EmmYouEffSee Posted March 17, 2005 Share Posted March 17, 2005 Boult Out Of The Blue? Many were beginning to think that Rick Boult was being quite cautious with his own business, particularly surrounding his job as Blackburn boss. One Minute he seems to want to go to Man City, next minute he's in a Man United hat and then after all that, he says he's committing his future to Blackburn.....well for the forseable future anyway. Rick Boult himself doesn't seem to know what he wants, but what do his fellow managers think? Richard Liggins - Middlesbrough Manager <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Well, i quite like the style of Boulty myself. He's arrogant enough to tell the world what he's putting on the table without actually teling people what he's up to! Very clever man who'd be welcome for a position here anytime. *Ligs tilts his head, raises his eyebrows and puts a rye smile on his face* Does anybody know if he's got any keeper's gloves? </div></BLOCKQUOTE> Danny King - Birmingham Manager <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">I'm not a fan of these tactics. The audasity Boult has....wearing one team's clothes whilst at another club? Applying for other jobs? Na ahh, it's not me. *Question From Media* To be fair Danny, there must be jobs that you'd be interested in if they became avaliable? Well of course there are. Tottenham of course, Liverpool, Real Madrid, Juventus, Slough Town, Everton, Southampton and i've been thinking about managing the Los Angeles uunder 8 boys team after a Mr M Jackson spoke to me saying he'd have to leave the managerial side of it because aparently it was to hands on for the courts. I personally didn't know that a carpet shop could offer such control over somebody's life but oh well... </div></BLOCKQUOTE> Roumers In The Papers This Week... - News on the street is that Leo Hardy is thinking of quitting his managerial career due to getting a licence for a late night Sky channel. - Andy Nilsen's hands have been cut off by a madman running around in the Yorkshire dales. Aparently only after the Pompey manager attempted to sexually attack a sheep. - David Pagi has sacrificed his eyes for medical science. This after viewing a show a few weeks ago on Channel Four on the human body disection. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ligs Posted March 17, 2005 Share Posted March 17, 2005 UEFA Cup 1st knockout round first leg: Hearts 3-1 Boro 13 goals conceded in the last 3 games after this match, things weren't looking good. After totally dominating the game, Boro left themselves with it it all to do in the second leg. With 20 minutes remaining, Boro had a solitary Mendieta (22) strike to their name but were looking in total control, until Hearts had 3 counter attacks resulting in 3 goals, McKeown (72), Hamilton (74) and Brown (90) getting them. Could the holders be on their way out in embarrassing fashion? League game 27: Leicester 0-1 Boro Marvellous, a clean sheet! A cautious looking Boro side were the better team throughout, but had to wait until Arteta (85) tapped home a Dede cross with just 5 minutes remaining to get the points. UEFA Cup 1st knockout round second leg: Boro 4-0 Hearts Humiliation was avoided with a convincing dispaly, Matusovic (8, 73), Hasselbaink (39) and Mellberg (68) setting up a tie with Hadjuk Split. Hearts had 2 players sent off in the final couple of minutes. League game 28: Boro 3-0 Wolves Tudor (3), Beattie (7) and Arteta (52) with the goals in this simple win, and a 3rd clean sheat in a row, which was nice. FA Cup 5th round: Birmingham 0-3 Boro After the abysmal performancy at the Sty in the league, no mistakes were made here today in a clinical performance against Danny King's improving Brum team. 3 clinical attacks resulted in goals from Downing (23), Matusovic (32) and Arteta (36), leaving the home side with no chance of a revival. UEFA Cup 2nd knockout round 1st leg: Boro 3-0 Hadjuk The tie was put out of doubt in the first leg, Beattie (42), Mendieta (82 pen) and Matusovic (88) with the goals. UEFA Cup 2nd knockout round 2nd leg: Hadjuk 1-1 Boro Matusovic (24) ended any last hopes Hadjuk had of a comeback, Maric (58) becoming the first person in 508 minutes to score against Boro. The holders are through to the quarters. League game 29: Man City 1-3 Boro With Leo Hardy under pressure to keep his job, Boro were in no mood for doing him any favours. Arteta (37) and Beattie (39) with a 2 minute salvo highlighted Boro's supremacy, but City were handed a lifeline when Gravesen was fouled in the box, Mabizela (58 pen) converting from the spot. Their hope didn't last long, as Beattie (61) scored his second. Boro could've added more as City lost their discipline, De Cler seeing red for headbutting Arteta. FA Cup 6th round: Sheffield United 0-2 Boro With Sheff Utd's cup pedigree, Boro took a cautious approach to this game, not wanting to give the underdogs any easy chances. This made for a tight game with few chances, indeed the opener, a Hasselbaink (26) 30 yard screamer, was the first opening of the game. The game was settled on the hour: Jagielka was sent off for a second booking, and from the resulting free kick Hasselbaink (60) curled in a beauty. League game 30: Boro 4-0 Fulham This was one of the most impressive Boro display's of the season, as Fulham's new boss Mo Ilyas struggled to cope with the attacking onslaught. Arteta (18), Beattie (25), Matusovic (53) and Yakin (64) got the goals, as Boro welcomed Ilyas back to EPL with a bang League game 31: Aston Villa 2-2 Boro Before the game I'd have taken a point, but after being 2-0 up at the break, it was definetely 2 points dropped. The first half was very tight, but Boro's superior finishing was the difference, Matusovic (9) and Hasselbaink (42) silencing the Villa Park faithful. Villa started the second half with a bang, Hendrie (51) getting them back in the game, but Boro steadied the ship and looked on their way to all 3 points. That was until Angel (83) held his nerve and slotted past Rensing when through one-on-one, giving Villa the point that they deserved. 7 games to go in the league, and just 7 points separating Boro in 6th with the top of the league. Unfortunately the remaining fixtures include Arsenal (3rd place) at home, Everton away (they're nowhere near the top, but we all know that if Murphy gets any chance to scupper Liggins' champions league ambitions, he'll go all out to take it ) and, in the final game of the season, Man Utd (4th place) away. To be honest, I don't see us finishing any higher than 6th. In the FA Cup, Gillingham stand between us and a 2nd consecutive FA Cup final. If the Championship side are dispatched, Liverpool or Morris' WBA await in the final; either of those teams would provide a stern test. In the UEFA Cup, I really don't see us holding onto the trophy we won so heroically last season. Sapmdoria in the quarter finals will be hard enough, but with Dortmund, Schalke, Leverkeusen, Liverpool, Man Utd and Feyernoord also left in, it would take some feat to win it again. Up the Boro Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
skintsaint Posted March 17, 2005 Share Posted March 17, 2005 Saints in last push for Europe? With Sammy Lee in control for Saints last 8 games, Saints had won 5 and drew 1 to put them in for a outside chance of European football next season. The next few games will determine whether they can acheive that and with Steel in charge again, the odds of that have diminished. Southampton 2 - 0 Fulham Att : 31024 Steels first game back and a new manager to play, Mo Ilyas had come in for Fulham and wasnt happy about Boa Morte joining the Saints for the second time. Svensson scored in the first half before being sent off for two bookings on 45mins. Steel changed to 4-4-1 and hoped to hit Fulham on the counter attack. Indeed fulham didnt really put up much of a fight and Saints grabbed a second right at the death with the impressive Berger. 3 points deserved as Fulham didnt register a shot on target. Not even Boa Aston Villa 1 - 3 Southampton A tough trip to Villa Park. Saints one up after 11mins, Berger again to make it 2 goals in 2 games. Villa then piled on the pressure and Nolan scored a header in which Niemi would not of been happy about. It was all Villa until Saints hit them on the counter attack and Prutton buried a shot from 25 yards. 4 mins later it was 3-1 as amoruso sprung the offside trap, rounded the keeper and buried the shot. The game petered out until the 91st min as Amoroso again beat the offide trap to score but was harshly ruled to be offside. Southampton 0 - 1 Middlesboro Saints run of two wins on the bounce came to an abrubt end at the end of managerless boro. Ligs long ball tactics were still evident tho as Boro continuously pumped the ball up to (judas) Beattie to knock down, in fact Beattie won the penalty, apparently pushed while contesting another long ball. Saints easily were the best team, but with Amoroso ruled out, and Podolski injured during the game, Totti and Munitis were not out n out strikers and by some of the finishing this showed!!! Blackburn 0 - 2 Southampton A great away performance against a team battling to avoid relegation. Saints took the lead with Hitzleberger scoring a penalty after a dirty dirty foul by Gamst Pedersen. Saints had numerous chances with the dangerous Leon Best causing havoc. He got on the scoresheet with a smart finish on 89 mins after a great run by Amoroso. Charton 1 - 2 Southampton The European dream lives on as Saints get another great away result. Hitzlesberger scored again, this time from a header in the first half. Totally not deserved as Charlton had about 6 clear shots in the 1st half. In the second half, Irish wizkid Leon Best bagged his second goal of the season with a great finish while one on one with the keeper. Charlton grabbed a last minute goal, a tidy finish from Matt Holland. Southampton 1 - 2 Arsenal Saints host the champions of 05/06 and immediately went 1 up throught Podolski, Arsenal then stepped up the pressure and youngster Cranie, in due to a injury crisis, was finding hard to stop them walzin through the defence. Viera scored to a easy tap in to equalise in the first half. Second half and it was all Saints, but Henry outpaced Crainey to slot past Niemi. Saints peppered the Arse goal but Lehmann stood firm to win the MOM award. Harsh result, but thats why they are top of the league. Everton 4 - 2 Southampton No Europe for Saints as a ***** 60mins put them 4 nil down to some foreign geezers. Steel thought "**** it" and put 3 youngsters on and within 10 mins it was 4-2. Niall then panicked and went mega defensive and the game peetered out and the season finished. SAINTS 12th...again Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ligs Posted March 17, 2005 Share Posted March 17, 2005 UEFA Cup quarter final leg 1: Boro 1-1 Sampdoria A tough tie, and not the result that was required. The game was approached with caution, and the solid set-up was working, limiting Sampdoria's attacking threat. And when Arteta (18) put the hosts in the lead, all was looking rosy for the defending champions. That was until Sampa's main dangerman Flachi (35) pounced to equalise, and set up an intruiging second leg. League game 32: Charlton 1-2 Boro The unlikely title hopes were kept alive with a good win at relegation threatened Charlton. Beattie (25) kept up his recent goal-glut, and after Murphy had missed a penalty for the home side, top scorer Arteta (82) wrapped up the points, despite a consolation goal from Euell (90) UEFA Cup quarter final second leg: Sampdoria 0-1 Boro A gutsy performance, up there with any in last years winning campaign. With Sampa knowing a 0-0 draw would be enough, thry set their stall out to defend and hit us on the counter attack. But our cautios approach meant much of the game was a stalemate. That was until Beattie (28) powered one home from 25 yards, changing the whole complexion of the game. The second half saw Sampdoria coming out attacking, Boro hitting them on the break. Liggins sat nervously on the bench, counting down every second, until eventually the final whistle went. A great performance. So, 6 league games to go, Boro sit 5th and only 7 points off top. There's an FA Cup semi final to play, and a two-legged UEFA Cup semi final against Leverkeusen to come. The transfer of Samuel Eto'o had also been arranged: things were looking good for the Boro...... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ligs Posted March 17, 2005 Share Posted March 17, 2005 HEADLINE NEWS Manchester United can confirm that Middlesbrough boss Richard Liggins has been appointed as the new manager of the Old Trafford club. The Boro boss was offered the post the morning after leading his former side to the UEFA Cup semi finals, a competition they won last season. Liggins had the following to say: <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> It was a really difficult decision to leave Boro, the place is like a second home to me. The club are challenging for the title, the FA Cup and the UEFA Cup, and I'd have really liked to stay until the end of the season and seen how we finished. But chances like this don't come about every day, people have turned down opportunities like this only to regret it later. I knew if I didn't take this chance to prove myself at the top level now, I might never get that chance again. </div></BLOCKQUOTE> Record at Boro 2004/5 League - 10th place, 55 points League cup - 4th round FA Cup - Runners up UEFA Cup - WINNERS! 2005/6 League - 5th place, 61 points after 32 games League Cup -2nd round FA Cup - semi final, not yet played UEFA Cup - semi final, not yet played Oh, and Euro/Asia cup - WINNERS! 2 trophies in less than 2 seasons, an impressive cup record (not including the crappy league cup) and progress in the league. It goes without saying my tenure at the club was very successful, and will forever go down in Middlesbrough folklore. I believe they're even planning on building a statue of me outside the ground! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ligs Posted March 17, 2005 Share Posted March 17, 2005 So here's the start of a new era. 6 games to go in the season, and still an outside chance of winning the title. Could we do it? Man Utd 5-0 Wolves Not a bad start hey, albeit against a poor Wolves team. Wolves task was made all the more difficult as Rob Edwards hauled down Van Nistelrooy on the edge of the box, earning a straight red card. Van Nistelrooy (45) himself broke the deadlock just before the break, which signalled the floodgates opening. Rooney (56), Van der Vaart (57), Keane (63) and Van Nistelrooy (86) all helped to make the scoreline look very respectable indeed. Man City 0-1 Man Utd An immediate for the new manager, away at local rivals City. Keane (37) headed home a Giggs corner to put United ahead at the break, and only David James heroics kept the score at 1-0. Man Utd 1-0 Fulham Unlike the Boro v Fulham game, this was a very tight affair, a Rooney (9) header was all that separated the sides. Fulham set their stall out to frustrate the home side, and it worked. In the second half, all that either team could muster was 1 shot off target each. While credit must go to Ilyas for keeping United quiet, Fulham never looked like getting back into the game once going behind. Aston Villa 1-1 Man Utd United looked to have edged this close encounter when Van Nistelrooy (80) broke the deadlock. Smith had a goal disallowed, which would've made victory safe, but with the last kick of the game, Samuel (90 +4) bundled home the ball after a goalmouth scramble to effectively end any title hopes United had. Liverpool 0-0 Man Utd 4th versus 3rd at Anfield, and the tension got the better of the game. After 30 minutes Biscan was sent off after he hauled down Van Nistelrooy in the box. In front of the Kop, up stepped captain Keane, but his spot-kick was saved. As United looked to make their numerical advantage pay, Ferdinand was sent off for two soft bookings, and the game fizzled out into a 0-0 draw. This result meant the most I could hope for was 3rd place, but meant Liverpool in 4th would almost certainly not catch us. Man Utd 2-0 Boro Ironically, a game I'd been fearing for so long all season, actually turned out to be a pressure-free fixture. After a goalless 1st half, Van Nistelrooy (53) broke the deadlock, Rooney (73) adding a second to make the points safe. So there we have it, 3rd place and Champions league football. The squad, despite it's talents, is weak in a couple of positions; expect to see Liggins dabbling heavily in the transfer market over the summer. Up the, erm, United! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BelfastNiall Posted March 18, 2005 Author Share Posted March 18, 2005 7th place for the Toffees Yes, a healthy 2005/06 campaign for the Toffees coming home in 7th position which was a huge improvement on 2004/05. We finished third in the human manager stakes as well - only outperformed by the two managers with the largest wallets in the game - Sam Bouchard at Tottenham Hotspur and Richard Liggins at Middlesbrough/Manchester United. Once again Everton put in an excellent performance in the Carling Cup reaching the semi final for the second season in a row, before being narrowly beaten by Manchester United. We also reached the Quarter Finals of the FA Cup, the highlight of which was a 5-1 victory over Newcastle United. So all in all, finishing 7th is a good achievement for Everton at this stage when one considers the wage structure that is in place rules me out of the running immediately for the top stars. And at least I have a bit of loyalty about me, which can't be said of some of my fellow "glory hunter" managers who were swinging digs at each other to get the Manchester United job. Here's a few run in results. Everton 0 - 0 Portsmouth Andy Nilsen brought his south coast flops up to Merseyside for only our second meeting at Goodison Park after quite a few duels down at Fratton Park in recent times. Having totally revamped his squad in his short time at Portsmouth, Nilsen remains stuck down near the bottom of the table and showing little sign of progress. However, on the day Nilsen is generally a lucky manager so we knew we'd have to watch out for his legendary good fortune. Indeed having watched the game, Nilsen could be said to have been lucky to get away with a point as in the main Everton carried the game to Portsmouth and Calaio tested De Sanctis on many an occasion. However, on the day and with Everton having not been in convincing form recently themselves, a draw was just about the right result with Nilsen slurring over a post game bottle of Smirnoff that he was fortunate De Sanctis had a rare solid performance. At least he was more solid that Nilsen was, with the Pompey manager staggering all over my office. As for Murphy he said, <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Really it wasn't a great game at all and I apologise to the fans for that. Both Pompey and ourselves just lacked that extra spark and bit of quality to break down the defences and although we dominated the game, Portsmouth were probably just worth a point today. </div></BLOCKQUOTE> Everton 0 - 3 Tottenham Hotspur Having already beaten Bouchard's men twice down at the Lane this season, I was confident that we could take something off Tottenham and dent his European Cup qualification ambitions. However, on the day Tottenham were absolutely superb in one of the best performances against my team this season. Spurs were better all over the pitch and a 90th minute goal from Ledley King to make it 3-0 just underlined their superiority emphatically. <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">I apologise to the Everton fans for that atrocious performance. We lacked fight and bottle and congratulations to Sam Bouchard his team were superb today. However, we made it easy for them and that is something that won't be tolerated at this club. </div></BLOCKQUOTE> Manchester City 1 - 2 Everton With Man City in disarray after the sacking of Leo Hardy this was a good opportunity to pick up three more points on the road. Hardy in his short spell at the City of Manchester Stadium had built a good team that was clearly underachieving. Everton started well in the first ten minutes but were to fall behind in the second half to a Sibierski effort. This was to be one of those days though were Everton proved their made of strong stuff and sub Tomas Sivok scored a cracking diving header to pull us level. With time running out both sides went for the winner and in the 90th minute, Everton were awarded a rare penalty and the chance to win the game. Defying incredible pressure from the City boo boys, Zurawski stepped up to slam home the winner. Nice. Aston Villa 2 - 0 Everton Disappointing result because Villa were clearly not two goals better than us on the day. Everton had a few chances in this game that we didn't take and Villa had Kevin Nolan playing out of his skin. From 35 yards Nolan took aim and fired a superb shot into the top corner which was very annoying as we were well comfortable. Nolan added a scrambled second four minutes later and despite playing quite well, we just couldn't get back into it. This is the type of game that is holding us back at the minute. We have to be more clinical in front of goal next season because at this level of football you can't expect teams not to punish us. Everton 2 - 0 Fulham With Fulham in decline under Chris Coleman, Mohammed turned to Mohammed and said in a booming voice, Yo Mo, I bid you to bring your managerial gifts to my underperforming team, big lad. That was how Mohammed Al Fayed appointed his new coach, Mo Ilyas, as reported to the Sun by the girl behind the till in Harrods. With Mo missing the transfer deadline, he's been working with Coleman's cloggers and today it showed as Everton walked to an easy victory despite Fulham's heavy handed tactics and persistent fouling. Selakovic scoring in the first half and then an own goal from the goalkeeper late in the game to make it two. Mo Ilyas came here and tried to shut up shop and keep it tight at the back. He was very unlucky with the dismissal of Dioup after 25 minutes, but if your going to play a dirty game you got to face the consequences. Having said that, I saw enough from Ilyas to expect huge improvements in Fulham over the coming months. They look well organised and probably will be looking for a clinical finisher in the summer to add to their attacking options. Everton 2 - 2 Middlesbrough So now I know why Liggins took the Man Utd job (boo). He was running scared of another defeat at Goodison and jumped ship to Man Utd before I could take his side to the cleaners. Despicable behaviour. Here a fair draw, Zurawski netting twice for us, Boro worthy of a point. Everton 4 - 2 Southampton And to the final game of the season and it was Rob Steel who visited Goodison. Well this was a rout, we were very quickly 4-0 up against a very poor Southampton outfit and I was left wondering how they had been within three points of us prior to the game. Although Saints pulled two late goals back, the result was never in doubt and far from panicking, I took the opportunity to let a few reserves stretch their legs and gain some match experience, so complete was our domination. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ligs Posted March 18, 2005 Share Posted March 18, 2005 <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by BelfastNiall: And at least I have a bit of loyalty about me, which can't be said of some of my fellow "glory hunter" managers who were swinging digs at each other to get the Manchester United job. </div></BLOCKQUOTE> Priceless, almost as funny as your "ducks arse" comment. Loyalty? So why did you apply for the Boro hotseat then? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BelfastNiall Posted March 18, 2005 Author Share Posted March 18, 2005 I haven't applied, that was an attempt at mind games. By implying I was applying for the job, I hoped to make you think twice about spending £24m on Dede. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ligs Posted March 18, 2005 Share Posted March 18, 2005 Ah, so like all your other attempts at mind games they failed then? Nevermind, keep watching those Kevin Keegan videos, you'll get the hang of it sooner or later Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BelfastNiall Posted March 18, 2005 Author Share Posted March 18, 2005 No worries, now you go and beg Glazer for another £30m Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ligs Posted March 18, 2005 Share Posted March 18, 2005 And no doubt he'll say yes. Ah the joys of money. Makes a change from having none with Boro on cm03/04 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BelfastNiall Posted March 18, 2005 Author Share Posted March 18, 2005 Fair point, but you can't expect to take the United job without getting some teasing, which is all I did above. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 18, 2005 Share Posted March 18, 2005 Hiya Niall, still waiting to get in the game again hehe. Glad its still going strong all this time and your still using the team logos (i think that was my idea ). Just thought id pop in and say hello lol. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AsherDSSc Posted March 18, 2005 Share Posted March 18, 2005 <STRIKE>Blackburn</STRIKE> I think i'll change the colour of my hair Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmmYouEffSee Posted March 18, 2005 Share Posted March 18, 2005 Losing The Plot Aswell As His Memory This week Sam Bouchard was scheduled to talk about the last 6 months with Spurs at a press conference alongside Stevie Wonder and the board. This however wasn't as informative on the season as once hoped after Bouchard admitted to losing his notes and then having an Only Fools and Horses marathon with the team. <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">As a manager you should keep a good set of notes on the goings on at your football club. Match reports and all should be written down as part of the manager's duty's, and i took this seriously and really got stuck into it. That was until however we sold Mr Mendes and we invested in a huge entertainment system at the club. The last few weeks were spent at the club watching classics on the box with a few of the lads instead of writing up the reports as i should've been. I regret to inform you that my assistant manager........Mr Jol cleared out my office at the end of the season. Now this may not seem much of a problem to you....however the reports i had in there were prepared for today to sum up the Christmas schedule. Mr Jol took it uipon himself to throw these away. *SHOCK FROM CROWD OF REPORTERS* I know, i know, it's terrible, so i'm going to have to inform you lot from where i can remember. It's not in the too distant past that we were away to Leicester. I'll start there... </div></BLOCKQUOTE> Saturday 13th May 2006 Leicester City [0]: Tottenham Hotspur [3]: Moore(18,43), McFadden(52) The team that Bouchard picked to do well this season has indeed done that, staying up quite comfortably in 16th place, one below the drop. Other premoted teams havn't fared too well, but Leicester have, picking up points where people never thought they would and they've signed some top quality players that have no doubt done quite a lot to keep them up. Two good goals from Luke Moore got Spurs a lead that they never really looked like losing. After James McFadden sprinted across the field to retrieve a ball that looked aimed for Row Z, he then got the ball turned on it and blasted it into the top corner, a truly fantastic goal for the ex Everton man. With the season over 6th place was where Spurs finished. A bit dissapointing considering the previous season's 4th placed effort but maybe the pressure was a bit too much for the players to contend with. Bouchard had this to say on the final position... <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Well it's not ideal, but it'll do. A European place again and more cash to come in. This season's been about getting players to gell together and most of the time it's worked. Some havn't worked at all and i think will be shipped out in the summer, but on the other hand Kranjcar and Moore have settled in quite nicely and i'm wanting to builld the team around youth such as those players. I'd love to say that we can better 6th place next year, but i'm too sure. It all depends onn how the summer goes and who's brought in. We'll see how it goes eh... </div></BLOCKQUOTE> Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morrizio Posted March 18, 2005 Share Posted March 18, 2005 Ok, time for a report, since I havnt done one in ages and ive had someone nagging me Naw only joking, its about time something came out of me to be honest! Transfers I decided to spend all the money i had accrued from selling and splashed out on: Goran Gavrancic - £6.75m - A rock solid defender to strenghen that defence Dagoberto - £10.75m - Brazilian with loads of pace, but poor finishing.. hopefully that will improve Moharram Navidkia - £40k! Great bargin buy, excellent passer of the ball. Season so far Its been a funny old season, which we can break down into three main parts. Part 1 Relegation ? It was a truely dismal start to the season for the baggies, starting with a boring 0-0 draw with Southampton, whether the £20m+ spent had had any affect on the team was anyones guess. Follow that by leaking 19 goals in 5 games and it was more clear, we were crap. Saying that many of the results had been against the big guns, ie. Arsenal (1-5), Man U (0-4), Chelsea (0-3) and er.. Charlton (3-5). The only decent result in the early part of the season being a 2-2 draw with Everton, who at the time were high flying. Rooted to the bottom of the EPL gaffer Chris Morris was rumoured to be on the verge of quiting, but alas was a ray of light at the end of the tunnel. Part 2 Turning Point(1.0) A 4-2 victory over QPR in the league cup seemed to be the kind of result WBA needed to turn their run of terrible luck, but it wasnt really. A draw with Birmingham, and a loss at home to Bolton followed and still left West Brom propping up the table. Turning Point(1.1) The real turning point happened a month or so later against Sam Bouchard's Spurs. WBA 2 Tottenham 1 29th October 2005 We went into this game not expecting to take a great deal from it. Kanoute's 3rd minute strike made me wonder if it was going to be another one of those days. Thankfully we responded fairly quickly through Jason Koumas (14), one of only two players remaining from the pre-Morris era. Koumas' skill from set pieces has been instrumental this season, and the Welshman's managed to keep players such as Jan Kristiansen and David Limbersky out the first team. The game was pretty tight from then in, and lady luck smiled upon us as Ledley King's error (77) earned us the three points. WBA 3 Liverpool 3 6th November 2005 The next match was a trip to Anfield and Baggies fans will reminise about this fixture last season, a 3-2 win for WBA. Incredibley it looked like the match could go the same way this time around, WBA netting 3 times in the first half. It wasnt to be however and Liverpool dragged themselves back into the game, finally levelling in the with a last minute penalty, gutting. Things continued well from there however, wins over fellow human teams, Middlesbrough (1-0) Blackburn (2-0) and Saints (2-0) and suddenly a team who seemed destined for the drop where hopping up the league! Part 3 - Onwards and Upwards! So onto 2006 and with the team on a great run of form, everyone at the club was looking forward to a sucessful year. Here's the highlights of the year so far. New years day and the celebrations continued at Goodison: Everton 0 WBA 1 1st of January A fairly even contest where a draw perhaps would have been a fair result. WBA set up stall to attack Everton from the outset, confident of breaching their defense. A rare 20th min goal from Dagoberto and WBA went to a 4-5-1, hoping to soak up the pressure and perhaps even nab another goal. Just the one proved to be enough in the end however, the defense as steady as a rock and we left with 3 very well earned points. WBA 2 Man Utd 1 28th January The improvement from earlier in the season was clear for all to see here, as the final scoreline flattered Man Utd. United took the lead through Van Nistelrooy (14), with there first attack of the match. Under-pressure Ferguson looked relieved on the touchline, although his sacking was unavoidable later in the season. WBA werent to be detered, and it didnt take long for the equaliser to come. The goal was scored by Holm (27), a player improving all the time and really starting to look like a world class striker. Lets hope the baggies can hold onto him. Luck is a fickle thing, sometimes you have it, sometimes you don't. United didn't. Ronaldo was given his marching orders in the 30th min after two bookable offenses. Klebersons dismissel in the 80th was enough to leave United in tatters. Have to say, it was enjoyable to watch my team dominating Man Utd and a late winner from Haestad (89) sealed the points. WBA 5 Arsenal 2 FA cup 5th round Revenge for the humiliation earlier in the season, as an incedible five goals were put past Lehmann. Although the match was fairly balanced throughout the first half, the baggies were like a run away train in the second half. Moreira grabbed a double the other three coming from Dagoberto, the excellent Haestad and Pezzarossi who marked a rare appearance with a goal. The victory set up a tie with Everton in the quaters. Victory there would leave West Brom in the semi's for the second year in a row, and keep the hope of silverware very much alive. Everton 0 WBA 1 FA cup quarter final A repeat scoreline from the league game in January was enough to earn a semi final place for WBA. A game very much about the goalkeepers, MOM Green had an outstanding match in the Everton nets, his opposite number Lobont equally good. Chances for both teams were squandered, and in the end is really was about who could take one. Holm got the winner, keeping his good strike rate intact. So West Brom still undefeated against Everton, manager Murphy must be getting sick of the sight of them! Baggies fans were delighted with reaching the cup semis, as it had been no easy run get there. Whether they can win the competition is another matter, but they surely have a good chance. Newsflash Morris goes missing! Baggies boss Chris Morris has been missing for the past few weeks, apparently out on a bender pretending to be Irish. Sounds a bit far fetched. Hopefully the assistant manager has kept the team winning, a place in Europe was still a possiblity. Its the obvious next step for a club growing in stature ever year, but as the expectation increases, living up to it is going to get tougher and tougher. Hopefully the gaffer will be back and sober as soon as possible. Season 3 Looking forward to season 3 already, and I promise to deliver more regular reports to keep you updated with everyones favourite underdogs, West Bromwich Albion! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BelfastNiall Posted March 18, 2005 Author Share Posted March 18, 2005 <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Morrizio: Ok, time for a report, since I havnt done one in ages and ive had someone nagging me </div></BLOCKQUOTE> Not surprised when you come up with excellent reads like that one. Good man Mr.Morris. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunga99 Posted March 19, 2005 Share Posted March 19, 2005 FA Cup 5th Rd Birmingham City 0 Middlesbrough 3 Downing 23 Matusovic 32 Arteta 36 Man of the Match: Matusovic 9/10 Middlesbrough Attendance-29089 Refereed by Rob Styles Birmingham City just didn't turn up for this game and an on form Middlesbrough side managed by Lucky Ligs easy won this game with some good finishing by Downing, Matusovic and Arteta. So my last chance of a trophy and European football has gone for this year. 3-0 Defeat Premiership Game 26 Chelsea 2 Rosicky 25 Ballack 63 Birmingham City 1 Forssell 56 Man of the Match: Rosicky 10/10 Chelsea Attendance-42059 Refereed by Dermot Gallagher I didn't hold out much hope for this game with the class Chelsea have in there team but I almost stole a point. Chelsea has an awesome midfield and most of there play was coming via that. Rosicky scored from long distance to give Chelsea the lead and they could have added a couple more goals if it wasn't my goalkeeper making some top class saves. Second half I hit Chelsea on the break and the man in top form (Forssell) headers the goal to bring Birmingham level but not for long as Ballack scores a well worked goal cutting open my defence with some great play. 2-1 Defeat Premiership Game 27 Birmingham City 0 Charlton 0 Man of the Match: Andersen 8/10 Charlton Attendance-28091 Refereed by Matt Messias I should have got all 3 points from this game but with some poor finishing and good goalkeeping from Andersen kept this at a boring 0-0 Draw Premiership Game 28 Birmingham City 2 Carter 30 Forssell 90 Bolton 0 Man of the Match: Carter 8/10 Birmingham Attendance-28375 Refereed by Dermot Gallagher With Bolton Manager Pagi AWOL I was more hopeful of a result against Bolton after they gave me a beating at the Reebok stadium. My man Carter is fast turning into a free scoring midfield player and he does like a long range effort and that what he did with our first goal to give us a 1-0 lead. Second half Bolton had a few chances to get back into the game but didn't take them until Forssell made sure of the 3 points with a goal in the last minute to give us a 2-0 Win Premiership Game 29 Leeds 2 Winter 24 Ricketts 90 Birmingham City 4 Forssell 2, 5 and 25 Savage 50 Man of the Match: Forssell 10/10 Birmingham Attendance-25466 Refereed by Alan Wiley Next up was bottom of the table Leeds who are by far the worse team the premiership has seen in a long time, even to draw with this team and I would have been the butt of a few jokes. This was a good match for Forssell with him hitting a hat trick within 25 minutes to put us up 3-1 up. At half time I took of Forssell as this game was already won and I wanted to keep him fresh. Second half more of the same and Birmingham City was all over Leeds and Savage got his reward for running the midfield area with a goal. With my guys wanting to score more goals we were left open at the back which Ricketts took advantage to pull one back in the dieing seconds. 4-2 Win Premiership Game 30 Birmingham City 0 Portsmouth 2 Tristan 17, 49 Man of the Match: Mascherano 8/10 Portsmouth Attendance-29915 Refereed by Steve Dunn This was a bad game for most of my players and to be fair I think that's because Andy got his tactics just right and kept Dunn out of the match with some great play via Mascherano. Tristan scored a goal in each half and both goals were taken well to give Portsmouth a much needed win in the league 2-0 Defeat Premiership Game 31 Leicester 0 Scowcoft missed pen 48 Birmingham City 2 Forssell 30 Robina 40 Sent off: Ventola 29 Leicester Man of the Match: Cunningham 8/10 Birmingham Attendance-32486 Refereed by Rob Styles This game was made easy thanks to the red card for Ventola half way into the first half (this ref was a bit card happy and I had to make all 3 subs in fear that one of my players would be sent off too). Again that man Forssell got the ball rolling with a good goal and a few minutes later Robina added the second to give us a 2-0 Win More to follow soon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kndusr19 Posted March 19, 2005 Share Posted March 19, 2005 The return of Sith After being banished from the EPL, for accusing the FA of bringing the game into disrepute, Mo was banned from the EPL for a year by the FA. During the year, Mo went on to command & conquer other pursuits from reuniting Amra & Lea to visiting area 17. Unfortunately for Mo the face of football had changed during the year, and football was no longer a game of getting the tallest, fastest players to run rings around the rest of EPL teams. It was a cold February morning in the year 2006, 27 games played in the EPL season 2 with the transfer window closed; Mo looked around the potential teams to manage who could easily be led to the dark side. Charlton-favourites for the drop, even Sir Alex (Devil) Ferguson would have struggled to keep this team in the EPL. The other candidates were Fulham & Leicester lying 14th and 15 respectively in the EPL with little chance of pushing for Europe or being relegated. With a million pound to spend into the transfer market which could not be spent, Mo could not give the chairman a British passport (even the dark side has limits!) but instead promised him a passport to Gallifrey in exchange to manage Fulham. Season 2 With Fulham having lost the last 4 of the 5 games in the EPL and key players jumped ship or about to Jump, 500k for Zat Knight to Pompey, Luis Boa Morte going on a bosman to the Dell. A decent keeper not seen anywhere in Fulham, Van der Sar where are you? Mo sent out the scouts to find the apprentices that had been rejected by other Jedi knights, to give them hope in the dark side and join Mo in season 3. Fulham 0–1 Man Utd Euro Cup First Knockout Round Leg 2 Debut game for Mo, with the reds having won the first leg 4-0! This was going to be a damage limitation exercise, defended well to lose 1-0. Charlton 0-0 Fulham EPL Should have won this game, the Charlton keeper was MOM with some outstanding saves. Fulham 0-1 Aston Villa EPL Villa took control and never looked in trouble in defence. Fulham need strength in Midfield and Attack. Middlesborough 4-0 Fulham EPL Mo remembered Ligs as the young apprentice in the EPL, who had the potential to become a Jedi knight. Unfortunately for Mo, the young apprentice had become more than a Jedi, and had send Mo packing in this encounter. Dédé swash buckled with a Sabre and cut down any Fulham players with ease, the dark side will not forget this defeat. Fulham 2–0 Blackburn EPL Mo remembers Blackburn with fondness and was disappointed to see them fighting relegation. When Fulham scored, Mo was raging until the minion beside him reminded him that we were Fulham and NOT Blackburn! Blackburn have got a decent squad, but the managers lack of experience will cost them dearly. Southampton 2-0 Fulham EPL Beaten resoundly, and will be looking to improve in season 3 on their league position. Fulham 0-2 Arsenal EPL Fulham defence held the gunners at bay at half-time, but a second half onslaught saw them grab 2 goals to win this match. Everton 2-0 Fulham EPL Niall, the new tinker man of football and arch enemy of Mo had learnt quite a few things from his earlier days of the EPL encounters with Mo. Unfortunately for Mo, Niall had surpassed Mo by a milestone in terms of attaining players and deploying them tactically. This encounter was not helped when Niall was seen entering the Referees room before the match, so it was no surprise that the ref sent off a Fulham player earlier in the first half and thus making this an even tougher task. Fulham pressed for a equaliser with 10 men, but where caught napping in defence to let the Toffees get a second goal. Fulham 0-0 West Brom EPL Should have won this game, but lost connectivity with the team after Mo told the linesman he was a baggies supporter, Mo was duly dispatched to the stands early in the first half. Unfortunately the assistant manager decided not to make any much needed subs and Fulham finished this game with the same 11 me who had started it. The up side is that a draw is better than a loss. Man Utd 1-0 Fulham EPL Having to face ligs at old Trafford was not a prospect that I was forward to. Unlike last time, we contained the Mancs well and where not subjected to an onslaught. With Ligs in charge of the Mancs, Mancs must be favourites to win the EPL. Fulham 0-2 Chelsea EPL Was fortunate to only lose by 2! Birmingham 1-Fulham 0 EPL This was another loss to a disciplined side who limited us to a view of our own half of the pitch for the majority of the game. With Fulham finishing 15th in the EPL in season 2. Fulham will be fortunate to avoid relegation in season 3. The majority of key Fulham players are leaving the club or the wrong side of 32. Not scoring a single goal in the last 7 EPL games is another worry. Most of the Fulham players are on anti-depressants but their morale is still very low. The fans are picketing the ground with chants of ‘Mo out’, one can only assume they mean the Chairman! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunga99 Posted March 19, 2005 Share Posted March 19, 2005 Premiership Game 32 Birmingham City 1 Forssell 45 Tottenham 0 Man of the Match: Taylor 9/10 Birmingham Attendance-29111 Refereed by Rob Styles Well after the match at White Hart Lane where we was robbed of a point by a bad decision from the linesman this was some welcome payback against an out of form Spurs team. Birmingham City went on the attack right from the word go a went ahead from a great header from Dunn only for the ref to be on Spurs side again and rule it out (even the match commentary said this was a dubious decision) but even the ref couldn't rule out our second with Forssell getting the honors right on half time. Second half Sam made a few changes and Tottenham played a lot better but the few chances they did have Taylor saved them well for a 1-0 Win Premiership Game 33 Liverpool 2 Maros 9 Biscan 64 Birmingham City 2 Morrison 35 Savage pen 90 Man of the Match: Gronjaer 8/10 Liverpool Attendance-45234 Refereed by Barry Knight In all truth Liverpool could have and maybe should have won this game easily as they were all over me from start to finish and I think I scored 2 goals in only about 3 highlights all match for me for a 2-2 Draw. Getting a point v Liverpool with a bad performance like that should be a good result but that looks like that was my last chance of reaching the inter-toto cup again. After the game Upson gave an interview <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">I need European exposure if I want to add to my England caps. I have impressed since joining from Arsenal a few years ago but I'm behind the likes of Sol Campbell and John Terry in the England pecking order. "I can't expect to compete with players in the Champions League," "But there's no reason why we can't play in Europe at Birmingham over the next few years. It is not beyond the realms of possibility." </div></BLOCKQUOTE> Upson was left out of the squads for England's recent World Cup qualifiers and he acknowledges that his international chances are largely dependent upon Birmingham's fortunes. <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> "It would be great for everyone at the club if we were to achieve a place in Europe and it would give me the opportunity to stake a claim for that England place". </div></BLOCKQUOTE> Premiership Game 34 Birmingham City 1 Forssell 90 Wolves 0 Man of the Match: Carter 9/10 Birmingham Attendance-29980 Refereed by Mark Clattenburg A game against a team fighting relegation and with one of my worse performance of the season coming at Molineux I knew this would be a hard game. First half was boring with neither team looking like scoring and the second half wasn't much better until Forssell pops up in the last minute to score the winning goal. 1-0 Win Premiership Game 35 Man City 0 Birmingham City 1 Forssell 61 Man of the Match: Edwin van der sar 9/10 Man C Attendance-47993 Refereed by John Evans Again another team fighting it out at the wrong end of the table and with the sacking of there manager Leo, Man City was in a free fall and just the right time to play them. We played a lot better in this game and we should have had 4 or 5 goals but from some good saves from Van der sar. Had to wait for the second half for that man again Forssell to step up and score the winning goal in the 61th minute. Where would I have been this season without Forssell goals 1-0 Win Premiership Game 36 Birmingham City 1 Carter 55 Fulham 0 Man of the Match: Carter 8/10 Birmingham Attendance-28436 Refereed by Dermot Gallagher My first game against new EPL member Mo and I was hoping for an easier ride than the one I got at Fulham in the first part of the season. I think my Birmingham City team just had the better of the chances in the first half but the game could go either way. Second half Carter does a one two with Savage then picks up the ball and shots from 30 yards out to score the winner with a vintage performance. I think given time Mo with turn Fulham into a team who's fight at the top of the league. 1-0 Win Season report to follow soon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunga99 Posted March 20, 2005 Share Posted March 20, 2005 End of season report.. Well all in all I'm pleased with how my season went. After a very shaky start and being in the relegation zone in the Premiership at one stage, to finsh 8rd and almost steal 7nd spot was a great achievement. The highlight of the season for me though was doing the double over Manchester United and the low point was the 7-1 defeat at the hands of Arsenal I have asked the Board to improve our training facilities and they have agreed that they require modernising and also improve the size of the of the stadium. Premiership place: 8th League Cup: 3rd Round FA Cup: 5th Round highest fee spend: Mikael Forssell 4.5m highest fee received: Jasper Gronkaer 5.25m Manager of the month: 1 Number of players brought: 9 Number of players sold: 9 Total value of players brought: £11,000,000 Total value of players sold: £13,500,000 Games played: 49 Games won: 22 Games lost: 12 Games drawn: 12 Goals scored: 72 Goals conceded: 59 Players stats Goals.. 1st. Forssell 19 2nd. Savage 10 3rd. Dunn 10 4th. Christie 8 5th. Carter 6 Average Rating.. 1st. Gardner 7.71 2nd. Savager 7.54 3rd. Carter 7.50 4th. Forssell 7.49 5th. Riggott 7.43 Most App.. 1st. Carter 40 2nd. Taylor 40 3rd= Savage 39 (2) 3rd= Upson 39 (2) 5th. Forssell 35 (2) Most Asts.. 1st. Carter 10 2nd. Izzet 9 3rd. Heskey 7 4th= Savage 6 4th= Morrison 6 Man of the match.. 1st. Carter 5 2nd= Taylor 3 2nd= Forssell 3 2nd= Dunn 3 5th. Savage 2 Birmingham City Team GK Taylor RB Cunningham LB Garnder CB Upson CB Riggott DMC Savage MC Izzett MC Carter AMC Dunn FC Forssell FC Janssen SB1 Wright SB2 Dawson SB3 Robina SB4 Morrison SB5 Christie Now we are going to take a look and see how my buys have done on there first season Chris Riggot from Boro for 2 million plus Darren Ambrose As you can see from the stats his player has had a good season and I'm pleased how he has played. Hit Richard Wright from Everton for 1 million Think Niall had me over here selling me a donkey. A goalkeeper who kicks nearly every ball out to the other team. Miss Mark Duffy for Fee Hasn't been given a plave in the first team yet but see only young and has time on he's side. Jury still out Lewis Buxton from Newcastle for 35k Good start to the season but can't get into the team once Upson and Riggot was fit. Jury still out Malcolm Christie from Middlesbrough for free Got in the goals early on and was always there when needed. Hit Ricardo Gardner from Bolton for 400k Couldn't understand why Pagi let a player go with his class so cheap. Has been was off my best buys. Hit Michael Dawson from Newcastle for 725k Michael has had a few injuires since joing us but I'm sure he will make the first team soon. Jury still out Tim Janssen from PSV for 2.4 million Scored a goal against Man U and has looked lively up front. Will be a hit with the fan very soon. Hit Mikael Forssell from Chelsea football club for 4.4 million. With 19 goals this season what else I say. Hit I'm more than happy with how my first season went and I'm looking forward to season 3 in EPL Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BelfastNiall Posted March 20, 2005 Author Share Posted March 20, 2005 Quality introduction there Mo, enjoyed that. I wasn't aware Fulham were quite as badly off as you say. Bit of a mess, but a jedi needs a challenge and yeah, I think you got one. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
skintsaint Posted March 20, 2005 Share Posted March 20, 2005 <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Luis Boa Morte going on a bosman to the Dell. </div></BLOCKQUOTE> you have been out the game a long time Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
skintsaint Posted March 20, 2005 Share Posted March 20, 2005 SEASON 2 END OF SEASON REPORT Season 2 over and done with and I have to say it was very dissapointing. While bringing in players like Cafu, Savio and Amoroso I was hopeful of a top 8 finish. This seemed to be on the cards until the last 2 games where my team run out of puff. Transfers in Cesare Bovo - Bosman from Palermo. Avg 7.32 0 Goals A hit in his first season. Cemented his place in the team for season 06/07. Savio - Bosman from Zaragoza. Avg 0.00 Goals 0 Broken leg ruined season and his Saints career is over before it started. Amoroso - Bosman from Malaga. Avg 6.93 Goals 6 Dissapointing season after so much expected. Expected to be sold during the summer. Pedro Munitis - Bosman from Deportivo. Avg 7.19 Goals 1 An ok season, 1 goal from a striker in 27 games isnt enough though and is back off to spain very shortly Vladimir Smicer - Free Transfer. Avg 7.43 Goals 4 Good season, but was only given a 1 year contract and will be released to save money on wages as he is on £19.5k a week Henrik Pedersen - Free Transfer. Avg 7.00 Goals 0 Crap burly striker who missed on average of 5 chances in the games he was given. No wonder Pagi got rid! Another one only given a one year contract and is off to Numancia on a Bosman. Cosmin Contra - Free Transfer. Avg 7.22 Goals 0 Second choice right back, played well when asked but couldnt outdo Cafu and will be sold on during the summer. Cafu - Bosman from Milan. Avg 7.29 Goals 0 Excellent season from the old boy but will be released in the summer as Saints cut their wage bill. Cannot afford him for another year which is a big shame. Stephan Kling - £750k from HSV. Avg 7.21 Goals 0 Ex Bayern Munich youngster, bargain buy from HSV in Germany, solid left back and settled in well. Part of the squad for the next few seasons. Vadim Yevseev - £725k from L. Moscow. Avg 7.10 Goals 0 Russian brought in for cover as can play at right and left back. Will be sold in summer to again cut wages. Lukas Podolski - £4.8m from FC Koln. Avg 7.63 Goals 10 German youngster brought in to replace the misfiring Beattie. 10 goals in 16 games proves what a bargain he will be. Transfers Out Darren Kenton - £1.3m to Sunderland Pacey full back sold due to stupid wage demands. Shame as he was a good player. Naldo - £2.1m to Fenerbache Quality centre half sold due to having to many. Went to Turkey and will be missed. Yilmaz Okan - £1.8m to Udinese **** **** **** striker. What a waste of £3.5m. Never fitted into the EPL. Andreas Jakobsson - £100k to Olympiakos Solid centre half that was never going to get played. Sold of the cheap. James Beattie - £4.2m to Boro Great 1st season, 2nd season to forget. Once the style had changed from Direct to passing, young James was a waste of space. Sold to long ball ligs with a nice sell on clause Future Transfers In Phil Neville - Cafus replacement, bags of experiance - £2.5m Luis Boa Morte - Fulhams top player, pacey and strong - Bosman Emile Heskey - Brummie striker on the cheap. Powerful and WILL score goals - £500k Ambition for Season 3? Top 7 finish, Need european games and also a trip to the New Wembley!!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kndusr19 Posted March 20, 2005 Share Posted March 20, 2005 <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by skintsaint: <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Luis Boa Morte going on a bosman to the Dell. </div></BLOCKQUOTE> you have been out the game a long time </div></BLOCKQUOTE> Err...St Mary's, I'll be sending storm troopers round your house soon... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BelfastNiall Posted March 20, 2005 Author Share Posted March 20, 2005 EPL Challenge Final League Table 2005/06 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BelfastNiall Posted March 21, 2005 Author Share Posted March 21, 2005 Ok it's time once again for the lads' favourite Niall post of the year. Yes it's the end of season round up where I don my cap of neutrality and cast my ever so critical eye over the last fantastic EPL Challenge campaign. First on the agenda on behalf of everyone in the clan I extend our gratitude to Danny King (aka Dunga) for stepping in to host the game post 5.03 patch. Danny was only in the clan a few weeks before he found out he had to take on the hosting duties to keep us going and without his intervention, it is probable we'd have had to resort to reverting back to 5.02 which would be pretty crud. So, a huge round of applause is in order for our current host, Mr King. Hurrah. And on the pitch? The Premiership Well this season probably lacked the great excitement of season one where three human managers became embroiled in a relegation battle to keep the season interesting right up to the last day. However, it was a season that contained many talking points once again and hopefully I can remember as many as possible here. The opening months were all about Ligs' Boro side as they got off to an absolute flyer, remaining unbeaten for around 8 games. Early doors, it looked like Middlesbrough were actually going to put in a title challenge and Ligs was giving it large on a regular basis, obviously feeling loudly confident in his teams chances. Unbelievably though, and to the surprise of all my fellow managers (not me of course ), EPL soon had another human title challenger as my own Everton side began to take shape and stride up the table. By the start of December and after an enthralling 2-2 draw between Middlesbrough and Everton at the Riverside, Liggins and Murphy sat in 4th and 2nd place respectively. Both of us were getting that title feeling. However, it appears that such emotion was put into this titanic clash at the Riverside that after this was over, both sides went well, what's next now? A slump for both sides (more dramatically so for the smaller squad of the Toffees) post this game resulted in both sides' title challenge fading away, with Middlesbrough ending up taking 5th spot and a UEFA Cup position. Everton coming in in 7th and entering the Inter-Toto Cup. From late December, the Premiership big guns had got their act together and from then to the end of May, the title was fought out between Chelsea, Arsenal, Man Utd and Liverpool. In the end, Mourinho was successful for Chelsea and the big spending London club retained the title, two points ahead of Wenger's Arsenal. Credit must also go to Liverpool, with Rafael Benitez's men only losing 3 games all season and ending up unbeaten at Anfield. Elsewhere, the story continued in the same vein. With the top four sides on the whole pretty dominant, every other manager in EPL Challenge was beating each other thus preventing any real challenge coming from any of us. I don't think I have ever played in such a competitive league where you just do not know how you will do against any of the fellow managers, the clubs being practically equal in playing ability. Special mentions must go to the following though for excellent progress. Firstly, David Pagi II has bounced back in style from almost going down in 2004/05 just missing out on an Inter-Toto spot on the last day of the season with Bolton. Danny King has quickly made Birmingham a side to be feared after finding the going tough in the early part of the season. Both these clubs, plus Chris Morris' WBA (who as Chris admits looked early certs for the drop) are my "teams to watch" next season. Sam Bouchard's Tottenham failed to progress from last seasons 4th spot and finish in 6th place. Sam is the first to admit that a lack of consistency costs him dear as Spurs can be amazing one week and woeful the next. For Rob Steel and Andy Nilsen it was another disappointing season on the whole. Rob's Saints side for the second year in a row bounced along in mid-table all season and finally come home in 12th spot. Andy's Pompey continue to underachieve, but Nilsen is dedicated to making an impact at Portsmouth and that has to be applauded. 14th spot he will consider disappointing but we know from past experience that if Andy gets it right next season he will be hard to handle. His squad is taking impressive shape ever so steadily. Mo Ilyas, came in fairly late at Fulham and knows he has a job on his hands. Those of us who remember Mo's Wolves side in CM4 and those of us who played with him on 01/02 know its only a matter of time before Mo stamps his authority on what is still a Coleman team. And finally to Rick Boult at Blackburn. Rick probably hasn't been around enough in an ultra competitive league to prevent his late sacking as Blackburn boss as the side from Ewood slid into the Championship. The last I looked, Rick had only spent around £350K in his time as boss, attempting to hold onto his best players rather than sensibly cashing in on one or two. Last night Rick still had one game left to save his skin, but again it was left to the assistant who could only draw 0-0 at Middlesbrough, sealing the already sacked Boult's fate. The FA Cup The FA Cup was won by Chris Morris of West Bromwich Albion which was fantastic for the young Scottish manager. West Brom though are no longer a joke side and boast some serious players in their team but it is still an excellent performance in the cup from Chris. After knocking my side out in the Quarters at Goodison by the solitary goal , Chris edged past Liverpool in the semi finals and lined up against Middlesbrough (now managed by Alex Ferguson) in the final. It looked like Chris had the trophy in the bag after Mendieta was sent off after 44 minutes, but the game went all the way to penalties after a goal-less 120 minutes. Chris has told us that the shootout went as far as the goalkeepers, with Morris' team keeping their nerve and deservedly gaining entry into EPL's trophy cabinet for the first time. Well done Chris. Carling Cup Not much to report in the Carling Cup with only Everton making it as far as the semi finals. At this stage Everton were up against Chelsea, Man Utd and Arsenal and went out to Man Utd over the two legged tie. Chelsea won this trophy as well. After doing the treble in 2004/05 - 05/06 was a pretty poor season for Mourinho only taking home the Premiership and Carling Cup (joke) Europe Again not too much to report here. Sam was the only human manager in the Champions League and easily progressed to the last 16 where he faced Inter Milan. After a 1-1 draw at WHL, the Italians won 1-0 in the San Siro eliminating Sam's boys. From listening to Sam, it appears that injuries to his deadly duo of Defoe and Kanoute scuppered his chances of getting into the Quarters. A tough blow for Bouchard. Barcelona went on to beat Deportivo in an all Spanish final. The UEFA Cup saw Ligs continue to defend his trophy with ease up to the Quarter Finals and his departure to Manchester United. Middlesbrough went out in the semi finals, with Bayer Leverkusen lifting this particular trophy. The Manchester United Job Probably the biggest talking point of the season was the goings on at Old Trafford. Despite still being in with a chance of winning the Premiership, the United board took the decision to sack Alex Ferguson and appoint a new manager. Their first choice was Sam Bouchard of Tottenham Hotspur and a self-confessed Manchester United fan. However, Sam was also in the midst of a European Cup battle with Inter Milan, clearly fancied his chances of European Cup glory and turned the job down. Oops. Of course, sods law dictates that Sam exited the competition almost immediatley and began to scramble around for the discarded application form and writing begging letters to Malcolm Glazer to be reconsidered for the post. Naturally, this is Man Utd and you just don't turn them down. A few days later, Ligs was offered the job and to everyone's surprise, he took it, leaving the club he had been synomous with in EPL since he began in the clan. Of course, this has changed the shape of the game entirely as no one can compete with Ligs in the transfer market. He has a great chance of sweeping up a few trophies now - competing against his new main rivals Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool. Will he be as respected for it as his achievements at Middlesbrough? I doubt it but we will have to wait and see. No doubt Ligs will think I'm having a go but I'm not. In fairness he's under pressure from the Man U board to deliver and also under pressure to do well at a massive club in the face of 9 other guys hoping he falls on his arse (except maybe Sam cos he supports 'em). But no one can deny he's in a league of his own. Its up to the rest of us to make sure he fails!! Sackings First to go was Pagi in season one. Since then, Leo Hardy axed by Manchester City, Rick Boult axed by Blackburn and late into pre-season for 2006/07, Rob Steel was given his marching orders by Rupert Lowe. The sackings table gets bigger every year. Best of Luck for season 3.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BelfastNiall Posted March 22, 2005 Author Share Posted March 22, 2005 Well our servers are down at work for the second day so I thought I'd do a wee update on the Everton squad to pass some time. Last season the Everton lads did better than I had hoped to be honest, so here's the men responsible for such a good season for the blue half of Merseyside. GK: Robert Green Signed in the pre-season for £3m pounds from relegated Norwich City, Robert Green excelled in goal for us last season, turning in many match winning performances. At one stage Green was riding high in the average rating statistics, but suffered badly in morale when Everton went through a mid-season slump like many others. Overall Green has proved to be an excellent replacement for the dodgy Richard Wright (cheers again Danny ) but I am not convinced that he is a top level keeper so I will be keeping my eye open for any potential deals that may arise for top ranked goalies in the future. Verdict: Definitely a hit. GK: Pablo Oscar Cavallero Signed on a Bosman free transfer I had high hopes for Cavallero and made him my first choice at the outset of the season. However, the Argentine failed to convince and when Green replaced him, he found his path to the first team permanently blocked. I have just offloaded him back to Spain for £1.5m removing his £21K a week pay packet from the wage bill. Verdict: Miss GK: Baas van Vegen Promising Dutch U21 keeper who I handed a few appearances to this season. He's a bit erratic atm but has time on his side to improve. Verdict: Jury still out GK: Kasper Schmiechel Signed at the beginning of 2004/05 from Man City for a bargain £250K, Schmeichel spent a lot of the season out on loan and did well. Patiently waiting him maturing into a potential top keeper. Verdict: Too early to say RB: Sascha Reither Young German full back/right midfielder broke into the team around October and kept his place for most of the season. A good player with superb crossing stats, the world is definitely at his feet after a solid season. Still could be improved upon if the opportunity arises. Verdict : Hit RB: Miroslav Holneak Czech defender with impressive abilities who I like to switch between RM and RB depending on the opponents. Holneak can be excellent on his day, but his day was too infrequent this season so I'm looking to offload the Czech international but have thus far failed to find a buyer. Verdict: Good but inconsistent. LB: Olivier Bernard Bought from relegated Newcastle on a free Bosman transfer, Bernard has been an excellent addition to the squad, combining solid defensive skills with an attacking flair. Verdict: Hit LB: Aaron Hughes Another buy from Newcastle for £850K, Hughes has become my Mr Versatile being able to play all across the back four. Unfortunately for Hughes, this usually results on him being on the bench rather than in the first eleven. With consistent interest from the continent in Hughes, I'm holding onto him for the time being. Verdict: Hit LB: Stoyvanov Bulgarian international and a free transfer. Opportunities limited at the club and this is unlikely to change but he will be retained as a back up player. Verdict: Miss Def: Joseph Yobo Yobo had another excellent season with consistent performances every week. Lost him for the African Nations and we suffered this season in his absence. With a long term contract, Yobo's future remains very much at Goodison Park. Def: Jean-Alain Boumsong My record signing in pre-season costing me a hefty £6.25m from Rangers, Boumsong has had an excellent campaign alongside Yobo at the heart of the defence. After completing his signing I was sure I had the defence just right but in the end I let in more goals than I would expect from this pairing. Something is obviously not right with the defensive settings and I'll be working on this in the Inter Toto campaign. Verdict: Hit Def: Ahmed Madouni 24 year old commanding centre half signed from Dortmund at the outset of last season. This guy is quality and it is a shame that he has Yobo and Boumsong blocking his path to the first team cos he would walk into most Premiership sides first XI. Nevertheless a superb back up for the normal pairing. Verdict: Hit CM: Tomas Sivok Czech U21 international who must be knocking on the door of a first team call up. For Everton, Sivok has been excellent and he can only get better imo. Deep lying central midfielder who also gets forward well, I continue to have a lot of hope for this guy. Verdict: Hit CM: Marisuz Lewandowski Polish international brought into the team for 2004/05 to strengthen the midfield. A solid player who rarely puts a pass out of place and is relatively cheap on wages at only £5K a week. However, times move on and having received a £1.5m offer from Celtic for the player, I agreed the sale only for the Scottish club to mysteriously withdraw a few days later. Verdict: Hit CM: Mathieu Flamini At £3.2m Flamini is one of my most expensive signings from Wenger's Arsenal. The skipper of the side Flamini is an excellent player with superb attributes with the exception of tacking which is very annoying. Creatively sound and with excellent mental attributes. Flamini can hopefully continue to develop as he is still only 23. Verdict: Hit LM: Tobias Hysen Well one of the outstanding buys I have made I have to admit, is this Swedish flair player who patrols the left flank. I spotted him when scouting the Djurgarden side looking for potential Swedish bargains at the outset my appointment and had to have him to replace Kilbane. Coming in ninth in the average ratings over the season, with ten assists overall and a number of vital goals he has been a cornerstone of our improvement. Losing him for four months in the early part of 2006 saw Everton fail to maintain previous standards. The lack of a quality replacement has just been addressed. Verdict: Orgasmic RM: Stefan Selakovic Another Swedish international who patrols the right flank, Selakovic was bought as a short term measure but has performed admirably on the right flank to remain in my plans this long. With 10 assists last season, his creative excellence is well established in the Premiership. Despite this, I have a number of new players to take the right wing position and Stefan is currently on the transfer list. Verdict: Hit CF: Maciej Zurawski Undeniably, Zurawski has been the star of the show for Everton and has just picked up his second Everton Supporters Player of the year award in succession. With 17 Premiership goals to his name and more in the cups, Zurawski ran many an EPL defence ragged this season despite close attention from some leading defenders. Spotted after a random click on Wisla, Zurawski remains my best signing by some distance and is pushing for one of my best ever. Now valued at £9.25m I have made the difficult decision to offer him around this summer for a couple of reasons. Firstly he is 29 and at his peak value wise and secondly, in previous seasons we didn't have enough attackers to compensate for his loss despite any money we would have received. This year, I feel his loss would not substantially weaken us, but with no decent offers forthcoming, it is likely Zurawski will be around to terrorise the EPL again next season. Verdict: I'm speechless for once CF: Emmanuelle Calaio Another young player who looked so good last season when he played, I was forced to abandon the 4-5-1 just to fit him in the side. An excellent campaign from the young Italian which saw him register 20 goals for the club, more has to come from this lad. Even drew praise from the notoriously hard to please Andy Nilsen after a meeting against Portsmouth. Verdict: Hit CF: Jermaine Aliadiere Another Bosman special at the end of 2004/05 is the young Frenchman. At the time, I commented that he runs fast and scores goals. While that was true, a more accurate description probably would have been - runs fast, scores goals, always feckin injured. Despite this, a few goals came from Aliadiere but he is currently negotiating a return to France for £3.3m which is a fair price. Verdict: Miss CF: Frederico Piovaccari Very young Italian striker who is purely a goalscorer. When called upon he has delivered and I can't ask for more than that from such a young player. Still one for the future but it highlights just how lacking we were in depth up front last season. Verdict: Hit Incoming Bosmans A few players have been captured that I very happy about and should push us on to hopefully break into the top six which is currently very difficult. LM: Andy Reid £1.3m Not a Bosman buy but Forest cashed in due to the last year of contract. Faced competition from Andy Nilsen for this player who will provide much needed backup/competition to Tobias Hysen. CM: Fabio Liverani - Bosman At 30 years of age Liverani's not going to improve much but hopefully he'll add strength to the midfield combined with excellent mental and technical stats. Bit of a risk given his avg ratings at Lazio were not superb by any means but we'll see what happens. RM : Valdo - Bosman Very exciting looking right winger. Very high hopes here. RM: David Thompson - Bosman Solid wing man who can also fit into central midfield if required. CF: Jean Vennigilor of Hesselink The longest name in football but I hope I'll be typing it around 30 times next season. Big physical striker with good technical skills. Should be perfect for the Premiership. CF: Alexander Frei - Bosman Swiss international bought to England from German football. Looks good and atm gives me a very complete four forwards, which I'll need if we get into the UEFA Cup. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmmYouEffSee Posted March 22, 2005 Share Posted March 22, 2005 Season 3 - 2006/7 Looks like it's my turn to do the predictions for this year, i'm aiming to be spot on so like it or lump it! Birmingham City - Manager: Danny King After a solid first season in the EPL, Danny began to show his qualities as a manager leading Birmingham to a very respectable position in the league. Freddy Adu looks to be a poinient signing for the blues in their conquest for King's first EPL trophy. League - 7th FA Cup - 4th Round League Cup - Semi Final Blackburn Rovers - Manager: Rick Boult II Blackburn had quite a dismal season to be honest, being relegated practically with their assistant manager in the hot seat. Boult was sacked towards the end of the season but has decided to come back as Rick Boult II to fight it out in the Championship. Rick didn't improve his squad last summer, to which i feel was a major downfall for his side. Hopefully they'll be promoted and will once again join the lads in the fight for Premiership glory. League - 2nd FA Cup - 4th Round League Cup - 3rd Round Bolton Wanderers - Manager: David Pagi II David Pagi almost did in the first season with Bolton what Rick Boult did indeed do last season with Blackburn, but managed to get out of the relegation zone just in time. Last season was a different story completly with Pagi's side impressing me dispite it's enormous size. His policy of bringing in players has so far worked, but with more coming in this summer, who knows how he'll keep all the players happy. League - 9th FA Cup - Quater Final League Cup - 3rd Round Everton - Manager: Niall Murphy Everton had an extremly good start to last season, pitting themselves above Arsenal, Manchest United and Liverpool to name but a few for much of the season. After Christmas time things just seemed to go pear shaped for the Liverpudlian side, falling short of January expectations by quite a way. The club still managed to get a spot in the Inter Toto cup and that means more money and a chance to visit some of Europe's finest places. The team will do well this year due to the signing's made. Murphy has brought in CM Legend Kim Kallstorm for £8m to which will no doubt work well with Tobias Hysen to prove a formidable force in the side. League - 6th FA Cup - Semi Final League Cup - Semi Final Fulham - Manager: Mo Ilyas Mo was recently introduced to the EPL team and took over as Fulham boss. Personally i dont know much about the man but he's got a high reguard amongst the EPL lads. Mo brought in many a transfer in the summer, really making Fulham more his own. Time will tell how this squad fairs next year, but i think under Mo's guidence they could well pull of a decent cup siege. League - 13th FA Cup - 5th Round League Cup - Quater Final Manchester United - Manager: Richard Liggins After leaving Middlesbrough late on last season Liggins took the United job without much hesitation. The big money club offered something that 'boro couldn't, a hell of a lot of money! Ligs spent millions on bringing players from 'boro over aswell as other top players from around Europe. Ligs has a great set of players behind him but is set for a while from the hot seat at the beginning of the season. This could well prove to be Man United's downfall, although it could well make the side...we shall wait and see. League - 2nd FA Cup - Runners Up League Cup - 3rd Round Portsmouth - Manager: Andy Nielsen After taking Pompey to a safe place in the league last year, i expect an improvement for Nielsen's side. 13th place last year was good for Goat's side but i'm predicting something higher, with a few summer signing's the future's looking good. League - 10th FA Cup - 4th Round League Cup - 3rd Round Southampton - Manager: Rob Steel Rob is Mr Consistant. His team never really hit the high notes, but aren't really associated with the low ones. Coming 12th for the first and second season Steel didn't really play much of a part in improving the team. Unless he pulls off any major signings in the summer unfortunatly i can't see an improvement on the league position. His squad is good enough to maintain the league spot without going further down the table so a solid consistant season is a prediction. League - 12th FA Cup - 4th Round League Cup - 3rd Round Tottenham Hotspur - Manager: Sir Sam Bouchard I dont think it's right to really predict my own fortune but i'll have a go. League - 5th FA Cup - 3rd Round League Cup - Quater Final West Bromwich Albion - Manager: Chris Morris Chris has really surprised me so far in the EPL, taking a naff lookin' WBA and turning them into a silverware winning Premiership team. Cementing themselves into the Premier League last year, i believe they will go from strength to strength this year and will prove a force to be reconed with. League - 8th FA Cup - Quater Final League Cup - Quater Final Best of luck for the season lads...roll on Season three! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BelfastNiall Posted March 22, 2005 Author Share Posted March 22, 2005 Top Notch Sam, as per Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ligs Posted March 22, 2005 Share Posted March 22, 2005 Well that's it, squad completed, Queiroz has been demoted to coach, my best coach promoted to assisstant. I'll be back April 3rd, hopefully in time to save it as the assisstant will no doubt make thing turn pear-shaped. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
skintsaint Posted March 22, 2005 Share Posted March 22, 2005 ooer missus Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BelfastNiall Posted March 23, 2005 Author Share Posted March 23, 2005 <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by ligs: Well that's it, squad completed, Queiroz has been demoted to coach, my best coach promoted to assisstant. I'll be back April 3rd, hopefully in time to save it as the assisstant will no doubt make thing turn pear-shaped. </div></BLOCKQUOTE> Aye Ligs, with your £40m spent on Ronaldinho and the purchase of Baptista, it would take a right idiot to mess things up at Old Trafford this year. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BelfastNiall Posted March 23, 2005 Author Share Posted March 23, 2005 Everton stuffed in Turkey and Euro dreams quashed Well Ligs is a huge fan of my excuses for defeats so I'm going to get my them in early for what the papers described as "The Twerp in Turkey." As the assistant selected the squad for the Inter-Toto Cup and neglected to include any of my new signings, it was always going to be difficult if we drew the short straw and got a difficult tie in this poxy Cup. Indeed, Andy Nilsen can forever hold his peace about Murphy's luck after the nightmare that was inflicted upon me last night. Out of the hat came Galatasary, a club of Champions League quality and even worse, if we managed to get past the Turks we'd have to play Real Madrid - before even getting a place in the Inter-Toto final!! Considering this cup is supposed to be a doddle and Ligs won the UEFA playing worse dross than I got in the Inter Toto, I was rather p1ssed off at this state of affairs. And so it was, Everton's first night in Europe since 1984 arrived with the Turkish side looking a good outfit. Inter-Toto Cup 2nd Round Everton 2 - 0 Galatasaray Well it was last seasons line up (minus Zurawski who was injured) that took the field against the Turks who lined up in a 5-3-2 formation with attacking wing backs. The atmosphere was electric at Goodison and even Murphy was caught up in the emotion of Everton's return to Europe. In a very even game it often takes a top player to change the outcome. That player was wearing blue and white and his name was, to no one's surprise, the marvellous Tobias Hysen. But Murphy also must take some credit. After both sides had spurned chances, I made an inspired substitituon ( I have to get this in now for what is coming later ) by withdrawing the tiring Piovaccari and bringing on young Italian midfielder Claudio Marchisio and moving to a 4-5-1. Within minutes we were in control of the tie and Goodison was soon to erupt when Hysen took aim from about 20 yards and unleased a powerful low drive into the bottom corner of the Turkish net. Yeeeeeees.....And Hysen was soon to top this. With time running out and it looking like we'd only have a one goal lead to take to Turkey, Hysen lined up another effort, this time from 35 yards which flew into the corner. An amazing, outstanding moment of individual brilliance. I have to admit I was off my seat celebrating on the touchline at that one, blowing kisses to my favourite Swede....2-0 then and we had a very good chance if we could do a professional job in Instanbul. Amazingly though, before the second leg, more injuries hit the squad. Yobo and Sivok were definitely out and both Zurawski and Lewandowski were struggling to make the game. In fact my bench for both ties was full of youngsters and defenders such was my squad shortage at this point. Galatasaray 4 - 1 Everton (aet) : Galatasaray win 4-3 on aggregate Well I could make excuses about this one. For example the injuries to Boumsong and Selakovic during the game but it would be masking the fact that this was a bad night at the office for Murphy. I decided to attack the Turks from the off knowing that one away goal would practically see us through, but it backfired as the Turks raced into an early lead and then added a second before HT. Despite this, Everton had created enough chances to score but hadn't taken any so I blame the players. Then we had a huge stroke of luck as in the final minute, the Turks goalkeeper Mondragon had to hobble off injured leaving them with 10 men and Ergun in goal. As the game moved into extra time, it was that man again Tobias Hysen who struck home, putting us 3-2 up on aggregate and leaving Galatasaray requiring 2 goals to go through. I relaxed thinking "this game's over beejaysus" and let the lads go for an equaliser rather than holding what we had. Basically, we then got hit with fantastic pace by the Turks on the break twice to put us out. A mistake by the manager Murphy and his side paid for it. We'll be back though!!! In other news I seem to be being cursed with injuries at the minute. As the opening day of the season and a home game versus Leicester approaches my team has been cut down. Hysen got injured in a reserve game and is now out for two months. Kallstrom, my new record signing at £8m is out for 4 weeks and both my new strikers, Hesselink and Frei are also struggling with injuries. Moan, moan, moan. In other news, my old enemy Ilyas is back in the EPL at Fulham and he is irritating me already. I've had to have my secretary direct all his calls (and there have been a few) to the answer phone because I'm fed up dealing with him. Here's a transcript of some of Mo's nuisance calls to Goodison. Phone: di do do do de do do do de de de de do Murphy: I'll have to get that damn ring tone changed. Hello? Ilyas: Hello Mr Murphy. How are you it's Mo Ilyas here. Murphy: How did you get my number? Ilyas: Pardon? Murphy: Sorry, I mean how can I help you? Ilyas: Well I have been looking for a goalkeeper and I see you have the exciting young goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel in your reserves. He is very good and valued at £2.5m. I would like to make an offer for his services. Murphy: Ok, how much? Ilyas: £250K. Murphy: Comic Relief was last week. Goodbye!! Phone: di do do do de do do do de de de de do Murphy: Who is it? Ilyas: Hi it's Mo here, Fulham manager. Murphy: Whats up Mo? Ilyas: I would like to buy your Czech defender Pavel Besta who is currently transfer listed. Murphy: Ok, I'm looking at least a million for him up front. How much are you offering? Ilyas: I would like to pay you nothing.... Murphy: hangs up I could go on but my big busty secretary is dealing with him now. 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kndusr19 Posted March 23, 2005 Share Posted March 23, 2005 The wrath of Niall Recent false comments by Niall Murphy up north who has been irritated with the exit of Everton from the intertoto cup has tried to deflect away from his bad management style by taking swipes at Mo ( ). Mo's suggestion to Niall is to stick managing Everton and not concern himself with other managers doings. Mo playing the sympathy card with fellow EPL's has a small budget and is a good bet for relegation is ranked at 200-1 to win the EPL! Fellow managers Ligs & Rick always there to help a lost cause, have sold Roy Carroll (800K) and Matt Jansen (650K) respectively to Fulham to avoid relegation. When I next meet Ligs, Rick <STRIKE>and Niall</STRIKE>) in the EPL, I certainly will be inviting them as host to share the finest tandoori donner Nan on my pad. Mr Mo currently suffering from whiplash dished out by 'Arse Duck Mr Tight' (re-arrange to discover who it is?) secretary, also finds it hard to remember players names....but he will never forget the name 'Jonathan Johansson'. A 500k bargain buy, 30 year old striker from a club which will remain un-named (Can't remember the club actually, going to see the lawyers about a 'No win-No fee' against Niall for memory loss) joined Fulham in July for a new campaign. Unfortunately the next day in the squad, Jonathan was heard talking to colleagues that he will be retiring in January! The moral of the story is check the small print on all the players. Jonathan signed for 500k, probably had a 250k signing on fee and Fulham will provide an additional 250k in wages until January gives a total loss £1 Million, has put Fulham on the map as blunder of the season with the rest of the EPL managers rolling around in fits of laughter. After having signed at least 20 players in preseason the supporters are unhappy that I have said to the media that I will not be signing any more players! You just can't win! Ambitious Harrods owner Mo has not been on my arse to sign any big players after Roy Carrols arrival, one just hopes the chairman's ambitions are not too unrealistic. After Niall offered his rejects to clubs high and low, including a defender by the name of Pavel Besta for £1 Million. Mo appropriately submitted a bid of £1Million to be paid over a 12 month period. Niall rebuffed such an offer, with his eyes turning slowly into blood shot red colour, horns started to grow on his forehead and a tail began to sprout from his trousers. At this moment in time, I think Mo did enough to awaken the dark side within Niall ....and dispersed. Niall obviously fears the dark side too much and will avoid selling to Mo.....as he has experienced the forces of play on the darkside and has got his fingers burnt previously! <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by BelfastNiall: Amazingly though, before the second leg, more injuries hit the squad. Yobo and Sivok were definitely out and both Zurawski and Lewandowski were struggling to make the game. In fact my bench for both ties was full of youngsters and defenders such was my squad shortage at this point. </div></BLOCKQUOTE> Nelson style: ha, ha! (You would have thought the lack of depth Niall encountered in season 2 would have been resolved by now ) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morrizio Posted March 23, 2005 Share Posted March 23, 2005 WBA : FA cup champions! No its not a misprint West Brom have actually won a competition, and a pretty good one at that! The road to the final was not smooth, however. A 0-0 draw with Liverpool in the semi's lead to a penalty shootout, where the Albion kept their nerve to dump the Merseyside outfit out the cup. WBA 0 Middleboro 0 FA cup final Then final day came. Middlesboro the opponents. Tension grew. Fans watched from the country. The match kicked off. Very little happened. For the first half an hour there was little between the sides, both settled into the game but neither daring enough to create any chances. In the 40th minute a second bookable offense by Gaizka Mendieta and Boro were reduced to ten men, surely West Brom would'nt get a better chance at winning this thing. Boro went to a 4-4-1, and Chris Morris responded by changing to an attacking 3-5-2, but still little happened in the match. The best chance of the game fell to Haestad on the last minute of play, but faced one on one with the keeper he managed to drag a tired shot across the goal and harmlessly out of play. At the end of 90 mins the score remained 0-0, and extra time loomed. Half an hour later and several knackered players sat about and deceided who would take the dreaded penalties. As it worked out nearly everyone had to, including Boro's keeper. Twice West Brom had the chance to win the match, but it was the unlikely figure of Ragnvald Soma who was the match winner. As the centre half's penalty went in baggies fans went crazy and as cup was theirs! Europe Perhaps the most important thing to come from the FA cup win is the qualificatin for the UEFA cup, fans are delighted about having an excuse to go abroad and get ****ed! So is the boss. Much needed revenue will be made and experience gained. How far the baggies will get in the competition is another matter. No major signings have been made in the summer with the majority of Morris' targets opting for David Pagi's foreign legion, strange one But a few young talents have been brought in, including Arsenal's promising winger Bradley Phillips. The future is bright at the Hawthorns. But not the immediate future.... As the assistant will be in charge for a few weeks, whilst Morris is moving house and theres lots to do, no time for football managment! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmmYouEffSee Posted March 24, 2005 Share Posted March 24, 2005 Pre Season Information.... Transfers In Ewerthon - Free - Dortmund A solid looking very skillful Brazillian international took my eye during the close season of last year who looks destined to score and create chances when asked upon. Roy Keane - 850k - Man United The ever reliable Roy Keane decided to join Tottenham after the leave of Sir Alex at United. At 34 many question the deal, but i'm sure he's got a couple more seasons in him yet, and he could well provide the fighting spirit that the team is in want of. Georginio Boateng - 275k - Feyenoord Boateng is a 16 year old very highly rated Dutch striker who has a proven record at a lower level of football. This lad will score goals when asked upon, and with the coaching staff at Spurs on his back to improve, the future's bright. Lillian Thuram - Free - Juventus Thuram was the heart of the Juventus defence for many a year, conquering Europe through the UEFA Cup and Champions League with glory in many other competitions too, but this is the first time in his carrear that he will play in the Premiership. I felt i needed a few older guys to control the team and in Thuram i have a very good player and a man with his head very much on his shoulders. Ronaldo - 21m - Man United A structured deal giving United 10m now and 10m over a period of two years suited both clubs involved. United went on to sign Ronaldinho whilst the young and very talented Cristiano Ronaldo joined Tottenham. Dispite the midfield being packed to the rim with skill, Ronaldo can also offer his services in an attacking role on either side of the field, giving the team that extra edge over other sides. Transfers Out Mark Hughes - 300k - Newcastle Hughes was never really going to make into the Spurs first XI so when Newcastle offered 300k for the 21 year old i accepted without hesitation. Kasey Keller - Free - Coventry Keller was offered a new deal in the summer of last year but he rejected it, wanting 35k a week to which i dont feel is money well spent considering he wouldn't be making many appearences so i let him go to Coventry. Rohan Ricketts - 1.6m - Bolton David Pagi used his brain well and stole Ricketts from Spurs for a bargain 1.6m. A hole in the contract meant he could leave early but compensation had to be made to the club, and that's what happened. I wouldn't have wanted to let him go, but what can you do when something like that happens. Pablo Thaim - Free - Leicester Thaim never really hit it off with me as manager of this football club. A stint in the first team showed no sign of a player wanting to play football, so i demoted him to the reserves where his form didn't take off. After a few months i decided it was best to let him go and Leicester came a calling. Pedro Mendes - 1.5m - Boavista Boavista were sniffing around Mendes for a couple of years, and although playing his part in the Spurs side this season, Mendes was never really considered a top quality Premiership player and that's what i was after. 1.5m was the cost for him and off he went! Aldo Andres Jara - 1.1m - Werder Bremen On reccomendation from Martin Jol, i signed Aldo Andres Jara for just under 500k. HE played a few times for the first team and a lot for the reserves but didn't show the promise that i was guarenteed from Jol. Rated a 5m player i thought i should get rid before others found out his real worth and turned their noses up. A dissapointing player taking a heap of wages with him but i'm happy to see the back of him. After last year's budget from the Spurs board i was expecting to be told to cut wages so i beat the gun a little and got rid of quite a bit of dead weight. After being told i was way under the budget i thought i'd be nice to whack on some more cash to the bills and signed a fair few players. Manchester United offloaded their midfield duo to which i feel may be the coup of the summer. A midfield dynamo to cover and teach Freddy Guarin whilst Ronaldo was taken on board to produce more attacking ammo. The midfield's currently packed with players that have an unbelievable amount of skill and i finally think i'm happy with the numbers there. Two years ago i took over as Spurs boss hoping to get a quality player in every position whilst offering a very good substitute if needed. The squad below illustrates how we can cope with all injury's now, and can seriously have a good shot at the Premier League this year aswell as Europe. Tottenham Hotspur Goalkeepers : Paul Robinson, Scott Carson Defenders : Erik Edman, Reto Ziegler, Mauricio Taricco, Vincent Kompany, Lilian Thuram, Ledley King, Calum Davenport, Anthony Gardner Midfielders : James McFadden (F), Cristiano Ronaldo (F), Ewerthon (F), Simon Davies, Roy Keane, Freddy Guarin, Michael Carrick, Niko Kranjcar Forwards : Jermain Defoe, Frederic Kanoute, Luke Moore This doesn't really include the youth players that i've got in the side that are vying for a place in the starting eleven. It's going to be extremly competative this season with some of the best European talent at the club both old and young all ready to strut their stuff. Keane and Thuram are to be the father figures as many of the squad are under 22 and still learning (Ronaldo, Kranjcar, Guarin, Davenport, Moore, McFadden etc etc etc) Hopefully it'll be a good year for Spurs, more European football to look forward to in the UEFA Cup and a good league campaign too. Last year was dissapointing and although 6th in the league means Europe and a very happy set of fans and the board, i didn't feel pleased with it. A sloppy start and a similar finish saw the team lose 10 and draw 6. I see draws as losses so thearetically it's 16 losses which is way to many for a team as big as Spurs. Europe is where the big money is, and the money that we got from the Champions League last year gave us the chance to bring in some real quality to the side. Hopefully the same can be said this year and more of the same can happen next year, but until then i'm quite content with the team at my disposal. Cup competition success has so far evaded my reign as Spurs boss with exits in the FA and League Cups coming at an early stage this year. We've got a good enough squad to bring home 4 Titles this year so let's see if we can do it. Bring On EPL Season 3... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunga99 Posted March 27, 2005 Share Posted March 27, 2005 Birmingham City make European football Yes for the second year on a row Birmingham City have made the inter-toto cup and this year I hoping to take the next step and go one place futher than the final. We finished 8th within the premiership which mean we are going to have to play 8 games in the inter-toto just to make it into the UEFA cup. Of course with pre season there was a lot of movement in the transfer market and Birmingham City got inot the action. Players In... Freddy Adu for free. A young forward who looks like he could have a bright future in the game. Richard Duffy for 1.4 million from Plymouth. This player can play all over the park and we be good backup to the first team. Christopher Eagles for 4 million from Manchester United. Eagles was the man I'm hoping will take over Dunns role in the team. Carlo Cudicin for free from Chelsea. Cudicin will be my number one keeper taking over first team duties from Taylor. Brett Emerton for 2 million from Blackburn. Emerton could be my answer to the right back problem or could double up as my DMC in the team if needed Phillip Bardsley for 100k from Manchester United. A good young player who will get his chance in the first team in due time. Players Out.. Richard Wright for 1 million to Bologna. Finally got rid of this donkey who couldn't kick a ball for s***. Worse part of this deal was I had to give Niall Murphy a percentage of the transfer fee. Emile Heskey for 500k to Southampton. Another donkey gone from my team. Thinga are already looking a lot better for this season. David Dunn for 6 million to Liverpool. David has done a great job for me but was always picking up the odd knock here and there. As a result he missed a few games during the season so when a bid of 6 million came in I was more than happy to take it. After the transfer former club captain Kenny Cunningham made a statment to the fans. <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">I believe the club have "a ready-made replacement" in signing Christopher Eagles, Dunn will make his debut for Liverpool against Levski on 28/08/06 while his former team-mates will playing in the inter-toto cup. I don't think the David Dunn thing has left a hangover. David has moved on now and good luck to him. The conversation in this past week hasn't been about David. What has happened well not disrupt us. We've had David at Blues for three-and-a-half years and there's usually one story or another around him so I can't really say it has disrupted the dressing room. That chapter in Birmingham's history has gone. David has moved on and good luck to him and the club just moves forward without him. Christopher has come in and he has impressed us all in training and I think he is a ready-made replacement. he just needs games. It is difficult coming in with just a couple of days training before a game and getting to know the system of play. It will take him a while to develop an understanding with players but he looks a very competent player, has good attributes and I think he will do well for us. </div></BLOCKQUOTE> Blues striker Forssell added: <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Dunn is going to be a big miss to us - but we've got to get over it. He has moved on and players do move on. He moved on from Blackburn to come here and did really well for us. We will miss him but we've got a good squad here and we've got to carry on from here. People say there is a hangover but if we had won our inter-toto games people wouldn't have been talking about it. I'm not going to say he won't be missed but we've got to move on. He was good around the changing rooms and good around the pitch. </div></BLOCKQUOTE> Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BelfastNiall Posted March 27, 2005 Author Share Posted March 27, 2005 Guys, over the past few weeks the game has moved on from 7pm exactly. As this is Easter Sunday some may be delayed getting to the game tonight (myself included). Therefore, could we avail of the 30 minutes T&T session and not press continue to 7:30. Thanks Niall Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunga99 Posted March 27, 2005 Share Posted March 27, 2005 Team.. This is the team that will start the season for Birmingham City GK Cudicini RB Emerton LB Garnder CB Upson CB Riggott DMC Savage MC Suazo MC Carter AMC Eagles FC Forssell FC Adu SB1 Taylor SB2 Dawson SB3 Duffy SB4 Brighi SB5 Euell Inter-toto Cup Birmingham City 8 Carter 23, 31 Eagles 30, 78 Forssell 38, 45 Edwards 41og Adu 56 Aberystwyth 0 Man of the Match: Eagles 10/10 Birmingham Attendance-19030 Refereed by Carlos Megia Davila A good win for my boys against a european team with a good debut for my new boy eagles. Goals all over the place from Carter, Eagles, Forssell and Adu, I was happy with this 8-0 Win Inter-toto Cup Aberystwyth 0 Birmingham City 0 Man of the Match: Edwards 8/10 Aberystwyth Attendance-5402 Refereed by Carlos Megia Davila After my great first leg win I let my assistant take control of this game while I took a much needed break. 0-0 Draw Inter-toto Cup Qtr Final Birmingham City 2 Adu 13 Forssell 48 Marseille 1 Man of the Match: Adu 10/10 Birmingham Attendance-19524 Refereed by Herbert Fandel With some of the teams still in the inter-toto cup, this is starting to look harder than the champion league. A good result from my boys with goals from Adu and Forssell to seal a 2-1 Win Inter-toto Cup Qtr Final Marseille 0 Birmingham City 2 Adu 46 Eagles 90 Man of the Match: Eaagles 9/10 Birmingham Attendance-19872 Refereed by Roelof Luinge Again another good perfomance from my guys with goals from Adu and Eagles. With Forssell and Adu up front and Savage at the base, Eagles just behind the front two forwards, Carter and Suazo in the central mid roles for support. 2-0 Win Inter-toto Cup Semi Final St Gallen 0 Birmingham City 3 Adu 6 Riggott 51 Savage pen 60 Man of the Match: Eaagles 9/10 Birmingham Attendance-9762 Refereed by Lubos Michel Had a full squad to choose from stuck with Forssell and Adu up front and my diamond formation in midfield with Savage at the base and Eagles just behind the front two forwards. Birmingham City was the better team in the first half and didn't have anything to show for it expect for Adu goal. Second half St Gallen came at us and could have got level but from some good stops by Taylor and then Riggott and Savage sealed the win 3-0 Win Inter-toto Cup Semi Final Birmingham City 2 Adu 1 Christie 66 St Gallen 1 Man of the Match: Gardner 8/10 Birmingham Attendance-19200 Refereed by Markus Merk The mood around the camp was good affer some good results in the inter-toto cup. Stuck with the same team that played so well in the 1st leg against expect for Buxton who I gave a place in the heart of the defence and recalled the fit again keeper Taylor. This was a much better display for my team with Adu getting a good goal in the first min to give us the lead at half time. Second half more of the same with Christie again playing well and setting up the goal for himself to score his first goal of the season to give us a 2-0 Win Inter-toto Cup Final Birmingham City 2 Christie 3 Izzet 70 Rostock 0 Man of the Match: Izzet 9/10 Birmingham Attendance-26109 Refereed by Domenico Messina Well we made it to the final again and was looking for the right result to put us on our way for european football this season. Christie gave us a good start scoring within 3 minutes from his left foot to give us a 1-0 lead. Second half and a wonder 30 yard drive from Izzet sealed the win for us and the job half done 2-0 Win Premiership Game 1 Portsmouth 0 Birmingham City 0 Man of the Match: Cudicini 8/10 Birmingham Attendance-34468 Refereed by Barry Knight Still looking for my first win against Andy and after this perfomance will be waiting a bit longer. This was an even match with little highlighs between the two teams in a boring 0-0 Draw Premiership Game 2 Birmingham City 3 Izzet 10 Euell 43. 53 Sunderland 0 Man of the Match: Gardner 10/10 Birmingham Attendance-26094 Refereed by Dermot Gallagher My first win of the new season against premiership newcomers Sunderland and we out classed them from start to finish with goals in the first half from Izzet and Euell. Second half Euell added another after a good cross from Gardner for a 3-0 Win Premiership Game 3 Birmingham City 2 Suazo 36, 47 QPR 0 Man of the Match: Gardner 8/10 Birmingham Attendance-25281 Refereed by Keith Reed Again another game against premiership newcomers and new boy Suazo opened his account with us scoring two well worked goals in each half to give us a 2-0 Win Inter-toto Cup Final Rostock 3 Arvidsson 13 Rasmussen 53 Mohrle pen 73 Birmingham City 4 Forssell 38, 45. 65 Adu 69 Man of the Match: Forssell 10/10 Birmingham Attendance-27911/I] Refereed by Michael McCurry Well the second league of the final and all these intertoto games that I have played comes down to this 90 minutes and what a game it was. There was lots of highlights and end to end action with our star man Forssell getting a hat trick and Adu also keeping up his good scoring record in this cup. Arvidsson and Rasmussen got the goals for Rostock with Mohrle almost addind another from the spot after Upson had up ended one of there players for a 3-4 Win European football is on it way to St Andrews Premiership Game 4 Birmingham City 0 Tottenham 0 Man of the Match: Robinson 8/10 Tottenham Attendance-26101 Refereed by Matt Messias AWOL Sam's big spending Tottenham team was my next game and after the Rostock result morale was high again within the team so I was hoping for a another good result. Right from the off my team went on the attack and after some good play from Savage and Forssell but we came up against a team bus parked in front of the goal called Paul Robinson and my men couldn't find a way past him so in the end it finished 0-0 Draw Premiership Game 5 Liverpool 2 Smith 15 Baros 75 Birmingham City 0 Man of the Match: Gerrard 9/10 Liverpool Attendance-60199 Refereed by Barry Knight Out classed and played by a better Liverpool team and moan to much about this result. Smith and Baros done the damage with goals in each half of the game and maybe all these games in the intertoto have taken there toll. 2-0 Defeat Premiership Game 6 W.B.A 2 Dagoberto 11 Carretto 35 Birmingham City 1 Euell 54 Man of the Match: Lobont 9/10 W.B.A Attendance-28955 Refereed by Barry Knight Next up was W.B.A and they could be one of the dark horses of the season as chris as done wonders on a low budget bringing in lots of unknown players from all over Europe and turned team into super stars. I feel we was unlucky in this game as my team didn't start to play until we was 2 goals down. Once I brought Euell on in the second half the game changed but another one of chris players Lobont made save after save in goal to give WBA the victory 2-1Defeat More to Follow Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
goat261 Posted March 27, 2005 Share Posted March 27, 2005 Who Is It? That’s been the question for months now after the great one mentioned buying a new striker. Speculation as been of the page, could it be Everton’s golden boy Zurawski? (Nah he’s about as golden as old rusty nail). Van Persie? Recoba? Inzaghi? Santa Cruz? Were all mentioned but you don’t think they are good enough for Pompey do you? didn’t think so. In the end it wasn’t only one striker that came in, it was 5!!! Wesley Sonck 4.6m if talent was measured in water this lad would be a monsoon and well Emmanuelle Calaio would be a rain drop Mido 2.9m we all know he is arrogant but we all know he also oozes class so it’s a perfect match here at Pompey Tristan 1m he’s had a tough time at Deportivo but luckily for him he is now living everyone’s dream working for the GOAT. Olisadebe Free world class finisher who I’m hoping will have an effect from the bench Lange Free Norwegian international who will have to take his chance when it comes his way if he hopes to have a career at Portsmouth These were followed by some more signings. Santana 4m Lastuvka 3.2m Ivana 250k Weidenfeller Free Ceh Free Jentzsch Free Mutarelli Free Bernadini Free Nakamura Free Yakin Free Cassetti Free Kleber Free Hurtado Free Of course to spend money like that you have to sell De Sanctis 8m Ezquerro 2.8m Carter-Harris 1.5m Carlos 1m Earnshaw 1m Terlizzi 1.m Murlio 950k Soeteras 600k Udeze 500k Loovens 500k Tiffrt 400k Martin 350k Oakley 250k Angus 250k Portsmouth 0-0 Birmingham Dominated first half but couldn’t take one of the many half chances. Then Birmingham had a 20min spell were they could of scored but a fine save from Lastuvka kept it at 0-0. Last 25 mins was end to end with us having a great chance when carvalho was put through only to blast over. All in all the defensive determination shown by Brums defence earned them a deserved point. Liverpool 1-0 Portsmouth Just before the game Liverpool signed the player I have been after for 2 years when Olic decided to join them. You know what’s coming don’t you? Oh yes Olic was the difference when he curled in a free kick from 25 yards. Portsmouth 0-0 Tottenham Another top club came to Fratton without scoring but the disappointing thing is that we still havent scored this season. West Brom 2-1 Portsmouth After taking the lead and then dominating the whole first half things were lucking good until Brom went on a counter and scored, then to make things worse we conceded another free kick which was an exact replicate of the Olic one. Still we had chances but none of them could find the net. After the match Morris agreed we were unlucky as he witnessed first hand what our luck as been like. Portsmouth 2-0 Man City Easiest game to date and that’s saying something, City were truly awful and these game could easily of been 10-0 if it wasn’t for woeful finishing. If City continue like this they are certainties for the drop. Chelsea 2-0 Portsmouth This game was so frustrating, we dominated the game but just couldn’t beat Cech and then Chelsea score yet another free kick and a dodgy penalty. This game showed that either Chelsea are not good enough for the title this year or maybe that we are good enough to challenge!! So after playing some big clubs we have conceded only 5 with 4 being set pieces which is a decent record but only scoring 3 is not ood enough so this was the time to bring in Mido and Sonck. Stay tuned to see how they get on. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
skintsaint Posted March 27, 2005 Share Posted March 27, 2005 SLOW START FOR STEELS STUTTERING SAINTS!! Late Transfers In Jaap Stam - Bosman from AC Milan A rock of a Defender and hopefully can make his presence felt. At 33yrs old we hope he has one final year in him!! Roman Hubnik - £500k from Sigma Olomouc Young defender who can play at Centre back or Right back. Liam Ridgewell - £1.2m from Aston Villa Young English Centre Back, will be cover for Stam and Bovo. Darius Vassell - Bosman From Aston Villa Transfer coup, wasnt expected to sign, but offers for free booze and woman persuaded him to join the Saints! Patrick Boyle - £1m from Everton Young Irish left back, another one for the future, will be a Roberto Carlos type full back. Tim de Cler - £875k from Man City Dutch left back signed to replace the departing Kling. Christian Wilhelmsson - £1.8m from Anderlecht Speedy, tricky winger who adds options to the squad. Transfers out Cosmin Contra - £50k to Brescia Danny Higginbotham - £70k to Coventry David Prutton - £2.3m to Fulham Vadim Yevseev - £100k to Newcastle Stephan Kling - £2.5m to Hertha BSC SOUTHAMPTON 3-1 LIVERPOOL A great start to the season for Saints even thought they fell behind withing 5 mins to a Alan Smith striker. We got back in the game by some comical defending, Carragher passing back to the keeper who missed it for the ball to go in!!! Folly then scored from the edge of the box before Hitzlsperger banged on in as well! TOTTENHAM 1-0 SOUTHAMPTON A bit of a let down after the Liverpool game, spurs dominated start to finish and the scoreline should of read 5-0 at least!! Kanoute grabbing the winner on 52mins. SOUTHAMPTON 1-2 WBA Pile of poop was Steels official words, the same team which ripped Liverpool to bits, just laid down and got butt raped by a average WBA side. Carretto (?) scored on 15mins only for Hitzlsperger to score, but they grabbed a winner on 90mins, Moreira the scorer. MAN CITY 2-0 SOUTHAMPTON Saints visited bottom of the table in poor form and it continued! Ljuboja scored twice to give Steel that sinking feeling! Surely not!! SOUTHAMPTON 0-2 CHELSEA Lampard and Mutu buried Saints in another one sided encounter. No passion, energy or creativity. Just the sort of thing you are starting to expect from a Rob Steel team MIDDLESBORO 2-1 SOUTHAMPTON A tricky team to play these days and it proved so, Saints always in the match but superior finishing was the difference! STEEL GOES ON HOLIDAY DUE TO INCREASED PRESSURE! SAMMY LEE TAKES OVER THESE GAMES! SOUTHAMPTON 3-1 LEICESTER BOURNEMOUTH 1-4 SOUTHAMPTON (LC) NEWCASTLE 0-2 SOUTHAMPTON SOUTHAMPTON 1-1 ASTON VILLA STEEL RETURNS.... EVERTON 2-1 SOUTHAMPTON Niall again gets the better of my team, even tho I take the lead throught Folly, but that farkin Polish striker Zurawski scored twice to give the Blues the win! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BelfastNiall Posted March 27, 2005 Author Share Posted March 27, 2005 Tables on the web Ligs The Table Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AsherDSSc Posted March 27, 2005 Share Posted March 27, 2005 ***Blackburn Draw Everton In League Cup 1/4 Final*** Yes, you read right, Blackburn are through to the quarter finals with impressive victories over Torquay and Aston Villa. Manager Rick Boult had this to say; <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> I was proud of the lads performance away at Aston Villa as there a top draw side. If we can repeat that performance and carry our league form into the Everton match who know we could have another upset on our hands </div></BLOCKQUOTE> Surely, what Boult meant to say was that the best team would provail as the only upset which could happen at Ewood Park would be if Everton beat the Lancashire outfit! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BelfastNiall Posted March 27, 2005 Author Share Posted March 27, 2005 You got to get past Torquay first. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BelfastNiall Posted March 27, 2005 Author Share Posted March 27, 2005 Or Swansea is it? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AsherDSSc Posted March 27, 2005 Share Posted March 27, 2005 Swansea, but they will be swept aside much like the rest of the Championship teams this season Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ligs Posted March 28, 2005 Share Posted March 28, 2005 Well that's a relief - maybe I won't hurry back Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AsherDSSc Posted March 28, 2005 Share Posted March 28, 2005 ***Blackburn Relegated** It was a sad sad day on the 16th May as Blackburn Rovers were relegated from the Premiership. This came after a very turbulant season with manager Rick Boult who never knew if he was coming or going. Fans of the club however have stuck by the club and offered there support to the yorkshiremen as they see great potential in him and believe that 1 day he will bring success to the club. With this seen as a great boost by Boult, he set out in the summer transfer window to really bring in quality players to the club. Players In Graham Barrett (24 AM/FC) - Free - Coventry City Versitile midfielder with excellent all round stats. Had to fight of Fulham for his signature Robert Earnshaw (25 FC) - 1Mil - Portsmouth Star of the season so far. Used as a sub at Pompey gains more starts at Ewood this season Christian Terlizzi (26 DC) - 1Mil - Portsmouth Solid defender who wanted a move to a bigger club and chose Blackburn Renato (27 DRMC) - Free - Sevilla Top quality defensive midfielder possibly most important player in the team behind Pedersen Tom Soataers (26 AML) - 600k - Portsmouth Excellent cover for Pedersen who will chip in with a few goals this season Michael Chopra (22 FLC) - 2Mil - Newcastle United Young 'bargain' striker from the toon who the fans have taken to immediately Players Out Steven Reid - 1.5Mil - Norwich City Never got a chance Brett Emerton - 2Mil - Birmingham City Played better for his country than his club Fabian Estoyanoff - 1.3Mil - Deportivo Quality but never hit it off, hence Depor coming in Mario Santana - 4Mil - Portsmouth Was possibly best player last season but sold for funds for extra players Loans In Anthony Vanden Borre (18 DC) - Tottenham Quailty defender who can play right accross the back line Jacques Maghoma (18 MRC) - Tottenham Passing, shooting, creativity, the spark in the midfield for us Season Looking Bright With a few quality signings brought into the squad, notably Renato and Earnshaw, Boult had achieved what he set out to do and bring the big names to the club. They may have been in the Championship, but his talents as a manager really showed as players looking for a 'bigger side' than Portsmouth came to Ewood Park. However, it was all well and good having a good bunch of lads if his tactical side of the game was not up to scratch but as the first few games of the season were played, it seemed he was also very acute in that area of managing. League Cup 1st Rnd M.K Dons - Away - 2-1 - Scorers - Gallagher, Ferguson Started the ball rolling in the cup, hoping for more success with a bit of luck in the draw English Championship Brighton - Away - 3-1 - Scorers - Drulic, Stead x2 Midtable side who were swept away early in the first half. Stead made it 3-0 before a late consolation English Championship Preston - Home - 2-2 - Scorers - Gallagher, Drulic A disappointing result from a game we dominated. Twice they came from behind to earn themselves a point English Championship Forest - Away - 1-0 - Scorers - Gallagher A superb away performance, Gallagher getting the only goal of the game towards half time. With the playoffs in sight and Blackburn's squad looking up for every fixture there is no doubt in the fans mind who is to praise for the recent run in form; <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> Aye, i have to say, Boult have been doing a very good job for us this year. He seems to have sorted out his private life with the g/f being kicked into touch on match days and the morale of the team is very high. All fans including myself knew Boult had it in him which is why we have stuck by him these past few years and were now looking for him to put us back in the Premiership where we belong. </div></BLOCKQUOTE> Boults taking of the season was very optimistic; <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> We have made a cracking start to the season i couldn't be more prouder of the lads. I doubt in Blackburns long history they have had the depth in quality at the club we have now and there is a real togetherness among the players. Gamst as per usual is providing the spark in midfield and i see him as a real key member of the squad. Last season we were solid at the back but a shambles going forward but the arrival of Earnshaw has really given the others a morale boost and the likes of Stead and Gallagher are learning all the time. I am very hopefully of winning the league but after a few shaky moments of goal costing us valubale points we now have to play catch up to Charlton. </div></BLOCKQUOTE> Whatever the outcome, fans of the club now firmly believe that Boult is the man for the job Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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