sjg11 Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 Welcome to the summer of 2001. Bayern Munich are the champions of Europe, Manchester United are sweeping all before them in England, the Galacticos are slowly forming in Madrid and the first Asian World Cup is just around the corner. Legends such as Zidane and Figo are still at the peak of their powers. Clubs such as PSV, Ajax, Porto and Celtic were considered dangerous sides to face in Europe. And England still never looked like winning anything. Anyway, this is a save game where I will not be playing as anyone. The goal is simply to sit back and see what the hell happens. Basically, it's an exercise in nostalgia for a footballing world that was very different from the modern one. I'll end it whenever it feels right to end it. One quick note, I've already gone through to the start of the 2007/08 season so I'm a little bit ahead of the curve, I'll make sure I don't give anything away until you're all caught up. First things first, I'm going to borrow/steal an idea from PaulHartman71's FM15 save to try to add some interactivity to the whole thing. Plus I'll be able to sit there and enjoy you all bumbling around trying to figure out what's going to happen next. But largely the interactivity thing. The save will comprise of a "betting" market (not for real money don't worry (unless...)). Everyone who wants to join in will start with £100 worth of money to "bet" on. At the end of every season whoever has the most money left over will win for that season. You get nothing if you win. Except kudos. And let's face it, who can ever have too many kudos. Anyway, these will be the categories which you will be able to bet on for the Premier League (to start with, I may add some other leagues in in later seasons if people are up for it, the save will generally focus on the Premier League, Football League and the top leagues in France, Spain, Germany and Italy although there will be yearly updates from everywhere else) plus I'll set up some special categories for major international tournaments, excluding the Copa America 2001. I'll also have some special categories for the Champions League (from the group stages) and the UEFA Cup (from the last 32): Title Winners Champions League Qualifiers Relegation Play-Off Qualifiers Promotion First Manager Sacked Next Manager Sacked (when First Manager Sacked expires) Replacement for sacked manager Obviously you will not need to bet in every category and the "betting" will generally close at the end of August in the save, which will come in a couple of weeks as I have a busy couple of weeks which should give plenty people of time to get involved if they want to. An exception is obviously for some of the Manager Sacked categories which will occur when managers are sacked/being replaced throughout the season. So, without further ado let's get going with the individual leagues and their season previews: The Premier League Manchester United are the hot favourites to win the title in what will be legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson's last season managing the club. They are widely expected to win a fourth title in a row and maintain their recent dominance of English football. The core of the side which won the treble in 1998-99 is still intact with Ruud van Nistelrooy and Juan Sebastian Veron making particularly useful additions to this United squad. United expect to be judged this season on their performances in Europe, and many fans are predicting a cakewalk for United as the start of the season draws near. Their main challengers should be Arsenal who have become a great side again under Arsene Wenger. Patrick Vieira is one of the best midfielders on earth while Thierry Henry is a young, hungry striker with a lot of potential. Sol Campbell also arrives in an attempt to re-build a somewhat ageing defence. Liverpool will also be potentially dangerous. Under Gerard Houllier they have been improving for a few years now, with a rock-solid defence and plenty of offensive quality. Young midfielder Steven Gerrard is also one to watch. Leeds United do not, yet, appear to have the look of potential title winners. Their young squad should aim to keep improving and cement their position in the Champions' League places. Ipswich Town enjoyed a spectacular season in 2000-01, finishing fifth as a newly promoted side. With European distractions though this year looks set to be a little bit more challenging, they will be happy with a spot in mid-table this season. Chelsea continued to flatter to deceive last season. They have a squad with a lot of potential but they need to find some consistency under Claudio Ranieri to really challenge for a place in the top four. Sunderland are a very solid side (words never uttered before...). Under Peter Reid, they should have a comfortable season although they may not be capable of seriously challenging for a European place. Aston Villa are a side facing some high expectations. An eighth place finish in 2000-01 was viewed as underwhelming by many of their fanbase and they will be seeking to launch a serious European challenge this season. Charlton Athletic were another newly promoted side who exceeded all expectations last season. Sadly though, this year they look set to struggle and many people are tipping them for the drop this season. Southampton are another side who many people expect to be in a relegation battle this season. Many Southampton fans, though, are hoping that a move to a new stadium will allow them to really start growing as a club. One things for sure, Southampton will miss The Dell. Newcastle United have the core of a very talented squad developing. The hope is that they will put a few season of inconsistency behind them to mount a serious challenge at the right end of the table. Spurs are feeling optimistic for the first time in a while. New manager Glenn Hoddle has instantly connected with the fanbase, largely due to his previous association with the club. George Graham, in contrast, never really fit in at Spurs and the hope is that Hoddle will get the Spurs fans dreaming again. Leicester City are another side who could easily be in a relegation battle this season. They tailed off dramatically towards the end of last season and many fans are fearing the worst heading into the 2001-02 season. Middlesbrough, by contrast, are a side approaching this season with considerable optimism under new boss Steve McClaren. The new manager comes from a stint as Alex Ferguson's assistant at Manchester United and the early signs seem positive. West Ham fans have some concerns heading into the season. Last year they had an underwhelming season and the appointment of Glenn Roeder has not gone down well with the fanbase. Expectations are low but there is talent in the squad. Overall, the Hammers should be ok. There are rumours of financial issues at Everton currently. Combined with a squad which has consistently failed to perform over the past few seasons and there are many who are predicting that difficult times may be ahead for Everton. Derby are another side widely being tipped to drop out of the Premier League this season. Wily manager Jim Smith may well be their main cause for optimism heading into the new season though. Fulham swept to promotion from Division One last season. Jean Tigana has done an excellent job at Craven Cottage and, with significant funds being added to the club, most people are predicting a comfortable season for Fulham. Blackburn are another newly promoted side who many people expect to be fairly comfortable. Premier League champions in 1995, they never really built on that success and they will hope to start moving back towards the top end of the table over the next few seasons. Bolton are everyone's favourites for relegation. A yo-yo club for most of the 1990s, they have never looked like establishing themselves in the top flight and rookie manager Sam Allardyce is not widely tipped to keep them up this time around. Title Winners Manchester United- 2/1 Arsenal- 4/1 Liverpool- 5/1 Leeds- 8/1 Chelsea- 20/1 Newcastle- 30/1 Spurs- 35/1 Aston Villa- 40/1 Champions' League Qualification Manchester United- 1/20 Arsenal- 1/10 Liverpool- 1/5 Leeds- 2/1 Chelsea- 5/1 Newcastle- 10/1 Spurs- 15/1 Villa- 18/1 Sunderland- 25/1 Middlesbrough- 30/1 Blackburn- 30/1 Relegation Bolton- 3/1 Southampton- 4/1 Charlton- 4/1 Derby- 6/1 Everton- 10/1 West Ham- 12/1 Leicester- 12/1 Fulham- 15/1 Ipswich- 15/1 Middlesbrough- 25/1 Blackburn- 25/1 Aston Villa- 40/1 Newcastle- 40/1 Tottenham- 40/1 First Manager Sacked John Gregory- 5/1 Jim Smith- 8/1 Stuart Gray- 10/1 Glenn Roeder- 12/1 Walter Smith- 15/1 Jean Tigana- 15/1 Peter Taylor- 15/1 George Burley- 20/1 Bobby Robson- 25/1 Glenn Hoddle- 25/1 Steve McClaren- 25/1 Graeme Souness- 25/1 Peter Reid- 25/1 Alan Curbishley- 35/1 Sam Allardyce- 35/1 Claudio Ranieri- 40/1 David O'Leary- 50/1 Gerard Houllier- 70/1 Alex Ferguson- 90/1 Arsene Wenger- 100/1 So, I hope this is a fun start to the save and that people are interested in engaging in a bit of nostalgia this summer. 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sjg11 Posted June 4, 2018 Author Share Posted June 4, 2018 Copa America 2001 Colombia And so we move onto the first major tournament of the save, the 2001 Copa America in Colombia. As ever for the Copa America, Brazil started as favourites with the hosts following them. Uruguay and Mexico can never be discounted while Paraguay were good at the time as well. Brazil started as holders. Argentina did not participate in the tournament. Group A Colombia (Francisco Maturana) Chile (Pedro Garcia) Ecuador (Hernan Dario Gomez) Venezuela (Richard Paez Monzon) The hosts started with a relatively easy section, with Venezuela as the weakest team in the tournament, a very average Ecuador side and a weak Chile side whose only saving grace was Marcelo Salas. Colombia 2-0 Venezuela Chile 2-1 Ecuador Colombia started the tournament with possibly their dream game against Venezuela. They chalked up the expected routine win. Chile's game against Ecuador looked likely to be the key game in the group with both sides likely challenging for second place. Chile edged it, winning 2-1 and leaving Ecuador's hopes of progress hanging by a thread. Colombia 3-0 Ecuador Chile 0-0 Venezuela Ecuador were outclassed by a rampant Colombia side who were really getting up to speed in their second game. That result all but eliminated the Ecuadoreans who only maintained a faint hope of progressing in third place, a weak goal difference making that ambition relatively unlikely. Meanwhile, Venezuela exposed Chile's limitations, successfully frustrating them with a 0-0 draw. Colombia 2-0 Chile Ecuador 0-0 Venezuela Colombia completed a strong start to their tournament with another comfortable win, this time over Chile. The gap between the three weaker sides in the group and Colombia was fairly clear throughout the group stages. Ecuador, like Chile, were successfully frustrated by Venezuela who at least managed to retain some hope of progressing as one of the better third-placed teams in the tournament. That draw sealed Chile's progress to the quarter-finals and Ecuador's elimination. Overall: Colombia (Francisco Maturana)- 9 Chile (Pedro Garcia)- 4 Venezuela (Richard Paez Monzon)- 2 Ecuador (Hernan Dario Gomez)- 1 Group B Brazil (Felipao) Mexico (Javier Aguirre) Paraguay (Sergio Markarian) Peru (Julio Cesar Uribe) Group B was certainly a significantly tougher section than Group A was. The holders Brazil found themselves in a group with Paraguay and Mexico, two of the more dangerous sides in the competition. Even Peru were no slouches containing decent players such as Nolberto Solano and Claudio Pizarro. Paraguay 1-0 Brazil Mexico 2-1 Peru Brazil were stunned in their opening game, losing 1-0 to a well-organised Paraguay side containing the threat of Roque Santa Cruz on the counter-attack. A heroic win for Sergio Markarian's side. Mexico were tested by Peru but managed to come through unscathed, putting Brazil in a tricky position already in the group. Brazil 2-1 Peru Paraguay 2-0 Mexico Brazil needed a win against Peru and they managed to achieve it although they found the Peruvians as challenging as the Mexicans had in the opening game of the group. Paraguay, meanwhile, successfully managed to restrict the Mexican attack just as they had managed to restrict the Brazilian attack in their first game to book their place in the quarter-finals. Brazil 2-2 Mexico Paraguay 1-1 Peru Brazil and Mexico shared the points in a highly entertaining 2-2 draw. Brazil went 2-0 in front before the Mexicans recovered the game in the second-half. A point guaranteed a place in the quarter-finals for both sides but Brazil really had not impressed in this group. Paraguay, having beaten Brazil and Mexico, were in second gear against Peru and got held to a draw by a decent Peruvian side. 1. Paraguay (Sergio Markarian)- 7 2. Brazil (Felipao)- 4 3. Mexico (Javier Aguirre)- 4 4. Peru (Julio Cesar Uribe)- 1 Group C Bolivia (Jorge Habbeger) Costa Rica (Alexandre Guimaraes) Honduras (Ramon Maradiaga) Uruguay (Victor Pua) Uruguay looked like the team who were best placed to take advantage of Argentina's late withdrawal and replacement with Honduras. Neither of the other sides in the group looked capable of seriously challenging Uruguay or seriously challenging for the tournament. Bolivia 2-0 Costa Rica Uruguay 3-0 Honduras Bolivia started with a 2-0 win over Costa Rica. In a weak section, there was definitely an opportunity for a weaker side to sneak through to the quarter-finals. Bolivia certainly took the initiative in grabbing it. Uruguay, meanwhile, had fun against Honduras, showing that they were not a team to be taken lightly. Bolivia 2-0 Honduras Uruguay 4-0 Costa Rica Bolivia recorded another comfortable win against Honduras to book a place in the quarter-finals which they would have been delighted with. Uruguay once again showed their quality by thrashing Costa Rica and securing a quarter-final place. That meant that if either Honduras or Costa Rica won their final group game they would progress. If that game was a draw then Venezuela would join Mexico as one of the best third-placed sides in the quarter-finals. Costa Rica 0-0 Honduras Uruguay 1-0 Bolivia Costa Rica and Honduras completely failed to grasp the opportunity to progress, playing out a turgid 0-0 draw which sent Venezuela through. Both teams went out without scoring and having been thrashed by Uruguay, effectively the only quality team they played all tournament. Uruguay, on the other hand, completed a good start to their tournament by beating a well-drilled Bolivia side 1-0. 1. Uruguay (Victor Pua)- 9 2. Bolivia (Jorge Habbeger)- 6 3. Honduras (Ramon Maradiaga)- 1 4. Costa Rica (Alexandre Guimaraes)- 1 Quarter-Finals Colombia vs Bolivia Brazil vs Mexico Uruguay vs Venezuela Paraguay vs Chile An interesting set of quarter-finals. Both Colombia and Uruguay were rewarded for topping their groups with another easy tie in the quarter-finals against Bolivia and Venezuela respectively. Paraguay were favourites to beat Chile but Chile were by no means incapable of surprising Paraguay. Brazil against Mexico looked like the most interesting tie, particularly since both teams had played out a thrilling match in the group stages. Colombia 2-0 Bolivia Brazil e 3-2 Mexico Uruguay 2-0 Venezuela Paraguay 1-0 Chile Colombia and Uruguay recorded the expected routine wins against Bolivia and Venezuela, who were both fairly well-drilled and did well to get to the quarter-finals. Paraguay managed to shackle Salas and sneak a 1-0 win against Chile. Chile had a decent tournament where they pretty much fulfilled expectations. Brazil's game against Mexico was, once again, one of the games of the tournament. Mexico were bold enough to push forward and it almost paid off, the game finished 2-2 before the Brazilians scored a winner in extra-time. Brazil continued to look a little bit shaky but they were through to the semi-finals. Semi-Finals Colombia vs Uruguay Brazil vs Paraguay Colombia and Uruguay would finally provide each other with a serious test in the semi-finals. Home advantage likely gave Colombia the edge but Uruguay had the quality to cause an upset and reach the final. Brazil, by contrast, would be looking to avenge their group-stage defeat against a Paraguay side who had really impressed throughout the tournament. The Paraguayans would be looking to shackle the Brazilian attack as successfully as they managed to do in the group-stages. Colombia 2-1 Uruguay Brazil 4-0 Paraguay Well Paraguay certainly found out what happens when you anger the Brazilians. Brazil produced a phenomenal attacking performance against a very good Paraguayan defence, and were good value for their comfortable win. In the other game, Colombia overcame Uruguay in a fairly entertaining, closely fought encounter. The hosts were gathering momentum and would face Brazil in the final. Final Pre-game the Brazilians started as favourites. They had stuttered through to the semi-finals but their win against Paraguay suggested that they were gaining momentum at just the right time. They lined up in a simple 4-4-2. Colombia had, in contrast, quietly impressed throughout the tournament. They had been more consistent but they had not had a performance to match Brazil's win over Paraguay. Colombia went for a narrow 4-1-2-1-2 formation. Overall, Colombia's extra bodies in the centre of midfield made a real difference to this game. It allowed Colombia to control the game and launch wave after wave of attacks on the Brazilian goal. Eventually they found a way through, Tino Asprilla setting up Edwin Congo who managed to fire home a late winner to seal a victory on home soil that the Colombians would remember for a long time to come. Colombia 1-0 Brazil Colombia win the Copa America and they deserved it after an excellent performance against a surprisingly poor Brazil side in the final. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjg11 Posted June 5, 2018 Author Share Posted June 5, 2018 July 2001 Champions' League Early Qualifying Rounds Champions League- First Qualifying Round Barry Town (Managerless) 1-3 Slavia Mozyr (Pavel Rodnenok) FC Haka (Keith Armstrong) 3-1 Shamkir (Managerless) Fylkir (Managerless) e 2-1 Sheriff (Managerless) Jeunesse Esch (Jean-Pierre Barboni) a 3-3 Ventspils (Paul Ashworth) Kaunas (Managerless) 1-0 Linfield (David Jeffrey) Kutaisi (Managerless) 0-4 Bohemians (Pete Mahon) Shirak (Managerless) p 0-0 HB (Managerless) Sloga Jugomagnat (Managerless) 3-0 Schaan (Managerless) Valletta (Managerless) 2-3 FC Levadia (Managerless) Champions League- Second Qualifying Round Anderlecht (Aime Anthuenis) e 2-1 FC Levadia (Managerless) Dunaferr (Managerless) 2-3 FC Haka (Keith Armstrong) FC Kobenhavn (Hans Backe) 2-2 p Rangers (Dick Advocaat) FC Slavia Mozyr (Pavel Rodnenok) 1-4 Galatasaray (Mircea Lucescu) Fylkir (Managerless) 2-2 a Levski (Managerless) Gorica (Managerless) 0-3 Jeunesse Esch (Jean-Pierre Barboni) Hajduk (Nenad Gracan) 5-1 Bohemians (Pete Mahon) Inter Bratislava (Managerless) 1-0 Lugano (Managerless) Maccabi Haifa (Managerless) 0-1 Halmstad (Tom Prahl) Omonia Nicosia (Managerless) 0-5 Brann (Teitur Thordarson) Porto (Octavio Machado) 5-0 Sloga Jugomagnat (Managerless) Shakhtar (Victor Prokopenko) 3-5 Red Star (Slavoljub Muslin) Shirak (Managerless) 0-4 Steaua (Victor Piturca) Wisla (Franciszek Smuda) 4-0 Kaunas (Managerless) OK so there are the early Champions' League rounds. I'll generally start going into more detail with the Champions' League when we reach the Third Qualifying Round every year.I'll keep a note of anything interesting that happens though. So, both Barry and Linfield were knocked out fairly swiftly in the First Qualifying Round while Bohemians got through only to be comfortably beaten by Hajduk. Rangers almost had a nightmare against Copenhagen, losing 2-0 at Ibrox before turning the tie around in Denmark to win on penalties. In other news, the likes of Galatasaray, Anderlecht, Wisla and Steaua Bucharest all got through fairly comfortably. Jeunesse Esch managing to progress to the Third Qualifying Round was somewhat surprising. Shakhtar against Red Star was probably the most interesting tie, Red Star winning 3-1 at home before progressing after a 2-2 draw in the Ukraine. Intertoto Cup Intertoto Cup First Round AA Gent (Patrick Remy) 4-2 Slavia Sofia (Managerless) AGF (John Stampe) 1-2 Ujpest (Managerless) Anorthosis (Janusz Wojcik) p 2-2 Ruzomberok (Managerless) Belasica (Managerless) 0-1 Zagreb (Zlatko Kranjcar) Cliftonville (Lawrence Stitt) 1-3 Neman Grodno (Managerless) Cork City (Liam Murphy) 0-1 Basel (Managerless) Groclin (Edward Lorens) 2-1 CSKA Kiev (Oleg Kuznetsov) Hapoel Haifa (Managerless) 3-0 Gi (Johan Nielsen) iBV (Managerless) 1-2 Hibernians (Robert Gatt) Iraklis (Aggelos Anastasiadis) 2-5 Rennes (Christian Gourcuff) Lokeren (Paul Put) 0-0 p Ekranas (Virginijus Liubshys) Maccabi Petach-Tikva (Yossi Mizrahi) 1-0 Mura (Managerless) OB (Troels Bech) 4-2 Gloria (Managerless) Sartid (Managerless) 0-0 p Gyor (Managerless) Slaven Belupo (Drazen Besek) 2-1 Dinaburg (Managerless) Viljandi Tulevik (Tarmo Ruutli) 1-2 MyPa (Juha Malinen) Winterthur (Managerless) 0-2 Salzburg (Lars Sondergaard) Zaglebie (Stefan Majewski) 2-1 Rapid Bucharest (Managerless) Zwartnots (Managerless) 2-1 Carmarthen Town (Tomi Morgan) Wit-Georgia (Managerless) 0-3 AIK (Olle Nordin) Intertoto Cup Second Round AA Gent (Patrick Remy) 1-1 p OB (Troels Bech) Anorthosis (Janusz Wojcik) p 0-0 1860 Munich (Werner Lorant) Aris (Henry Michelle) p 0-0 Neman Grodno (Managerless) Basel (Managerless) 0-4 MyPa (Juha Malinen) Denizlispor (Sakip Ozberk) 2-2 a Zagreb (Zlatko Kranjcar) Dundee (Ivano Bonetti) 3-1 Salzburg (Lars Sondergaard) Ekranas (Virginijus Liubshys) 0-2 Hapoel Haifa (Managerless) Gyor (Managerless) 4-1 Drnovice (Managerless) Helsingborg (Nanne Bergstrand) 3-2 Caykur Rizespor (Karol Pecze) Hibernians (Robert Gatt) 0-1 Zaglebie (Stefan Majewski) Maccabi Petach-Tikva (Yossi Mizrahi) 2-1 Ried (Managerless) RKC (Martin Jol) 3-1 Groclin (Edward Lorens) Slaven Belupo (Drazen Besek) 1-1 p Bastia (Robert Nouzaret) Ujpest (Managerless) 3-0 Metallurg Mariupol (Managerless) Zwartnots (Managerless) 0-1 Troyes (Alain Perrin) AIK (Olle Nordin) 3-1 Rennes (Christian Gourcuff) Intertoto Cup Third Round Werder Bremen (Thomas Schaaf) p 0-0 PSG (Luis Fernandez) Aris (Henry Michelle) 2-1 Hapoel Haifa (Managerless) Bastia (Robert Nouzaret) 2-1 Zagreb (Zlatko Kranjcar) Gyor (Managerless) 2-2 p Dundee (Ivano Bonetti) Heerenveen (Foppe de Haan) 0-3 Aston Villa (John Gregory) MyPa (Juha Malinen) 5-0 Troyes (Alain Perrin) Newcastle (Bobby Robson) 4-3 OB (Troels Bech) Anorthosis (Janusz Wojcik) 0-1 Pribram (Jiri Kotrba) RKC (Martin Jol) 0-3 Maccabi Petach-Tikva (Yossi Mizrahi) Ujpest (Managerless) 3-2 Zaglebie (Stefan Majewski) Wolfsburg (Wolfgang Wolf) 4-2 Atalanta (Giovanni Vavassori) Helsingborg (Nanne Bergstrand) 0-1 AIK (Olle Nordin) Intertoto Cup Semi-Final Aston Villa (John Gregory) p 2-2 Werder Bremen (Thomas Schaaf) Bastia (Robert Nouzaret) 1-0 Ujpest (Managerless) Maccabi Petach-Tikva (Yossi Mizrahi) 0-2 Dundee (Ivano Bonetti) MyPa (Juha Malinen) 0-4 Pribram (Jiri Kotrba) Wolfsburg (Wolfgang Wolf) a 4-4 Newcastle (Bobby Robson) Aris (Henry Michelle) 2-1 AIK (Olle Nordin) Intertoto Cup Final Wolfsburg (Wolfgang Wolf) 2-1 Bastia (Robert Nouzaret) Aston Villa (John Gregory) 4-0 Dundee (Ivano Bonetti) Pribram (Jiri Kotrba) 3-1 Aris (Henry Michelle) I don't know about the rest of you but there's definitely some nostalgia factor attached to the Intertoto Cup for me. Anyway, Villa and Newcastle were the English sides involved with Villa progressing to the UEFA Cup and Newcastle getting dumped out by Wolfsburg in the semi-finals on away goals. Dundee had a good run to the final before meeting Villa while Pribram were surprise winners. Ligue 1 Our first league to start is Ligue 1, which started on the last weekend of July. These were the days where it was always interesting trying to predict who would win Ligue 1, before Lyon and PSG's respective periods of dominance. Nantes started as champions, PSG and Lyon were both dangerous while Bordeaux and Monaco were also sides with plenty of potential. Plus there were a whole host of dark horses such as Marseille, Lens and Auxerre. Oh, and Lille were a pretty good side too. 28th July Auxerre (Guy Roux) 2-2 Montpellier (Michel Mezy) Bastia (Robert Nouzaret) 1-2 Rennes (Christian Gourcuff) Guingamp (Guy Lacombe) 4-1 PSG (Luis Fernandez) Lens (Joel Muller) 3-0 Troyes (Alain Perrin) Lorient (Angel Marcos) 1-1 Marseille (Tomislav Ivic) Nantes (Reynald Denoueix) 2-0 Lille (Vahid Halilhodzic) Sochaux (Jean Fernandez) 1-0 Metz (Albert Cartier) 29th July Bordeaux (Elie Baup) 2-1 Lyon (Jacques Santini) Monaco (Didier Deschamps) 2-1 Sedan (Alex Dupont) The standout result was obviously Guingamp's 4-1 win over PSG, an abysmal start to the season for them, particularly considering that PSG are one of the favourites for the title. Bordeaux's game against Lyon was an interesting game between two potential contenders, Bordeaux taking the points in a 2-1 win. The champions Nantes also did well in a 2-0 win over a good Lille side. Lens, Monaco, Rennes and Sochaux all secured valuable wins while Auxerre would have been disappointed to have dropped two points at home to Montpellier. Lorient and Marseille also drew. 1. Guingamp (Guy Lacombe)- 3- +3 2. Lens (Joel Muller)- 3- +3 3. Nantes (Reynald Denoueix)- 3- +2 4. Bordeaux (Elie Baup)- 3- +1 5. Monaco (Didier Deschamps)- 3- +1 6. Rennes (Christian Gourcuff)- 3- +1 7. Sochaux (Jean Fernandez)- 3- +1 8. Auxerre (Guy Roux)- 1- 0 9. Montpellier (Michel Mezy)- 1- 0 10. Lorient (Angel Marcos)- 1- 0 11. Marseille (Tomislav Ivic)- 1- 0 12. Bastia (Robert Nouzaret)- 0- -1 13. Lyon (Jacques Santini)- 0- -1 14. Sedan (Alex Dupont)- 0- -1 15. Metz (Albert Cartier)- 0- -1 16. Lille (Vahid Halilhodzic)- 0- -2 17. PSG (Luis Fernandez)- 0- -3 18. Troyes (Alain Perrin)- 0- -3 As ever too early to read into the table although PSG being in the relegation zone brings joy to my heart. Oh, and this was the last year where Ligue 1 had 18 teams in it so 2 teams drop down to Ligue 2 while 4 teams come up to Ligue 1 this season to expand it to 20. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjg11 Posted June 6, 2018 Author Share Posted June 6, 2018 Ligue 1- Matchday 2Friday 3rd August 2001 Lille 3-2 Monaco Lyon 0-0 Lens Marseille 0-1 Auxerre Metz 0-1 Bordeaux Montpellier 0-1 Guingamp PSG 0-1 Sochaux Rennes 1-0 Lorient Troyes 4-1 Nantes Saturday 4th August 2001 Sedan 2-1 Bastia 1. Guingamp (Guy Lacombe)- 6- +42. Bordeaux (Elie Baup)- 6- +23. Rennes (Christian Gourcuff)- 6- +24. Sochaux (Jean Fernandez)- 6- +25. Lens (Joel Muller)- 4- +36. Auxerre (Guy Roux)- 4- +17. Monaco (Didier Deschamps)- 3- 08. Troyes (Alain Perrin)- 3- 09. Sedan (Alex Dupont)- 3- 010. Lille (Vahid Halilhodzic)- 3- -111. Nantes (Reynald Denoueix)- 3- -112. Montpellier (Michel Mezy)- 1- -113. Lorient (Angel Marcos)- 1- -114. Lyon (Jacques Santini)- 1- -115. Marseille (Tomislav Ivic)- 1- -116. Bastia (Robert Nouzaret)- 0- -217. Metz (Albert Cartier)- 0- -218. PSG (Luis Fernandez)- 0- -4 Well another interesting set of results in France. PSG's shocking start to the season continues with a defeat at home to Sochaux who make it two wins from two. Both Marseille and Lyon also continued their stuttering starts to the season, Lyon dropping points at home to Lens while Marseille lost to Auxerre. The champions, Nantes, got thumped by Troyes in the week's biggest shock. The most exciting game was Lille's win over Monaco, a result that really kicks off Lille's season. Guingamp continued their excellent start to the season with a win at Montpellier while Bordeaux and Rennes also maintain perfect starts to the season. Sedan picked up their first win of the season while Metz and Bastia join PSG in being pointless, Metz haven't even scored a goal yet. Bundesliga- Matchdays 1 and 2 (Matchday 1 was actually the last week of July, I just thought the Bundesliga started a bit later than Ligue 1) As ever in the Bundesliga, Bayern start as favourites for the title. The German and European champions are widely expected to retain the Bundesliga this season. Borussia Dortmund, Schalke and Leverkusen look like being their most likely challengers. As ever in Germany, there a plethora of clubs with potential such as Hamburg (who appointed Lothar Matthaus as their manager in the save), Stuttgart and Werder Bremen. Whether that potential will actually be fulfilled remains to be seen... Saturday 28th July 2001 Cottbus 0-3 Kaiserslautern Borussia Dortmund 0-0 Schalke 04 Leverkusen 3-1 Wolfsburg Nurnberg 0-3 Stuttgart Freiburg 3-3 1860 Munich Werder Bremen 2-1 Monchengladbach Sunday 29th July 2001 HSV 1-0 Koln Hertha Berlin 3-1 Rostock Bayern, for some reason which I cannot figure out, were not in action this weekend. Their opponents should have been St. Pauli who also weren't doing anything else. Anyway, onto the actual results. Bayern fans would have been delighted with Dortmund's draw against Schalke, as neither side looked particularly likely to challenge them based on that performance. Of course the fact that they both dropped points helps. Leverkusen looked more dangerous with a comfortable win against Wolfsburg. In other news there were wins for Kaiserslautern, Hertha, HSV, Stuttgart and Bremen, all potentially dangerous sides. Oh and Freiburg and 1860 clearly decided to forget about defending in their game. Saturday 4th August 2001 Kaiserslautern 0-1 Werder Bremen Monchengladbach 0-1 Borussia Dortmund Rostock 3-0 Nurnberg Schalke 04 3-0 Hertha Berlin St. Pauli 3-2 Cottbus Stuttgart 1-2 Freiburg Wolfsburg 1-1 Koln Sunday 5th August 2001 1860 Munich 1-0 HSV Leverkusen 2-2 Bayern Munich Overall, a very interesting second matchday. Bremen and... errr... St. Pauli are the only sides to have a 100% record so far. A few of the teams that started well returned to their state of presumed inconsistency and fell back down to earth with HSV and Stuttgart in particular losing games they should have won. Bayern started their campaign with a solid point at a Leverkusen side who have made an encouraging start to the season. In other news, both Dortmund and Schalke picked up wins to strengthen claims that they will be serious challengers this season. At the other end of the table, Nurnberg and Cottbus stand out as being particularly bad so far. Particularly Nurnberg who have been thumped at home to Stuttgart (who couldn't even beat Freiburg at home) and a weak Rostock side. 1. Werder Bremen (Thomas Schaaf)- 6- +2 2. Schalke 04 (Huub Stevens)- 4- +3 3. Bayer Leverkusen (Klaus Toppmoller)- 4- +2 4. Freiburg (Volker Finke)- 4- +1 5. 1860 Munich (Werner Lorant)- 4- +1 6. Borussia Dortmund (Matthias Sammer)- 4- +1 7. Stuttgart (Felix Magath)- 3- +2 8. Kaiserslautern (Andreas Brehme)- 3- +2 9. Rostock (Freidhelm Funkel)- 3- +1 10. St. Pauli (Dietmar Demuth)- 3- +1 11. HSV (Lothar Matthaus)- 3- +1 12. Hertha Berlin (Jurgen Rober)- 3- -1 13. Bayern Munich (Ottmar Hitzfeld)- 1- 0 14. Koln (Ewald Lienen)- 1- -1 15. Wolfsburg (Wolfgang Wolf)- 1- -2 16. Monchengladbach (Hans Meyer)- 0- -2 17. Cottbus (Eduard Geyer)- 0- -4 18. Nurnberg (Klaus Augenthaler)- 0- -6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjg11 Posted June 8, 2018 Author Share Posted June 8, 2018 Charity Shield 12th August 2001 Manchester United 3-1 Liverpool Fergie's last season as United manager ended with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Gerard Houllier's Liverpool. An impressive result against a team who are as defensively sound as that Liverpool team were. English Division One Saturday 11th August Barnsley 3-0 Grimsby Birmingham 2-1 Crewe Burnley 1-0 Stockport Crystal Palace 2-2 Sheffield United Gillingham 0-3 Coventry Millwall 0-0 Sheffield Wednesday Nottingham Forest 1-1 Rotherham Preston 2-5 Wolves West Brom 0-1 Norwich Walsall 3-4 Portsmouth Watford 2-2 Bradford Sunday 12th August Manchester City 3-1 Wimbledon Of the three recently relegated sides, Coventry and Manchester City gained comfortable wins over Gillingham and Wimbledon while Bradford got a point from a tough trip to Watford. In other news, the most exciting game of the day saw Portsmouth win 4-3 against Walsall while Wolves' thrashing of Preston was also notable. 1. Wolves (Dave Jones)- 3- +3 2. Barnsley (Nigel Spackman)- 3- +3 3. Coventry (Roland Nilsson)- 3 -+3 4. Manchester City (Kevin Keegan)- 3- +2 5. Portsmouth (Graham Rix)- 3- +1 6. Birmingham City (Trevor Francis)- 3- +1 7. Burnley (Stan Ternant)- 3- +1 8. Norwich City (Nigel Worthington)- 3- +1 9. Bradford City (Jim Jefferies)- 1- 0 10. Crystal Palace (Steve Bruce)- 1- 0 11. Sheffield United (Neil Warnock)- 1- 0 12. Watford (Gianluca Vialli)- 1- 0 13. Nottingham Forest (Paul Hart)- 1- 0 14. Rotherham (Ronnie Moore)- 1- 0 15. Millwall (Mark McGhee)- 1- 0 16. Sheffield Wednesday (Peter Shreeves)- 1- 0 17. Walsall (Ray Graydon)- 0- -1 18. Crewe (Dario Gradi)- 0- -1 19. Stockport (Andy Kilner)- 0- -1 20. West Brom (Gary Megson)- 0- -1 21. Wimbledon (Terry Burton)- 0- -2 22. Preston (David Moyes)- 0- -3 23. Gillingham (Andy Hessenthaler)- 0- -3 24. Grimsby (Lennie Lawrence)- 0- -3 The rest of the weekend's action will be updated tomorrow, just wanted to get something out today. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjg11 Posted June 29, 2018 Author Share Posted June 29, 2018 Hey guys, sorry for the lack of updates recently, was busy and then got swept up in World Cup fever. Will try to post more regularly from here but that may have to wait until the World Cup is done. Anyway, continuing with the first weekend of Football League action: English Division Two Saturday 11th August Bournemouth 2-1 Chesterfield Brighton 2-0 Colchester Cambridge United 3-3 Reading Cardiff 4-0 Oldham Huddersfield 2-0 Bury Notts County 1-2 Swindon Peterborough 1-1 Blackpool QPR 2-2 Bristol City Stoke 2-1 Wycombe Tranmere 3-1 Port Vale Wigan 3-2 Northampton Wrexham 2-0 Brentford QPR's draw against Bristol City was probably the standout fixture of the opening weekend with both sides gaining a point at Loftus Road. Looking at other potential challengers, Huddersfield, Stoke, Cardiff and Wigan all picked up wins. A Brighton side containing Bobby Zamora also picked up three points and could be a dark horse to challenge at the top end of the table. Wrexham, Tranmere, Swindon and Bournemouth also picked up three points. Oldham stood out as the worst side on the opening weekend after being battered by Cardiff. 1. Cardiff (Alan Cork)- 3- +4 2. Tranmere (Dave Watson)- 3- +2 3. Brighton (Micky Adams)- 3- +2 4. Huddersfield (Lou Macari)- 3- +2 5. Wrexham (Brian Flynn)- 3- +2 6. Wigan (Paul Jewell)- 3- +1 7. Bournemouth (Sean O'Driscoll)- 3- +1 8. Stoke (Gudjon Thordarson)- 3- +1 9. Swindon (Roy Evans)- 3- +1 10. Cambridge United (John Beck)- 1- 0 11. Reading (Alan Pardew)- 1- 0 12. Bristol City (Danny Wilson)- 1- 0 13. QPR (Ian Holloway)-1- 0 14. Blackpool (Steve McMahon)- 1- 0 15. Peterborough (Barry Fry)- 1- 0 16. Northampton (Kevin Wilson)- 0- -1 17. Chesterfield (Nicky Law)- 0- -1 18. Notts County (Jocky Scott)- 0- -1 19. Wycombe (Lawrie Sanchez)- 0- -1 20. Port Vale (Brian Horton)- 0- -2 21. Brentford (Steve Coppell)- 0- -2 22. Bury (Andy Preece)- 0- -2 23. Colchester (Steve Whitton)- 0- -2 24. Oldham (Andy Ritchie)- 0- -4 English Division Three Saturday 11th August Carlisle 3-3 Rochdale Cheltenham 4-2 Halifax Darlington 2-1 Plymouth Exeter 0-1 Bristol Rovers Hartlepool 1-2 Scunthorpe Hull 2-3 Luton Leyton Orient 1-0 York Lincoln 1-2 Rushden Macclesfield 1-3 Shrewsbury Oxford 2-3 Mansfield Swansea 2-1 Kidderminster Torquay 2-0 Southend Luton's win at Hull was probably the standout game between two likely challengers for promotion, an excellent start to the season for Luton. In other news, Cheltenham-Halifax, Carlisle-Rochdale and Oxford-Mansfield stood out as particularly entertaining games while Cheltenham, Mansfield, Scunthorpe, Leyton Orient, Bristol Rovers, Darlington, Shrewsbury, Swansea, Torquay and the division's moneybags Rushden all picked up wins. 1. Cheltenham (Steve Cotterill)- 3- +2 2. Shrewsbury (Kevin Ratcliffe)- 3- +2 3. Torquay (Roy McFarland)- 3- +2 4. Luton (Joe Kinnear)- 3- +1 5. Mansfield (Billy Dearden)- 3- +1 6. Darlington (Gary Bennett)- 3- +1 7. Rushden (Brian Talbot)- 3- +1 8. Scunthorpe (Brian Laws)- 3- +1 9. Swansea (Colin Addison)- 3- +1 10. Bristol Rovers (Gerry Francis)- 3- +1 11. Leyton Orient (Tommy Taylor)- 3- +1 12. Carlisle (Roddy Collins)- 1- 0 13. Rochdale (Steve Parkin)- 1- 0 14. Hull (Brian Little)- 0- -1 15. Oxford (Mark Wright)- 0- -1 16. Hartlepool (Chris Turner)- 0- -1 17. Kidderminster (Jan Molby)- 0- -1 18. Lincoln (Alan Buckley)- 0- -1 19. Plymouth (Paul Sturrock)- 0- -1 20. Exeter (Andy King)- 0- -1 21. York (Terry Dolan)- 0- -1 22. Halifax (Tony Parks)- 0- -2 23. Macclesfield (Gil Prescott)- 0- -2 24. Southend (David Webb)- 0- -2 Ligue 1 Friday 10th August Lyon 2-3 Troyes Saturday 11th August Auxerre 2-1 Rennes Bastia 1-2 Lille Bordeaux 3-4 PSG Guingamp 0-0 Marseille Lens 0-0 Metz Lorient 1-0 Sedan Monaco 1-0 Nantes Sochaux 1-0 Montpellier Sochaux are the only side who still have a 100% record in Ligue 1 after a 1-0 win at home to a struggling Montpellier side. PSG got their season back on track with a spectacular 4-3 win at a Bordeaux side who had started the season excellently. Guingamp dropped points for the first time after a 0-0 draw against a Marseille side who are still winless while Rennes lost at Auxerre. Troyes gained a spectacular 3-2 win over a Lyon side who are having an awful start to the season while the holders, Nantes, lost 1-0 to Monaco to complete a poor start to the season for them. Bastia still have no points after a 2-1 loss at home to Lille while Lorient recorded a win over Sedan. Lens and Metz played out a 0-0 draw. 1. Sochaux (Jean Fernandez)- 9- +32. Guingamp (Guy Lacombe)- 7- +43. Auxerre (Guy Roux)- 7- +24. Troyes (Alain Perrin)- 6- +15. Bordeaux (Elie Baup)- 6- +16. Monaco (Didier Deschamps)- 6- +17. Rennes (Christian Gourcuff)- 6- +18. Lille (Vahid Halilhodzic)- 6- 09. Lens (Joel Muller)- 5- +310. Lorient (Angel Marcos)- 4- 011. Sedan (Alex Dupont)- 3- -112. Nantes (Reynald Denoueix)- 3- -213. PSG (Luis Fernandez)- 3- -314. Marseille (Tomislav Ivic)- 2- -115. Lyon (Jacques Santini)- 1- -216. Montpellier (Michel Mezy)- 1- -2 17. Metz (Albert Cartier)- 1- -218. Bastia (Robert Nouzaret)- 0- -3 Bundesliga Saturday 11th August Koln 2-2 1860 Munich Cottbus 1-2 Leverkusen Borussia Dortmund 1-0 Kaiserslautern Bayern Munich 2-1 Wolfsburg HSV 0-1 Stuttgart Hertha Berlin 3-2 Monchengladbach Werder Bremen 3-1 St. Pauli Sunday 12th August Nurnberg 3-2 Schalke 04 Freiburg 1-0 Rostock Werder Bremen maintained their perfect record with a 3-1 win over St. Pauli, ending St. Pauli's perfect record while doing so. Bayern picked up their first win of the season with a 2-1 win over a Wolfsburg side who are still winless. Dortmund and Leverkusen both won to continue strong starts to the season while Schalke were the victims of an upset against Nurnberg. Gladbach and Cottbus are yet to pick up a point after defeats to Leverkusen and Hertha Berlin respectively. Freiburg continued their good start with a win over Rostock while Stuttgart beat Hamburg and Koln and 1860 Munich drew. 1. Werder Bremen (Thomas Schaaf)- 9- +42. Bayer Leverkusen (Klaus Toppmoller)- 7- +33. Freiburg (Volker Finke)- 7- +24. Borussia Dortmund (Matthias Sammer)- 7- +25. Stuttgart (Felix Magath)- 6- +36. Hertha Berlin (Jurgen Rober)- 6- 07. 1860 Munich (Werner Lorant)- 5- +18. Schalke 04 (Huub Stevens)- 4- +2 9. Bayern Munich (Ottmar Hitzfeld)- 4- +110. Kaiserslautern (Andreas Brehme)- 3- +1 11. Rostock (Freidhelm Funkel)- 3- 0 12. HSV (Lothar Matthaus)- 3- 013. St. Pauli (Dietmar Demuth)- 3- -1 14. Nurnberg (Klaus Augenthaler)- 3- -515. Koln (Ewald Lienen)- 2- -116. Wolfsburg (Wolfgang Wolf)- 1- -317. Monchengladbach (Hans Meyer)- 0- -3 18. Cottbus (Eduard Geyer)- 0- -5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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