester          | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 16.7.2041          | Bruno                    | Hibernian          | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20.7.2041          | Beale, Alex              | Airdrie Utd        | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 31.7.2041          | Duff, Andy               | St. Mirren         | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4.8.2041           | Stanisic, Milan          | Airdrie Utd        | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4.8.2041           | Ulmer, Robert            | Southend           | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 9.8.2041           | Andreassen, Jørgen       | St. Johnstone      | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 13.8.2041          | Hasselbaink, Martijn     | Ipswich            | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 29.8.2041          | Mavridis, Andreas        | AEK                | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 31.8.2041          | Tønseth, Anders          | Gateshead          | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3.11.2041          | Muhr, Mario              | Bournemouth        | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 25.12.2041         | Jasso, Enrique           | AIK                | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 25.12.2041         | Gaitán, Cristian         | AIK                | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 28.1.2042          | García, Abraham          | Northampton        | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11.2.2042          | Frederiksen, Mark        | Boston Utd         | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 17.2.2042          | Tønseth, Anders          | Q.P.R.             | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 24.2.2042          | Danielsen, Michael       | Sheff Wed          | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11.3.2042          | Bell, Anton              | Wolves             | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|                    | Total                    |                    | £0                 | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

Youth In

| Date               | Person             | To                 | Fee                | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20.6.2041          | Calvert, David     | Rushden            | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20.6.2041          | Wylie, Robert      | Rushden            | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20.6.2041          | Burt, Paul         | Rushden            | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20.6.2041          | López, Sergio      | Rushden            | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20.6.2041          | Brown, Chris       | Rushden            | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20.6.2041          | Payne, Russell     | Rushden            | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20.6.2041          | Hanson, Neil       | Rushden            | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|                    | Total              |                    | £0                 | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

Only one of our new signings played senior football this season, and that player, Luc Vergouwen, only played a backup role. The others will take a few years to develop.

We earned a monstrous ₤121M from sales, and obviously some of those were quality players. The one that really hurt was Tsichlas, who scored 17 Serie A goals after leaving us for no compensation. None of the others really had a huge impact at their new sides, and a few were even sold on at the end of the season.

Many of our loaned out players were successful. Guild was the Scottish PFA Young Player of the Year runner-up and in the SPL Team of the Year, Callejόn was a La Liga regular and Eira played a full EPL season.