United we Stand, United we Fall

[mark wilson27]

April 2nd: Manchester United v Lyon; Champions League 1/4 Final 1st Leg

We started well enough as we kept Lyon in there own half with some good passing and possesion play. It wasn't long till we had our first chance as Owen ran clear of the defence for him to only chip the ball over the keeper and the goal. We kept on with the pressure and soon we came close again with Tevez managing to miss the goal when it was easier to score. On the 26th minute we finally took the lead as Tevez made up for his earlier miss with a fine effort from 20 yards. However eleven minutes later we werepunished for some sloppy defending as Keita of Lyon fire a cracker into the net,.

At half time I was furious with my players for letting in a silly goal like that, I told them we needed to concentrate and try and get at least another goal to take to France.

The second half was a disaster as my players seemed to forget how to play football, Lyon were all over us and it wasn't long till they had taken the lead as Keita fired into an open net after Van Der Sar was rounded. It became a farce as we struggled to pentrate the Lyon team, even when they went down to ten men on the hour we still struggled to cause them any real trouble and we ended up giving ourselves a hell of a task of clawing two away goals back in France

Manchester United 1 Tevez 26

Lyon 2 Keita 37, 53

[mark wilson27]

April 6th: Manchester United v Aston Villa: FA Cup Semi Final (Wembley)

My players were well up for this tie, knowing a win would see them back at Wembley in around a months time.

We started really well as Villa were kept on the back foot. On the 11th minute we came close to opening the scoring asa mistake by the Villa keeper nearly saw Rooney volleying in. Luckily for Villa Rooney's effort went just over. We continued in the pursuit of the opening goal but it was Villa who did the honours as Moore slipped past Van Der Sar to make it 1-0 on the 24th minute. My players kept pressing forward and it wasn't long till we had the chance to equalise but Rooney's effort again went over.

The second half was much the same as we dominated for large spells and on the hour we came close again as Owen fired wide of the post. It looked like it was going to be one of those days especailly when we had a goal ruled out for offside. On the 82nd minute we gifted the tie to Villa as a mix up betweeen Ferdinand and Van Der Sar gave Moore the oppourtunity to make it 2-0 which he did with style

Manchester United 0

Aston Villa 2 Moore 24, 82

I was dissapointed with the way we lost the final goal and the way my team seemed unable to convert the numerous chances we had. We have now to put this behind us and try and find two away goals in France as we face Lyon in the Champions League 1/4 Final

[mark wilson27]

April 9th: Lyon v Manchester United; Champions League 1/4 Final 2nd leg (agg 1-2)

With us knowing a clear two goal win would give us any chance of going through to the semi's my players attacked from the start. Within a minute we nearly brought a goal back as Tevez headed wide of the upright. Lyon then came close as they counter attacked us well.Luckily for us Van Der Sar was awake enough to tip it round the post. The resulting corner gave us the chance to pull a goal back as we countereed Lyon but Rooney fluffed his chance. It was becoming end to end football, we managed to break the deadlock on the half hour as Rooney fired in from short range to make us level with Lyon on aggregate but it wasn't enough for us to go through. My players knew this and piled forward in search of that elusive goal and we thought it had come on the 44th minute as Tevez ran clear of the defence to slot past the keeper but the assistant ref put his flag up (very late might I say).

The half time interval I went told my players to keep going for it and continue how we were playing.

The second half started fiercly as we piled forward at every chance, on the hour we rattled the upright as Nani fired in a great freekick from 20 yards. We were all over Lyon but failed to score and we went out of Europe due to the bloody away goal rule

Lyon 0

Manchester United 1 Rooney 30

Lyon advance on the away goal rule (agg 2-2)

[mark wilson27]

April 12th: Manchester United v Arsenal

Arsenal were out of the title race but this would not stop them from trying to wreck our hopes.

They started very well as after a mere 2 minutes they had Van Der Sar at full stretch. We hadn't gotten off the blocks yet as they fired in several good effrots with the first ten minutes. Yet against the run of play we went a goal up as Tevez managed to clear the Arsenal defence to slot past the onrushing keeper. Soon after the goal Arsenal got back into there stride and started to attack us, this time there was more venom and Van Der Sar was probably our most active player on the pitch. Just before the break they rattled the post after Ferdinand had slipped. We were living on a knife edge. I have never been so happy to hear the referee's whistle.

At the break I told my players they needed to step up a gear and pull there god damn fingers out. I changed the formation to a 4-5-1. With the hope that we can stifle there midfield play

The second half began well enough for us as we got huge bit of luck with a well struck shot by Carrick that bobbled past the bewildered Arsenal keeper.(One for the Nick Hancock football nightmares dvd). Despite this Arsenal kept on coming and piled on an immense amount of pressure. With 15 minutes left in the game I changed the formation again to a 5-4-1. It was real backs against the wall job as Arsenal pounded my team, but somehow we held onto the win and we were a step closer to the title.

Manchester United 2 Tevez 13, Carrick 54

Arsenal 0

I wasn't pleased with how my team performed and let them know after the game, the only player exempt from the rollocking was Van Der Sar who had saved our bacon a dozen times or more just in the the first half.

[mark wilson27]

April 16th: Manchester City v Manchester United

A win would give us the Premiership title after Chelsea had lost to Blackburn earlier in the day. My players knew this and I told them what a better place to do it than on the home turf of our fiercest rivals.

It was Man.City who started the better as my players seemed to have ignored everything I said and decided to play like a bunch of Sunday leaguers. On the 10th minute we went a goal down as Vassell fired home after Ferdinand's very poor back pass was intercepted and fired past a helpless Van Der Sar. It didn't get any better as nine minutes later we went a further goal behind after Dunne fired in a great penalt after Silvestre ahd stupidly fouled Vassell. The only saving grace was that the referee didn't send him off. We were all over the palce and our poor play continued as we were ripped apart. On the 39th minute we three don as Samaras headed in from a corner after Van Der Sar had tipped a shot round the post.

I was furious with my team at half time, I couldn't belive how poorly they were playing and let them know that they were an embarressment.

The team talk seemed to work as in the second half we upped it a gear and started to play like proper footballers. On the 57th minute we managed to pull a goal back as Hargreaves fired in from 10 yards after a great through ball by Carrick. Tne minutes later we pulled a further goal back as Rooney dipped his shoulder to outwit the City keeper. City then came close to pulling further in front as Vassell again fired towards goal. Luckily Silvestre was there to make an amazing last ditch block. We kept on piling forward and was rewarded with an equaliser as Tevez headed in on the 83rd minute. However this relaxed my playres for some reason and City began to come back into it and on the 90th minute we were reduced to ten men after Carrick earnt himself a second yellow card for a silly foul on Dunne. From the resulting freekick City made it 4-3 as Afellay volleyed in the dead ball. I couldn't believe it, yet the scoring wasn't finished as on the 94th minute we equalised again as Rooney fired in from 25 yards. An absolute corker of a match for the fans but I was far from happy.

Manchester City 4 Vassell 10, Dunne pen 19, Samaras 39, Afellay 90*

Manchester City 4 Hargreaves 57, Rooney 67, 90, Tevez 83

( * = 1st to score )

[mark wilson27]

April 19th: Birmingham City v Manchester United

A point would give us the title, but I wanted to get the title with a resounding victory.

Birmingham weren't going to sit back and let us get anything as they battled well against us. On the 12th minute they came close to opening the scoring as they rattled the post with a thunderous effort from 20 yards. We couldn't seem to be able to muster any sort of shot as Birminghams defence held firm against us. W ehad to wait till the 34th minute to get our first effort on target as Rooney fired just wide of the upright. Yet against the run of play we took the lead as Ronaldo headed in brilliantly from 6 yards from a Nani corner.

The second half started with us attacking alot more than what we did in the first half. On the hour we almost doubled our lead as Rooney again was guilty of some wastefull finishing. Birmingham were still in the game as they tested Van Der Sar on numerous occasions and on the 74th minute they got past him as Jasorik fired in from short range to give Birmingham a well deserved piont, but more importnatly it gave us the Premiership title.

Birmingham City 1 Jasorik 74

Manchester United 1 Ronaldo 45

My players celebrate on the pitch and some of our travelling fans joined them. We still had a few games left to play and I wanted us to end the season emphatically.

In the changing room I congratulated the players for there Title win but to0ld them that we can celebrate properly when the season has finished and lets concentrate on the remaining games

[mark wilson27]

April 26th: Manchester United v Wigan Athletic

A full house came to see the newly crowned Premiership Champions and we gave them a great match to watch. We were all over Wigna from the start and on the 13th minute we went into the lead as Tevez headed home from a Ronaldo corner. Three minutes later Tevez came close with a rasping effort which was well saved by the Wigan keeper. We were in complete control of the game and on the 26th minute veteran Giggs rattled in from 18 yards. It got even better as four minutes later Ronaldo fired in a trade mark 20 yard free kick in after Tevez was fouled on his way to goal. Wigan weren't getting a sniff of the ball and just before the break we made it 4-0 as Ronaldo again fired in but it was ruled out for a push on the Wigan defender.

The second half started as quickly as the first did as we ripped Wigan apart, It took us till the 65th minute to add to our total as substitute Nani rifled in a shot from 15 yards. We were rampant, Wigan didn't even get a shot off all match and on the 79th minute we completed the rout with Nani heading from a Ronaldo cross.

Manchester United 5 Tevez 13, Giggs 26, Ronaldo 30, Nani 54, 79

Wigan Athletic 0

April 28th: Park Ji Sung will be leaving us for Villareal on the 1st July for a fee of £3,900,000. I decided to let him go as he wasn't getting the first team oppourtunities he deserved.

May 1st: More transfer news see's Loui Saha agreeing terms with Aston Villa. He will be leaving us on the 1st July for a fee of £4,400,000.

The club accountant also informed me that we made a profit of £262,000

[mark wilson27]

May 4th: Sunderland v Manchester United

God knows what happened in this game. Sunderland dominated us from the start as my whole team seemed to disappear. We however got the first shot off as Tevez rattled the crossbar from 6 yards but after that it was all Sunderland. They started the scoring on the 23rd minute as Jones fired in from the edge of the area to give them a deserved lead. They continued to dominate and it wasn't long till they tested Van Der Sar again as Jones again fired in, but our keeper managed to fluke the save. On the 45th minute we went a further goal behind as Higginbottom fired in from short range after a terrible mix up in defence.

At half time I let the players stew over there performance. I couldn't put it into words how p*ssed off I was.

The second half was no different as Sunderland ran riot over my team. It was only due to there poor finishing that we didn't lose by a cricket score. They managed to get one more goal as Stokes fired in on the 84th minute to complete a well deserved 3-0 win.

Sunderland 3 Jones 23, Higginbottom 45, Stokes 84

Manchester United 0

After the game I could only apologise to fans for what they had paid to watch.

May 10th: Second choice Kuszcak has agreed terms with Portsmouth and will be joining them on 1st July for a fee of £3,400,000

My players must now prepare for the last game of the season against funnily enough Portsmouth at Old Trafford where we finally get to lift the Trophy we won a few weeks ago.

[mark wilson27]

May 11th: Portsmouth v Manchester United

I told the play the match like any other and then we can celebrate with the fans later.

We started well enough as after only seven minutes we were a goal up as Owen rifled in after some show boating by Ronaldo. It wasn't long till we went further in front as Owen again fired in to make it 2-0. We looked very confident, but maybe too over confident as on the 19th minute Portsmouth pulled a goal back to make it 2-1. Portsmouth started get into the game abit more and tested Kuszcak, he showed them what they will be getting next season with some fine saves.

The second half started well as within 14 minutes we had got our two goal cushion back as Ronaldo fired in from 25 yards after the Portsmouth defence left him with acres of room. Portsmouth came close to pulling another goal back but yet again Kuszcak was there to deny them. A good win and a good way to end the season.

Manchester United 3 Owen 7, 14, Ronaldo 59

Portsmouth 1 Utaka 19

We finally got our hands onto the Premiership Trophy and team captain Gary Neville lifted it high and we paraded it round Old Trafford. The players were on the pitch for a long while celebrating with the fans that stayed behind. I told the players to enjoy themselves. Now for next season!!!

May 12th: With a few sore heads me and my players went to the end of season awards bash. It ended up being a very good night for me and some of the players.

The awards panned out as follows:

Footballer of the Year:

1st: Fabregas (Arsenal)

2nd: Rooney (Man.Utd)

3rd: Tevez (Man.Utd)

Top Scorers:

1st: Rooney (Man.Utd)

2nd: Utaka (Portsmouth)

3rd: Tevez (Man.Utd)

Players Player of the Year:

1st: Giggs (Man.Utd)

2nd: Berbatov (Tottenham)

3rd: Alonso (Reading)

Goal of the Season:

Carlos Tevez v Man.City (Nov 24th)

Players Team of Year:

Ferdinand, Ronaldo, Giggs, Rooney, Tevez, Van Der Sar

May 14th: This seasons UEFA Cup will be heading for Germany as Bayern Munich won Palermo 2-0

May 17th: The FA Cup has been won by Aston Villa in a thrilling match which went to extra time. Villa eventually beat Reading 4-2 after 120 minutes.

May 21st: The Champions League was an all Italian affair as AC.Milan beat arch rivals and neighbours Inter Milan 2-1.

May 22nd: The awards for the Champions League saw Kaka (AC.Milan) win best player with Keita (Lyon) getting the runners up spot and Ronaldo (Man.Utd) getting third.

Ferdinand and Ronaldo were named in the best eleven for this seasons Cahmpions League

Season Summary: All in all I was very happy with my first season in charge at United, but I want my players to improve on European games as I thought some of the games we were alittle lack lustre. Plus some of the performances against the lower teams in the Premiership were not up to standard.

[mark wilson27]

Authors Note: Premiership table will be posted once I work out how to do it.

[mark wilson27]

Removed table due to coding error

[mark wilson27]

Competition Summary:

Premiership: Champions

FA Cup: Semi Finals

League Cup: Winners

Community Shield: Winners

Champions League: 1/4 Final

Top Scorers:

Rooney 35

Tevez 34

Owen 28

Ronaldo 16

Nani 7

Hargreaves 4

Giggs, Scholes, Ferdinand, Carrick 3

Saha 2

Anderson, O'Shea 1

[Spav]

League Champions \o/ I wouldn't have expected anything less, Mark.

[mark wilson27]

table removed due to coding error

[mark wilson27]

table removed

[mark wilson27]

Player Evaluations:

Van Der Sar: Played 54 Goals 0 Av.Rat 6.96: Average season and I will be looking for a replacement in the near future

Kuszcak: Played 6 (1) Goals 0 Av.Rat 6.71: Was back up for Van Der Sar and will be leaving us in July

O'Shea: Played 22 (1) Goals 1 Av.Rat 6.70: Very average season but was consistent. Will have to have a better season next year to stay in my plans

Brown: Played 11 (3) Goals 0 Av.Rat 6.86: Played well when called upon and will feature more in the next season

Neville: Played 49 Goals 0 Av.Rat 6.98: Performed well as Captain and did everything required apart from score

Silvestre: Played 51 Goals 0 Av.Rat 6.90: Was star player at start of season but had a huge dip of form towards the end of the season

Ferdinand: Played 59 Goals 3 Av.Rat 6.95: Did brilliantly and added goals to the team, was very happy with him

Hargreaves: Played 35 (3) Goals 4 Av.Rat 7.00: Very steady in midfield and provided the team with a good but very quiet performer

Fletcher: Played 12 (5) Goals 0 Av.Rat 7.00: Did well when called upon but couldn't get ionto team due to form of other midfielders

Carrick: Played 25 (4) Goals 3 Av.Rat 7.17: Very good season and did well in keeping the team steady but could do with adding to his goal tally

Ronaldo: Played 51 (1) Goals 16 Av.Rat 7.13: Excellent season and contributed with alot of goals to the team

Nani: Played 19 (11) Goals 7 Av.Rat 7.03: Played very well and was consistent all season

Ji - Sung: Played 5 (1) Goals 0 Av.Rat 7.00: Played well when called upon but is one of the players leaving in July

Giggs: Played 42 Goals 3 Av.Rat 7.14: Great season but age is showing as his stamina to last a full ninety minutes has been evident during some games

Anderson: Played 18 (7) Goals 1 Av.Rat 7.16: Great first season at club, but will have to patient for first team chances

Scholes: Played 29 (5) Goals 3 Av.Rat 7.09: Solid as ever but age is beginning to show and will figure less in the next season with the likes of Anderson and Nani coming through

Tevez: Played 46 (4) Goals 34 Av.Rat 7.18: Brilliant first season and led from the front, Vital goals when needed and all in all an excellent first season with the club

Rooney: Played 43 (6) Goals 35 Av.Rat 7.29: Great season like Tevez, first name on the team sheet

Owen: Played 29 (18) Goals 28 Av.Rat 7.04: Paid every penny of the £10,000,000 spent on him.

Saha: Played 2 (3) Goals 2 Av.Rat 7.00: Didn't stand a chance with Owen, Tevez and Rooney in the squad, I wish him all the luck with Villa

[mark wilson27]

June 1st: The clubs accountant has informed me that we made a profit of £25,910,000.

June 8th: Transfer news see's defenders Silvestre joing Juventus on July 1st for £5,500,000

June 18th: Injury news see's two of our strikers injured on International duty, as Owen will be out for around a month after pulling him hamstring muscle. Rooney will be out for alot longer as he will be missing for up to 3 months after injuring his hip.

June 19th: Despite his injury Rooney will happy to know that the fans have voted him as there Player of the Season.

June 29th: The European Championships 2008 have been won by France after beating Germany in a classic final, with the score ending 5-3.

[mark wilson27]

July 1st: With the transfer window opening there is alot of activity around Old Trafford as I decide to clear some players out in readiness for bringing in my own crop.

Louis Saha leaves us for Aston Villa for £4,400,000.

Kuszcak leaves us for Portsmouth for £3,400,000

Silvestre leaves us for Juventus for £5,500,000

The Silvestre tranfers has caused some rumblings amongst fans but I am confident I can replace him with some of the upcoming youngsters, plus his contract was up next season and he ahd signalled he wasn't going to sign a new one unless I offered him silly money and I wasn't going to do that for in affect a player with only a few years left in the tank

July 2nd: The club accountant has informed me that we made a good profit of £27,630,000. This has given the board the oppoutunity to raise my transfer kitty alot.

Other transfer news see's Park Ji - Sung leave us for Villereal in a deal worth £3,900,000

July 10th: More transfer news see's two arrivals from Brazil as Fabio and Rafael join us from Fluminense for a fee of £1,200,000 each. These two were pre signed by Sir Alex Ferguson so no doubt they will be class players.

July 12th: Our first friendly of the pre season as we embark on a tour of Belguim, Our first game is against Club Brugge who we brush aside 2-0 with goal coming from Tevez and Nani. None of the players who played in the recent Euro Championships played in this match as I wanted to give them at least one more days rest. It also gave me the chance to look at some of the reserve players. One of which was Fabian Brandy who impressed with some very good touches in and around the box

July 17th: The second game of the tour saw us face Genk. We made short work of them as we completely dominated. My international players who I rested all came back and showed no ill affects of the long season. Scholes, Owen and Ferdinand all scored to give us a good 3-0 win.

July 18th: The odds for the forthcoming season ahve been released and we have been made 7-4 favourites.

July 19th: Our next game was against a tough Anderlecht team and it showed as they battled away for all the ninety minutes, but a single strike by Ronaldo was good enough to earn us the victory.

July 21st: The final game of the tour and our pre season was against KV Mechelen, yet another tough game saw us win again 1-0 as Scholes showed some class with a deft chip over the keeper.

Now we had a couple of weeks hard training ahead of us to get us ready for the season opener at Wembley against Aston Villa

[viperk1]

Was a great season, Mark!

Btw, how come Portsmouth got into the Inter-toto and not Man City?

Very impressed with Middlesbrough's UEFA Cup qualification - especially considering the situation they're in on my Sheff Utd story...^_^

[Cougar2010]

Originally posted by viperk1:

Was a great season, Mark!

Btw, how come Portsmouth got into the Inter-toto and not Man City?

Very impressed with Middlesbrough's UEFA Cup qualification - especially considering the situation they're in on my Sheff Utd story...^_^

You have to apply for the Inter-toto, Man City didn't apply seemingly.

[mark wilson27]

Viper, cougar answered your question for me, they mustn't of applied. Even my Man.Utd team gets asked I think during March or April..I always say no unless Im doing that crap in the league etc....

Was a great season but I was slightly disspaointed by some of my so called big named players so I got rid like Silvestre, Evra etc

[mark wilson27]

August 1st: The club accountant has informed me yet another profitable month as we made £31,830,000

Manchester United v Aston Villa: Community Shield (Wembley)

The season opener saw us face FA Cup winners and the team that beat us in the semi's Aston Villa. I was expecting a close game yet on the 3rd minute we had already gone a goal up as Owen latched onto a great ball by Anderson to fire past the Villa keeper, we were by far the better team as we piled in shot after shot in the opening minutes yet it was Villa who fired in the next goal as Gardner headed past Van Der Sar to give Villa an undeserved equaliser. Luckily for us Villa were to busy celebrating between themselves to notice the game had restarted and within a couple fo minutes we had gone back into the lead as Anderson rifled in a peach of a shot from 25 yards to send our fans wild. The rest of the half was all us as we dominated what was a very average Villa team.

The second half was much the same as we piled forward at every oppurtunity and on the 59th minute we went 3-1 up as Tevez headed in from a Fabio cross. Villa were looking very poor and to be truthful unfit. Yet we had to wait till late in the game as Wes Brown made it 4-1 with a complete fluke as his cross managed to sneak into the top corner. He looked more shocked than the Villa keeper.

Manchester United 4 Owen 3, Anderson 19, Tevez 59, Brown 89

Aston Villa 1 Gardner 17

A great start to the season and I let the players enjoy the moment but they all knew the season was going to be a long hard slog

[mark wilson27]

Authors note/apology: The Community Shield game was held on the 3rd August not the 1st as stated

[mark wilson27]

August 14th: Injury news see's us without Van Der Saar for a couple of weeks after spraining his wrists in training. Not the news I wanted especially with our first game being against Arsenal at Old Trafford

August 17th: Manchester United v Arsenal

With Van Der Sar injured I decided it was time to give Ben Foster a run out.

We started well as we passed the ball brilliantly and it was a great pass which set the first goal up as Tevez rounded the Arsenal keeper to make it 1-0. Just the start we needed and two minutes later it could of been better but Tevez somehow managed to miss an open net. On the 20th minute we were made to pay for the misses as Arsenal equalised as Toure fired in from 15 yards. The game was becoming end to end stuiff and on the 25th minute we made it 2-1 as Owen rattled in from short range, Unfortunatly two minutes later we conceded again as Behrami headed in from 10 yards after we failed to clear a corner. The game was still wide open and on the half hour Arsenal came close to taking the lead but a great tackle by Brown denied them the chance. Yet on the 39th minute we lost the lead as a mistake by Rafael cost us the goal.

The second half was in contrast dire as Arsenal and my team seemed to struglle with anything like football. It wasn't the start I wanted to the season but at least we've got another 37 league games to redeem this poor game

Manchester United 2 Tevez 11, Owen 25

Arsenal 3 Toure 20, Behrami 27, Bendtner 39

[Spav]

Sack the manager!!

[mark wilson27]

To right a disgusting result lol....cheers for the vote of confidence Spav

[mark wilson27]

August 20th: Watford v Manchester United

After the crap against Arsenal I wanted my players to respond well and poor Watford felt the full force of the back lash as we destroyed them.

Within nine minutes we had taken the lead as Tevez made it three goals in three games with a brilliant long range effort which went in off the bottom of the post. A minute later the same player nearly doubled his and our tally but his effort scraped the same post and went out for a goal kick. We only had to wait till the 20th minute for the next goal as Owen slotted past the Watford keeper after a mix up in the Watford defence. It didn't get any bette for Watford as two minutes later Owen made it 3-0 with a scuffed finish which bobbled in. It was very one sided and we went into the half time break without letting Watford have a shot.

The second half was much the same as the first as we dominated from start to finish, we added a fourth goal on the 57th minute as Anderson fired in a great freekick from 25 yards after Owen was fouled on the way to goal. Owen then came close to completing his hat trick on the 75th minute as he beat the Watford offside trap but his effort went past the keeper but wide. It was on the 90th minute when we completed the rout as Anderson headed in from 6 yards from a Giggs corner. This was just the response I wanted from my players

Watford 0

Manchester United 5 Tevez9, Owen 20, 22, Anderson 57, 90

I was very happy with my team and especaily my attack who look like there coping without Rooney very well, next up is a trip to Goodison Park to face Everton

[mark wilson27]

August 23rd: Everton v Manchester United

We were on a high after the good result against Watford and it showed as my players went straight at Everton, it wasn't long till we tested there keeper as Tevez headed wide after a great cross by Giggs.We had to wait though till the 25th minute to open the scoring as Owen continued his fine run of scoring with a well placed ball to the left of the keeper. Unfortunetly our concentration let us down as five minutes later Cahill made it 1-1 with a shot which was just out of Fosters reach. The game inaffect ended on the 38th minute as Everton were reduced to ten men after Tevez was pulled down on his way to goal and the referee showed the red card to Lescott. The red card was alittle harsh.

The second half was dire as Everton pulled all there remaining men back behind the ball and my players were begininng to get frustrated and it was Carrick who let it come out as he was sent off for a two footed lunge on P.Neville. What was more annoying was that he was a half time subsitute. After the sending off we couldn't get our rythmn back and the game ended in a draw.

Everton 1 Cahill 30

Manchester United Owen 25

August 27th: The Champions League Groups have been draw and we will be facing Spartak Moscow, Galatasary and the team that kncoked us out last season Lyon

August 29th: Transfer news see's Real Zaragoza's Pablo Aimar join us for a fee of £20,500,000. I was very happy with the signing after spending much of last season trying to capture him

This seasons European Super Cup has been won by AC.Milan after a great 3-1 win over Bayern Munich

[Desmond-Norman mcphilfords]

great season mark, really enjoying it. must say though you're selling a lot of defenders

[mark wilson27]

Was a very good season Desmond, I know Ive sold alot of defenders but we have alot in the reserves who are more than capable of moving up.

[mark wilson27]

August 30th: The FA have informed me that Carrick will serve an extra two match suspension for his sending off against Everton.

The League Cup 3rd Round draw has taken place and we face a home tie with Premiership rivals Chelsea.

Manchester United v Coventry City

We dominated Coventry from the start but for all our domination we struggled to find the net. Within the first 15 minutes we had tested the Coventry keeper on numerous occasions and he managed to keep us out. Yet on the 21st minute he was unfortunate with Ronaldo's shot which bounced awkwardly for him and we were a goal up. We tried our best to add to the goal but just couldn't get past there keeper. On the 37th minute debutant Aimar came close with a cracking long range effort which rattled the crossbar, but noone was there to fire in the rebound. On the 40th minute we doubled our lead as Aimar's throughball was slotted home by Ronaldo.

The second half was much as the first was as we peppered the Coventry area with shot after shot but we couldn't add to our tally and the game ended 2-0. Rightly so the Coventry keeper was given the man of the match award for his excellent performnce and in truth he didn't deserve to be on the losing side.

Manchester United 2 Ronaldo 21, 40

Coventry City 0

[mark wilson27]

September 1st: The club accountants have informed me that we made a loss of £22,110,000. Alot to lose but with the signing of Aimar I knew we would

September 10th: The odds for the Champions League have been released and we have been quoted at 10-1 with AC.Milan 5-1 favourites

[Devilschyld]

Erm you got rid of Evra and Silvestre who are you playing on the left?

[mark wilson27]

DevilsChyld its a mixture between Rafael and O'Shea, but mainly O'Shea due to his experience

[mark wilson27]

September 13th: Bolton Wanderers v Manchester United

We started the better against Bolton as we kept possesion alot better, it wasn't long till we had our first effort as Tevez came close with a rasping effort from 20 ayrds which the Bolton keeper just managed to tip round the post. From the resulting corner Ronaldo headed stright into the keepers hands. We had to wait till the 40th minute to open the scoring as Rooney fired in from the edge of the area to give us a deserved lead.

The second half started with Botlon rattling the upright from 10 yards after a mix up in defence on our part. On the 63rd minute we doubled our lead as Owen fired in. Yet he got himself sent off eight minutes later after a silly two footed lunge on the Bolton defender. I was furious that he could be so stupid especailly with all his experience. Despite the sending off we were still the better team and we rounded the game off with Ronaldo firing in our third goal on the 84th minue, Agood win but it was tarnished by Owens stupidity.

Bolton Wanderers 0

Manchester United 3 Rooney 40, Owen 63, Ronaldo 84

[mark wilson27]

September 17th: Manchester United v Spartak Moscow; Champions League Group Stage

We got off to the perfect start as after only three minutes we were a goal up as Tevez headed in from short range. Spartak then almost immediatly equalised as they rattled our crossbar after a speculative shot evaded Van Der Sar. On the 24th minute Spartak scored but unfortunatly it was for us as Starkov put through his own net after trying to block a Ronaldo cross. After the goal we seemed to relax and it cost us as on the 38th minute Pavlyuchenko fired in from short range to bring Spartak back into the game.

The second half was alittle tighter for us as we had to take alot of pressure from Spartak but luckily for us there finishing wasn't up too much. We killed the game off in the 90th minute as Tevez fired in after a great ball from Ronaldo split the Spartak defence open.

Manchester United 3 Tevez 2, 90, Starkov og 24

Spartak Moscow 1 Pavlyuchenko 38

September 20th: The FA have informed me that Owen will serve an extra two match ban for his sending off versus Bolton Wanderers

[mark wilson27]

September 21st: Manchester United v Portsmouth

An enthralling game saw both my team and Portsmouth entertain the fans, it was portsmouth who found the net first but luckily for us the assistant referee had his flag up for offside. A huge slice of luck as the player looked clearly onside to me. The luck stayed with us as on the 45 th minute we took the lead as Rooneys speculative effort managed to find its way past the Portsmouth keeper.

The second half started well for Portsmouth as on the 57th minute they equalised as Gouffrans headed past the diving Van Der Sar. It was becoming end to end stuff and on the 69th minute we retook the lead as Nani taopped in after the Portsmouth keeper spilt Rooneys effort. Despite this Portsmouth wouldn't bow down and they came at with more vengeance and on the 80th minute they equalised again as kranjcar fired in from 15 yards. On the 89th minute the game was decided as Taylor fouled Tevez in the area, Ronaldo stepped up and fired in the winning penalty. I had too feel alittle sorry for Portsmouth who deserved something from the game.

Manchester United 3 Rooney 45, Nani 69, Ronaldo pen 89

Portsmouth 2 Gouffran 57, Kranjcar 80

After the Owen sending off against Bolton and the 2 match extra ban he recieved I had decided to appeal the lengh of the ban after reviewing the video and to my shock the FA have reduced the ban to only one match

[tenthreeleader]

Originally posted by mark wilson27:

After the Owen sending off against Bolton and the 2 match extra ban he recieved I had decided to appeal the lengh of the ban after reviewing the video and to my shock the FA have reduced the ban to only one match

Yah, United get all the breaks

Glory glory!

[mark wilson27]

Its the first time Ive seen this happen on any CM or even FM game...

[mark wilson27]

September 24th: Manchester United v Chelsea; League Cup 3rd Round

A tough 3rd Round tie saw us get demolished by a rampant Chelsea side, they were all over from the start. Yet it was us that had the first effort as Tevez leapt for the ball from a Ronaldo corner. His effort went just wide and he stayed down after a clash of heads. Unfortunelty he had to be repalced. Chelsea came at us some more and on the 26th minute we went behind as Ferreira headed in the opener. I was furious with the lack of marking on him and my mood didn't improve as three minutes later we went two goals down as Pandev slotted past Van Der Sar. At half time I told my players they were an embaressment and needed to improve a hell of alot.

The second half didn't get off to the best of start as after only six minutes I had to replace Ronaldo who fell awkwardly whilst challenging for the ball. This killed any flow my team had and my players heads seemed to fall. On the 71st minute Chelsea secured the empthatic win as Lampard rattled in from long range. A tough defeat to take due to the complete lack of performance by any of my players

Manchester United 0

Chelsea 3 Ferriera 26, Pandev 29, Lampard 71

Injury News: Tevez will be out for around a week with concussion.

Ronaldo will be missing for up to a month after spraining his ankle

[mark wilson27]

September 27th; Newcastle United v Manchester United

We got off to a poor start as after only eight minute Newcastle sent there fans wild as Martins fired in the opener. I couldn't believe it and it wasn't long till Newcastle tested our keeper again as they fired towards goal on the 12th minute, luckily Van Der Sar managed to tip the ball round the post. On the half hour Newcastel came close again but this time O'Shea was on hand to save our bacon. Just before the break we should've gone two goals down as the assistant referee raised his flafg for offside after Viduka had scored. Everyone in the ground could see he was onside.

I was furious with the players at half time especially that we hadn't mustered a single effort in the first 45 minutes of the game.

The second half started with Newcastle coming at us some more and it wasn't lnog till we came close to losing another goal as Martins headed just wide after Ferdinand failed to pick him up at a corner. However against the run of play we managed an equaliser as Owen scored against his former club on the 63rd minute. The goal somewhat flattered us. Our joy though was short lived as Newcastel regained there lead on the 77th minute as Emre fired in a great freekick from 20 yards after Ferdinand fouled Butt on the edge of the area.

Newcastle looked in control and on the 82nd minute they should of gone further in front but Van Der Sar managed to tip the ball round the post. From the resulting corner we clear well and started a counter attack resulting in an Owen shot being turned over. The corner led to us equalising again against the run of play. Ferdinand headed in he coerner to make amends for some of the errors he's made this game. It got even better for us as we scraped home a winner on the 85th minute as Rooney fired in speculaitve effort to give us a very underserved three points.

Newcastle United 2 Martins 8, Emre 77

Manchester United 3 Owen 63, Ferdinand 83, Rooney 85

Despite the win I was furious with the players efforts against Newcastle and told them if they are going to play like this anymore they can all go and look for new clubs because I wasn't going to put it with this shi#t anymore

[mark wilson27]

September 30th: Lyon v Manchester United; Champions League Group Stage

My players wanted revenge for being dumped out of last seasons Champions League by Lyon and were well up for the game.

It showed as we peppered the Lyon area in the first half on the 8th minute we had our first effort on target as Owen fired straight into the keepers armns. On the 14th minute we took the lead as Owen got his aim right and fired past the Lyon keeper to give us a deserved 1-0 lead. It wasn't long till we came close again as Tevez headed just wide of the upright. Lyon looked out of the game as they struggled to get anything of the ball, yet it was them who finished the half on a high as Fred somehow scrambled a shot past Van Der Sar. It was completely against the run of play.

The second half was much the same as we dominated but failed to capitilise on our dominance. I was alittle dissapointed with a draw but at least we were unbeaten in the first two games of the Group Stage

Lyon 1 Fred 45

Manchester United 1 Owen 14

Premiership Top Three;

1st: Arsenal 19pts (7)

2nd: Manchester City 19pts (7)

3rd: Manchester United 16pts (7)

October 1st: I have been given the Manager of the Month Award which was a surprise especially with the form of City and Arsenal

The club accountant has reported that we made a loss of £2,810,000

[mark wilson27]

October 5th: Manchester United v Middlesbrough

A great start saw us go a goal up on the eight minute as Nani rifled in a great shot from 25 yards. Within five minutes we tested the Boro keeper again as Anderson tried a long range effort but his shot was just wide of the upright. It was one sided as my team dominated a surprisingly poor Boro side and on the 17th minute we went a further goal ahead as Owen headed in an Anderson cross after some great team work by the majority of my team. Just before the break it got even better as we went three goals up as Owen added to his earlier goal.

The second half was again all my team as we put on a show of what football should be played like yet it took us till the 71st minute to add the final goal of the game as Anderson sprinted clear of the defence to slot past the Boro keeper. It didn't get any better for Middlesbrough as on the 84th minute they were reduced to ten men after Pogatetz was sent off for a vicious two foot lunge on Nani

Manchester United 4 Nani 8, Owen 17, 39, Anderson 71

Middlesbrough 0

There is a now a 13 day break due to Internationals

[P O\'D]

hey mate good start so far, your on your way to the hall of fame i think.

[mark wilson27]

Hopefully P O'D its what I always try for in these games. Think I might need to win a few more trophies though

[mark wilson27]

October 18th: West Ham United v Manchester United

A tight affair in this game as West Ham shut up shop for the majority of the game. We got our first chance late in the half as Tevez rattled the crossbar on the 37th minute, unforntunatly none of my team were there to pick up the rebound. Against the run of play West Ham took the lead as Bellamy headed in from 6 yards after we conceded an silly corner.

The second half was much the same as West Ham kept the midfield and defence tight. It took us till the 76th minute to break them down as Tevez scrambled home an equaliser after Owens shot was blocked by the defence. We startd to get more chances as full time approched and in the last minute we got the winner as Tevez scored again against his former club with a fine snap shot to give us a vital three points

West Ham United 1 Bellamy 45

Manchcester United 2 Tevez 76, 90

[mark wilson27]

October 21st: Galatasaray v Manchester United; Chmapions League Group Stage

As usual a tough away trip to Turkey and with the teams history my players were welcomed to the stadium in the usual calm Turkish manner. The game started with Galatasaray causing us alot of problems, especially on the wings. It took them till the 22nd minute for them to score as Arda fired in a screamer past Van Der Sar. I was alittle annoyed with my defence for the way they kept on backing off. It was becoming a slightly one sided affair as the home side dominated us yet on the 40th minute we had a slice of luck as Hargreaves fired in from 18 yards. Yet our luck didn't hold as four minutes later Galatasaray went back into the lead.

At half time I told my players they needed to get into the opposing half alittle more and to show some bloody pride for the shirt.

Unfortunatly my players did little in the second half as the home side dominated and to be truthful we were lucky to escpae with only losing 2-1

Galatasaray 2 Arda 22, 44

Manchester United 1 Hargreaves 40

[Nathan Pike]

I like the style of your story, Mark, and you get good results as well.

[mark wilson27]

Cheers Nathan glad your enjoying the story, don't know about good results though after the latest one lol

[mark wilson27]

October 25th: Manchester United v West Bromich Albion

We started well in the game as Nani ran the rule of the game. In the first 5 minutes he came close to opening the score with a fine effort which rattled the upright. On the 13th minute his pass was fed to Tevez who then proceeded to slot the ball to the keepers left, unluckily for us a defender was on the line to kick away the goalward bound shot. We finally broke the deadlock on the 26th minute as Tevez fired in a corker from 18 yards. The pressure on West Brom was mounting but they survived to the half time whistle without conceding again.

The second half was only twelve minutes old when we added another goal as Aimar ran clear of the defence to make it 2-0. A minute later we had the chance to go further in front but Tevez again missed the goal. Despite our dominance we failed to add to our tally but a we got the three points and more improtnatly a good performance.

Manchester United 2 Tevez 26, Aimar 57

West Bromich Albion 0

28th October: Nani will be missing from action for around three weeks after picking up thigh strain in training

Premeriship Top Three:

1st: Manchester United 25pts (10)

2nd: Liverpool 25pts (11)

3rd: Manchester City 25pts (12)