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[FM19] Blue is the colour. For a couple of seasons at least!


Mandy42

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1 hour ago, Mandy42 said:

We Are The Champions*

No I've not gone crazy and won the league in February, There is a reason to pick this song as the title of this post, but it is also very clear that after the horrors of the last song, I also just needed some classic rock to wash it out of my mind! I've survived away days at Spurs by the thinnest of margins having to score an equaliser in the 4th minute of added on time, I've battled for a win away at Liverpool in which they dominated the game. On this month's form I just don't see us getting a result.

 

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Is this the 4-2-3-1 formation with Mount dropped deeper? No that is too attack minded for an away game against another top team. It's the 4-3-3 (which I felt was my most defensively solid formation until Roma abused me of that fact) With Declan Rice playing in an Anchor man role, and Thiago Maia playing in a Segundo Volante support role. Kante is still injured, as is Azpilicueta and Batman, I have tinkered with the formation to hopefully give us some added protection but the personnel do not fill me with confidence.

 

 

Them.thumb.jpg.55a1825fdfd535a18222e24d79a98acb.jpg

On the other hand their team is just full of talent and its very scary! They have won 4 of their last 5 games in the league, where as we have won 3 and drawn 2, one positive is we have only conceded once in those last 5 games. Icardi up front and Milan Skriniar are an ex Inter Milan duo that my director of football Antonio Cordon insisted I make my primary signing targets, however they were too expensive, not home grown and too old for my current frame of mind. Now I normally let Zola do opposition instructions and I normally let him guide me on pre game team talks however he has gotten a bit lazy on the latter, even since the end of last season he feels that saying anything to the players before the game will just confuse them. Where as I still want to send them out motivated for big games and tend to say something more often than not. I also felt that if I was going to get anything out of this game at all I had to put some extra thought and effort into the opponent instructions. Remembering the previous games we played against City, especially this season, I recall at some point in the game being advised  to mark Icardi tightly, and close down their wide players to reduce chances getting into the box, likely after they had created chances that showed we needed to do that. Thus I thought rather than give them the opportunity to score I would over rule Zola and employ these instructions from the start.

Now the problem with a team like Man City (and us I guess) is that they have so many different weapons and so many different ways to hurt you, during the game the staff wanted me to close De Bruyne down, stop Kyle Walker from being able to cross the ball, basically every City player had the ability to cause us problems, much like we can get results from throw ins even if the team is stopping us playing any other way. We gave away a penalty on 25 minutes which I couldn't really fault Christensen for, I had told him to tightly mark Icardi and that is what he did, so tightly that they tumbled together in the penalty area and the ref had a decision to make. 1-0 down having played 25 minutes, I encouraged the players, they responded and we got to half time without any more problems.

I put Batman on for Arp at half time, to freshen us up and to give the caped crusader some much needed minutes in his legs on return from injury. We kept it tight, we even bossed the ball more in the 2nd half having 55% possession but City looked dangerous when they had the ball, Kepa was the best player for us on the pitch and although we had the ball the way the team was setup meant we did little to nothing with it and had yet to register a shot on target. I threw on Abraham and Barella with 15 minutes to go, swapping Hudson-Odoi on the left and Mount in the middle to give us some fresh legs at the top end of the pitch. Time dragged on, they had a total of 9 shots on target that Kepa had managed to keep out, we were bending but not breaking, not threatening at all. They brought on Jesus and Silva to try and finish us off, and then in the last few minutes of the game brought on Stones to cement the back line and keep us out, which I thought was laughable seeing as we hadn't had a shot on target.

On 89 minutes Emerson drives down the left wing, he gets to level with the box and puts the ball low and hard into the area. Batman, with his back to goal holds up play and for some reason attracts four Man City players around him as they try crowd him off the ball without conceding a penalty, his route to goal is completely blocked but he keeps a cool head and slides the ball out to the right hand side of the area to a completely unmarked David Brooks. Brooks lashes the ball into the top right hand corner past a diving Ederson. I can't believe it, 1 shot on target, 1 goal, 1 minute left of normal time, 1-1 away at the Etihad. David Brooks has now scored 2 goals in the 89th minute or later that have meant the difference between dropped points and staying unbeaten, and yet the fans still think he is crap!

Champions find a way to get the job done even when they don't play the best. 

*Queen

Digging in mate. Fantastic play, can feel you’re gonna beat Roma! 

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1 hour ago, Mandy42 said:

We Are The Champions*

No I've not gone crazy and won the league in February, There is a reason to pick this song as the title of this post, but it is also very clear that after the horrors of the last song, I also just needed some classic rock to wash it out of my mind! I've survived away days at Spurs by the thinnest of margins having to score an equaliser in the 4th minute of added on time, I've battled for a win away at Liverpool in which they dominated the game. On this month's form I just don't see us getting a result.

 

Us.thumb.jpg.135f120971db3e0f2291c088f8bd9471.jpg

 

Is this the 4-2-3-1 formation with Mount dropped deeper? No that is too attack minded for an away game against another top team. It's the 4-3-3 (which I felt was my most defensively solid formation until Roma abused me of that fact) With Declan Rice playing in an Anchor man role, and Thiago Maia playing in a Segundo Volante support role. Kante is still injured, as is Azpilicueta and Batman, I have tinkered with the formation to hopefully give us some added protection but the personnel do not fill me with confidence.

 

 

Them.thumb.jpg.55a1825fdfd535a18222e24d79a98acb.jpg

On the other hand their team is just full of talent and its very scary! They have won 4 of their last 5 games in the league, where as we have won 3 and drawn 2, one positive is we have only conceded once in those last 5 games. Icardi up front and Milan Skriniar are an ex Inter Milan duo that my director of football Antonio Cordon insisted I make my primary signing targets, however they were too expensive, not home grown and too old for my current frame of mind. Now I normally let Zola do opposition instructions and I normally let him guide me on pre game team talks however he has gotten a bit lazy on the latter, even since the end of last season he feels that saying anything to the players before the game will just confuse them. Where as I still want to send them out motivated for big games and tend to say something more often than not. I also felt that if I was going to get anything out of this game at all I had to put some extra thought and effort into the opponent instructions. Remembering the previous games we played against City, especially this season, I recall at some point in the game being advised  to mark Icardi tightly, and close down their wide players to reduce chances getting into the box, likely after they had created chances that showed we needed to do that. Thus I thought rather than give them the opportunity to score I would over rule Zola and employ these instructions from the start.

Now the problem with a team like Man City (and us I guess) is that they have so many different weapons and so many different ways to hurt you, during the game the staff wanted me to close De Bruyne down, stop Kyle Walker from being able to cross the ball, basically every City player had the ability to cause us problems, much like we can get results from throw ins even if the team is stopping us playing any other way. We gave away a penalty on 25 minutes which I couldn't really fault Christensen for, I had told him to tightly mark Icardi and that is what he did, so tightly that they tumbled together in the penalty area and the ref had a decision to make. 1-0 down having played 25 minutes, I encouraged the players, they responded and we got to half time without any more problems.

I put Batman on for Arp at half time, to freshen us up and to give the caped crusader some much needed minutes in his legs on return from injury. We kept it tight, we even bossed the ball more in the 2nd half having 55% possession but City looked dangerous when they had the ball, Kepa was the best player for us on the pitch and although we had the ball the way the team was setup meant we did little to nothing with it and had yet to register a shot on target. I threw on Abraham and Barella with 15 minutes to go, swapping Hudson-Odoi on the left and Mount in the middle to give us some fresh legs at the top end of the pitch. Time dragged on, they had a total of 9 shots on target that Kepa had managed to keep out, we were bending but not breaking, not threatening at all. They brought on Jesus and Silva to try and finish us off, and then in the last few minutes of the game brought on Stones to cement the back line and keep us out, which I thought was laughable seeing as we hadn't had a shot on target.

On 89 minutes Emerson drives down the left wing, he gets to level with the box and puts the ball low and hard into the area. Batman, with his back to goal holds up play and for some reason attracts four Man City players around him as they try crowd him off the ball without conceding a penalty, his route to goal is completely blocked but he keeps a cool head and slides the ball out to the right hand side of the area to a completely unmarked David Brooks. Brooks lashes the ball into the top right hand corner past a diving Ederson. I can't believe it, 1 shot on target, 1 goal, 1 minute left of normal time, 1-1 away at the Etihad. David Brooks has now scored 2 goals in the 89th minute or later that have meant the difference between dropped points and staying unbeaten, and yet the fans still think he is crap!

Champions find a way to get the job done even when they don't play the best. 

*Queen

Digging in mate. Fantastic play, can feel you’re gonna beat Roma! 

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Sad's Twice a Month Freestyle 4*

For only the 2nd time this month we are at home which is a bit poor out of 7 games. Bournemouth are today's opponent, and today is the 29th of February which means we only get a 2 day gap between this fixture and the 2nd leg against Roma.

 

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I had pretty much given up on the Roma game in the aftermath of the result, but with some positive comments on here and the dragged out result against Man City I felt that I owed it to myself, then fans (and you lot!) to give it a go. Thus we play the 3-3-2-2 or when Barella plays is more a 3-2-3-2. Sancho and Brooks swap wings at the earliest opportunity though the post match press conference asks me if I intend to play Brooks on the left wing as a regular thing, hmmm well he spent 30 seconds out there after kick off... Arp gets another chance to try get a goal, think he is up to 10 games without scoring now, perhaps the pressure of being European Golden Boy has gone to his head.

 

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Two ex Chelsea players in the Bournemouth line up, Begovic and Ake, I still have a clause in the laters contract that will allow me to sign him back for £40M so I am keeping an eye on his development. The last time we played an ex keeper Jamal Blackman had a blinder for Watford and held us single handedly to a draw (well we played crap but yeah) I am hoping Amir doesn't have a similar performance. It's a steady patient 1st half, we boss the ball, play it around beautifully but don't carve them open too much. Both wide playmakers drift in often making us slightly narrow but also making the midfield very compact and difficult for Bournemouth to play through.

On 25 minutes Bournemouth have the ball in their own half, they play it around in their midfield in a nice triangle working it out close to the halfway line in the left central part of the pitch. David Brooks ghosts in from our right wing and pinches the ball from the Bournemouth midfielder he then surges into the box of his former team and delivers a hard low cross along the 6 yard line, Tammy Abraham finishes low and hard, it strikes the keeper on the leg but glances into the net thanks to the power of the shot. It stays that way until halftime, I bring the players in, keep the formation the same, tell them assertively to guard against complacency and let them go back out and play.

On 68 minutes we have a throw in on the right in line with their box, Thiago Maia throws it short to Barella who is closed down quickly, he plays it back to Maia just in from the right touchline who delivers a 1st time cross towards the centre of goal. Abraham backs under the ball and jumps with a deft flick of the head he guides the ball to the back top corner of the net well out of the grasp of a diving Begovic. 

I pull us back to balanced, happy to let us keep the ball and not do much with it, I switched Abraham and Arp's position on the pitch to try and create some chances for him but we saw out the game 2-0. I didn't make any substitutions for the 1st time in my career as I felt I could make changes in formation and personnel for the Roma game

*Sadness (Yes this is as horrible as the title suggests)

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Leap Year*

Here are February's results

results.thumb.jpg.434910f6939a56e88a98a84ed066d1ac.jpg

 

2 draws and 3 wins in the league have kept us consistent while our rivals have been slipping up and dropping points. Which means at the end of February the table looks like this

 

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It puts us top with 9 games to go, 10 points clear of current 2nd place West Ham, though Tottenham have 2 games in hand and could close to within 5 points if they win both games. However I am likely to have the ability to focus mainly on the league when Roma put me out of the Champions league (sorry @bucket my faith only gets me so far ;)) This means that I have extended my unbeaten record to 

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That's 17 more than the current Arsenal real life record. Which is why I might have lost it slightly at this press conference

 

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That's also the 1st time I've added comments to the bottom of a press conference. Elsewhere in another press conference this happened.

 

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Seems that he is happy to snipe at me from Spain, but doesn't want to come to the Premier league and take me on week to week. 

 

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Like drawing Derby in the last round (although we played them in the Carabao) the game has gone one further and drawn us against the actual team we will play in the FA cup (in 3 days from the the writing of this post)

 

*Maria Taylor

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Light*

march.thumb.jpg.2817280981fde37cd523dd024bb408f9.jpg

 

March is here, and we have a month with only 4 games to play, if we hadn't progressed to the later stages of the two cup competitions we'd only have 2 games this month! That's like being in the depths of Scottish tier 6 like @andychar at Clydebank in his thread 

https://community.sigames.com/topic/465949-where-in-the-world-is-andychar/ 

Check it out!

Back with Chelsea, two "easy" games in the league let us focus on the two cups, plus the at minimum 5 point lead at the top of the Premier league doesn't hurt! 

 

*San Holo (Worth listening to for the artist name alone)

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On Days Like These*

Here we are, the home leg against Roma, I wanted to save any Italian Job reference to as and when I played Juventus, but after the 1st leg result I figured we would need a similar effort to that of driving 3 mini's full of gold out from under the eyes of the Italian mafia. I just hope we get a better ending to the caper than they did in the movie. Plus just for the record I am talking about the original, none of this Mark Wahlberg and Jason Statham rubbish.

 

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We go with the 4-2-3-1 formation as we need at least 4 goals, Batman returns to lead the line, though he might not make it through the full game. Hudson-Odoi instead of Sancho as he played in the Bournemouth game. Barkley comes back in for Mount, Willian returns after resting from him injury. Reece James has to play on the right as Azpilicueta's broken arm rules him out. Kante is just a machine, he recovered from his injury, accidentally he was picked to play in the U23 game two days ago to regain fitness, he has regained some of that fitness, is tired and can still play 60 minutes of this game. what a BEAST!

 

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The only change to their team from our spanking away from home is that Javier Pastore comes in for Bryan Cristante, which is fine by me as he scored one of their goals. I tell the players that they deserve to get their revenge on Roma after the way the 1st leg went down, I send them out with a positive attitude as I don't want to try force the issue too early, I fear if we go out attacking from the start we run the huge risk of conceding a goal which then means we have an even bigger mountain to climb.

There is something special about European nights, whether it's playing against opposition you don't normally play, or just the glamour of the competition. I think my favourite Chelsea game every was the 2-2 draw in the Nou Camp with only 10 men on the pitch, the drama and against the odds. We need something similar tonight against Roma.

We kick off, and in the 1st 30 seconds we have 2 shots blocked by the Roma defence before they manage to get on target, then Barkley makes a rash tackle on the edge of their area which removes the pressure, when I said take revenge I didn't mean physically. We keep the pressure on, keeping the ball, the only thing more perfect would be to get an early goal. 11 minutes in and we have Emerson delivering a corner from the right, he whips it into the near post but Roma clear it as far as the edge of the box, Kante pushes back into the box and shoots but his shot is blocked, it rolls out of the box on the right corner. Emerson, coming from taking the corner runs at the ball and shoots 1st time, an absolute pile driver into the top left corner. We have 1 of the 4 goals we need with only 11 minutes played! Do the supporters dare to dream? 

I praise the players and let them get on with it. On 15 minutes Christensen throws in from the right, just outside their box, Kante receives the short throw, the Roma defender stops him from going down the line and he lays the ball back across the edge of the box to Jorginho, who hits it, Pickford is scared but as he dives it just slips wide of the near post. The players are definitely up for this, where was this in the 1st leg.

On 16 minutes Christensen throws in from close to the same place, Kante tries go down the line this time, but his cross is blocked from going into the box and the ball rolls back to Christensen, he drills a hard low cross into the box, Manolas manages to block it but doesn't clear it far, Barkley swings his foot at it on the 6 yard line and it goes into the back of the net. 2-0 with 16 minutes played, we are halfway there!

25 minutes, another throw in, Christensen throws it into Kante, this time he does go down the line, he drills the ball across the box and Batman meets the cross at the far post and slams it home past a diving Pickford. That's 3-0 which makes it 3-3 on aggregate with only just half of the 1st half played. I pull the players back to a balanced mentality as now I am fearful that all our hard work, all of the hope we have kindled with our fast start can be undone by just 1 Roma goal. We can take our time now, we only need 1 more goal.

30 minutes, Emerson has a throw in, this time in our half, Kante collects it near the halfway line, he rolls it back to Christensen on the edge of our box, he plays it short to Jorginho, who lays it forward to Barkley on the halfway line. He turns and rolls it out to the right wing for Willian to run onto. Willian charges down the right wing, he gets to the edge of the Roma box and is crowded out by three of their defenders. He back heels a ball to James, who plays a 1st time ball to the edge of the D for Barkley who shoots with power, Pickford gets a hand to it but can't keep it out. A third of the game played and we have the 4 goals we need, however we Roma still only need 1 goal to ruin our fun.

33 minutes Roma panic a clearance that Emerson collects at our left back position. We move the ball around well, working it from left to right, before feeding a ball into Batman in the right side channel, he turns on the ball and shoots, but it's wide of the goal and Pickford doesn't even have to dive.

41 minutes, Roma have a throw in, in their own half, it comes into our half, they work it from the left to the right side, Under attempts to cut inside like he did in the 1st game but Hudson-Odoi is all over him and clears the ball long and high into the Roma half. Batman chases it, bringing the ball to the right edge of the Roma box. Pickford commits himself to going to ground early and Batman places the ball past him into the bottom left corner. 5-0! In the 1st half I can't honestly believe it!

Kante was the player of the half, but I don't want to risk him and how close to his 60 minutes he can push it so I take him off at half time for Thiago Maia on in his place. Just after the hour mark we have another throw in, Left side edge of their box, Maia delivers it short to Jorginho, he lays it back to Maia on the touchline. Hudson-Odoi makes a run to the edge of the box, Maia lays the ball to him, and he shoots 1st time, into the bottom right corner, Pickford can't get there and it's 6-0. I bring on Ampadu and Barella for Barkley and Jorginho, dropping Maia and Ampadu as two defensive midfielders to shield the back 4.

We see the rest of the game out, Roma have 2 shots total, none on target. Beyond all belief we are in the hat for the next round, and won ourselves a cool £8.25M besides.

*Italian Job Soundtrack Matt Monro

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Back Down to Earth*

After the highest scoring competitive game in my career and the best comeback to boot it was definitely back down to earth for the next game of the season, away to bottom of the league Aston Villa.

 

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Giving the 3-2-3-2 another run out, should be enough to get a result against poorer opposition, one day I might even be brave enough to use it against a better side! Struck me looking back at this team line up that there are only 2 players on this screen grab with Chelsea shirts one, Kepa was signed pretty much as I arrived and Abraham was away on loan at Aston Villa in my 1st season, this is a pretty much new team.

 

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Not sure whether it is just the euphoria of the Roma result but I don't see them getting a result from this game. The way the title race is shaping up it is these games against Villa and Huddersfield (although the terriers sit 7th in the league) where I should look to pick up points, giving me the cushion to drop points against Spurs and Arsenal as the campaign winds down.

On 17 minutes we have a corner from the right, Sancho delivers, it swings to the far post where de Ligt rises and heads at goal, the keeper gets a hand to it and palms it away, but only back into the centre of goal where a prowling Abraham pounces and sticks it in the net for 1-0. To my shame, we hadn't started too well, maybe because it took until the 10th minute for me to remember to switch Brooks and Sancho on their respective wings.

On 84 minutes Sancho brings the ball infield from the left, he gets into the Villa half before he meets resistance and slides the ball centrally to Kante, he then lays the ball on to Brooks on the right wing. Brooks cuts infield and dribbles towards the area, a lunging Villa tackle wins the ball just as the wide playmaker was about to pull the trigger, it is a great tackle and could have saved a goal in it's own right. Unfortunately the strength of the challenge pushes the ball into the Villa area where an alert Abraham beats the Villa defence to the ball and slots a 1st time strike into the bottom left corner. 2-0 points in the bag, I can relax a bit (was a bit cagey at only 1-0)

2nd game in a row where Abraham has scored a brace. This time he played at the F9 position to try give Arp more of a chance at the advanced forward position.

*Carly Simon

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6 hours ago, andychar said:

Amazing turnaround in the Champions League. Reminds me of 2012...your name is on the trophy!

Have you actually lose a Premier League game yet?

No not yet, I've lost to PSV away in the Champions league group stage, 

Tottenham in the 1st round of the Carabao cup last season

Roma away in the Champions league knock out stage this year

Tottenham away in the Carabao cup this year.

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Wake me up Before you Go-Go*

FA cup 6th round time against Man Utd, the title refers to rumours circulating that Jose might be leaving at the end of the season as he has not yet agreed a new contract, and the fact that even with the midfield he has at his disposal they still play some rather boring football!

 

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Abraham starts after scoring twice in his last two starts, Kante is fit enough to start but might not make it through the game, Barella and Jorginho in the line up to hopefully give us the creativity we need while still being defensive. Though how fragile we were against City in this formation does not fill me with confidence.

 

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4-1-4-1 trust Jose to have that amount of talent in his team and keep it tight and defensive. It's a cagey 1st half, Man Utd have a goal ruled out for offside, which is a warning for us. On 35 minutes we clear a hopeful Man Utd ball out of our half, they recycle it across their back 4 before giving it to Hazard on the left wing, he makes a run forward before playing a through ball for Lukaku, our centre backs have parted for some reason like the red sea, Lukaku takes a touch and slams the ball beyond Kepa to give them a 1-0 lead.

We get to halftime without conceding again, though we don't overly create much. Tell the lads to get out there and keep playing the way they have done in the 1st half. Barkley comes on for Jorginho, Kante moves back to the defensive midfielder role, Barella to the box to box role and Barkley in the Mezzala role, Batman comes on for Abraham up front, the current hot hand hasn't produced anything. On 68 minutes Christensen has the ball on the right wing, he tries deliver a cross but it gets cut out and headed out of the box, Kante gives it to Christensen who shoots, the shot is blocked, Kante rolls the rebounded ball to Barella on the edge of the area, who threads an eye on the needle shot to put the ball into the bottom right corner. 1-1 68 minutes played we are back in the cup!

I bring on Thiago Maia for the goal scorer who pulls up injured, just what I need as he's expecting more 1st team footbal! We keep it tight again but don't create anything, then in the 88th minute Pogba breaks up our play in the Man Utd half and pushes forward, he slides a through ball to Hazard who draws our defenders to him before slipping the ball sideways to Lukaku, he once more takes a touch and shoots hard past Kepa, the shot is quite central but the power makes it unstoppable. 2-1 down with 2 minutes of normal time to play.

I put us to very attacking, demand more, Willian gets down the right side in stoppage time pulls the ball back across the box, Batman has a tap in at the far post but Lindelof throws himself at the ball an cuts it out, it dribbles agonisingly wide of the post for corner, which the ref doesn't give us time to take. Knocked out of our 2nd cup competition of the year

*Wham!

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Lonely at the Top*

Huddersfield at home to end the month, another game I've put a mark against to attempt to get maximum points so that I can stay at the top, next month has a lot harder fixtures that I can't guarantee I will take points from, so it might not be lonely at the top come this time next month!

 

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Jorginho comes in for the injured Barella (who is complaining about expecting more play time) Azpilicueta is getting his fitness back in the reserves, so James continues at right back.

 

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Cheryshev limped off the last time we played but before then was influential in the game, Nketiah their 20 year old striker is on loan from Arsenal has scored against us before. 

We dominate the ball, create chances, but it takes us until half an hour into the game to get a break through. Mount delivers a free kick from the left hand side of their box, it's deep to beyond the far post, Batman looks to get to it but it's too deep, but for some reason (probably because Batman is going for the ball) Cheryshev jumps and heads the ball back into play, across his own goal, de ligt get's up and heads down into the goal.

We go in at half time 1-0 up, I bring Mepham on for Christensen to keep his legs fresh. I tell the players once more not to think the game is won and stay alert. That lasts all of 3 minutes into the 2nd half, Lossl makes a save from a tame Batman header. He delivers a long kick upfield, for some reason my defenders let it bounce and Nketiah pounces on it. He chests it down pushes it into the box before placing it beyond Kepa into the bottom right corner. We were ahead for 18 minutes, 3 minutes after the restart we are level and we start again.

I bring Arp on for Batman who is still struggling post injury, and Barkley for Mount, who since he got his new contract has gone off the boil. On 78 minutes Arp is close to finally scoring a goal but a robust challenge from one of their defenders sends him sprawling, Jorginho puts away the penalty and we go back ahead.

In the 81st minute Kante drives into the area but gets tackled, the ball breaks out of the box, Willian runs back and wins it, he slides it out the right wing to James who overlaps and gets to the byline, he pulls a ball back, Hudson-Odoi slides in and meets it before the keeper gets there and it slips into the net 3-1 makes me feel safer. We see out the game without incident which means 3 more points in the bag!

*Randy Newman

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End of the Light*

The light is over! Next month is back to a heavy workload!

 

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4 games 3 wins, 3 competitions, we might be out of the FA cup but the board haven't gotten on my back yet about it.

 

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That might be because the league looks like this, we still have a minimum of 5 point lead at the top if Tottenham win their game in hand, if we win our next game in the league we will qualify for the Champions league, 1 more win and we meet the minimum requirements for the league, with a huge chance of achieving more.

 

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Less positive is the draw for the next round of the Champions league, as much as we drew the away game at the Etihad I am well aware we were not in the game at all and got lucky to get away from there with the draw. At home we might have a chance, have to dig in and survive the 1st game, we overturned the Roma result, but then Man City beat Arsenal last week 8-2 which scares me to death!

 

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In other news Norwich are looking for their 2nd manager in 2 seasons, I took a little too much pleasure in telling my brother in law this via whatsapp and he has demanded I take the job! To which I responded no way I'm top of the league! However I can tell the "pressure" to start a Norwich save is growing.

 

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Next months fixtures, Arsenal and Leicester are the only games against people not in the top 6. Will have to see how we get on but I'm not sure we will either make it through the month unbeaten, or more importantly get enough points to survive and win the league! Will have to keep the faith and see how we get on

*Dr Wicked

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April Fools*

It's April fools day, it's Arsenal away, though luckily it's an evening kick off so fingers crossed we are as  far away from any practical jokes as possible! 

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First of 3 league games against other London sides, technically this is the easiest game with Arsenal sitting 9th in the league. 

 

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We have matched up formations, Morata comes in to play against us again, he has scored more goals for Arsenal than he did for us last season. It's an even game, we have chances but it doesn't lead to a goal, so do they, we manage to get to halftime at 0-0 but it's very cagey. We are closing in on the business end of the season, I will take points wherever I can get, so a draw wouldn't be the end of the world, though having felt that this was likely to be the easier of the upcoming games I would rather take 3 points.

We battle on, keep creating chances, but are close to conceding on a couple of occasions.

On 87 minutes we have a corner from the right, we whip it in at the back post and Morata clears it, only as far as Kante who shoots, but it is blocked, the rebound makes it out of the area and de Ligt runs onto it, smashing it across goal into the bottom right corner. The outburst of emotion is almost as strong as the 6-0 Roma win, I would have taken a point but 3 points is much better! Ave it

Rufus Wainwright

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 TV Said So*

2nd London derby, 2nd away game, playing a West Ham team who currently sit 2nd in the league, which means this match is being shown on TV, while the Arsenal game was not, hence West Ham must be better than Arsenal!

 

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Barella is still the perfect storm of being injured and complaining about his lack of 1st team football. Arp is still for some reason not scoring goals, and having played in the 1st team more this season than last has now been downgraded by my backroom staff from a Premier league player to a leading Championship player, but he still has a guaranteed 4 star potential with a possible 5th star in black. Colour me confused. Abraham and Barkley rotate in, although Mason Mount is slowly and quite calmly making that shadow striker role his own, which is amusing as Barkley keeps suggesting he should get a new contract.

 

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West Ham's leading goal scorers in Anderson and Arnautovic have more than my leading goal scorers, but we sit top of the league so I guess I will let my lot off. Though it does seem to be a recurring issue with our squads that we get more goals from midfield not necessarily a stand out striker. As you might suspect with a top 2 clash it was tight as we both worked our way into the game, neither team was easing itself into tackles with quite a few free kicks being awarded and Jorginho getting the games 1st booking on 11 minutes. That seemed to settle both teams down and we took more control of the game. On 27 minutes Maia throws the ball in from the left, Jorginho heads the ball back to him and he goes on a surging run down the left wing then cuts into the box the defender is too slow to reach him and he delivers the ball low across the area. Abraham arrives at the back post and drills it hard in at the far post. We get to half time still in control and in the lead.

As usual at this time of the year I tell the team to maintain standards and not to get carried away that we are leading. As the 2nd half drags on and we stay just 1 goal in front I bring on Ampadu, and James, taking off Jorginho who has been booked and dropping Ampadu into a ball winning midfielder role. Emerson comes off as he looks tired, Azpilicueta swaps to left back and James comes on at right back. 2 minutes after the substitution Abraham roams down the right channel, James overlaps on the right touchline and he is slipped the ball. He delivers a cross deep to the far post, Arp makes a nuisance of himself and the ball isn't cleared well, it drops to Barkley just beyond the penalty spot and he slots it into bottom corner. Declan Rice comes on against his old team to make sure we keep it tight. Abraham gets tackled in the box and the ref gives a penalty in the 90th minute. I dive on the chance to give Arp the penalty and he hits the post.... The man has finishing of 17 and penalty taking of 15! but that's now 13 games without scoring, oh well I'm not going to make a big deal about it when we continue to win and stay in control of the title race.

*Red Rum Club

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Miles Away From Home*

Champions league games away from home this season have not been fantastic, lost away to PSV, lost away to Roma, we dragged out a 0-0 draw against Athletico which was really our best result away in Europe. Our opponents in this round are Man City, who we only managed to draw away against with an equaliser in the 89th minute. After the Roma home leg I have belief as long as we stay in the game, I expect we might not win the match but have a chance in the tie.

 

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With the talk of staying in the game it might seem strange that I've decided to go for the 3-2-3-2 formation, however the 4-3-3 defensive formation has not been as stable as I would have liked, and this formation has the benefit of being under used by me compared to the other two, as I feel a problem with the 4-3-3 has been figured out by the better managers especially those who have been in the league with me since I started.

 

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They have probably their strongest line up available, Icardi up front has never failed to score against us, lets see how well we can keep ourselves in the tie! Turns out not long! Man City recycle a corner back to the half way line, John Stones plays a long cross field ball which drops to an unmarked Jesus just outside our area on the right side, he controls it, moves to the edge of the box and shoots across goal into the bottom left corner of the net. 1-0 down, 4 minutes played!

We restrict their chances until on 14 minutes they have a corner from the left, de Bruyne delivers a deep in swinging ball beyond the back post. Kepa goes out for it but is beaten to the ball by Milan Skriniar who heads it back across goal, Icardi taps it home from all of a yard out, he's scored in every game against us, but that was by far the easiest 2-0 down 14 minutes played.

I move the mentality back from balanced to cautious and we see out the half only 2-0 down, they don't create much more, we don't create much either. I keep the team the same, keep the players the same and tell them to go out and give the fans something to cheer about. In the main we do, we get stuck in, getting 3 yellow cards in the 2nd half, we create glimpses of quality but only manage 3 shots on target, City have 17 attempts but only 7 on target, I swap like for like, bringing on Jorginho for Barella and Batman for Abraham. 

Into the last 10 minutes and I am willing to accept 2-0 down to take back to Stamford Bridge, they work the ball down the left and cross it into the box, we clear the ball but only as far as Gundogan on the edge of the box, he takes a touch and hits it perfectly into the bottom left corner. Balls 3-0 down, just like away against Roma, another Champions league mountain to climb

*CLC, Micky Bulen

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School Boy Error*

For some unknown reason I've not taken a screenshot of this game's line up! which makes me the school boy in this post :( With us beating West Ham in our last Premier league game and Tottenham beating Leicester to move 2nd this was my second top 2 clash in 7 days. Sandwiched wonderfully between the two legs of the Champions league against Man City. A win against Tottenham here and I would move within a point of winning the league, and as they played again before I did, I could be crowned champions before we kicked another ball. So those are the reasons to go for it with a strong team, against that is the fact that I'm 3-0 down against Man City and need a strong team for the home leg 3 days after this game, that and the fact that even if I lost here to Tottenham I would have a 7 point cushion with 12 points left to play for. 

 

Kepa Arrizabalaga

 

                                                            Reece James                                           Declan Rice                                                     Andreas Christensen                                                      Emerson

 

                                                                                                                                             N'golo Kante                             Nicolo Barella

 

                                                                Willian                                                                                          Mason Mount                                                                                 Callum Hudson-Odoi

 

Fiete Arp

 

James came in to give me the option of playing Azpilicueta in the Man City game, Declan Rice started his 1st game for me at centre back so that Mepham and de Ligt could be rested. Kante and Barella were maintaining fitness in this game to keep them available for City. Willian and Hudson-Odoi don't fit into the 3-2-3-2 formation so rotated in for Brooks and Sancho here, Arp stays in looking for a goal, any kind of goal, so that I could rest Batman and Abraham with City in mind.

 

Kasper Dolberg

 

                                                       Son Heung-Min                                                                                   Christian Eriksen                                                                                     Lucas Moura

 

                                                                                                                                   Hakim Ziyech                                               Eric Dier

 

                                                 Ben Davies                                  Toby Alderweireld                                                                             Davinson Sanchez                                  Kieran Trippier 

 

Hugo Lloris

 

Another game where Harry Kane doesn't feature against us, though they look more than capable of standing their ground and making this difficult for us. Or at least that's what I thought. All season long our throw in's have been causing major problems, and on 7 minutes we strike again, Christensen to Barella who gets down the left channel and pulls the ball back into the box, Mason Mount has a free header from the penalty spot and cushions it back the way it came to nestle in the bottom corner of the near post.

I am even happier when on 17 minutes Willian delivers a beautiful curling free kick past a diving Hugo Lloris into the top right corner of the net! If we had 1 hand on the trophy at the start of the game were almost taking it home with us in the bus by now. On 21 minutes we have another free kick which Willian stands over, further right than the one he curled in, I hope he isn't going to go directly for goal with this one but if he did having scored from the last one I wouldn't blame him. He curls it in to the back post where Mason Mount gets yet another free header (I know he's small but you might want to start marking him) this one he pushes back across goal, it loops up and looks like it's going agonizingly over the bar at the top right of the goal, at best it's going to hit the bar on it's way over, but it dips and just scrapes under the bar and beyond Lloris' glove to make it 3-0 after 21 minutes played.

On 28 minutes Spurs have a throw in from the right on the edge of our area, Trippier and Eriksen work the throw in to get Trippier time to cross from the touchline, Dolberg steals a yard at the near post and his bullet header finds the top corner to give Spurs a lifeline. It starts raining, couple of scrappy tackles go flying in and the game breaks down for 10-15 minutes, neither team creates anything, and while we don't have current control on the game we are leading so I am content enough. 3 minutes into injury time in the 1st half Eric Dier puts a hopeful long ball down the right wing for Lucas Moura (who is injured and the reason for the added on time) to chase. Now whether Emerson thinks he can't get to the ball due to the wet pitch or his injury I do not know but he doesn't fully track back so when Moura gets to the ball a yard or so from the byline and drags it back the pressure is on for Rice to get to the ball 1st, he doesn't Dolberg is there and slots home again at the near post this time with a 1st time side footed finish. 

We go in at half time now only 1 goal to the good, if we were in the habit of letting our grip on games go in this manner every week I would be hair drying the players up one side of the dressing room and down the other, but as it is we are still in pole position when a loss is not the end of the world and draw would be more than acceptable and a win would be fantastic, so I tell the players to keep going they were the better team in the 1st half, and off we go back out into the rain. On 67 minutes Spurs have a free kick in the same general area as Willian's second, Ziyech stands over it, and my heart comes up into my mouth as he's scored a belter of a free kick against us before. Unlike Willian who swung his in with his right foot, Ziyech takes this left footed curling it in at the near post right in the top corner, Kepa didn't really have a chance of saving it and with just over 20 minutes to play it's all level.

While a draw is an acceptable outcome, a win would be infinitely better so I demand more from the players and move them up to attacking, on 75 minutes Emerson receives the ball in our half and gives it to Jorginho in the centre circle, he feeds Mount a few yards in front of him, having scored two goals already Spurs put pressure on him before he can move up field and he lays it out to the left wing to Hudson-Odoi who takes the ball just inside the Spurs half. He then surges in field directly through their defence, they stand off him and he is able to get to the edge of the box before dropping his shoulder he rides a challenge before scooping his shot up and in off the inside of the post with Lloris diving below it along the ground. They were level for all of 8 minutes we lead again 4-3.

Thiago Maia comes on for Kante and Ampadu for Christensen on 77 minutes, I had already taken Barella off for Jorginho on 55 minutes as Barella had picked up his 10th yellow card of the campaign, he seems to like collecting them. We are seeing out the game, and are in control, then alarmingly Kepa signals he is injured which is not good when I have made all my subs! I have the dilemma of pulling us back to a more and more defensive approach but that might mean he is called upon to make more saves or stick at being positive to maintain possession and keep Spurs out that way. I go for the later option and it works, we get into the stoppage time at the end of the game (8 minutes for my injured goalkeeper) On 96 minutes They work a throw in on the right edge of our box, Dolberg controls it and gives it back to Trippier who delivers a cross to the edge of the box, our defence had dropped deep expecting to have to head clear from closer than that. Ziyech attacks to cross and heads at goal from the edge of the area, it's a tame effort, headed down and likely to bounce just in front of the goal line and end up in the keepers arms, but Kepa simply can't get his injured frame there fast enough and he is able to palm it onto the post but it bounces off the inside and still trickles in.

4-4 A draw is an acceptable result as it means Spurs have to win all 4 of their remaining games, we only have to win 1 to be crowned Champions, although some draws do feel like defeats and this is one of them

*Neil Thomas

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Lightning Strikes Twice*

When your 3-0 down coming into the 2nd leg you want to pick a song from a band you actually want to listen to! That and having been 3-0 down against Roma in the last round and turning the tie around at home I really am hoping the Lightning will strike twice, the players are pretty sick of me playing on repeat in the dressing room though! 

 

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The return of the screenshot! and Sancho, Batman, de Ligt and Azpilicueta into the starting line up, after all the fuss with Kepa at the end of the last game he is apparently not injured and fit enough to play (no idea this would be an omen for the Carabao cup final when it happened in my save :D ) unlike the Roma game where I started as positive and wanted to ease my way into the game, I am terrified of Man City and feel if we don't get a foothold and then a stranglehold on the game then they will get that all important away goal, thus for this game we are going attacking from the off, get right in their faces and go at them.

 

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My real fear here is Icardi up to, he has never failed to score against us and him getting a goal here would be more or less it in terms of any chance we have of progressing, I don't need my director of football staring at me telling me "I told you to sign him" just before kickoff! I tell the players to go out and get revenge as they have responded to that well in the past, the crowd noise in unreal as Man City kick off, they look to pass the ball around and work it through their team getting everyone a touch but we get after them and press them, the ball goes back to Ederson and he has to loop it out to the left half way inside their half, Azpilicueta wins the header over the top of Sterling, the ball drops to Kante who turns and seeing that the Man City defence is all over the place having not recovered from us pressing them in possession, delivers a far post cross that Sancho run's onto and heads into the top corner. We have our foothold in the game 1-0 on the night 1-3 on aggregate, 33 seconds played.

If the crowd noise was loud before it is like a living thing now, every time we have the ball or City make a mistake it grows, City look shell shocked, but dig in and stifle us very well, the crowd noise begins to reduce as they realise this isn't going to be a carbon copy of the Roma game where we were completely back in the tie by 30 minutes gone. However on 31 minutes Sancho has the ball on the left corner of the City box, he has two defenders on him and is forced to turn his back to goal, he digs out a cross to the back post but Mendy gets his head to it, Kante collects the clearance on the edge of the area and runs out towards the right edge of the box before pushing for the byline. Mendy, already on a yellow card doesn't risk the challenge and Kante crosses to the back post, Sancho is looking for another headed goal but Otamendi at right back is alive to the danger and again clears to just outside the box. Azpilicueta runs onto the clearance, the ball bounces once in front of him and he hits it on the half volley it skims off the turf and goes in the bottom right corner and the crows erupt! 2-0 on the night 2-3 on aggregate, 31 minutes played.

Half time comes and we have survived a few scares to get in at halftime with a clean sheet, every time Icardi touches the ball I have a kitten! I tell the lads at half time to go out and give the fans a performance to cheer for, go out swinging and keep swinging till we either win or get knocked out fighting. On 55 minutes Sancho pulls up with a groin injury I have Abraham on the bench but he isn't as capable in wide areas and I want to see if Sancho can keep going. On 60 minutes Christensen brings the ball over the halfway line and gives it to Azpilicueta on the right wing, he advances towards the box unopposed, Man City are in full lock down mode, he puts a ball into that sweet spot "corridor of uncertainty" Ederson doesn't come for it and Sancho beats Otamendi to it at the back post to stroke home with his right foot. 3-0 on the night 3-3 on aggregate at the very least we have earned ourselves extra time. Sancho is on a hat trick there is no way I am bringing him off now!

I swap Christensen for Ampadu and Barella for Jorginho (Barella has managed to not get booked this game!) On 72 minutes Azpilicueta, Jorginho and Kante work the ball on the right side of the City box, it is Jorginho who this time delivers it to the back post, Sancho again has drifted away from Otamendi and volleys a right footed shot into the ground and beyond Ederson 4-0 on the night 4-3 on aggregate 18 minutes to go and we are going through!

I have many many kittens in that last 18 minutes as just a single City goal will see us knocked out after all our hard work, however we dig in and hold on and somehow Lightning has struck twice!

*Iron Maiden

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Bad Maths*

Turns out when I have looked back in retrospect that a draw against Tottenham didn't mean I only needed to win 1 more game, I needed to win at least 1 and not lose another, which means the title won't be wrapped up this weekend away at Leicester, unless Spurs failed to win the early game against West Brom, they get a comfortable 2-1 win at home and so the contest rolls on for at least another week.

 

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Barella starts again in a frantic attempt to placate his 1st team football demands, Sancho rests on the left due to his groin problem, Arp starts up front as I would like him to score, but to be fair we scored 4 in the last game and the striker didn't score then either, so a win is the main priority.

 

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Only thing about the Leicester team is I hope my curse of ex Arsenal strikers scoring against me doesn't continue! and the fact that Maddison has been a handful in previous games. We wanted to win to be 1 step away from taking the title, they wanted to put a dent in our victory parade, what followed was probably the most violent 1st half I've ever seen.

Barella made up for not getting carded in the last game by picking up his 11th booking of the season on 7 minutes

Michael Lang their right back went in the book on 11 minutes

Emerson for us got a yellow card on 36 minutes

Moussa Sissoko their right midfield on 38 minutes.

I was beginning to wonder if anything other than bookings and free kicks was going to happen in the 1st half. Then Barella collects the ball just inside their half and feeds a lovely looping pass out towards the right corner flag for Azpilicueta to run onto, he beats Chillwell to the ball and crosses 1st time, in a packed box some how Mason Mount rises to steer a header back the way it came into the bottom corner. That's 3 headed goals in a row! The man is 5ft 9 and has a heading of 10! Do I have the next Tim Cahill on my hands, minus the annoying accent and tattoos I hope! 

Just for completeness James Maddison decides to get a yellow card on 43 minutes. 5 cards and 1 goal in the 1st half, as much as I would like to win, I don't really need to, I just need not to lose. So at half time I bring on Jorginho and James for Barella and Emerson, switching Azpilicueta over to left back thus resetting my on the field card count back to zero. Ding Ding off we go for round 2!

Leicester come out for the 2nd half at 100 miles an hour, they press high and hard, Christensen plays the ball to Jorginho halfway inside our half, he hasn't adjusted to the pace of the game and is ambushed by Maddison who executes a risky but perfect slide tackle, the ball rolls to Welbeck who drives forward. Maddison gets the ball back on the edge of our area and neatly slots it past Kepa before he can get himself set. 1-1 

On 51 minutes Maddison makes another 2 footed challenge, this time not so well timed and gets a 2nd yellow card, they go down to 10 men. I spread the team out playing fairly wide in attack and telling them to hit early crosses.

Reece James is booked on 55 minutes

David Brooks is booked on 67 minutes

Tammy Abraham gets a yellow on 72 minutes

I take Kante off on 73 minutes, bringing Thiago Maia on to give us some more push forward. 

On 74 minutes Mount delivers a corner from the left, the initial ball is cleared to the edge of the area where Christensen chests it down, he takes a touch to get it out of his feet, Leicester are slow to close him down and he hits it hard and true with a rising drive that ends up in the roof of the net. What has the world come to! my short shadow strikers are scoring headers and my centre backs are banging in ranged shots!

From the kick off we steal the ball back and Brooks drives down the right channel, he lays it to James who is out near the touch line in loads of space, James' cross fortunately bounces off the defender and comes to Brooks, his cross hits the back of a defender in the box and comes out to Jorginho. Jorginho fakes to cross and slides a ball into the area to Mount, who, halfway between the edge of the area and the penalty spot shows that anything one of our centre backs can do, he can do better. He gets the ball out of his feet, and threads the needle between 2 on coming defenders to slot home in the bottom corner. 3-1 Mount has 2 goals and an assist he now has the most player of the match awards for us this season.

Danny Welbeck gets booked on 89 minutes to take the card count to 5 each by full time,

We are now 1 point away from being crowned Champions (I think) 

*Panacea Dream

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One Hand Knife Fight*

Don't lose the game and we win the league, it's a 1 handed knife fight because we have 1 hand on the trophy. Home against Liverpool is not the easiest fixture especially as we only just scraped a 1-0 win under heavy pressure at Anfield. 

 

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We had a 7 day gap between the previous game and this one, but only a 4 day gap between this game and our Champions league semi final 1st leg (the opponent to be revealed later!) As I only need a point to win the league, but I could do my over achievement ambitions a massive boost by fielding the stronger team in the Champions league. That is why Arp starts, if we begin to lose or the games matter again next season and he isn't firing he might have to go, but for now I will stand by him. Nathan Baxter comes into the team in goal as Kepa has twisted his ankle, he did something very similar in training this time last season and Robert Green had to see out the remainder of the campaign.

 

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No Salah or Mane is a surprise, Zidane doesn't seem to fancy his chances away against us, at least the 4-1-4-1 suggests he is coming here to defend. The backroom team suggested I give a big team talk before we go to the game to get the players up for it. I've never done one of these before so i go for it, telling the players they only have one more game to go in order to fulfil the seasons long ambition. The conditions are horrible, it's pouring it down, we start fast, we have a corner inside 3 minutes, Emerson gives it short to Barkley who puts a cross into the box, Brooks lashes it into the net at the near post, 1st stab to us.

On 7 minutes Abraham is bundled over in the box by Gomez and we are awarded a penalty. I haven't changed a penalty taker so quickly in my life. Arp stepped up, he had missed his 1st penalty a couple of games of games ago, hitting the post, he steps up, goes the same way as last time, but this one goes inside the post! His 1st goal in 16 games, my word it's been a slog! 2-0 up with under 10 minutes played.

I tell the players at half time to not get complacent, go out and finish the job. On 47 minutes James works the ball down the right, he slides the ball into their half and Brooks drives foward, he gets halfway into the Liverpool half before he gives the ball inside to Arp, he takes a touch and hits it low with a placed shot into the bottom corner from outside the area. 3-0 two for the young German and we are Champions!

 

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And takes our current Premier league record to

 

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*Dry Kill Logic

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  • 1 month later...

I might, and I stress might be bringing this thread back, I've had a lot of real life stuff to work through, only just now got access to a computer and my save games, though I still need proper badges and player photos before I can even think about doing any posts!

Might just ease myself back in, enjoy playing the game again and then think about creating a new save file to get me going on here.

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