[FM15] The Hart Chronicles - Volume I: Paul Hart's Alphabet Career

[PaulHartman71]

Just a few days after joining I offered Adam out on loan to try and help his development by giving him first team football. He will spend the rest of the season on loan at League 2 side Grimsby Town, where he will hopefully become a first team regular at a club for the first time.

[Wavelberry]

'How much do you love your son?'

'I sent him to Grimsby'

Ouch

[dllu]

Could have been worse. Could have been somewhere in Norfolk.

[PaulHartman71]

It's for his own good

[Nobby_McDonald]

Look how well Stoke are doing.

[PaulHartman71]

January

Two FA cup matches - two wins. Both pretty comfortable too - Erwin Roa got a hat-trick against Bolton, whilst Sasa Gavranic got one against QPR. We're now in the 5th round and have Championship side Peterborough at home.

A pretty good month that saw us go unbeaten in the league. We beat Bristol City, Middlesbrough and Aston Villa - whilst slipping up at QPR and high flying Stoke, both away from home.

We are slowly rising up the table but it will be very tight come the end of the season.

[Northernpilgrim]

Only 7 points off the Champions League places, and a game in hand. You're not out of it yet

[PaulHartman71]

Only 7 points off the Champions League places, and a game in hand. You're not out of it yet

yeah tbf looking at the fixture list we don't have too many tricky away games left really

[PaulHartman71]

February

A nice 2-0 win against Championship side Peterborough puts us in the hat for the next round. We're at home again which is great - we face Stoke. Fingers crossed we can get win that one.

A pretty gutting result at Anfield that means barring any Istanbul-like heroics in Paris - we're out of the Champions League. I suppose that's what you get for finishing 2nd in the group - a difficult tie like PSG early on.

A month where the positives in the league did out-weigh the negatives. It was pretty gutting to lose 4-2 during my return to Portman Road - my old side Ipswich were better on the evening and deserved their win though. The highlight of the month was a massive 1-0 victory against United that only came thanks to a last gasp goal from substitute Davide Fois. We slipped up at home to Spurs which was another annoying slip up - but we beat Fulham and Leicester comfortably thanks in part to Erwin Roa.

We still have Southampton, Man City, Arsenal, Norwich and Everton to play - but only Norwich is away from home. Chelsea aren't as good as they once were but we do actually go to their place on the final day of the season - which could end up being the difference between whether we get top 4 or not.

[PaulHartman71]

A nice little milestone is about to be achieved

[PaulHartman71]

There's some good news to be shared as Adam has scored his first goal for Grimsby!

[PaulHartman71]

March

Erwin Roa's 33rd minute goal put us 1-0 up and for a few minutes I actually thought we could pull off a heroic victory. Unfortunately PSG were too good on the night and they equalised just before half-time. I went for it in the second half - we couldn't get a goal and they ended up doing us on the counter to make it 2-1 on the night and 3-1 on aggregate. Pretty gutting to go out but I don't think the side is good enough to win the CL really - if not PSG it would've been a Real, Barca or Juve knocking us out later on anyway.

A positive of the month is that we've qualified for the FA Cup Semi Final. Stoke matched us completely in the home match earlier on in the month - they pegged it back to 2-2 and fully deserved their replay. Stoke's not an easy place to go usually - but for whatever reason, in our replay they completely collapsed on the hour mark after putting in another good performance earlier on in the game. We scored 3 in 15 minutes to put ourselves through. We face Man United at Wembley - a huge task for team and a huge match for the fans.

3 wins out of 3 including 2 on the road - Reading and West Ham are both games we should be winning anyway but West Ham especially wasn't an easy game, we came from 2-1 down to beat them. The Southampton game was a massive one in our ambition to make top four - it was a difficult game which could've gone either way but luckily Mateus' 71st minute strike won us all 3 points in the 6 pointer for CL qualification.

We're in with a real shot but Southampton, Stoke, Everton, Norwich and my old side Ipswich will all be right up for it and it should come down to the wire. Our penultimate game of the season at home to Everton could be massive, as on the 36th game day we travel to Norwich who are also up there.

One thing that popped up that did annoy me though...

One bad result away from the sack earlier in the season? When was that? That's outrageous if I genuinely was 1 loss away from the sack at one point

[PaulHartman71]

April

Part 1

We've not got off to the best start in April. We were 2-0 up against City at half-time - but they blasted their way back into it early on in the second half to draw it back to 2-2. Steven Lenaerts then almost immediately put us back ahead - he made it 3-2 in the 64th minute which I was hoping would be enough - it wasn't. City got back in the game and equalised in the 88th minute - a really gutting goal that meant we only got a point from the game, which at any other time in the season would be quite good but we're desperate for points at the moment so we really could've done with all 3 of them.

We then went to West Brom, which on paper really didn't look like all that tough a fixture. They were a top 6 sort of side when I was Ipswich but since then they seem to have fallen a bit - they're 13/14th with nothing to play for at this point so I thought we'd get a nice comfy win. I was wrong. We went 1-0 up through Erwin Roa and went into half-time 1-0 up. West Brom burst out the gates in the second half though - they made it 2-1 almost immediately which had me really worried. Erwin Roa managed an equaliser on the hour mark though and I thought that was it - the momentum was with us and we'd end up winning. I went for it a bit in desperation to get all 3 points - perhaps a mistake, as we got down on the counter in the 90th minute by a West Brom counter which meant instead of 3 points, we ended up getting nothing.

We're still in with a shot - not hugely likely, but we can do it. I check my newsfeed and notice that the thought of the Liverpool board seems to be that if I don't get at least 4th place - I'm going to be sacked for the first time in my career. Seems a bit crazy really - taken a team that had lost 6 of their first 11 games to well within reach of the top 4. I also got them through a CL group which I very easily could've failed at considering I had Schalke away as one of my games. I've also taken them to an FA Cup Semi Final - could well win it yet ffs.

Next game at home to Arsenal of course - by no means an easy game, we're not in super form, but I think we can definitely have a good go and should really beat them at home. So then this message pops up

The state of Paul Dickov ffs How on earth is he even Arsenal manager ffs. Could never get into the team when he was there so who knows why they've employed that *****. I would love it if we beat them now!

[PaulHartman71]

Bloody hell now the media is trying to push some agenda that I have beef with Arsenal ffs! I think Dickov is a ****** but I'm still an Arsenal man, right?! I'll have to join Spurs at this rate

[Maw74]

A bit worrying to see Norwich that high up - but Nobby will no doubt be pleased to see Stoke flying high.

and Ipswich, QPR and Chelsea........... oh and Villa.

[PaulHartman71]

and Ipswich, QPR and Chelsea........... oh and Villa.

Ipswich still reaping the rewards of my amazing management tbf

[PaulHartman71]

April

Part 2

A massive result at Wembley saw us defeat United and book ourselves a place in the final. We've got City in the final - no biggie

We pulled off a fantastic 3-1 victory against Arsenal and Paul Dickov - Roa scored twice and Marino scored late on to finish them off to thunderous applause. Sadly we couldn't quite get the 3 points at Norwich. We were 2-0 up thanks to another brace from Erwin Roa - but Norwich pulled a goal back soon after and then in the 89th minute they equalised - a massive goal that could well decide whether or not we get top four.

Not looking too good especially with our goal difference

Our left back has come out and backed me though I didn't realize I'd worked with any of these players before - but it turns out I gave this guy his first ever Holland cap whilst I was manager

[PaulHartman71]

May

Part 1

Two huge victories - we smashed Everton 4-0 as payback for their win at Goodison Park earlier on in the season. We may have got slightly fortunate by winning two penalties but they were penalties tbf - a great victory that actually prevented Everton from finishing in the European places full stop - so a great result for Liverpool fans. We then followed that up by going to Chelsea and winning 3-2! But was it enough to get top four?...

Nope We came close but ultimately failing to beat Norwich was what cost us really.

There was some good news though...

**** off Dickov

I can't laugh at him too much as going into the FA Cup final against City I'm listed as "Very Insecure" and I reckon if we fail to beat City I'll be out the door - however outrageous and ungrateful from them that would be!

[Maw74]

Why are you insecure? What the hell did/do Liverpool want.

And I will :lol: at Dickov.

[PaulHartman71]

May

Part 2

A very very close game that came just seconds from going to penalties - but we won it!! The super sub Hugo Marino popped up with what was more or less the last kick of the game to make it 2-1 and to save us from the agony of a penalty shoot-out - in doing so and making sure we won he also saved my job

They're taking the ****!

I'm so tempted to resign out of principle as the board are being so arrogant and up themselves for a club that hasn't won the league since 2017! But they might give me some money over the summer and I think we can definitely get CL football next season, would also be nice to have a go at winning the Europa League as we should be one of the bigger sides in that. I've also tried to stick to managing each club for at least 365 days - so as long as they don't sack me before November I should reach that milestone!

[PaulHartman71]

Season 18 - (L)iverpool

Despite the board's discontent I felt this season was a success - granted it would have been much more of a success to have actually qualified for the Champions League next year, but I don't feel like this squad is that good. The first 11 are all quite good - but there really isn't the sort of depth needed to do anything in the Champions League - as we saw when we got whooped by PSG. There were times this season where I was having to play some guys out of their position as I just had no quality depth in the positions I needed due to injuries or just a lack of bodies and money in January. I'm hoping I can address those issues in the summer.

Squad pt 1, Squad pt 2

GK - Darryl Winstanley is one our better players and is a class keeper. He has over 50 caps for the England national team and was one of the first names on the team-sheet (literally) for every game. He's only 32 so is a no brainer as GK again next season.

DR - Nicolaj Barslund is an okay right back. He's still quite young and inexperienced at 21 and in an ideal world he's not starting week in week out for us - definitely a position where there's room for improvement next season.

DL - John Witteveen is a good experienced left back who is also capable of playing at CB. He had a good season and he well and truly cemented himself in my good books when he came out and backed me when I was under pressure - top guy!

DC - Sergio van de Wetering and Gustavo Acosta are an okay partnership - neither of them scream world class defender though. If I can get better players in to replace them over the summer - I will do so.

DM - This season saw the emergence of a youth Academy prospect in 17/18 year old Simon Jarvis. I felt a little uncomfortable having a 17 year old playing at DM at first - but the guy improved week in week out and looks like he has all the makings of a top class defensive midfielder. He's listed as a wonderkid as well which is nice - I see no real need to replace him next season, though I do need to get a suitable understudy in.

MC - Laurent Fournier is a pretty good player - by no means a world class CM but he's still a pretty good one and was one of our better players this season. His partner was primarily Kristian Simonsen - a 25 year old Dane that is a pretty good player. We also had Frenchman, Serge Rousseau, who did quite well as a rotation/back-up option. I'm not sure if I will play with 2 MC's again next season - I had to this time mainly because we had no real options at CAM. If I can get a CAM in over the summer I will.

AMR - Sasa Gavranic was a real threat down the right hand side - he ended the season with 17 assists and 9 goals in all competitions, he could maybe do with scoring more but his overall play was very positive.

AML - Jorg Beister had a pretty average season on the left wing. He's better than his stats of 5 assists and 7 goals assume as he is a good defensive player - but that's not hugely what I'm after in a winger. He may well be replaced over the summer.

ST - Erwin Roa is a fantastic Chilean striker - the one player we have who I would describe as there or there about world class. He finished the season with 30 goals from 42 starts in all competitions, also popping up with 10 assists. I'm hoping there's more to come from him next season. Hugo Marino and Davide Fois were decent options from the bench - both popping up with the odd important goal, including Marino who scored the all important winner in the cup final.

History

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Season     Club                Division          Position      Achievements
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2014/15    Arsenal             Premier League    2nd           League Cup winners 
2015/16    Arsenal             Premier League    1st           Champions
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2016/17    Borussia Dortmund   Bundesliga        3rd           German Cup & Europa League winners
2017/18    Borussia Dortmund   Bundesliga        2nd           Euro Super Cup & German Super Cup winners
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2017       Cameroon            N/A               N/A           Confederations Cup runners up 
2018       Cameroon            N/A               N/A           N/A
2019       Cameroon            N/A               N/A           African Cup of Nations winners 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2018/19    Dinamo Moscow       Russian PL        2nd           Russian Cup winners
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2019/20    Everton             Premier League    2nd           N/A
2020/21    Everton             Premier League    7th           League Cup winners & Champions League runners up
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2020       France              N/A               N/A           N/A
2021       France              N/A               N/A           European Nations League winner
2022       France              N/A               N/A           World Cup winner
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2021/22    Getafe              La Liga           5th           N/A
2022/23    Getafe              La Liga           9th           Europa League semi finalists 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2022       Holland             N/A               N/A           N/A
2023       Holland             N/A               N/A           N/A
2024       Holland             N/A               N/A           European Championship runners up
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2023/24    Ipswich Town        Championship      1st           Promoted as Champions  
2024/25    Ipswich Town        Premier League    13th          N/A
2025/26    Ipswich Town        Premier League    4th           N/A
2026/27    Ipswich Town        Premier League    4th           N/A
2027/28    Ipswich Town        Premier League    1st           Premier League and FA Cup winners
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2028/29    Juventus            Serie A           1st           Serie A, Italian Cup and Super Cup winners 
2029/30    Juventus            Serie A           1st           Serie A, Champions League, Italian Cup and Super Cup winners
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2030/31    Kuban               Russian PL        6th           Qualified for Europa League
2031/32    Kuban               Russian PL        7th           Left in November
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2031/32    Liverpool           Premier League    6th           Joined in November. FA Cup winners.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Trophy Cabinet

[u][b]International
[/b][/u]
World Cup               x1 - 2022 (France)
African Cup of Nations  x1 - 2019 (Cameroon)
European Nations League x1 - 2021 (France)

[u][b]Continental[/b][/u] 

Champions League    x1 - 2029/30 (Juventus)
Europa League       x1 - 2016/17 (Borussia Dortmund) 
European Super Cup  x1 - 2017/18 (Borussia Dortmund)

[u][b]England[/b][/u]

Premier League x2 - 2015/16 (Arsenal), 2027/28 (Ipswich)
FA Cup         x2 - 2027/28 (Ipswich), 2031/32 (Liverpool) 
League Cup     x2 - 2014/15 (Arsenal), 2020/21 (Everton)
Championship   x1 - 2023/24 (Ipswich) 

[b][u]Germany[/u]
[/b]
German Cup        x1 - 2016/17 (Borussia Dortmund)
German Super Cup  x1 - 2017/18 (Borussia Dortmund)


[u][b]Italy

[/b][/u]Serie A           x2 - 2028/29, 2029/30 (Juventus)
Italian Cup       x2 - 2028/29, 2029/30 (Juventus)
Italian Super Cup x2 - 2028/29, 2029/30 (Juventus) 

[u][b]Russia[/b][/u]

Russian Cup x1 - 2018/19 (Dinamo Moscow)

[PaulHartman71]

I signed Adam in January for £550K. I had no room for sentimental sub appearances this season as it would be an uphill struggle to do what I could with Liverpool - so in the interest of his development I offered Adam out on loan. League 2 side, Grimsby Town, offered him the promise of first team football on a regular basis - a great chance for my son to shine, so off he went to Grimsby. It probably took him a while to set in to his new surroundings as he ended the season with just a 6.52 average rating - but everyone has to start somewhere and despite being biased I think he did alright in his first spell of first team football. I've not decided what to do with him next season just yet - I may keep him at the club for the early League Cup rounds and then maybe look to loan him out again if there's interest in him from the right club.

Adam Portman Hart, MC/CAM

December 2028 Profile

End of 2028/29 Profile

End of 2029/30 Profile

End of 2030/31 Profile

Mid Season 2031/32 Profile

End of 2031/32 Profile

Season    Club                Division         Apps  Assists   Goals   MOTM  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2025-28   Ipswich Town        Premier League    0       0        0      0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2028-30   Juventus            Serie A          17       2        3      1 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2030-32   Kuban               Russian PL       21       1        1      0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2031-32   Liverpool           Premier League    0       0        0      0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2031-32   Grimsby (on loan)   League 2         18       2        2      0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Career Total                                   56       5        6      1   

[u][b]Trophies/Awards:[/b][/u]

Serie A           x1 - 2029/30 (Juventus)
Italian Cup       x2 - 2028/2029, 2029/30 (Juventus) 
Italian Super Cup x1 - 2029/30 (Juventus) 

[PaulHartman71]

M

It is of course now time to start looking at potential 'M' jobs that I might be able to get my hands on soon. The two obvious ones are Man City and Man United - they both finished 1st and 2nd respectively this season, so you'd think unless one of them has a terrible start/finish to next season then neither of those jobs would be available unless their current managers retired or left. Frank de Boer is at City and Razvan Lucescu is at United. It is a Euros year this summer - so if Clarence Seedorf has a mare with Holland and is sacked, Frank de Boer could possibly take over and leave City. Though I'm not sure how likely that is - probably not very.

Staying on the theme of international management - there are several 'M' nation jobs I could potentially get. Mali, Morocco and Mexico. The African Nations are coming up this January - so if Mali or Morocco have a mare there - I could potentially take over one of those two. Strangely - Mexico aren't actually appearing on the screen at the moment, they were a few months back so not sure what's happening there.

Middlesbrough are another Premier League side I could take over - they're over-achieving in 10th at the moment, but if it looks like they might get relegated I could get that job, though I'd rather stay at Liverpool than save Boro from relegation. Montpellier of Ligue 1, Maritimo of the Portuguese PL and Metz of Ligue 1 are smaller sides from big leagues that could be tempting and interesting prospects.

By far the most appealing club outside of Man City or Man United though - is of course one of the big spenders in France - Monaco. I've not managed in France just yet and who better to join than Monaco? The thought of living in Monte Carlo would be a refreshing change of pace too from dreary old Liverpool. Diego Simeone is currently "secure" at Monaco but Lyon pipped them to the title this season - would another season of failing to win Ligue 1 be enough for him to get the boot? Let's hope so!

[PaulHartman71]

I just got given a compulsory board end of season meeting out of the blue - thought my job was secure after the FA Cup win. They had a good moan at me for my poor league position - I fought my corner and at one point even said the option of "well - maybe it would better if I just quit then" as the guy was ******* me off. There was then an option after they said "is that a course of action you'd be happy with?" where I said "I'd prefer to carry on with the job next season - results will improve" and they seemed content enough with that. We'll see how it goes

[PaulHartman71]

What's that you say? £11.5M coming my way? Shout out to whichever of my predecessors snuck in this clause

[PaulHartman71]

Someone at Reading deserves some praise as well

[deltablue]

Shoot those Canaries down!

[PaulHartman71]

I did intend to wait and see how the early League Cup games went before loaning Adam out this season - but Coventry (also of League 2) came in early on and offered him first team football so in the interest of him getting a full season behind him I've let him go to COV.

[PaulHartman71]

Shoot those Canaries down!

Your wish is my command

[PaulHartman71]

Well the Euros have just finished and what can I say? I'm a man in demand I think I've been offered the Italy job 3/4 times now - a shame that I'll never get a chance to manager them, but if I had I would've never got the chance to manage Ipswich so I have no regrets. Fingers crossed after I reject Holland, they offer the job to Frank de Boer and then then I can take over at City!

[PaulHartman71]

I'm sure winning the World Cup for them comes into play - but seems a bit mental how much more money France were willing to give me than Italy or Holland?

[PaulHartman71]

Well it doesn't look like I'm going to be replacing Frank de Boer anytime soon. Holland have appointed Wout Droste as their manager instead.

[PaulHartman71]

July/August Pre-Season

A few noteworthy departures as Laurent Fournier and Erik Mier left the club for £30M and £20M respectively. I thought both players were okay but the money I got for both was too good to turn down.

I made 6 signings this summer - including a few familiar faces. Simon Carr joins from Arsenal for £17.5M - the 29 year old Irishman is a very experienced CM and will fit in nicely into the first team. Stefan Heinrich is a 27 year old German CB who should add much needed competition for places at CB. Grant Grant was a must buy, not just for his hilarious name, but also as he has all the attributes to be the CAM we were looking for last season. The 24 year old Englishman is a bargain at £16M. An old friend in Allan Petit joins for just £3.8M from Nantes - Petit is 32 now, but can still do a job and will be a good squad player to have. Wallace is a 24 year old Brazilian RB who will slot straight into the first team - a real bargain at £3.8M. The final transfer saw Ben Gould join on a free transfer, he was a good little player for me at Ipswich so I was surprised to see him without a club. He'll only really be backup but it will be nice to try and get him back on his fit in his career.

We've just had another very tight match against Man City - thankfully we've come out on top again, though it did go to penalties this time! I think this is the first time I've won the Community Shield so it's nice to add another trophy to my collection.

A few negatives coming out of it though -

Erwin Roa picked up a bad injury that will see him out for up to 4 months - this will be a massive loss for us.

His replacement Hugo Marino also got injured - he'll only be out for 4 weeks but it still leaves us quite short up-front.

[PaulHartman71]

August

We weren't given the easiest first 3 games to the season. Newcastle away was easy enough - Steven Lenaerts stepped up to the plate during our striker crisis and scored a brace that helped us get all 3 points in Tyneside. Stoke are a tough side now and despite being at home, it was our first match of the season so my primary concern was avoiding defeat - with United coming up as well the last thing I wanted was 2 losses out of my first 3 and the board back on my case. A 1-1 draw with Stoke was probably a fair result in the end and a decent point.

We were 2-0 up against United when Lenaerts made it 2-0 in the 50th minute - it had been a close game but we'd scored twice and I thought that would kill them off. It didn't. They fought back and made it 2-2 in the 80th minute. We had several chances to make it 3-2 and grab all 3 points - but we couldn't take them. A disappointing result - much more so than the Stoke game, but a point isn't the end of the world.

We've had a relatively kind Europa League draw:

It would be a worry if anyone apart from Club Brugge gave us too many problems.

[PaulHartman71]

Adam's not doing too well at Coventry He's played 5 games for them now and has an average rating of 6.13

[PaulHartman71]

Maybe I spoke too soon

[PaulHartman71]

Metz as my 'M' ckub, eh? Meh. Maybe not. They've sacked their manager for being in the relegation zone in Ligue 1 - I'm sure I could save them from relegation but it's not too appealing a project as with the sides in France that there are there's not much chance of a trophy at Metz. I'd rather stay at Liverpool for the year and see what happens elsewhere.

[PaulHartman71]

September

Not as straight forward a game as I would have liked but we beat Bristol City 2-1 to progress in the League Cup. We've drawn good old Everton away from home in the next round - a pretty crap draw but fingers crossed we can beat my old side again.

We made hard work of the Sassuolo trip but otherwise we can certainly have no complaints at our Europa League start. 6 points from 6 and top of the table ahead of the all important Club Brugge double header.

Not the best month in the league. We got a good 3-1 win at Fulham but apart from that we dropped points at home to Villa which was disappointing - but the worst part of the month was losing to Ipswich in another return to Portman Road. Ipswich deserved the win as we were never really in the game which is quite worrying.

Although I don't get what the thing is with the game/press assuming I hate my former clubs?

Not sure what I've said or done to warrant them thinking I have any bad feelings towards Ipswich - I've rejected the chance to manage them again a few times, not sure that would be a good enough reason though?

Not looking great but we've had a tough start and it's early days yet - City themselves are only 9th.

[PaulHartman71]

Whilst sunny Mallorca would certainly be an improvement on living in Liverpool with winter fast approaching - I don't really fancy joining a side in a LIGA adelante relegation battle.

[sherwinriga]

You're ready to be prepared easily because the 'M' clubs are much challenging!

[PaulHartman71]

You're ready to be prepared easily because the 'M' clubs are much challenging!

Fingers crossed for Man United, Man City or Monaco

[PaulHartman71]

October

It was by no means an easy game at Goodison Park - but the man that was so good they named him twice, Grant Grant, popped up in the 87th minute to fire home a winner. We're away again in the next round and it's against another one of my old clubs - Ipswich.

Club Brugge were well and truly beaten in the home tie - with Henrich, Carr and Lenaerts all scoring as comfortably won 3-0. However - in Brugge we faced a few problems. We went 1-0 down in the first half and going in at half-time I weren't happy. I had a go and early in the first half we were level thanks to Lenaerts' equaliser - I thought this would be a catalyst for us to go and get another comfortable win, unfortunately it wasn't. We couldn't find a winner, yet Club Brugge did in the 87th minute to pick up a huge win for them.

This does make thing slightly trickier than I would have liked - but we should win comfortably away to the whipping boys Slovan Liberec and we should really beat Sassuolo at home.

An unbeaten month in the league - but not a one to write home about really. We were very lucky to get anything at all out of our trip to Spurs - Marino and a Simonsen penalty late on saved us from embarrassment of losing to the relegation battling side. We looked like we might lose at Watford too - went in 2-0 down at half-time but a brace from Steven Lenaerts as he scored two in two minutes in the second-half got us a point from that one. The one highlight in the league was undoubtedly smashing QPR 5-1, with Lenaerts getting a hat-trick.

It's still early days but it is getting annoying dropping points in matches we should be comfortably winning if we want to get top four - though City have had a pretty poor start, that might be one to keep an eye on if they keep losing.

[PaulHartman71]

November

A very comfortable away trip to the Czech Republic saw us win 4-0.

The group has been topped \o/

An okay month in the league overshadowed by a horrifying loss at City. We were 1-0 up at half-time and had full control over the game. They got a goal back in the 70th minute but we were still dominating them - I accepted we weren't going to win and began to feel content with just a point. Then in the 94th minute (there was only 3 minutes of stoppage time given) City ran up the pitch and got an equaliser that was blatantly offside. An outrageous decision to not only let the game continue for it to be scored to begin with - but then to not rule it out for offside.

[PaulHartman71]

Hmmmm

Oh... maybe not then.

Might regret passing up on all these 'M' jobs in the summer if there's no big sackings

[PaulHartman71]

As the star striker from last season, Erwin Roa, finally became fully fit again I was left with a bit of a selection headache. I mean - Steven Lenaerts has replaced him more or less perfectly so far - smashing in a load of goals so far. So how was I going to decide who I would start? Well it looks like I won't have that problem...

FFS

[PaulHartman71]

December

A very tight game in another return to Portman Road - we were successful though, a Cristian brace took the match to penalties where we were triumphant. We will face Man City in the Semi Final - it will not be easy but we have shown we are capable of beating them on several occasions.

A good and a bad month in the league. We started positively by beating Norwich 2-0 - but then things went south as we failed to beat West Brom, on paper the easiest game we had all month. We then welcomed our big rivals Everton to Anfield - we beat them 1-0 which was a massive win for the fans and the team, especially after having just lost at West Brom. Our trip to Chelsea saw us lose 2-0 - a bad result, especially considering Chelsea have actually been playing quite well this year and this time instead of threatening to be relegated are threatening for top four. Despite losing to Chelsea though we did pull off two big wins at home to Southampton and away to another one of my old sides, Arsenal.

We're at the half-way stage now and United look far and away the side that will win the league this year. Competition for 2nd and top 4 in general looks like it will be very tight though.

[Nobby_McDonald]

If you don't fancy the big M's there are always the likes of Macclesfield and Maidenhead.

[PaulHartman71]

If you don't fancy the big M's there are always the likes of Macclesfield and Maidenhead.

Adam might get a game

[dllu]

I'd love to see you go international again, but I guess the only real option there is Mexico, and in my experience the job tends to not be available very often...

[PaulHartman71]

I'd love to see you go international again, but I guess the only real option there is Mexico, and in my experience the job tends to not be available very often...

Mali and Morocco may well be options if either flop in the upcoming African Nations