Thank **** The Wolly with the Brolly has Gone

July 7th 2007: With the “WOLLY WITH A BROLLY” sacked and trying to learn Dutch the English FA were on the search for the next mad man to take the poisonous challis which was the England job. The only mad man to actually apply was an unknown lower league manager called Mark Wilson. With the huge choice of one the FA gave him the job

July 8th: As I walked into the office at FA headquarters I was met by Terry Venables who let me know that the next game was on the 22nd August against old rivals Germany. He also told me I had to decide who was to be Captain. I told him I will let him know when I’m ready. He brought me the latest qualifying table which showed how poorly the previous manager had done. I told him I already knew what the position were!!

Qulifying Table so Far:

Position¦   Information    ¦     Team          ¦Games ¦ Won¦ Drawn¦ Lost¦Goals¦ Goals ¦Points¦
       ¦                  ¦                   ¦Played¦    ¦      ¦     ¦ fOR ¦Against¦      ¦
--------¦------------------¦-------------------¦------¦----¦------¦-----¦-----¦-------¦------¦
 1st   ¦                  ¦     Croatia       ¦   7  ¦  5 ¦   2  ¦  0  ¦ 16  ¦   4   ¦  17  ¦
========¦==================¦===================¦======¦====¦======¦=====¦=====¦=======¦======¦
 2nd   ¦                  ¦     Israel        ¦   8  ¦  5 ¦   2  ¦  1  ¦ 17  ¦   7   ¦  17  ¦
--------¦------------------¦-------------------¦------¦----¦------¦-----¦-----¦-------¦------¦  
 3rd   ¦                  ¦     Russia        ¦   7  ¦  4 ¦   3  ¦  0  ¦ 11  ¦   1   ¦  15  ¦ 
 4th   ¦                  ¦     ENGLAND       ¦   7  ¦  4 ¦   2  ¦  1  ¦ 12  ¦   2   ¦  14  ¦ 
 5th   ¦                  ¦     FYR Macedonia ¦   7  ¦  2 ¦   1  ¦  4  ¦  6  ¦   7   ¦   7  ¦ 
 6th   ¦                  ¦     Estonia       ¦   7  ¦  0 ¦   0  ¦  7  ¦  0  ¦  14   ¦   0  ¦
 7th   ¦                  ¦     Andorra       ¦   7  ¦  0 ¦   0  ¦  7  ¦  1  ¦  28   ¦   0  ¦
--------¦------------------¦-------------------¦------¦----¦------¦-----¦-----¦-------¦------¦

July 14th: After only a week in the job I had decided that I wanted some fresh blood in the backroom staff department and I decided to sack Venables, Thomas, Beswick, Parks, Round, Wilkins and Clemence from there roles with the National team. I kept Stuart Pearce as U21’s manager and told him he could keep any of his staff he wanted.

July 15th; After getting rid of the whole backroom staff I brought some new blood in to give us a fresh approach to the game.

David Court ( Arsenal ) Coach

Tony Colbert ( Arsenal ) Coach

David Shanron ( Liverpool ) GK Coach

Robert Swire ( Manchester United ) Physio

Roy Matthews ( Jomo Cosmos ) Coach

Bryan English ( Chelsea ) Physio

Malcolm Crosby ( Middlesbrough ) Coach

Steven Harrison ( Unemployed ) Coach

August 21st; A day before my first game in charge I held a press conference and told the awaiting press John Terry will be the Captain for the foreseeable future with Steven Gerrard being the Vice Captain.

August 22nd: England v Germany; Friendly (Wembley)

The baying press were waiting for any sort of bad result from me but they will have to wait a while longer as my team played brilliantly for me. We opened the scoring on the 8th minute as Owen ran clear of the German defence after a great ball from Wright-Phillips to give us the perfect start. We were the better team and on the 23rd minute we came close to adding to our tally with J.Cole volleying wide of the post from Carrick’s cross. Germany were looking very poor but as usual the Germans managed to get back on level terms with Eberl firing past Robinson on the 45th minute.

At the break I told my players too keep up the great work. I made three substitutions on the break as Lescott came on for Richards, A.Johnson came on for Owen and Rooney came on for Ashton.

The second half was very good for us as we continued to impress and on the 56th minute we came close again as the German keeper saved brilliantly from Rooney who fired in a thunderous effort from the edge of the area. On the 75th minute I brought on Lampard who replaced Gerrard. Lampard nearly made an immediate impact as his free kick rattled the upright after Rooney was fouled 25 yards out. We finally got the goal we had been threatening all night as Carrick slotted home well from Wright-Phillips through ball to net his first goal for his country

England 2 Owen 8, Carrick 84

Germany 1 Eberl 45

Man of Match: Michael Carrick ( England )

Booked; Terry 54, J.Cole 77

Attendance: 66561

Player Ratings;

GK: Robinson (7)

RB: G.Johnson (7)

LB; A.Cole (7)

CB: Terry (cap) (7)

CB: Richards (7) sub 45 Lescott (7)

MR: Wright-Phillips (7)

ML: Carrick (7)

MC: Gerrard (7) sub 75 Lampard (7)

MC; J.Cole (7)

FC: Owen (7) sub 45 A.Johnson (7)

FC: Ashton (7) sub Rooney (7)

A great win over the old rivals and it has set me up well for the next match which will see us face Israel at Wembley in the Euro 2008 qualifier

Good start over the germans. If only that had happened in real

Very true salkster, but the main games are coming up

September 8th: England v Israel; Euro 2008 Qualifier ( Wembley )

My first competitive game and we all know a win is the only result that can afford to get as anything else would almost certainly see us fail to qualify for the Euro’s next June. I started with the old faithful 4-4-2 formation and told my players to get at them quickly and don’t give them time on the ball.

My players did just that for me as we controlled the game and on the 12th minute we went a goal up as Rooney fired in from 10 yards but the assistant referee ruled it offside much to Rooney’s disgust, he was lucky not get himself booked. Ten minutes later we came close again as Rooney again fired towards goal but his effort went just wide and I could see the frustration building up in him. We continued to press forward and on the 42nd minute we went into the lead as Owen fired past the Israeli keeper after Rooney’s initial shot was saved.

At half time I told Rooney he needed to calm down otherwise he would be off. I did however bring goal scorer Owen off after he seemed to be struggling and I replaced him with Defoe.

The second half started well for us as we continued from the first half with some great football. Despite some excellent play we struggled to break down the Israeli’s but on the 68th minute we finally got another goal as Wright - Phillips fired in from distance to kill off any chance of the opposition getting back in the game. It got even better for the home fans as within six minutes we were three goals up as Defoe fired in to give us a great 3-0 victory and keep us in the hunt for one of the qualifying spots.

England 3 Owen 42, Wright - Phillips 68, Defoe 74

Israel 0

Man of Match: Wright-Phillips ( England )

Booked: Gerrard 44, Downing 88

Attendance: 89770

Player Ratings:

GK; Robinson (7)

RB: Johnson (7)

LB: Lescott (7)

CB: R.Ferdinand (7)

CB; Terry (cap) (7)

MR; Wright-Phillips (8)

ML: Downing (8)

MC: Carrick (7)

MC; Gerrard (7)

FC: Owen (7) sub 45 Defoe (7)

FC: Rooney (7)

Another good win by my team and the press are beginning to get on my side, we just have to keep up the good work against our main rivals in the group Russia who we face in four days

September 12th: England v Russia: Euro 2008 Qualifier ( Wembley )

My players were still in buoyant mood after the emphatic victory against Israel and it showed as we didn’t give the Russians a sniff of the ball and on the 17th minute we went a goal up as Owen got his 40th goal for England, after the goal though we began to relax too much and Russia started to get back into the game and on the 19th minute they had the chance to equalise but a great save by Robinson denied them. We kept on giving the ball away too easily and on the 34th minute Russia had another chance to score but Robinson blocked the effort and Lescott cleared the ball away. Just before the break we came close to adding another goal to our tally but Rooney fluffed his effort and his shot went well wide.

At half time I replaced Rooney with Defoe and Gerrard with J.Cole. I also changed the formation to a 4-3-1-2 with J.Cole playing just behind the front two.

The change in formation seemed to pay immediate dividends as four minutes in Defoe fired us into a two goal lead with a cracking effort. It got even better five minutes later as Wright - Phillips fired in from the edge of the area after the Russians kept backing off him. We were well in control and on the hour we killed the game off with a simple tap in from Defoe after Downings free kick was blocked off the line. On the 67th minute I brought on David Beckham for Downing. Despite a huge amount of pressure from my players we couldn’t add to our tally and we gained a very important victory over the Russians.

England 4 Owen 17, Defoe 49, 60, Wright - Phillips 54

Russia 0

Man of Match; Defoe ( England )

Booked; Wright - Philips 44, Gerrard 45

Attendance; 89409

Player Ratings;

GK: Robinson (8)

RB: G.Johnson (7)

LB: Lescott (7)

CB: Terry (cap) (7)

CB: R.Ferdinand (7)

MR; Wright - Phillips (8)

ML: Downing (7) sub 67 Beckham (8)

MC: Carrick (8)

MC: Gerrard (7) sub 45 J.Cole (8)

FC: Rooney (6) sub 45 Defoe (9)

FC: Owen (8)

A great win against our main rivals for second place and next we face a double header as we face Estonia at Old Trafford and then an away trip to Russia which could end up deciding which of our Nations go to Euro 2008

October 13th: England v Estonia: Euro 2008 Qualifier ( Old Trafford )

Avery workman like match today as my players did enough to secure the vital win, We opened the scoring on the 15th minute as J.Cole fired in after latching onto a great pass by Rooney. Three minutes later we were two goals up as Cole again fired in but this time he didn’t time his run correctly and was called offside. We continued to pressurise the Estonians and just before the half hour we had another chance to double our lead as Owen fired towards goal but his effort was well saved by the keeper. On the 41st minute we got the second goal we deserved as Rooney fired in from distance with a thunderous effort. It was getting embarrassing the amount of room we were getting and a minute into injury time the Estonians had there keeper to thank after he pulled off a world class save to deny Gerrard.

The second half was very tight as Estonia piled all there men back and we struggled to break through the defence. I changed the formation to a 4-3-3 with .Cole playing up front with Rooney and Owen but to no avail, on the 65th minute though Estonia were reduced to ten men after Kaljumae was given his second yellow of the game. It made it even harder to get through there defence but on the 75th minute we had the chance as Owen was fouled in the area, surprisingly Hargreaves took the ball and placed it on the spot, he thumped the ball hard towards goal and despite the keeper getting a hand on it , it flew into the net to give us a 3-0 victory

England 3 J.Cole 15, Rooney 41, Hargreaves pen 75

Estonia 0

Man of Match: Rooney (England)

Booked: R.Ferdinand 88

Attendance: 76202

Player Ratings:

GK; Robinson (7)

RB: G.Neville (7)

LB: P.Neville (7)

CB; Terry (cap) (7)

CB: R.Ferdinand (7)

MR: Wright - Phillips (8)

ML: J.Cole (8)

MC: Hargreaves (8)

MC: Walcott (8)

FC: Rooney (8)

FC: Owen (7)

good so far XD

Cheers makam, I thought I best do my traditional England story with FM08 before I get FM09

October 17th: Russia v England; Euro 2008 Qualifier ( Locomotiv, Moscow)

An all important game and my players knew what was expected of them and they produced a very good performance. It was made even better by the fact that we had gone a goal up within nine minutes as Owen fired in after running onto a Walcott pass. But as in the last game with the Russians we seemed to relax and they started to get back into the game. It wasn’t long till they tested Robinson as he was forced into a diving save on the 23rd minute after Ferdinand slipped . Russia were beginning to dominate my team and on the 33rd minute we had G.Neville to thank for a great last ditch save which rescued us from a certain equaliser. We weren’t looking good and just before the break Robinson was forced into another good save after Terry fluffed a clearance, we were looking rather shaky and I was glad to hear the half time whistle.

I told my players in no uncertain terms they had to pull there fingers out as we were in danger of blowing all our hard work in recent matches.

We came out in the second half with a bit more effort and it showed as we reduced Russia to firing towards our goal from distance. Despite this we still had a few too many scary moments as Robinson looked alit dodgy on the saves. But luckily for him we went two goals up on the 62nd minute as Owen fired in to kill the game off. Three minutes after the goal I brought Owen off and brought Defoe on. We were the better team after the goal as it seemed Russia had given up on the game and we really should of scored more in the last twenty minutes but some wasteful finishing by Rooney and Defoe stopped us from doing just that.

Russia 0

England 2 Owen 9, 62

Man of Match; Owen ( England )

Booked; No England Player

Attendance; 28614

Player Ratings;

GK: Robinson (7)

RB: G.Neville (8)

LB: P.Neville (7)

CB; Terry (cap) (7)

CB: R.Ferdinand (7)

MR: Wright - Phillips (7)

ML: J.Cole (7)

MC: Hargreaves (7)

MC; Walcott (7) sub 65 Downing (7)

FC: Owen (8) sub 65 Defoe (6)

FC; Rooney (6)

The result meant that despite the WOLLY WITH A BROLLY’s best effort we made it EURO 2008, now we face Croatia with the winner getting top spot of the Group

November 16th: Austria v England: Friendly ( Ernst - Happel - Stadian, Wein)

Before the game against Croatia I decided to play some of the fringe players and in truth they have given me abit of a headache on selection. We didn’t begin the game well as the players kept on giving possession away and if we were facing a tougher team we would have been punished. It was a dire game for the fans too watch but on the 37th minute the Austrian fans were going wild as some poor play let Wallner in to fire past Green far too easily. Just before the break Austria were two goals up as they fired again past Green but luckily for the team the assistant referee had raised his flag for an offside.

At half time I told my players that I wanted much more from them and that if they were trying to impress me they had failed.

The second half was just as poor as we failed to string any sort of move together but on the 53rd minute we managed an equaliser as captain for the game David Beckham fired in a great free kick after Walcott fell over an Austrian player. On the 69th minute I made four changes as James, Hibbert, Lampard and Owen all came on for Green, A.Cole, Walcott and Defoe respectably. Despite the changes we still struggled to get into the game but lady luck was shining on us tonight as on the 86th minute Owen won the game for us with a rasping effort from the edge of the area.

Austria 1 Wallner 37

England 2 Beckham 53, Owen 86

Man of Match: Hibbert ( England )

Booked; A.Cole 23, Woodgate 65

Attendance; 61956

Player Ratings:

GK: Green (6) sub 69 James (6)

RB; Richards (7)

LB: A.Cole (7) sub 69 Hibbert (8)

CB: Campbell (7)

CB: Woodgate (7)

MR; Beckham (cap) (8)

ML: Walcott (7) sub 69 Lampard (7)

MC: Butt (7)

MC: Lennon (7)

FC: Crouch (7)

FC: Defoe (7) sub 69 Owen (7)

Too say I wasn’t impressed is a bit of an understatement, we were dire and the fringe players have made me think whether or not I could trust them in the Euros if any of my First XI were injured or suspended

Hibbert MOTM

We're in trouble now!

LOL.....To be truthfull he did play very well, but it wasn't hard compared to how crap the rest of the team played.

November 21st: England v Croatia: Euro 2008 Qualifier ( Wembley )

The battle for top spot commences and it was Croatia who had the first effort as they broke clear of my defence to fire towards goal, but luckily for us Robinson was there to save well. Within a few minutes Croatia had another chance but there effort was poor and would of looked good at Twickenham. On the half hour we managed to score against the run of play as Owen slotted past the keeper after he managed to block Walcott’s rasping long range effort. After the goal we seemed to up the gears and we started to control the game. In truth it was a shame the referee blew for half time.

At half time I changed Gerrard for A. Taylor as Gerrard was struggling with a slight knock.

The second half was only six minutes old when we doubled our lead as Rooney fired in from the edge of the area with a thunderous volley. This seemed to kill the spirit of the Croatians and just after the hour we made it 3-0 with Owen getting his second of the game. We continued to press our advantage forward but on the 90th minute we were reduced to ten men after Hargreaves was sent off for a second yellow card, from the resulting free kick Croatia pulled a goal back but it was too little too late and we finished top of the group

England 3 Owen 30, 63, Rooney 53

Croatia 1 Leko 90

Man of Match: Owen ( England )

Booked: Hargreaves 34, 90 (Sent Off)

Attendance: 89402

Player Ratings;

GK: Robinson (8)

RB: G.Neville (7)

LB: Hibbert (7)

CB: R.Ferdinand (7)

CB: Terry (cap) (7)

MR: Walcott (7)

ML: Beckham (8) sub 78 Butt (6)

MC: Gerrard (6) sub 45 A. Taylor (7)

MC: Hargreaves (8)

FC: Rooney (7)

FC: Owen (8)

Final Group Standings:

Position¦   Information    ¦     Team          ¦Games ¦ Won¦ Drawn¦ Lost¦Goals¦ Goals ¦Points¦
       ¦                  ¦                   ¦Played¦    ¦      ¦     ¦ fOR ¦Against¦      ¦
--------¦------------------¦-------------------¦------¦----¦------¦-----¦-----¦-------¦------¦
 1st   ¦   Qualified      ¦     ENGLAND       ¦  12  ¦  9 ¦   2  ¦  1  ¦ 27  ¦   3   ¦  29  ¦
========¦==================¦===================¦======¦====¦======¦=====¦=====¦=======¦======¦
 2nd   ¦   Qualified      ¦     Croatia       ¦  12  ¦  7 ¦   4  ¦  1  ¦ 25  ¦  12   ¦  25  ¦
--------¦------------------¦-------------------¦------¦----¦------¦-----¦-----¦-------¦------¦  
 3rd   ¦                  ¦     Russia        ¦  12  ¦  7 ¦   3  ¦  2  ¦ 22  ¦  11   ¦  24  ¦ 
 4th   ¦                  ¦     Israel        ¦  12  ¦  6 ¦   2  ¦  4  ¦ 22  ¦  18   ¦  20  ¦ 
 5th   ¦                  ¦     FYR Macedonia ¦  12  ¦  2 ¦   3  ¦  7  ¦ 13  ¦  21   ¦   9  ¦ 
 6th   ¦                  ¦     Estonia       ¦  12  ¦  2 ¦   2  ¦  8  ¦  9  ¦  22   ¦   8  ¦
 7th   ¦                  ¦     Andorra       ¦  12  ¦  0 ¦   2  ¦ 10  ¦  8  ¦  39   ¦   2  ¦
--------¦------------------¦-------------------¦------¦----¦------¦-----¦-----¦-------¦------¦

Qualifiers for Euro 2008:

1st Seeds:

Austria (99) Hosts

Switzerland (46) Hosts

France (3)

Greece (17) Holders

2nd Seeds:

England (5)

Holland (6)

Italy (4)

Portugal (7)

3rd Seeds:

Croatia (10)

Czech Republic (12)

Germany (9)

Spain (8)

4th Seeds:

Romania (22)

Serbia (19)

Sweden (21)

Turkey (20)

Numbers in brackets () indicates World Rankings at time of writing

The easiest group for you should be:

Austria

England

Czech Republic

Romania

But looking at that, apart from Austria, you have got a job on your hands, Mr. Wilson! KUGTW!

December 1st: I have been asked to vote for World Footballer of the Year, My votes goes as follows:

1st: Kaka (AC.Milan / Brazil)

2nd: Silva (Valencia / Spain)

3rd: Sergio Aguero (Ath.Madrid / Argentina)

December 6th; The time all England fans have been waiting for has arrived as we find out who we will be facing in the Euro 2008 group stage, and its not good news as we face a tough group containing France, Germany and Turkey. A tough group for us but if we can get through the group we should be able to win the Tournament

The groups are as follows:

Group A; Austria, Portugal, Czech Republic, Sweden

Group B: Switzerland, Italy, Croatia, Romania

Group C: Greece, Holland, Spain, Serbia

Group D: France, ENGLAND, Germany, Turkey

As you can see Viper, dealt a real teaser of a group...

As you can see Viper, dealt a real teaser of a group...

A teaser doesn't define it! You'll be very lucky to pull off qualification from that group - though I guess the good thing is that you've avoided Croatia. England seem to be drawn with them absolutely everywhere atm...>_<

Good luck with EURO 2008 - England for the win!

I've got a couple of games to prepare my team, will have too see how we do when I get there

Ohh that is a group of death, I'm sure you'll pull through though mate.

Once I saw Germany come out the hat, I knew England would be in that group, sods law lol

January 1st 2008: The World Player of the Year has been decided and it will go to Silva of Valencia/SPAIN, 2nd place goes to Kaka AC.Milan/BRAZIL and finally 3rd goes to Diego Milto Zaragoza/ARGENTINA

January 25th:The groups have been drawn for the Qualifying Stage of the World Cup 2010

We have been seeded first and this has given us a quite good group as we will be facing Ukraine, Norway, Northern Ireland and Cyprus in the next two years

Febraury 2nd: England v Paraguay; Friendly (Wembley)

I gave a lot of my fringe players the chance to cement a place in the European Championship Squad. It was a very good game for the crowd to watch as both teams gave them an excellent match to watch. On the 3rd minute we opened the scoring as Agbonlahor fired in the first goal with a rasping effort from the edge of the area, but five minutes later we were pulled back level as Santa Cruz fired in the equaliser after Lescott let him get past far too easily. However the goal sprung my players up and we started to play some great football and on the 18th minute we came close to retaking the lead as J.Cole fired just wide of the post after sprinting clear of the defence. Nine minutes later though we did take the lead as Lampard fired past the onrushing keeper after Downing had sent him through the defence with a brilliant ball. We were in control and it wasn’t long till we tested there keeper again as Lampard had the chance to double his tally for the match but his shot went just over with a little help from the keeper. On the 44th minute we added a further goal as Hargreaves fired in from the edge of the area. However a minutes later Santa Cruz fired in a second for himself and Paraguay.

The second half started with a bang as after seven minutes Paraguay were back on level terms with Santa Cruz getting his hat trick, but my players didn’t let them celebrate long as three minutes later Owen rattled in his first of the game and our fourth. It was real entertainment for the fans and both teams continued to pile forward and on the 82nd minute the final goal of the game was scored as Owen rifled in our fifth of the game and gave us a very good 5-3 victory.

England 5 Agbonlahor 2, Lampard 27, Hargreaves 44, Owen 55, 82

Paraguay 3 Santa Cruz 8, 45, 52

Man of Match: Santa Cruz (Paraguay)

Booked; Hargreaves

Attendance: 66566

Player Ratings:

GK: Weaver (5) sub 45 Green (6)

RB: Johnson (7)

LB: Lescott (7) sub 45 Richards (7)

CB: Brown (6) sub 45 Woodgate (7)

CB: Terry (cap) (7)

MR: J.Cole (8)

ML: Downing (7) sub 45 Walcott (6)

MC: Hargreaves (7)

MC: Lampard (8)

FC: Crouch (6) sub 45 Owen (8)

FC: Agbonlahor (7)

March 26th: England v Sweden: Friendly (Wembley)

The last chance for me and the players before the Championships start, and my team knew what I expected and they delivered. Within eight minutes of the whistle we were a gaol up as Owen rattled in off the post after volleying home a great cross by Gerrard. Sweden looked very average and on the 13th minute we were within an inch of going two goals up as the Swedish keeper managed to divert the ball just wide of the upright. It was one way traffic as we completely out classed the Swede’s and on the 23rd minute we were denied the chance of a second goal by the brilliance of the Swedish keeper. However five minutes later he was left helpless by the power of Rooney’s effort which nearly burst the back of the net open.

The second half saw a few changes as I gave some of the other players a chance to prove themselves worthy of a place in my squad.

We were again the better team in the second half as all my players were playing brilliantly and on the 56th minute we got the third goal as one of the substitutes Defoe rifled home from six yards after a poor clearance by the Swedish defence left him with a virtual open net to fire into. We continued to press forward but unfortunately we failed to add to our tally and had to be content with a 3-0 victory

England 3 Owen 8, Rooney 28, Defoe 56

Sweden 0

Man of Match: Isakson (Sweden)

Booked: No English player

Attendance: 66575

Player Ratings:

GK: Robinson (8) sub 45 Weaver (7)

RB: G.Neville (7) sub 45 P.Neville (7)

LB: A.Cole (8)

CB: Terry (cap) (7)

CB: Richards (7)

MR: Wright-Phillips (7)

ML: Downing (8)

MC: Carrick (7) sub 45 Lampard (7)

MC: Gerrard (7)

FC: Rooney (7) sub 45 Defoe (7)

FC: Owen (7) sub 45 Agbonlahor (6)

I now have 74 days to prepare now the opening of Euro 2008

May 18th: The odds for Euro 2008 have been released and are as follows:

Italy 4-1 Fav

France 9-1

Germany 11-1

Spain 12-1

Holland, ENGLAND 14-1

Domestic and European Results:

Premiership Top Three:

1st: Arsenal 92pts

2nd: Chelsea 83pts

3rd: Liverpool 80pts

FA Cup: Chelsea 2 - 0 Aston Villa

League Cup: Arsenal 4 - 2 Sunderland

Community Shield: Manchester United 3 - 1 Chelsea

Champions League: Barcelona 2 - 1 Valencia

UEFA Cup: Fiorentina 4 - 3 Olympia (aet)

European Super Cup: AC.Milan 2 - 1 Sevilla

World Club Championship: AC.Milan 2 - 0 Boca

June 4th: I now had the task of choosing the 23 players I was going to take to European Football Championships 2008

Position    ¦ Name                  ¦ Squad ¦ Age  ¦ Caps ¦ Goals ¦      Club         ¦ 
           ¦                       ¦ Number¦      ¦      ¦       ¦                   ¦
============¦=======================¦=======¦======¦======¦=======¦===================¦
   GK      ¦ David James           ¦   12  ¦  37  ¦  35  ¦   0   ¦ Portsmouth        ¦
------------¦-----------------------¦-------¦------¦------¦-------¦-------------------¦
   GK      ¦ Paul Robinson         ¦    1  ¦  28  ¦  43  ¦   0   ¦ Tottenham Hotspur ¦
------------¦-----------------------¦-------¦------¦------¦-------¦-------------------¦
   GK      ¦ Nicky Weaver          ¦   13  ¦  29  ¦   2  ¦   0   ¦ Charlton Athletic ¦
------------¦-----------------------¦-------¦------¦------¦-------¦-------------------¦
   DRC     ¦ Wes Brown             ¦    3  ¦  28  ¦  13  ¦   0   ¦ Manchester United ¦
------------¦-----------------------¦-------¦------¦------¦-------¦-------------------¦
   DRC/WBR ¦ Gary Neville          ¦    2  ¦  33  ¦  89  ¦   0   ¦ Manchester United ¦
------------¦-----------------------¦-------¦------¦------¦-------¦-------------------¦
   DRL/DM  ¦ Phil Neville          ¦   14  ¦  31  ¦  59  ¦   0   ¦ Everton           ¦
------------¦-----------------------¦-------¦------¦------¦-------¦-------------------¦
   DRC/DM  ¦ Micah Richards        ¦   15  ¦  19  ¦   8  ¦   0   ¦ Manchester City   ¦
------------¦-----------------------¦-------¦------¦------¦-------¦-------------------¦
   DLC     ¦ Joleon Lescott        ¦   16  ¦  25  ¦   4  ¦   0   ¦ Everton           ¦
------------¦-----------------------¦-------¦------¦------¦-------¦-------------------¦
   DC      ¦ Anton Ferdinand       ¦    5  ¦  22  ¦   0  ¦   0   ¦ West Ham United   ¦
------------¦-----------------------¦-------¦------¦------¦-------¦-------------------¦
   DC      ¦ Rio Ferdinand         ¦   17  ¦  29  ¦  64  ¦   1   ¦ Manchester United ¦
------------¦-----------------------¦-------¦------¦------¦-------¦-------------------¦
   DC      ¦ John Terry (cap)      ¦    4  ¦  27  ¦  47  ¦   3   ¦ Chelsea           ¦
------------¦-----------------------¦-------¦------¦------¦-------¦-------------------¦
   D/WBL   ¦ Ashley Cole           ¦   18  ¦  27  ¦  61  ¦   0   ¦ Chelsea           ¦
------------¦-----------------------¦-------¦------¦------¦-------¦-------------------¦
   MRC     ¦ David Beckham         ¦    7  ¦  33  ¦  99  ¦  18   ¦ LA Galaxy         ¦
------------¦-----------------------¦-------¦------¦------¦-------¦-------------------¦
   AMRC    ¦ Steven Gerrard        ¦    6  ¦  28  ¦  62  ¦  12   ¦ Liverpool         ¦
------------¦-----------------------¦-------¦------¦------¦-------¦-------------------¦
   AMR     ¦ Shaun Wright-Phillips ¦   19  ¦  26  ¦  18  ¦   3   ¦ Chelsea           ¦
------------¦-----------------------¦-------¦------¦------¦-------¦-------------------¦
   AMR/FC  ¦ Theo Walcott          ¦    8  ¦  19  ¦   6  ¦   0   ¦ Arsenal           ¦
------------¦-----------------------¦-------¦------¦------¦-------¦-------------------¦
   AML     ¦ Stewart Downing       ¦   20  ¦  23  ¦  19  ¦   0   ¦ Middlesbrough     ¦
------------¦-----------------------¦-------¦------¦------¦-------¦-------------------¦
   AMC     ¦ Frank Lampard         ¦   11  ¦  29  ¦  59  ¦  13   ¦ Chelsea           ¦
------------¦-----------------------¦-------¦------¦------¦-------¦-------------------¦
   FC      ¦ Wayne Rooney          ¦    9  ¦  22  ¦  45  ¦  15   ¦ Manchester United ¦
------------¦-----------------------¦-------¦------¦------¦-------¦-------------------¦
   ST      ¦ Gabriel Agbonlahor    ¦   21  ¦  21  ¦   2  ¦   1   ¦ Aston Villa       ¦
------------¦-----------------------¦-------¦------¦------¦-------¦-------------------¦
   ST      ¦ Peter Crouch          ¦   22  ¦  27  ¦  21  ¦  12   ¦ Liverpool         ¦
------------¦-----------------------¦-------¦------¦------¦-------¦-------------------¦
   ST      ¦ Jermain Defoe         ¦   23  ¦  25  ¦  29  ¦   7   ¦ Tottenham Hotspur ¦
------------¦-----------------------¦-------¦------¦------¦-------¦-------------------¦
   ST      ¦ Michael Owen          ¦   10  ¦  28  ¦  91  ¦  48   ¦ Newcastle United  ¦
------------¦-----------------------¦-------¦------¦------¦-------¦-------------------¦

Hello, good reading so far! KUTGW!

How do you do the code?

for the table the code is [ CODE ] at the start and [/ CODE ] at the end of the table,, but don't leave a space between the brackets ,glad your enjoying the read

Thanks

good luck with the euros. Your bound to do better than mclaren

yeh he got there for starters!

Good luck from 'yours truly'.

Chees guys, hopefully I'll do you proud

June 8th: England v Germany; Euro 2008 Group Stage (Hypo Group Arena, Klagenfurt)

So it begins and with the perfect game as we faced old rivals Germany who will be hell bent on revenge after there defeat in my first game in charge. We couldn’t of asked for the start we got as within nine minutes we were a goal up as Michael Owen fired in to equal Bobby Charlton’s long standing goal scoring record for England. Germany looked as though they were still in the changing rooms as we controlled much of the first half and on the 23rd minute Owen had the chance to become England’s greatest ever goal scorer but his effort was well saved by the German keeper. On the 38th minute we doubled our lead as Downing broke his England duck with a great shot from distance. Germany looked shell shocked and just before the half time whistle we had the chance to kill the game off as Lampard fired just wide of the post.

The second half started poorly for us as within four minutes Germany had pulled a goal back via the left boot of Eberl. My players however came close to an immediate reply with a long range effort from Wright-Phillips which sailed just over the post but still had the German keeper scrambling across the net. On the 73rd minute we had to replace Owen who received a blow to the head when fighting for a corner. My players continued to pile forward and on the 81st minute we were punished as Germany countered us and Reitmaier fired in the equaliser and we had to share the points with our old rivals.

England 2 Owen 9, Downing 38

Germany 2 Eberl 49, Reitmaier 81

Man of Match: Robinson (England)

Booked; A.Cole, Gerrard, Lampard, Defoe, Rooney

Attendance: 31981

Player Ratings:

GK: Robinson (8)

RB: G.Neville (7)

LB; A.Cole (7)

CB: R.Ferdinand (7)

CB; Terry (cap) (6)

MR; Beckham (7) sub 45 Wright-Phillips (6)

ML: Downing (7)

MC: Lampard (7)

MC: Gerrard (7)

FC: Owen (8) inj sub 73 Agbonlahor (6)

FC: Rooney (7) sub 45 Defoe (6)

Injury News: Owen will miss around a week of action due to a concussion

Other Results: Romania 1 - 1 Croatia, France 3 - 1 Turkey

June 9th: Sweden 1 - 0 Austria, Portugal 2 - 2 Czech Republic

June 10th: Bad news on the injury front as David Beckham will be out of action for three weeks after injuring his knee in training, meaning he will miss the rest of the tournament.

Spain 2 - 1 Greece, Serbia 2 - 1 Holland

June 11th: Switzerland 4 - 3 Croatia

June 12th: Italy 0 - 0 Romania

typical lucky germans. Owen is a god

I know, the jammy bloody Germans lol...Owen is a legend even though he is a scouser he is a legend

I know, the jammy bloody Germans lol...Owen is a legend even though he is a scouser he is a legend

That's where you're wrong, mark. Michael Owen was actually born in Chester.

Anyway, KUGTW! And don't let that draw get you down - Germany are frustratingly annoying.

Never knew that about Owen...still he played for Liverpool and thats bad enough lol....theres me alienating all the Liverpool fans now...and me banned cos I think Terks one oooppppssss

KUTGW, I played as England not long back, and I got to the group stages, but instead of Germany I got Netherlands, and I er... didnt make it out of the group haha. Good luck mate.

cheers gavren, hopefully I can get further than the group stage

June 13th: England v Turkey: Euro 2008 Group Stage (St.Jakobspark, Basel)

My players knew we really needed to get all three points with this game, especially as we will be facing France in the final group match. We got off to a poor start as within eleven minutes we were behind to a cracker from Emre. Not the start I wanted but my players responded well as we started to test the Turkey defence a little more and on the 20th minute we came mighty close to scoring and would of done but for a world class save from the Turkish keeper. Unfortunately for the Turks there keeper wasn’t alert enough for our first goal as Rooney blasted in from 20 yards after being given far too much room. On the 35th minute the Turks were reduced to ten men after Altintop appeared to have elbowed Defoe to earn himself a straight red. The Turkish bench didn’t look too happy with the decision.

The second half was a little more lively as Turkey flew in with every tackle and on the 62nd minute one such tackle led to Lampard being fouled in the area. A.Cole stepped up for the kick and slotted home beautifully to give us the lead. We continued to pile forward as the Turks tired but the defence managed to hold on but we had already done enough to get all three points.

England 2 Rooney 28, A.Cole pen 62

Turkey 1 Emre 11

Man of Match; A.Cole (England)

Booked: Gerrard (misses next game), A.Cole (misses next game)

Attendance: 33299

Player Ratings:

GK: Robinson (6)

RB: G.Neville (7)

LB: A.Cole (8)

CB: R.Ferdinand (7)

CB: Terry (cap) (7)

MR: Wright-Phillips (7)

ML: Downing (7) sub 45 Walcott (7)

MC: Lampard (7)

MC: Gerrard (7)

FC: Defoe (6) sub 45 Crouch inj (6) sub 92 Agbonlahor (6)

FC: Rooney (7)

Other Results: France 3 - 0 Germany

June 14th: Czech Republic 1 - 0 Austria, Portugal 1 - 0 Sweden

June 15th; Spain 6 - 0 Holland, Greece 1 - 0 Serbia

June 16th: Italy 1 - 0 Croatia, Switzerland 2 - 0 Romania

June 17th: Austria 3 - 1 Portugal, Sweden 1 - 0 Greece

You beat T****y! I'm so happy for you

I think most people will be, there becoming more hated than the Germans lol

Indeed! I have since... that dreadful incident a few years ago

I know what ya ,mean

June 18th; England v France; Euro 2008 Group Stage (Hypo Group Arena, Klagenfurt)

We started really well as we controlled much of the play and on the 12th minute we came close to opening the scoring as Rooney fired into the hands of the keeper. Two minutes later we had another chance to score with Downing heading just wide from a Wright-Phillips free kick. We were all over the French and on the 27th minute we get the goal we deserved as Owen scored the goal which made him England’s all time greatest goal scorer. Five minutes later he had the chance to add a further goal to his tally but managed to fluff his effort when it was easier to score. On the 43rd minute the game saw another goal as Henry fired in to give France the equaliser. Our defending was a little suspect.

The second half was a complete different story as the French came out and dominated us and on the 65th minute we went behind as Henry again escaped my defence with some blistering pace to fire past Robinson. My players just seemed to have given up and on the 81st minute we went a further goal behind as Trezeguet fired in. I was disgusted with my players at full time I told them they were damn lucky to have qualified for the next stage.

England 1 Owen 27

France 3 Henry 43, 65, Trezeguet 81

Man of Match: Henry (France)

Booked: Lampard (misses next match), Owen, Rooney (misses next match)

Attendance; 31993

Player Ratings;

GK: Robinson (8)

RB: G.Neville (7)

LB: P.Neville (7)

CB: R.Ferdinand (7)

CB: Terry (cap) (7)

MR: Wright-Phillips (6) sub 45 Richards (6)

ML: Downing (7)

MC: Lampard (7)

MC: Walcott (7)

FC: Owen (7)

FC: Rooney (5)

Other Results: Holland 1 - 1 Greece, Spain 1 - 0 Serbia, Turkey 3 - 2 Germany

Euro 2008 Group Tables:

Group A:

Position¦   Information    ¦   Team           ¦Goal ¦Points¦ 
       ¦                  ¦                  ¦Diff ¦      ¦ 
--------¦------------------¦------------------¦-----¦------¦ 
 1st   ¦    Qualified     ¦   Sweden         ¦ + 1 ¦  6   ¦  
 2nd   ¦    Qualified     ¦   Czech Republic ¦   0 ¦  4   ¦  
--------¦------------------¦------------------¦-----¦------¦
 3rd   ¦                  ¦   Portugal       ¦ - 1 ¦  4   ¦  
 4th   ¦                  ¦   Austria        ¦   0 ¦  3   ¦ 
--------¦------------------¦------------------¦-----¦------¦

Group B:

Position¦   Information    ¦   Team           ¦Goal ¦Points¦
       ¦                  ¦                  ¦Diff ¦      ¦
--------¦------------------¦------------------¦-----¦------¦
 1st   ¦    Qualified     ¦   Italy          ¦ + 2 ¦  7   ¦
 2nd   ¦    Qualified     ¦   Switzerland    ¦ + 2 ¦  6   ¦
--------¦------------------¦------------------¦-----¦------¦
 3rd   ¦                  ¦   Romania        ¦ - 2 ¦  2   ¦
 4th   ¦                  ¦   Croatia        ¦ - 2 ¦  1   ¦
--------¦------------------¦------------------¦-----¦------¦

Group C:

Position¦   Information    ¦   Team           ¦Goal ¦Points¦
       ¦                  ¦                  ¦Diff ¦      ¦
--------¦------------------¦------------------¦-----¦------¦
 1st   ¦    Qualified     ¦   Spain          ¦ + 8 ¦  9   ¦
 2nd   ¦    Qualified     ¦   Greece         ¦   0 ¦  4   ¦
--------¦------------------¦------------------¦-----¦------¦
 3rd   ¦                  ¦   Serbia         ¦ - 1 ¦  3   ¦
 4th   ¦                  ¦   Holland        ¦ - 7 ¦  1   ¦
--------¦------------------¦------------------¦-----¦------¦

Group D:

Position¦   Information    ¦   Team           ¦Goal ¦Points¦
       ¦                  ¦                  ¦Diff ¦      ¦
--------¦------------------¦------------------¦-----¦------¦
 1st   ¦    Qualified     ¦   France         ¦ + 7 ¦  9   ¦
 2nd   ¦    Qualified     ¦   [b]ENGLAND[/b]        ¦ - 1 ¦  4   ¦
--------¦------------------¦------------------¦-----¦------¦
 3rd   ¦                  ¦   Turkey         ¦ - 2 ¦  3   ¦
 4th   ¦                  ¦   Germany        ¦ - 4 ¦  1   ¦
--------¦------------------¦------------------¦-----¦------¦

¼ Final Draw:

Switzerland v Sweden

Czech Republic v Italy

ENGLAND v Spain

France v Greece

June 19th: Switzerland 2 - 1 Sweden (aet)

June 20th: Czech Republic 2 - 1 Italy

Sounds like you got what you deserved. Oh well typical english i suppose always doing it the hard way.