How to make your way in the Primera Liga (or not as the case may be)

[Raptor]

Very belated congratulations on your wedding Dixie May all your pain be champaign and may all your ups and down be in bed etc...

[ghostwriter]

wow, not been about for a few months and very pleased to see that this is still continuing strong

and congratulations on the marriage

and of course good luck in the coming season

[Dixie Flatline]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Wag:

Yay!

It's back <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Did it ever go away?!

[Dixie Flatline]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Gino:

Congrats Dixie! CMS' first wedding? <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

And you cleverly posted your post on the one month anniversary of my marriage! Well done! Thanks for the congratulations!

[Dixie Flatline]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Roman105:

I decided to look at some of my old posts, and found I started reading this in 2002 (pg 25 ish) Ive just started using the board again AND ITS STILL GOING!!!!! SCARY!!

Its got to be the longest story ever going????? (or is it?)

I have got alot of catching up to do.

Right page 1......... lol <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I believe I started this part of the story in June 2001, and somewhere floating around were the threads dealing with our promotion from D2B to the Segunda Liga, then from the Segunda Liga to the Primera Liga, but they seem to have gone missing - perhaps archived?

As far as I know, and Raptor may correct me on this, I think this is the longest continuous story on the boards.

Good luck catching up from page 1 - even I stop after a while!

[Dixie Flatline]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Raptor:

Very belated congratulations on your wedding Dixie May all your pain be champaign and may all your ups and down be in bed etc... <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Thank you very much, Raptor!

[Dixie Flatline]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by ghostwriter:

wow, not been about for a few months and very pleased to see that this is still continuing strong

and congratulations on the marriage

and of course good luck in the coming season <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I had wondered where you had gone, ghostwriter! We're still holding the VIP seats for you down at the Estadio Municipal de Cartagena, so we expect to see you there more often as the season unfolds.

[Dixie Flatline]

Speaking of which, it's time to take a look at what's been happening at Cartagonova!

4th of September 2010

Euro 2012 Qualifier - Group 3, Game 1: Spain v Bosnia

This comes from Espanyol’s stadium in Barcelona, so we have a distinct home-ground advantage against a lowly-ranked European team. But when David Oliva is adjudged to have fouled Dzafic inside the penalty box on 4 minutes, no amount of screaming or hollering from just over 55,000 supporters will change the referee’s mind, and we’re down a goal on 5 minutes, as Dzafic converts the spot-kick. But then we reassert ourselves and are level five minutes later when Zubizarreta finds Raúl, who plays a neat one-two with Vicente, then fires home from just inside the penalty box. Zlatan Muslimovic almost puts Bosnia back in the lead, but César Laínez saves wonderfully. On 16 minutes, Raúl teases the Bosnian defence before firing a low drive towards goal, only to see Repuh divert it wide with the tips of his fingers. Vicente almost heads home Garrido’s corner, but we’re made to wait another four minutes before we take the lead. Llorente carries on his good World Cup form by knocking home our second goal at the second attempt, after Repuh blocked his initial shot. However, our defence threatens to bring us undone, as Marchena makes a hash of stopping Dolic, who then skips past Zubizarreta, only to miss with a wild shot.

I begin to breathe a little easier when Garrido makes it 3-1 on 28 minutes. The Cartagonova winger, playing on the left flank today, benefits from Llorente’s clever knock-on to create some space for himself then blast home a terrific goal! Four minutes later, it’s 4-1 when Vicente dummies past his man, takes Zubizarreta’s pass in his stride and caresses home a shot into the bottom right corner of Repuh’s net! However, with Muslimovic in a mood to impress me for club games, Bosnia aren’t out of it yet, particularly when Muslimovic dribbles past several Spanish defenders and plants an unstoppable shot beyond Laínez to pull the game back to 4-2 in our favour on 34 minutes. The crowd is being entertained immensely, with six goals on just over 30 minutes of football, but I want to ensure all three points. Instead, Muslimovic almost repeats his earlier effort on 36 minutes, only to be denied at the death by a good block from César Laínez, and the clearance is completed by Oliva. Marchena almost gives away the penalty again when he knocks over Muslimovic as Bosnia piles the pressure on, but this time the referee evens the ledger by turning down the more legitimate appeal. So I’m almost relieved to see Gavião miss a comparatively simple chance on 39 minutes, because it means we have the ball away from our shaky defence. The remainder of the half winds down to a conclusion, when we can all draw breath and contemplate what happened.

But Bosnia come out fighting early in the second half, with César Laínez doing well to save from Dolic’s header on 49 minutes, while Repuh denies Raúl on 53 minutes. Bosnia, however, roar back into the game a moment later when a quick move confounds my defenders and leaves Durak in the perfect position to score, which he does, to make it 4-3, and me angry. But the two goal buffer is soon restored when Raúl and Vicente combine to tee up Gavião, and the Real Betis midfielder slammed home a low drive past the Bosnian keeper. However, Bosnia’s resistance isn’t yet broken, and César Laínez does well to parry away Dzafic’s volley on 59 minutes, and then Muslimovic heads wide Dzafic’s corner. However, we wasted several opportunities to kill off the match when Raúl and Llorente miss easy chances on 70 minutes. Still, we ground out the last few minutes of the game to record a good 5-3 win.

Spain (4-3-1-2): Laínez; César (Ãngel 57), Amaya, Marchena, Oliva; Garrido, Gavião, Zubizarreta; Vicente; Raúl ©, Llorente.

Bosnia (5-3-2): Repuh; E. Dolic, Jusic, M. Masic (E. Dolic 81), E. Mujcin, Jelecak ©; A. Dolic (Mavrak 74), E. Dzafic (S. Dzafic 81), Durak; A. Dolic, Muslimovic.

Final score: Spain 5:3 Bosnia

MoM - Raúl

Apart from Garrido, Zlatan Muslimovic played for Bosnia, scoring a goal. Andy Owen came on as a substitute on 61 minutes in Wales’ 1-1 draw with Germany. Denmark’s qualifying campaign got off to a bad start, with Martin Smith in the side for a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Northern Ireland. Alex Notman bagged a hat-trick in Scotland’s 4-0 win over San Marino. Gary Mason also played for Scotland. Belarus upset England 4-2 with Mark Williams and George Clegg having games they would rather forget. Israel, with Shimon Gershon, in the eleven fought hard, but lost 2-1 to Italy.

[Dixie Flatline]

5th of September 2010

Gazzetta della Sport links Cartagonova with a transfer bid to Bari for Alex Pinardi worth £13.25 million. Although Pinardi is a versatile attacking midfielder capable of playing anywhere, I don’t think the 30 year old is worth that much money.

My scout Abdelkarim El Hadrioui rejects my offer of a new contract in order to join Polideportivo Almería.

8th of September 2010

Now the rumours are verging on the ridiculous when La Marça suggests that we are about to complete the purchase of Sunderland’s Jamie McMaster for £30 million. Sunderland’s manager, John Aldridge, denies that McMaster is available for sale, and in any event, he’s not worth that amount of money.

Last night, the U-21s defeated Norway’s babes 2-1, with Enrique Kortina on the scoresheet, and Mariano Carmona doing well in defence. Tonight, it’s the turn of the men.

Euro 2012 Qualifier - Group 3, Game 2: Norway v Spain

When the two best football nations in the world go head-to-head, you would expect a good game. Unfortunately, this game took a long time to get going, and when it did, it was Norway who made the better start. Zubizarreta misses a chance on 11 minutes, while César Laínez tips away Carew’s drive on 14 minutes. On 24 minutes, Christer George shaves the post with a long-range drive, while Riise fires a free kick over the bar some eight minutes later. Carew skips past Amaya on 40 minutes but cannot keep his shot on target. Norway finally make their pressure count on 44 minutes when Voll finds George and the Norwegian captain makes mincemeat of my defenders before sliding the ball between César Laínez’s legs, much to the delight of the parochial home crowd.

As the second half begins, I take off the underperforming Amaya, who had missed too many tackles in the first half for my liking, and we enjoy a good spell of pressure, forcing the Norwegian captain into making a series of good saves. Raúl leads by example but is unlucky in front of goal on 48 minutes. We hit the bar on 49 minutes through Barcelona’s César, and a moment later, Raúl heads a shot wide of the mark. On the hour mark, Marchena looks to add to his solitary international goal, but his fierce drive is turned away for a corner. Llorente should have done better from the corner than to simply head wide with the goal at his mercy. And we are to rue our string of missed chances. Tanem almost extends Norway’s lead on 71 minutes when his drive misses by scant inches. However, on 76 minutes, we are made to pay when George scores his, and Norway’s second goal of the game by volleying home Abdullah’s clever pass. In a vain attempt to fight back, I throw on Diego and Juan Hernández for Gavião and Garrido, but apart from a drive tipped away from Diego, we run out of time and options, and go down to defeat in Oslo.

Norway (4-4-2): Skjeldestad; Rønning, Riise, Kippe, Abdullah; Hoseth, Voll, Brenne, Pedersen (Tanem 68); Carew (Helstad 60), George ©.

Spain (4-1-2-1-2): Laínez; César, Amaya (César 46), Marchena, Oliva; Gavião (Diego 80); Garrido (Hernández 80); Vicente; Raúl ©, Llorente.

Final score: Norway 2:0 Spain

MoM - Christer George

In other games featuring Cartagonova players, Zlatan Muslimovic played for Bosnia in its 2-1 win over Slovakia. Gillet kept a clean sheet for Belgium as they ran riot 4-0 over Germany. Wales were made to struggle by Greece, but with Andy Owen playing a full game, the Welsh ran out 3-2 winners. Denmark are none for two in qualifying as they were soundly beaten by Russia 3-1 in Copenhagen, Martin Smith not having a memorable time for his country. Scotland, with Alex Notman and Gary Mason in the side, drew a blank with Northern Ireland. Shimon Gershon was in defence for Israel as they comfortable defeated Austria 2-0 in Tel Aviv.

[Dixie Flatline]

11th of September 2010

Primera Liga - Game 1: Cartagonova v Tenerife

As a newly promoted team, I’m not surprised to see Tenerife’s main tactic is to put men behind the ball and defend in numbers, so I’m pleasantly surprised to see Gary Mason put us in the lead on 9 minutes when he converts a free kick earned by Moedim Júnior. But our lead lasts only two minutes, as Samuel Lawal, in his first game for Tenerife, skips too easily past Carmona, cuts inside and curls a delightful goal beyond Vidal’s reach. The game slows down for a stretch after that goal, but we gradually pick up the pace and begin to lay siege to Enckelman’s goal as the half winds down.

However, we enter half-time still locked at 1-1 apiece. After receiving strong encouragement from me at the break, we again lay siege to Enckelman’s goal in the second half, but the keeper is playing inspired football and single-handedly denying us a second goal. Even when Puche is sent off for a reckless two-footed tackle in the box on Djordjic, he saves Smith’s penalty, then Notman’s follow-up. We continue to press for a second goal, but as the minutes tick by, I begin to compose my post-match press conference philosophically accepting the draw. However, good ol’ reliable Alex Notman is the difference, when he takes Mason’s pass and smashes it past the despairing Enckelman to give us a 2-1 win first-up in the season with quite literally the last kick of the game!

Cartagonova (4-3-1-2): Vidal ©; Cabrera, Gershon (Lasa 58), Smith, Carmona (Bressán 58); Djordjic, Mason, Garrido; Clegg; Moedim Júnior, Notman.

Tenerife (4-4-2): Enckelman; Hernández ©, Miguel Ãngel, Basualdo, Puche (s/o 77); Pérez, Geremi (Fernando 87), Battaglia, Paunovic (Ismael 66); Lawal, Jurandir (Erroz 66).

Final score: Cartagonova 2:1 Tenerife

MoM - Alex Notman

The match against Tenerife is notable because it sets a new attendance record, as 25,516 beats our previous record of 25,258 which was set against Hércules earlier this year.

[Dixie Flatline]

14th of September 2010

The European Champions' League’s first group phase begins tonight, and we’re in Bulgaria to play the Bulgarian champion Liteks. Before I describe to you the action from the first group game, let’s quickly preview Group B, in which we’ve been drawn. Cartagonova is the defending European and Spanish champion and has assembled a glittering squad, studded with internationals. Probably the most important player, particularly in terms of scoring goals, for Cartagonova is the Scottish international Alex Notman, who has been Cartagonova’s talisman for the past few seasons. Cartagonova’s opponents will be very wary of the experienced and talented striker, and this season he will be joined by Finnish international Henri Scheweleff, who will be keen to prove that his price tag will not be burdensome in his first season for Cartagonova.

Liteks Lovach is Bulgaria’s most successful club and it will carry the hopes of a country in the premier European club competition. Much will depend upon the form of striker Ivan Georgiev, as the 28 year old Bulgarian international will need to score the goals to propel Liteks through the first group phase.

Spartak Moskva is one of Russia’s most successful clubs, and they will be keen to turn their domestic form into European glory. Two key players for Spartak are the striker Alexandr Shirko and attacking midfielder Artem Bezrodny. Whether these two players in particular fire during the group phase will go a long way in determining whether Spartak can put together a good campaign and finish in the top two of the group. Experienced defender Victor Bukievskiy will be relied upon to hold together and marshal the defence, along Russian international defender Oleg Kuzmin.

Making their first appearance in the European Champions' League, Udinese needed to do it the hard way, drawing 1-1 at home with Legia Warsaw, then drawing 2-2 with Legia away from home. Form like that will probably need to improve if Udinese want to continue in the competition. The linchpin of Udinese’s campaign will be the 23 year old midfielder, Federico Coppola, as he will attempt to pull the strings for the likes of strikers Mista and José Mari and attacking midfielder Martin Georgiev.

[Dixie Flatline]

European Champions' League - Phase 1, Group B, Game 1: Liteks Lovach v Cartagonova

I hope that, even though we’re a long way from home, we’ll still triumph in some style, and when Notman opens the scoring after barely two minutes by converting Mason’s clever pass, that hope is strengthened. But my defence loses concentration in the wet, treacherous conditions and allows Donev to equalise just three minutes later. Liteks aren’t overawed by facing the European champions and they fashion a few more chances as the minutes tick by, but poor finishing prevents Liteks taking a shock lead. We begin to regain our dominance as the half-hour goes by, but we also can’t find the back of the net, until the last moment before half-time, when Brazilian striker Moedim Júnior combines with George Clegg to unlock the Bulgarian defence then slams home a shot on the half-volley past the Liteks keeper to end the first half.

Despite the poor conditions, both clubs continue to play bright, attractive and attacking football in the second half, and Liteks score an equalising goal on 78 minutes when Nikolov beats my defenders to the rebound spilt by Vidal from Donev’s blistering drive to poke it home. But five minutes later, Notman has us back in the lead with a tremendous solo effort, and Moedim Júnior is unlucky not to score our fourth on 90 minutes when the Bulgarian keeper palms his header away. Still, we come away with the win to open our account in the European Champions' League, so I’m fairly happy.

Liteks Lovach (5-3-2): I. Georgiev; Nikolov, G. Penev, Angelov, Zafirov (Petkov 62), D. Penev; Kushev (P. Todorov 70), I. Todorov, Ivanov; Donev, I. Georgiev ©.

Cartagonova (4-1-2-1-2): Vidal ©; Cabrera, Gershon, Smith, Carmona; Mason; Djordjic, Kortina (Williams 60); Clegg; Moedim Júnior, Notman.

Final score: Liteks Lovach 2:3 Cartagonova

MoM - Alex Notman

Udinese also defeats Spartak Moskva 3-2 in Udine. The other games tonight mostly go to plan, although Ajax would be disappointed to lose 1-0 to FC København away from home, while Bayern München would think they have dropped two points in drawing 2-2 at home to Bordeaux.

[Raptor]

It is indeed the longest continuous story, started in June 2001. It's one of only two stories started in 2001 that are still active.

[Dixie Flatline]

15th of September 2010

Pontevedra looks to poach my José Antonio Camacho as a coach, being prepared to pay £400,000 in compensation to grab him.

In the evening, more games from the European Champions' League are played, and the highlight, at least in terms of goals, must be PSV Eindhoven’s 4-4 draw with Benfica in Portugal. Benfica jumped out to a 2-0 lead by 55 minutes, with goals to Rui Lima on 42 and Peter Madsen on 55 minutes respectively. However, PSV Eindhoven clawed its way back into the game, with Aydin and Mahieu scoring on 65 and 70 minutes respectively. Madsen put Benfica back in front with a goal on 74 minutes, but almost straight from kick-off, Tanem equalised for PSV. Madsen completed his hat-trick on 77 minutes, but Benfica could not hang on to the lead, with Mahieu scoring his second and PSV’s fourth on 89 minutes.

In another result of note, Lokomotiv Moskva would be happy to defeat Arsenal 3-2 in Moskva. Kusov and Grishin had Lokomotiv 2-0 up by 49 minutes, and Arsenal reduced the deficit to 2-1 with a goal to O’Connor on 66 minutes. However, Yakoviev made it 3-1 to Lokomotiv on 85 minutes, and Taggart’s 86th minute goal was not enough to salvage the game. Feyenoord would also be pleased to leave Rome with a 2-1 victory over AS Roma. Veteran Clarence Seedorf put Feyenoord in front on 41 minutes, but Inácio Piá scored from the spot on 44 minutes when Veldeman was adjudged to have fouled Manso inside the area. But substitute Barry Smeets secured the win for Feyenoord on 76 minutes.

18th of September 2010

I appoint Getafe’s Albert Cano as a scout.

19th of September 2010

Primera Liga - Game 2: Alavés v Cartagonova

Although Alavés has made a poor start to the season, nevertheless, I feel somewhat anxious about this game. This anxiety is reinforced when Alavés make a bright start, with Mendoza forcing Vidal into a good save on 8 minutes from a free kick, then from the corner, Carlos Jacques loses his man just long enough to fire a shot on goal, but only to have it turned away by Vidal. Jacques tops things off with a shot that clears the bar by an inch or two a moment later. However, Moedim Júnior looks to shift momentum in our favour when on 11 minutes he volleys Clegg’s pass towards goal, only to see Carlos Martínez push the shot away for a corner. On 13 minutes, the Brazilian rattles a drive into the post, and things slow down for a bit. Carlos Jacques is Alavés’ most dangerous player, and he misses two fairly easy chances on 20 and 33 minutes, and we make him pay when on 34 minutes, Notman turns provider, feeding Djordjic, and the Swede cuts inside his marker and puts a beautiful shot into the top corner. A moment later, Clegg volleys a drive into the cross-bar, while Notman screws a shot wide on 36 minutes. Then on 42 minutes, Cabrera advances deep into Alavés territory before swinging over a beautiful cross expertly placed for Clegg to head home past Martínez to double our lead. Right on half-time, Jacques is denied a deserved goal when Vidal blocks his low drive, and we enter half-time holding a handy 2-0 lead.

This is soon made 3-0 when on 48 minutes, Cabrera scores a rare goal, taking advantage of disorganisation in the defence of Alavés. But Vidal is kept busy when he tips away Mendoza’s header on 51 minutes for a corner. Twenty minutes later, we have our fourth goal when Jaime Garrido clears the Alavés defence before burying a powerful drive past Martínez. But Alavés is not done with just yet, and Givanildo forces Vidal into another save on 81 minutes. From the corner, Jacques breaks clear of his marker just long enough to force the ball into the back of the net - a consolation goal that he personally deserved, but nowhere near enough to trouble us. It’s a good result.

Alavés (4-4-2): Martínez (Aleixo 53); Rønning, José ©, Sudy, Fuentes; Figueroa, Ribeiro (Meira 65), Ãlvarez, Jacques; Mendoza, Luque (Givanildo 25).

Cartagonova (4-1-2-1-2): Vidal ©; Cabrera, Gershon, Smith, Carmona; Mason; Djordjic, Garrido; Clegg; Moedim Júnior, Notman.

Final score: Alavés 1:4 Cartagonova

MoM - Alex Notman

The result propels us to fifth on the ladder with a game in hand on the four clubs above us.

[Dixie Flatline]

21st of September 2010

“… Arsenal dropped to the bottom of Group F in the European Champions' League tonight after being on the wrong end of a 6-1 thrashing at the hands of Celtic at Highbury. Clinton Morrison scored four goals for the Glasgow-based club, while veteran Kevin Davies also contributed two goals to Celtic’s remarkable scoring spree. Gary Birch scored a goal for Arsenal on the stroke of half-time, but by then, Celtic had already put five past Craig Holloway. Arsenal played most of the game with ten men after Portuguese defender Fernando was sent off on 12 minutes. In another surprise result, Club Brugge dealt Barcelona’s chances a blow with a 3-1 win over the Catalans club in Brugge. Although Barcelona opened the scoring on 10 minutes, Club Brugge fought back to win with two goals from Joel Lindpere and another from Pascal Verheyen…â€

22nd of September 2010

European Champions' League - Phase 1, Group B, Game 2: Cartagonova v Udinese

We enter into this game as favourites, but I’m unhappy to see Udinese take an early lead through their talismanic midfielder Federico Coppola, who converts a free kick given away by Mariano Carmona on 13 minutes. On 18 minutes, Udinese’s keeper, Manitta, does well to save twice from Scheweleff and Garrido as we hunt for an equaliser. Some five minutes later, Vidal parries Perinon’s fierce drive away for a corner. Right on the half-hour mark, Henri Scheweleff marks his second start for the club with his second goal for the club when he cleverly drops off his marker to bang home Clegg’s through-ball. Six minutes later, Redondo forces Manitta into a finger-tip save as we turned up the screws. But despite the pressure we exert, we enter the half-time break still deadlocked at 1-1 apiece.

Four minutes into the second half, Mason is denied a fantastic goal when Manitta scrambles across his goal to tip away the Scottish midfielder’s low drive. I’m forced to make a substitution on 50 minutes when Carmona tears his groin muscle. As we reshape the defence, José Mari forces Vidal into a brilliant save on 51 minutes. Thirteen minutes later, Mari thunders a drive into the base of Vidal’s post, with our captain frozen in place. However, the ball goes out of play, and we have an opportunity to reload. And we do so successfully, when Garrido takes up the long goal-kick and lobs the ball ahead of Mason, who gleefully chips Manitta for our second goal of the game. On 78 minutes, Manitta pulls off a good save to deny Mason. Eight minutes later, Mista misses Udinese’s last opportunity to pull level and we triumph, despite being forced to fight for the three points.

Cartagonova (4-3-1-2): Vidal ©; Cabrera, Gershon, Smith, Carmona (Bressán 50); Kortina, Mason, Garrido; Clegg; Redondo, Scheweleff.

Udinese (4-4-2): Manitta; Maggio, Centofanti, Fábio Bilica ©, Notari; Georgiev (Bosi 63), Agazzone, Coppola, Perinon; Mista, José Mari.

Final score: Cartagonova 2:1 Udinese

MoM - Shimon Gershon

[Dixie Flatline]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Raptor:

It is indeed the longest continuous story, started in June 2001. It's one of only two stories started in 2001 that are still active. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Hmm... What's the other one?

[Dixie Flatline]

It's the last day of 2004, so let's bow out of this year with another dose of Cartagonova's adventures!

25th of September 2010

It’s that time of year again when international call-ups are announced. For Bosnia, Zlatan Muslimovic is in the squad for the game against Lithuania. Belgium calls up Jean-François Gillet for matches against Greece and Estonia. Andy Owen is selected in the Welsh squad for a game against Estonia. Denmark will hope that Martin Smith can bolster its leaky defence in games against Scotland and Azerbaijan. Scotland will hope that Gary Mason and Alex Notman will help it to triumph over Denmark and Russia. Finland recalls Henri Scheweleff to its squad for games against Bulgaria and England. Shimon Gershon will once again pull on the boots for Israel against Moldova. Ghana calls up Godwin Attram for a friendly match against France.

26th of September 2010

Primera Liga - Game 3: Cartagonova v Real Zaragoza

Roberto Losada fires an early warning shot when he finds his way through my defence but blasts his shot high over the bar on 3 minutes. Four minutes later, Scheweleff hits the post with Almansa’s goal at his mercy. We regain possession and Clegg forces Almansa into a fine save with a spectacular scissors kick. Real Zaragoza again fail to clear their lines properly and, third time lucky, George Clegg bundles the ball over the goal-line to register the first goal of the game. But on 35 minutes, Real Zaragoza level the scores when Miguel finds Kaviedes, and the veteran Ecuadoran striker hits the back of the net from 20 yards. We have a couple of chances to regain the lead - first, on 40 minutes, Mason skims the top of the cross-bar with a half-volley, and secondly, Scheweleff misses with a header from Djordjic’s cross on 42 minutes.

Four minutes after half-time, Scheweleff’s goal is chalked off for off-side against the Finnish international, and we’re beginning to grow frustrated at our inability to hit the back of the net. However, we don’t have much longer to wait, as the Scottish connection pulls through for us - Mason feeds Notman and the striker bangs home his fifth goal of the season to put us 2-1 up! Three minutes later, Li forces Vidal into making a great save with a powerful header. Then Kaviedes misses a gaping goal on 59 minutes, while Peralta’s 66th minute drive is well-saved by Vidal. As the minutes tick by, Real Zaragoza won’t give up, and Miguel, Trobbiani and Li all miss chances they might have otherwise buried. But we hold on for a good, hard-fought victory that makes it three wins from three league games.

Cartagonova (4-3-1-2): Vidal ©; Cabrera, Gershon, Smith, Bressán; Djordjic, Mason, Williams; Clegg; Scheweleff, Notman.

Real Zaragoza (4-4-2): Almansa ©; Sergio Porras, Carmo, Stepanovs, Mora; Li, Miguel, Fiore (Trobbiani 49), Peralta; Losada (Torres 60), Kaviedes.

Final score: Cartagonova 2:1 Real Zaragoza

MoM - Gary Mason

[Dixie Flatline]

29th of September 2010

European Champions' League - Phase 1, Group B, Game 3: Spartak Moskva v Cartagonova

I’m anticipating, again, another difficult game away from home, made even more difficult in the cold and sleet that has already enveloped the capital of Russia. But my nerves are settled on eight minutes by a fine strike from Henri Scheweleff, who slammed home Djordjic’s pass past the Spartak keeper from just inside the box. Our task is then made easier on 20 minutes when Kuzmin loses his head and pushes Clegg onto the ground. Our English midfielder makes sure the referee sees it, and the referee flourishes the red card to the Russian international defender. On 31 minutes, we take advantage when Gershon and Garrido combine to feed Andy Owen, and the defensive midfielder powers a header into the back of the net to make it 2-0! Three minutes later, Notman’s powerful drive is pushed away by the Spartak keeper, and on 40 minutes, the Scottish international heads the ball against the post.

In the second half, Notman misses an early opportunity by hitting the bar with another header on 50 minutes. Finally, on 69 minutes, Vidal is tested by Ageev, and he saves comfortably the attempted drive. Two minutes later, the ball is down the other end with Scheweleff, but Filimonov tips away the Finnish international’s powerful drive. We should have had a penalty on 73 minutes when Owen is knocked over in the penalty box, but the referee thinks we have had enough help and waves away our earnest appeals. Nevertheless, we keep up the pressure on Filimonov’s goal, with Notman and Garrido going close on 75 minutes, then Clegg a few moments later. Shirko almost pulls a goal back against the tide for Spartak when he dribbles through my defence, but Vidal has his angles well-calculated and we survive the flurry. Then on 86 minutes, Spartak loses another man to a red card when Cherenkov makes a dangerous, two-footed tackle on Scheweleff, who rolls around in agony on the cold ground just long enough to ensure the referee sends Cherenkov off. Finally, Notman scores a goal that he’s threatened for the whole game in injury time to cap off a good performance by my players.

Spartak Moskva (4-4-2): Filimonov; Bitarov (Khizaneyshvili 72), Storchak, Kuzmin (s/o 20), Gurchenko ©; Bezrodny, Orlov, Titov (Ageev 63), Shvetsov; Nikolaev (Cherenkov 83 (s/o 86)), Shirko.

Cartagonova (4-1-2-1-2): Vidal ©; Cabrera, Gershon, Smith, Bressán; Owen; Djordjic, Garrido; Clegg; Scheweleff, Notman.

Final score: Spartak Moskva 0:3 Cartagonova

MoM - Bojan Djordjic

After the game, Alex Notman attracts some praise from the expert pundits for his performances so far this season. I have to agree with them, because on many occasions so far, he’s carried us to victory, and is a prolific goalscorer. The Cartagonova fans are pleased to see me take the time to praise Notman publicly.

More international call-ups are announced this evening. After Djordjic’s good form so far this season since coming in to replace the injured Reyes, there’s no way that Sweden could afford to leave him out for the game against Hungary. Mark Williams and George Clegg are in the English squad for the game against Finland.

So it’s time to announce the Spanish squad for our match against Slovakia. I make a few changes from the squad that I selected for the last two games, with César Cabrera, José de la Rosa, Artur and Enrique Kortina called up to the squad, in place of Antonio Vázquez, the injured Gavião, Martín Burgos, and Francisco Javier González Pérez. The squad looks like this, then:

Goalkeepers

César Laínez (33 y/o, ESP 37 caps, GK): Barcelona

Iván Vidal (31 y/o, ESP 6 caps, GK): Cartagonova

Iker Casillas (29 y/o, ESP 7 caps, GK): Real Madrid

Defenders

Ãngel (21 y/o, ESP 11 caps, D RL): Roma

César Cabrera (25 y/o, ESP 8 caps, D RL): Cartagonova

César (30 y/o, ESP 36 caps, 1 goal, D RL): Juventus

David Oliva (24 y/o, ESP 8 caps, D RL): Valencia

Iván Amaya (32 y/o, ESP 73 caps, 1 goal, D C): Deportivo La Coruña

César (32 y/o, ESP 58 caps, 1 goal, D C): Barcelona

Pablo Jallas Amigó (20 y/o, ESP 4 caps, D/DM C): Newcastle United

Carlos Marchena (31 y/o, ESP 38 caps, 1 goal, D C): Celta Vigo

Midfielders

José de la Rosa (23 y/o, ESP 12 caps, D/DM C): Ajax Amsterdam

Artur (29 y/o, ESP 5 caps, DM RC): Real Madrid

Fernando Herrero (23 y/o, ESP, DM RC): Osasuna

Diego (32 y/o, ESP 24 caps, 4 goals, M/S C): Barcelona

Jaime Garrido (26 y/o, ESP 33 caps, 15 goals, AM/F RLC): Cartagonova

Enrique Kortina (21 y/o, ESP, AM/F RLC): Cartagonova

Francisco Javier Zubizarreta (25 y/o, ESP 27 caps, 11 goals, AM/F RC): Espanyol

Vicente (29 y/o, ESP 89 caps, 35 goals, AM/F LC): Roma

Gerard (31 y/o, ESP 49 caps, 10 goals, AM C): Barcelona

Juan Hernández (25 y/o, ESP 6 caps, 2 goals, AM/F C): Cartagonova

Forwards

Raúl (33 y/o, ESP 132 caps, 62 goals, AM/F LC): AC Milan

Ignacio Morán (23 y/o, ESP 5 caps, F LC): Rayo Vallecano

Óscar del Pino (24 y/o, ESP 6 caps, 3 goals, S C): Valencia

Francisco Javier Hernández (28 y/o, ESP, S C): Sporting Gijón

Joseba Llorente (30 y/o, ESP 30 caps, 16 goals, S C): Real Sociedad

So, there is a distinctive Cartagonova flavour about this squad, with Vidal, Cabrera, Garrido, Kortina and Hernández all in the squad of 26 players.

[Dixie Flatline]

3rd of October 2010

Éjica of the Segunda Liga wants to poach José Antonio Camacho from my club as a coach. I only recently signed Camacho up on a long-term contract as a scout, and I’m not really prepared to offer Camacho another, even more improved contract to keep him here at Cartagonova. On the upside, if Camacho goes, we will be due £450,000 as compensation, which won’t be too bad.

Primera Liga - Game 4: Deportivo la Coruña v Cartagonova

Another potentially tough trip away from home, but we last until 35 minutes without Deportivo even looking like threatening our goal - though, my counterpart could say the same thing about us. However, when Bulykin breaks through my defence and is brought down in the area by Vidal, I fear the worst. I’m right to do so, as the referee shows Vidal the red card and gives a penalty. I sacrifice Juan Hernández for Jean-François Gillet, and the latter’s first task is to pick Kree’s penalty out of the back of the net. Notman goes close to equalising two minutes before the break, but his powerful header clears the bar by a couple of inches, and I’m unhappy at the break.

Rejuvenated by a tough team-talk at half-time, my players come out ready for the fight, and Pascual in goal for Deportivo does well to save twice from Scheweleff and Martin Smith on 47 minutes. But two minutes later, my Finnish international striker draws us level with a brilliant strike from the edge of the area, after being played through intelligently by Gary Mason. Notman tries his luck from long-range on 54 minutes, but his booming drive clears the bar by an inch. Down the other end, Manolín hits the post with Gillet beaten on 63 minutes, and four minutes later, Bulykin puts the ball in our net off the post to give Deportivo back the lead. But, we’re refused to be beaten, and Notman forces a corner on 68 minutes, which Cabrera slings into the box. The ball ricochets off various players before falling kindly to Martin Smith, and the defender does not hesitate to volley a low drive into the back of Pascual’s net. So the game remains in the balance, and Scheweleff misses with a spectacular bicycle kick on 71 minutes, while down the other end, Godino forces Gillet into a fine save with a shot that curled away from the Belgian international keeper. It’s real end-to-end stuff, as Garrido drives a shot towards goal, but Pascual has the angles covered. The Spanish international almost scores on 81 minutes, but again Pascual is there to stop Deportivo falling behind. Two minutes later, old boy Ricardo Verón tests Gillet’s reflexes, but finds them satisfactory, while on 88 minutes, Mason’s powerful header is well-saved by Pascual. In the end, however, I’m happy with the draw, although it could have been much worse.

Deportivo La Coruña (4-1-3-2): Pascual; Capdevila (Boris 55), Moisés, Amaya ©, Farnerud; Cañas; Kree, Verón, Godino (Muñoz 86); Del Campo (Bulykin 24), Manolín.

Cartagonova (4-1-2-1-2): Vidal © (s/o 36); Cabrera, Gershon, Smith, Bressán; Mason; Djordjic, Garrido; Hernández (Gillet 36); Scheweleff, Notman.

Final score: Deportivo La Coruña 2:2 Cartagonova

MoM - Dmitry Bulykin

So, we lose our 100% record this season, but trail Real Betis by only two points with a game in hand. I dish out an official warning to Vidal for his red card offence, which he accepts graciously as one he deserved.

I’m forced to name a replacement for Spanish international striker, with Joseba Llorente straining his groin in Real Sociedad’s 1-1 draw with Osasuna. I name veteran striker Sabino of Espanyol as his replacement: Sabino (32 y/o, ESP 14 caps, 4 goals, S C): Espanyol

Vidal cops a further two match ban for his red card offence from the Spanish FA.

[Dixie Flatline]

7th of October 2010

Although Camacho agrees terms with Éjica, Éjica hasn’t enough room in the back room to fit him in, so I jump on the opportunity to cancel the transfer.

Godwin Attram plays for 56 minutes, but makes no impression, as France defeats Ghana 2-0 in a friendly game in Paris. Zlatan Muslimovic is in Bosnian’s team for a 1-1 draw with Lithuania in Vilnius. Andy Owen hits two goals, including the winner in injury time at the end of the game, and is voted man of the match in Wales’ hard-fought 3-2 win over Estonia in Tallinn. Jean-François Gillet is on the wrong end of a 3-1 defeat by Greece of Belgium in Athens. Club teammates Martin Smith for Denmark, and Gary Mason and Alex Notman squared off as Denmark defeats Scotland 1-0 at home. Henri Scheweleff makes a winning return to Finland’s side as the Scandinavians defeat Bulgaria 2-1 in Sofia. Israel needed to fight back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with Moldova, with Shimon Gershon named as man of the match.

... And that's me, signing out for the year. I wish you all a very happy and safe new year, and see you all with more from Cartagonova in '05!

Cheers,

Dixie Flatline

[Dixie Flatline]

Signing back on with more from Cartagonova in 2005!

First, thank you very much for those that voted for this epic story in the recent awards.

Second, let's get on with it, shall we?!

13th of October 2010

Euro 2012 Qualififier - Group 3, Game 3: Spain v Slovakia

After disappointingly losing to Norway in our last hit-out, we need a victory to get our qualification campaign back on track. With Gavião out through injury, I bring in Diego, and he almost puts us on our way on 5 minutes with a beautiful header from Amaya’s long ball, but unbelievably, the Slovakian keeper manages to keep it out. Del Pino is the next player to be disappointed when the Slovak keeper pushes his half-volley away from goal on 8 minutes. Six minutes later, Lerant hits our woodwork for Slovakia, then a couple of minutes after that, Glonek volleys a shot inches wide of César Laínez’s goal. The game calms down for a while, before Zubizarreta lets fly with a brilliantly executed half-volley on 26 minutes that Giannoutsko does well to block. On 38 minutes, Kotula is pinged for off-side, and César Laínez launches the free kick straight down the guts of the ground, which Vicente does well to control. The Roma man then dribbles towards goal before curling in a shot that beats Giannoutsko all ends up for our first goal of the game! We almost double our lead on the stroke of half-time when Garrido flights in a beautiful path tailor-made for Diego to bring down and try the half-volley, but Giannoutsko pushes his shot away for a corner. Garrido’s cross from the corner is then headed over the bar by Zubizarreta to end the half.

We open up the second half with a flurry of shots towards Giannoutsko’s goal, but the Slovak keeper saves all of them. This continues through the first thirty-five minutes of the second half, with Raúl, del Pino, Vicente and Zubizarreta all missing their opportunities to add to the scoresheet. Finally, the substitute Juan Hernández makes the game safe for us on 80 minutes when he plays the part of the predator by following up on Raúl’s powerful drive, and turning in the rebound from Giannoutsko’s spilt save. We could have had more after that, but for wayward finishing, and in the end I’m quite happy with our performance.

Spain (4-3-1-2): Laínez; César, Amaya, Marchena, Oliva; Garrido, Diego, Zubizarreta; Vicente; Raúl ©, del Pino (Hernández 62).

Slovakia (4-5-1): Giannoutsko; Karhan, Glonek, F. Ujlaky, Slovak (M. Ujlaky 8); Lerant, M. Godvalt, P. Godvalt © (inj 87), Bujdak, Hrubina (Kozak 80); Kotula (Zatek 49).

Final score: Spain 2:0 Slovakia

MoM - Vicente

[Dixie Flatline]

In other games, Bojan Djordjic played for seven minutes as a substitute for Sweden in their 1-0 victory over Hungary in Stockholm. Martin Smith scored twice for Denmark in their easy 4-0 win over Azerbaijan in Baku. Both Gary Mason and Alex Notman scored for Scotland in Glasgow as they trounced Russia 3-1. Finland defeated England 2-0 in Helsinki, with Scheweleff playing for Finland, and Mark Williams as a 62nd minute substitute for England. George Clegg was on the bench, but was not used.

Let’s quickly round up the qualifying groups, beginning with Group 1, where Romania and Sweden are locked together on 7 points, a point clear of FYROM. Already, Hungary and Luxembourg are out of contention, with just a point each. In Group 2, Portual, on 8 points, leads Poland by a point, while the Czech Republic and Iceland are each a further point back. Cyprus and Malta will both need results to start falling their way if they are to improve from 4 and 3 points respectively. In Group 3, Norway, 7 points, leads Spain, 6 points, while Bosnia, Slovakia and Lithuania bring up the rear. Group 5 sees the Netherlands top the group on 10 points, a point clear of Latvia, with Ireland a further point behind. Already, the chances of Georgia, Switzerland and Faeroe Isles look slim to non-existent.

Greece tops Group 5, with 9 points, although it has played one game more than Wales, which sits in second place, on 7 points. Estonia, Belgium and Germany trail, with the Germans stunned to have only one point from three games so far. Croatia has a 100% record in Group 6, with three wins from three games, and leads Yugoslavia and Turkey by three points, with the Turks having played a game more. Slovenia has three points from three games, while Armenia are yet to trouble the scorers. Group 7 has a distinct ‘home counties’ look about it, with Northern Ireland, on 10 points, leading Scotland and Russia by three points, with Denmark a further point behind. In Group 8, Finland’s 100% record with four wins from four games, puts it six points clear of Belarus, with England and Bulgaria struggling on 3 points each. Albania has yet to put a point on the board. Finally, in Group 9, Austria enjoys a three point lead over the Ukraine, with 9 points from 4 games, although the Ukraine has played only three games to this point. Israel, Italy and Moldova trail Austria.

[Dixie Flatline]

14th of October 2010

A bit of transfer news for you all, and PSV Eindhoven sign French international forward Pablo Calandria for £15.5 million from Marseille. Personally, although Calandria has performed impressively for France in his nine caps to date (including scoring two goals), I think that’s too much for a player of his calibre. Henri Scheweleff, on the other hand…

15th of October 2010

Ex-Real Madrid defensive utility, Grillito, may be on the move should interest from Fiorentina to the tune of £8 million be accepted by AC Milan. The 32 year old Uruguayan international is in his second season at the San Siro after spending six years at the Santiago Bernabéu.

Camacho agrees to join Éjica as coach. The club banks the sum of £450,000, and I begin interviews for the role of scout to replace the former Spanish manager.

16th of October 2010

Primera Liga - Game 5: Cartagonova v Valencia

Some of the players return from international duty not quite at full fitness, and given that we comfortably defeated Valencia 4-0 in the corresponding fixture last season, I decide to give some of the ‘lesser lights’ an opportunity to shine on a comfortable Saturday afternoon at the Estádio Municipál de Cartagena. So, along with Gillet replacing the suspended Vidal, in come Fransisco Javier Olmo, Mark Williams and Alessandro da Silva Marques, the latter making his debut for Cartagonova. Omitted are Andrés Bressán (dropped), Jaime Garrido (rested) and Alex Notman (rested), along with the suspended Vidal.

The match itself is over by half-time, because by then we have scored three goals and Valencia is in no position to put up a fight. Our first comes on 18 minutes when da Silva Marques and Mason combine to set up Djordjic, who delights in banging the ball home. After Karanka and Islas miss chances to bring Valencia level on 25 and 36 minutes respectively, we have our second goal on 43 minutes through purely traditional forward play. Mark Williams uses his pace to get into a good position to cross the ball, and da Silva Marques out-muscles his marker to plant an unstoppable header into the top right corner of the net. Then on the stroke of half-time, Oliva fouls Clegg in the range of Djordjic, who steps up to score a wonderful goal from the set-piece to make it 3-0 at the break.

After the break, Valencia’s substitute Miguel Ãngel Angulo tests Gillet’s reflexes with a powerful volley on 63 minutes, then on 82 minutes, Karanka out-bustles Scheweleff but his header from Kailie’s corner is well-saved by Gillet. Otherwise, nothing of note happens in the second period of the game. We’re comfortable 3-0 winners that takes us to the top of the ladder for at least twenty-four hours, depending on how results go elsewhere.

Cartagonova (4-3-1-2): Gillet; Cabrera, Gershon ©, Smith, Olmo; Djordjic, Mason, Williams; Clegg (Owen 71); da Silva Marques, Scheweleff.

Valencia (4-4-2): Jonathan ©; Oliva, Cuartero, Donnet, Castromán (Langeveld 43); Kailie, Benayoun (Quique 52), Knopper, Farinós (Angulo 59); Islas, Karanka.

Final score: Cartagonova 3:0 Valencia

MoM - Shimon Gershon

[Dixie Flatline]

17th of October 2010

Indeed, we do stay top of the pile after Barcelona defeats Real Betis 2-1 in Seville. In other games, Numancia teaches Villarreal a lesson the latter won’t forget in a hurry, putting six past the hapless Javier López Vallejo in goal for Villarreal. We are on top of the ladder on goal difference from Elche, with a game in hand, and a point clear of four clubs - Atlético Madrid, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Real Betis. Down the bottom end of the table, it’s already looking grim for the likes of Compostela, yet to register a point after six games, Osasuna, who only have one point from five games, and Tenerife, with two points from six games.

In the team of the week, Francisco Javier Olmo and Mark Williams fill left-back and right wing respectively, while Shimon Gershon and Gary Mason sit on the bench. Bojan Djordjic, who scored two goals, does not get a gig at all.

19th of October 2010

European Champions' League - Phase 1, Group B, Game 4: Cartagonova v Spartak Moskva

We look to continue our 100% record in this competition this season, and I make a couple of changes to the first eleven, with Iván Vidal and Juan Hernández coming into the team at the expense of Jean-François Gillet and the tired George Clegg. Hernández almost puts us ahead on 2 minutes when he fires opportunistically at goal, but Filimonov does well to save and hold onto the ball. Bressán gives away a free kick on Shirko, which Ageev puts over the bar on 7 minutes. On 20 minutes, Notman almost puts us ahead with an acrobatic overhead kick, but the ball clears the bar by a couple of inches and Notman looks disappointed. However, we need to wait only three more minutes before we take the lead, when Cabrera flights in a lovely cross for Juan Hernández to head past the Spartak keeper. The Spanish international almost does it again five minutes later, but this time, just enough pressure from Bitarov means that Juan Hernández can’t quite repeat the feat. Shirko comes in again for more spiteful defending from my defenders, which results in Ageev having another chance to try his luck on 29 minutes, but again his radar isn’t quite dialled in, and he puts it over the bar. Then, just a moment before half-time, Mason puts Notman through, who slaloms into the box and then fires viciously past the Spartak keeper to put us 2-0 up. Scheweleff perhaps should have made it 3-0 when he shaves the post with a low drive to end the half.

My pleasure at the half-time scoresheet disappears four minutes into the second half when Spartak pull one back through Bezrodny who converts Nikolaev’s clever cross into a goal on 49 minutes. A couple of minutes later, Mason tests Filimonov’s reflexes with a swinging free kick but Spartak’s keeper has his angles well-covered. On the hour mark, I make a change, substituting the disappointing Djordjic for Mark Williams, and swapping Garrido onto the left flank. The move brings almost instant dividends as Mason and Notman combine to set free the speedy winger, who uses his turn of pace to break into the box unhindered before letting fly to score his first goal for Cartagonova on 67 minutes! Shirko turns Cabrera inside-out but his fierce drive has no accuracy to worry Vidal on 72 minutes. He’s playing a lone hand as he tests Vidal’s reflexes on 79 minutes, but Spartak really has no way back into this game, and it dwindles into quiet, but satisfactory conclusion.

Cartagonova (4-3-1-2): Vidal ©; Cabrera, Gershon, Smith, Bressán; Djordjic (Williams 61), Mason, Garrido; Hernández; Scheweleff, Notman.

Spartak Moskva (4-4-2): Filimonov; Bitarov, Khizaneyshvili (Galkin 66), Buklevskiy, Gurchenkov ©; Nikolaev, Orlov, Ageev (Cherenkov 61), Shvetsov (Kornev 17); Shirko, Bezrodny.

Final score: Cartagonova 3:1 Spartak Moskva

MoM - Gary Mason

With four straight wins from our first four games, we qualify from Group B.

[Dixie Flatline]

23rd of October 2010

Primera Liga - Game 6: Barcelona v Cartagonova

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>… Another chapter was added to the long-running feud between the bastion of traditional Spanish football excellence and the new generation of football success as Cartagonova ran amok in the Nou Camp, scoring five to defeat Barcelona 5-2 in front of just under 97,000 partisan fans. Henri Scheweleff put Cartagonova on its way after just 6 minutes, heading powerfully home Jaime Garrido’s cross, leaving Barcelona’s Spanish international keeper César Laínez grasping at thin air. But Barcelona equalised through their first substantive attack, veteran Gerard smashing home the loose ball after Mason had won the ball from Calaiò. It was real end-to-end stuff, but Cartagonova took back the lead on 29 minutes when Djordjic’s curling cross was headed home by Mason, who out-bustled Barcelona sweeper David to reach the ball. Cartagonova didn’t relax and added a third goal on the stroke of half-time, when Clegg set up Garrido with an easy opportunity to head past the despairing César Laínez.

Barcelona looked to bring the game to their opponents early in the second half, and young starlet Vicente Guerrero gave the home side some hope when he scored with a spectacular bicycle kick from Ricardo Jorge’s excellent chipped cross on 51 minutes. Gerard’s miss on 60 minutes proved crucial as Cartagonova added a fourth goal on 66 minutes when George Clegg fashioned a chance out of nothing to beat César Laínez again. Jean-François Gillet saved at point-blank range from Diego on 70 minutes, and Cartagonova took the ball from the resulting corner down the other end where it ended with Notman, who couldn’t miss from 30 yards. Barcelona, even though they were 5-2 down, didn’t give up, and Gillet did well to save from Falcón on 76 minutes. Then César Cabrera was sent off for Cartagonova on 86 minutes for a poorly timed, reckless, two-footed tackle on Diego, forcing Señor Dixie Flatline into making a substitution to reshape his back four. Brighi then brought another excellent save from Gillet, the Belgian international keeper on 86 minutes, and the Italian international couldn’t beat Gillet again on 89 minutes as the game wound down to its inevitable conclusion. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Well, as you can believe, I’m very happy with this result. Barcelona has been our biggest rival since we ascended to the Primera Liga and to beat them fairly comfortably, even with our captain and first choice keeper out of the first eleven, was a very satisfying result. With five individual goalscorers, it was good to see everybody contribute to the team’s success, although, of course, I was disappointed to see the red card being flourished at Cabrera. But I can’t really complain, taking the three points back to Cartagena is a very satisfying.

Barcelona (1-2-5-2): Laínez; Milito, Maldonado (César 54); Guerrero, Brighi, Falcón, Gerard ©, L. Ruiz (Jorge 19); Diego, Calaiò.

Cartagonova (4-1-2-1-2): Gillet; Cabrera (s/o 86), Gershon ©, Smith, Bressán; Mason; Djordjic, Garrido; Clegg (Mantilla 86); Scheweleff, Notman.

Final score: Barcelona 2:5 Cartagonova

MoM - Henri Scheweleff

We lose Cabrera for four matches in total, as the Spanish FA bans him for a further three games.

[Dixie Flatline]

27th of October 2010

European Champions' League - Phase 1, Group B, Game 5: Cartagonova v Liteks Lovech

With qualification already ensured, I decide to experiment a little, so I leave out Cabrera, Gershon, Smith, Mason, Garrido, and Notman, bringing in the likes of Mantilla, Lasa, Loughran, Owen, Muslimovic, and Moedim Júnior to face the Bulgarian side. We begin brightly with Owen drawing a save with a powerful header from the Bulgarian keeper on 8 minutes, but Gillet needs to be on his toes on 13 minutes to keep out Donev’s powerful drive. Unfortunately, our defending at the corner leaves a little to be desired when Petkov picks up the loose ball and puts it past Gillet. Owen really should have equalised on 20 minutes but somehow the keeper gets his fingertips to the Welshman’s shot to push it away. But eight minutes later, we have an equaliser when Lasa advances unhindered through the heart of the Liteks defence before smashing home his first goal ever for Cartagonova! He celebrates in style and I feel relieved. I encourage the boys to look for a second goal before the break, and Djordjic and Moedim Júnior feel aggrieved they do not score that second goal before half-time, when they both miss rather easy chances.

We’re subdued at the break, as I try to emphasise to the players that regardless of the opponent’s pedigree, they are here to play and here to beat us. My players respond by beginning the second half brightly, Muslimovic making the keeper save acrobatically on 49 minutes, while Djordjic also tries his luck on 55 minutes. A simply worked move gives Moedim Júnior the opportunity to shoot, but his drive misses on 66 minutes, and five minutes later, I decide to withdraw him from the game, replacing him with Cherno Samba. Samba’s lack of match practice shows when on 75 minutes, he breaks the offside trap, picks up Owen’s clever pass but misses wide, much to his own disgust. Finally, on 85 minutes we have our second goal when Scheweleff picks out the onrushing Clegg with a neat pass, and the English midfielder converts the opportunity adroitly. Too bad our defence collapses right at the death with Angelov afforded too much time and space inside the box to pick his spot and hit the ball past the despairing Gillet to earn a point for the underdog.

Cartagonova (4-3-1-2): Gillet ©; Mantilla, Lasa, Loughran, Bressán; Djordjic, Owen, Muslimovic; Clegg; Scheweleff, Moedim Júnior (Samba 71).

Liteks Lovech (5-3-2): Georgiev ©; Penev (D. Ivanov 56), Popov, Angelov, Kushev, Nikolov; H. Dimitrov © (Petkov 64), G. Ivanov (Todorov 56), M. Dimitrov; Donev, Petkov.

Final score: Cartagonova 2:2 Liteks Lovech

MoM - George Clegg

[Dixie Flatline]

31st of October 2010

Primera Liga - Game 7: Cartagonova v Athletic Bilbao

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>“… After an insipid first half from both sides, Cartagonova turned up the heat on Athletic Bilbao and finally broke down the Basque club’s defences to register a 1-0 victory and go back to the top of the pile in Spain. The goal came on 76 minutes when Mason and the injured Scheweleff combined to set up Alex Notman who hit a low shot past Aranzubia to score the only goal of the game. Athletic Bilbao had a last gasp chance to score an undeserved equaliser when captain Joseba Etxeberría forced Gillet into a double save when the Belgian international jumped on the rebound before striker, Ion, could tap the ball into the net…†<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Well, that was a boring game, enlivened only by one piece of skill from both sides when we scored the only goal of the game. The three points are welcome - the low standard of our performance is not.

Cartagonova (4-3-1-2): Gillet; Olmo, Gershon ©, Smith, Bressán; Djordjic, Mason, Garrido; Clegg; Scheweleff (Hernández 76), Notman.

Athletic Bilbao (5-2-1-2): Aranzubia; Del Horno, Padilla, Cuéllar, Antón (Unai 54), Jusué; Orbaiz, Arteta (Espadas 48); Etxeberría ©; Felipe, Ion.

Final score: Cartagonova 1:0 Athletic Bilbao

MoM - Henri Scheweleff

Fortunately, Scheweleff suffered only a dead leg and is a good chance to front up against Atlético Madrid next weekend.

1st of November 2010

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>… Celtic flash the cash as Bryngelsson makes a move to Scotland

Celtic has made another audacious raid on the Continential transfer market, signing Swedish international striker David Bryngelsson from Ajax Amsterdam for a fee of £18.5 million… <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

[Dixie Flatline]

3rd of November 2010

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>… Santa Cruz to Barcelona

Just days after selling David Bryngelsson to Celtic, Ajax is resigned to losing Paraguayan international striker Roque Santa Cruz to Barcelona when the Spanish transfer window opens on 15th of December, after the striker agreed terms with the Catalans club overnight. However, not all is lost for Ajax, as they will recoup £15.75 million on the sale of the 29 year old striker, whom they signed from Bayern München for £14.25 million three seasons ago… <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>…Señor Dixie Flatline makes changes for Spain’s game against Argentina, but loses captain Raúl through injury

Spanish manager, Señor Flatline, makes changes to the Spanish squad as the FIFA World Cup-winners prepare to take on Argentina in Buenos Aires in a fortnight, but will be without inspirational captain, AC Milan’s Raúl, as the veteran international strained a groin muscle in AC Milan’s 3-2 win over Calgiari last weekend.

In the meantime, Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas has paid the price for not playing sufficient first-team football this season, losing his place in the Spanish squad to Valencia’s first-choice keeper, Jonathan, who is called up for the first time by Señor Flatline.

With Valencia’s David Oliva out injured, Señor Flatline decided against picking another full-back - instead, calling up Espanyol’s impressive 24 year old defender Óscar Rodrigo, while sources close to the Spanish international manager suggested that the loss of form at club level by Barcelona’s César came close to threatening his place in the squad, but his experience at international level in the end swayed the manager’s decision to retain him for the match against Argentina.

Experienced Spanish international Gavião is brought back into the squad, after missing the last game through injury, while Señor Dixie Flatline decided against naming a direct replacement for Raúl, though Joseba Llorente, who was forced to withdraw from Spain’s last international, returns to the squad…

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

The squad:

Goalkeepers

César Laínez (33 y/o, ESP 38 caps, GK): Barcelona

Iván Vidal (31 y/o, ESP 6 caps, GK): Cartagonova

Jonathan (29 y/o, ESP, GK): Valencia

Defenders

Ãngel (21 y/o, ESP 11 caps, D RL): Roma

César Cabrera (25 y/o, ESP 8 caps, D RL): Cartagonova

César (30 y/o, ESP 37 caps, 1 goal, D RL): Juventus

Iván Amaya (32 y/o, ESP 74 caps, 1 goal, D C): Deportivo La Coruña

César (32 y/o, ESP 58 caps, 1 goal, D C): Barcelona

Pablo Jallas Amigó (20 y/o, ESP 4 caps, D/DM C): Newcastle United

Carlos Marchena (31 y/o, ESP 39 caps, 1 goal, D C): Celta Vigo

Óscar Rodrigo (24 y/o, ESP, D C): Espanyol

Midfielders

José de la Rosa (23 y/o, ESP 12 caps, D/DM C): Ajax Amsterdam

Artur (29 y/o, ESP 5 caps, DM RC): Real Madrid

Fernando Herrero (23 y/o, ESP, DM RC): Osasuna

Gavião (30 y/o, ESP 33 caps, 9 goals, DM C): Real Betis

Diego (32 y/o, ESP 25 caps, 4 goals, M/S C): Barcelona

Jaime Garrido (26 y/o, ESP 34 caps, 15 goals, AM/F RLC): Cartagonova

Enrique Kortina (21 y/o, ESP, AM/F RLC): Cartagonova

Fransisco Javier Zubizarreta (25 y/o, ESP 28 caps, 11 goals, AM/F RC): Espanyol

Vicente (29 y/o, ESP 90 caps, 36 goals, AM/F LC): Roma

Gerard (31 y/o, ESP 49 caps, 10 goals, AM C): Barcelona

Juan Hernández (25 y/o, ESP 7 caps, 3 goals, AM/F C): Cartagonova

Forwards

Ignacio Morán (23 y/o, ESP 5 caps, F LC): Rayo Vallecano

Óscar del Pino (24 y/o, ESP 7 caps, 3 goals, S C): Valencia

Fransisco Javier Hernández (28 y/o, ESP, S C): Sporting Gijón

Joseba Llorente (30 y/o, ESP 30 caps, 16 goals, S C): Real Sociedad

Although I may end up having to face him in a fortnight before a partisan home crowd in Buenos Aires, I’m happy for veteran defender Andrés Bressán, who is called up to an admittedly experimental Argentine squad.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Cartagonova duo in England squad

England, looking to recapture sufficient form to make a late tilt at qualifying for Euro 2012, selected Cartagonova duo George Clegg and Mark Williams in a squad of 26 to take on Romania in a friendly game at New Wembley in a fortnight. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

In a Scandinavian derby game, Martin Smith will represent Denmark, while Bojan Djordjic will line up for Sweden against Denmark. Belgium, in the meantime, selects Jean-François Gillet for its game against Norway, while the first two names on the teamsheet for Scotland are Gary Mason and Alex Notman, as always. Zlatan Muslimovic will once again carry Bosnia’s hopes as they take on Slovenia. Experienced international defender Shimon Gershon will be a necessary part of Israel’s squad for its match against Paraguay. Wales calls upon Andy Owen for its clash with Northern Ireland in a fortnight.

[Dixie Flatline]

6th of March 2010

Primera Liga - Game 8: Atlético Madrid v Cartagonova

As Henri Scheweleff fails a fitness test in the morning before the game, I throw José Mário Moedim Júnior into the first eleven as his replacement, while Gillet makes way for our captain, Iván Vidal, who has served his suspension.

It’s always difficult travelling to play Atlético Madrid, as they pack a ferociously supportive crowd into the Vicente Calderón. So it is lovely to see the crowd silenced by a goal from Alex Notman on two minutes. The Scottish striker timed his run to perfection to meet the beautifully curled cross of Bojan Djordjic, and Malkowski in goal for Atlético had no opportunity to respond. Four minutes later, Garrido should have doubled our lead when he hits a drive wide of the mark after finding enough time and space to line up his shot. The second goal came on 30 minutes, as Mason lifts the ball into the area for Moedim Júnior to nod down for Notman, and the Scottish international does the rest, tucking the ball away for his and our second goal of the game. Three minutes later, Vidal is called into action for the first time, palming away Guti’s low drive for a corner, which is brilliantly defended by Gershon. But we don’t succeed quickly in clearing our lines and Atlético Madrid think they have a chance to score. Finally, however, we clear the ball away and on 43 minutes, have our third goal when Moedim Júnior attracts the Atlético defenders like flies to honey, allowing Mason to nip in un-marked to tap in the rebound from the Brazilian’s shot.

Right on half-time, however, Atlético Madrid look to hit back hard, as Cambiasso draws a top-draw save from Vidal, and then the hitherto anonymous Djaló doing the same to finish the half, yet serve notice this game wasn’t over with just yet.

As I expected, Atlético Madrid comes out far stronger in the second half, immediately putting us on the back foot and denying space and time for my forwards to operate in. It’s intensely frustrating to see my defenders clear the ball away only to see it come back in again with interest as we fail to control midfield. After knocking on the door for some twelve minutes, Atlético Madrid pull a goal back on 57 minutes through Carlos Quiñónez who bangs home the goal aided with a deflection off the inside of the post. Surprisingly, however, he is immediately substituted for Mazure. Mazure, however, proves to be a troublesome thorn, being at the heart of every Atlético Madrid attacking move, which tests Vidal considerably through the course of the game. We barely have a sighter of Malkowski’s goal in the second half, as Atlético Madrid camp their players on the edge of our area and heap enormous pressure on the defence and Vidal, particularly. However, to their credit, they do not crack after Quiñónez’s goal and we run out winners 3-1, thanks to our great first-half work.

Atlético Madrid (4-3-2-1): Malkowski; Cellay, Di Tommaso, Samuel, Ferrón; Cambiasso, Díaz, Guti; Quiñónez (Mazure 57), Hugo Leal; Djaló ©.

Cartagonova (4-1-2-1-2): Vidal ©; Olmo, Gershon, Smith, Bressán (Mantilla 53); Mason; Djordjic, Garrido; Clegg; Moedim Júnior, Notman.

Final score: Atlético Madrid 1:3 Cartagonova

MoM - Iván Vidal

In the other game played this Saturday, Real Zaragoza punishes a woeful Real Madrid 4-1 at La Romareda, with Kaviedes and Dani Torres grabbing a brace of goals each. The Real Madrid fans let their players know their displeasure with the result in no uncertain terms, prompting a club spokesperson to state that they are within their rights to vent their unhappiness if performance on the pitch does not measure up to expectations. Real Madrid are currently third, four points behind us having played a game more, and could drop if Elche defeats last-placed Compostela and Barcelona beats Sporting Gijón. Is the pressure growing on Señor José Manuel Gutiérrez?

Keep smiling!

Dixie Flatline

[abu645]

There's only one Henri Scheweleff!

[Dixie Flatline]

There certainly is - I would hate to think I've paid 15 million quid when he has a clone out there who is much cheaper!

Seriously, though, he has been superb since coming to my club.

[Dixie Flatline]

Back with another instalment from Cartagonova!

9th of November 2010

European Champions' League - Phase 1, Group B, Game 6: Udinese v Cartagonova

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">With top spot at stake, Cartagonova’s European experience wins through, as they put five past Udinese

Cartagonova came out to play at the Friuli stadium in Udine as they looked to keep top spot against their only competitor in Group B. Both clubs had already secured qualification to Phase 2, but with top spot at stake, it was imperative for both clubs to get off to a good start, and it was the visitors who began the better. Brazilian striker, José Mário Moedim Júnior, opened the scoring for Cartagonova after just sixty seconds when he latched on to Notman’s pass and drove it low past Manitta. Vidal was forced into making two excellent saves on 5 and 7 minutes to preserve Cartagonova’s lead, denying Georgiev and Coppola clear opportunities to equalise. However, when Cartagonova had a chance, they seized it - on 9 minutes, Manitta turned away a powerful header from Moedim Júnior, but Bojan Djordjic was quickest to respond, prodding home from six yards to double Cartagonova’s lead. George Clegg almost made it 3-0 on 11 minutes, but for a fantastic save by Manitta, and Udinese breathed life into the contest on 16 minutes when Georgiev converted a free kick given away by Andrés Bressán.

But a minute later, Cartagonova restored its two-goal cushion with Moedim Júnior benefiting from excellent lead-up work from Alex Notman, crashing home a fine finish from the edge of box. Five minutes later, it was 4-1 to Cartagonova as César Cabrera, hardly believing his luck, was able to advance unhindered into a position where he could shoot, and the full-back found his target truly. Demoralised by the counterattacking tactics of Cartagonova Udinese sat back, and concentrated on staying alive, but were grateful to their keeper, Manitta, for not letting it get even further out of hand, as Notman drew a great save on 37 minutes with a powerful header. Former Spanish international José Mari made Vidal do some work a couple of moments later, but as the half wound down, it was all Cartagonova with Moedim Júnior and Garrido both spurning chances.

Moedim Júnior claimed his hat-trick on 55 minutes when he took Djordjic’s pass, slalomed through the Udinese defence and smashed a driving shot with the outside of his foot past Manitta to make it 5-1 to Cartagonova. With the game out of reach for Udinese now, they abandoned their defensive outlook and started attacking with verve and purpose. Their sense of adventurism was rewarded on 82 minutes when Pjanovic drew a lovely save from Vidal, only for the ball to come back to the Udinese attacker, who promptly drove the ball into the unguarded net to make it 5-2. But Cartagonova was clearly the superior side on the night and secured top place in Group B. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Well, we played some exhilarating football in the first half, especially, and we really deserved this win. I’m very happy with the football we played, though a touch disappointed to have conceded two goals. Overall, a good win, and I’m glad to see Moedim Júnior capture a hat-trick on the night. He had an outstanding game, hitting five shots from five on-target and scoring with three of them. It’s hard to see how a striker could improve on that.

Udinese (4-4-2): Manitta; Maggio, Centofanti, Bilica ©, Notari; Piacentini, Georgiev, Coppola, Bosi (Agazzone 56); Pjanovic, José Mari.

Cartagonova (4-1-2-1-2): Vidal ©; Cabrera, Gershon, Smith, Bressán; Mason; Djordjic, Garrido; Clegg; Moedim Júnior, Notman.

Final score: Udinese 2:5 Cartagonova

MoM - Alex Notman

Yes, while Moedim Júnior scored three goals, Notman’s selfless and creative work throughout the game earned him the man of the match honours.

10th of November 2010

I need to replace full-back Ãngel, who is out injured with a badly gashed leg in AS Roma’s 1-1 draw with Bayer Leverkusen. I turn to his club teammate, Antonio Vázquez to fill the gap: Antonio Vázquez (23 y/o, ESP 1 cap, D L): AS Roma.

The final round of matches of the first phase is completed this evening, and we’re awarded £1.2 million as a result of qualification for the second group phase.

The ladder:

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1st Q Cartagonova ESP 6 2 1 0 7 4 3 0 0 11 4 16

2nd Q Udinese ITA 6 2 0 1 7 8 2 0 1 5 2 12

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3rd Spartak Moscow RUS 6 1 0 2 2 5 1 0 2 5 6 6

4th Liteks BGR 6 0 0 3 2 7 0 1 2 3 6 1

</pre>

We’re drawn with Lokomotiv Moskva, Paris-Saint-Germain and AS Roma in the second group phase.

[Dixie Flatline]

12th of November 2010

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Numancia captain goes to Werder Bremen

German Bundesliga club, Werder Bremen, unveiled its latest acquisition, former Numancia captain, Carlos Martins. The attacking midfielder had been instrumental in the climb of Numancia up the Primera Liga table, but the offer of £8 million was simply too good to refuse by the board of Numancia for the 28 year old Portuguese international. Martins joined Numancia on a free transfer back in 2001/02, and after spending some time on loan at clubs such as Castellón, Leganés and Albacete, Martins really blossomed in 2006/07 and his last full season at Numancia was brilliant for the fans of the club to follow… </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Trouble at the heart of Real Madrid’s defence

Just twenty-four hours after it was revealed that Jukka Hakala and Real Madrid manager, Señor José Manuel Gutiérrez, had a training ground bust-up yesterday, which has resulted in the Finnish international being transfer-listed today, veteran Argentine international defender Walter Samuel has copped a blast in an article published in La Marça this morning. An official spokesperson denied that there was any strain in the relationship between Walter Samuel and the club’s football hierarchy after the article accused the international of ‘petulance’ in his dealings with officials and opposition players. However, some football observers thought that the language of the article suggested strongly that it had been fed by some closely connected with the club in order to embarrass the Argentine defender into falling into line with the approach of Señor Gutiérrez. With the club languishing in sixth place, four points behind league leader Cartagonova, having played a game more, the pressure is on Señor Gutiérrez to improve substantially the position of Real Madrid, else face losing his job… </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

13th of November 2010

We are paid £1 million by Alavés as Per Vener Rønning plays his tenth league game since joining the Basque club.

[Dixie Flatline]

Primera Liga - Game 9: Cartagonova v Numancia

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Disappointing Cartagonova held at home

Cartagonova dropped two points today after it was held to a 2-2 draw by lowly Numancia. Just days after Numancia sold its talismanic captain, Carlos Martins, to Werder Bremen, they were hit by a double punch by 13 minutes, as first Alex Notman on 3 minutes, then Jaime Garrido on 13 minutes scored for the hosts. But Numancia looked a completely different side in the second half, with swift attacks posing all sorts of problems for Cartagonova’s aging defence. In the end, the pressure told for Numancia, and Vitakic halved Cartagonova’s lead on 70 minutes, then Camacho levelled the match with four minutes remaining.

Notman’s goal was a fine piece of finishing, as he latched onto a 30 yard pass from full-back Olmo, slipped past Sánchez Caballero before rifling home from the edge of the box. On 12 minutes, Garrido picked up the loose ball just inside his own area, then using amazing acceleration and close control skills, beat several Numancia defenders then shot low and hard inside the post to double Cartagonova’s advantage. Numancia hadn’t given up hope just yet, and Ariel Carreño, playing against his former club, showed glimpses of his talent mid-way through the first half, but by and large, Cartagonova had had the better of the play and deserved their two-goal cushion. Notman missed a crucial opportunity five minutes into the second half when Segura palmed away his on-target header, and that proved the spark to light Numancia’s revival. Camacho tested Vidal with a dipping volley on 60 minutes before he played a part in the build-up to Vitakic’s goal on 70 minutes. All Cartagonova could do at this stage was either fire over the bar or at the goalkeeper, and on 86 minutes, Camacho had Numancia’s equaliser. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I admit that I made a tactical blunder in this game. I really should have substituted either Gershon and/or Smith when it became obvious to me that they weren’t handling the speed with which Numancia were attacking. However, I thought they both had the experience to adjust their games to keep up, but I was wrong. Notwithstanding that, Gershon’s poor game in particular sees me dish out an official warning to the Israeli international, which he cops without comment.

It’s about a month now until Matthew Altena joins the club, and I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do in the heart of my defence.

To be fair, though, it wouldn’t be right to heap the blame on two players - we had plenty of opportunities at 2-0 up to score another goal and really end this match as a contest, but we failed to capitalise on our chances. Numancia took their chances when it really counted and we’re left disappointed.

Cartagonova (4-3-1-2): Vidal ©; Olmo, Gershon, Smith, Bressán; Djordjic, Mason, Garrido; Clegg; Moedim Júnior, Notman.

Numancia (4-5-1): Segura; Vitakic, Rubio, Quiroga ©, Varela; Sánchez Caballero (Camacho 46), Morán, Shang (Santa 51), Onichtenchenko, Chalier (Gorka 60); Carreño.

Final score: Cartagonova 2:2 Numancia

MoM - Raúl Santa

Fortunately, the club immediately closest to us, Elche, also draws, so we preserve our two-point cushion. Real Madrid climbs back up to third, equal on points with Elche. It’s Barcelona’s turn to be down in sixth place, five points off the pace we’re currently setting.

[Dixie Flatline]

16th of November 2010

I’m disappointed to hear a ‘pundit’ criticise Mariano Carmona on-air. I make it clear in a press release that Carmona is a valuable member of the squad and that I anticipate he will be a pivotal member for some considerable time to come.

I note that Zlatan Muslimovic’s contract is up for renewal, but the Bosnian international is not willing to negotiate an extension. He basically wants guaranteed first-team football, a guarantee I can’t give him, and he also wants a new challenge. Given that we’re so far apart, I decide to transfer list him and see what happens.

17th of November 2010

I receive a call at the hotel at which the Spanish squad is staying ahead of our friendly with Argentina this evening, from the manager of Borussia Mönchengladbach, offering me £1.8 million over six months for the Bosnian international. Given that it over-values the player by £200,000 and in a month I risk losing him for nothing as he goes on a Bosman free transfer, I accept with alacrity.

Friendly - Argentina v Spain

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Spain triumphs in Buenos Aires

Spain registered a comfortable 2-0 victory over Argentina before a crowd of 57,888 people in the Antonio Vespucio Liberti Stadium in Buenos Aires this evening. Señor Dixie Flatline named a different-looking first eleven to take on the third-ranked nation on their own patch, with Sporting Gijón’s Fransisco Javier Hernández and Cartagonova’s Enrique Kortina making their debuts from the start of the game, while Iván Vidal gained his seventh cap and was named captain, with Gerard making his fiftieth appearance for Spain.

Spain was not overawed by the partisan nature of the atmosphere, beginning brightly as Fransisco Javier Hernández tried a spectacular bicycle kick on 7 minutes, only to see his shot fly well wide of the post. Five minutes later, he forced Argentine keeper Saja into making a smart save with a fiercely hit drive. But with both sides vying for control of midfield, goalmouth action dried up until the 36th minute, when Fransisco Javier Hernández benefited from lovely work by Gavião and Kortina to score with a lovely timed volley.

Three minutes into the second half, Kortina had his own goal when he volleyed Zubizarreta’s lovely cross-field pass. Argentina woke up, with Vidal being tested by Saviola on 54 minutes, but Spain remained firmly in control, as Cartagonova’s Juan Hernández almost scored on 61 minutes, but for the timely intervention of Saja. Saviola missed another opportunity on 65 minutes, being foiled by a good save by Vidal, while Cristian Alvarez should have done better with his header on 78 minutes than to meekly head it over the bar. Francisco Javier Hernández volleyed a shot towards goal on 89 minutes, only to see Saja palm it away, while Zubizarreta had the final word in injury time, curling a drive just over the bar… </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

A good match for us, and I learned a lot about the fringe players in my Spanish squad. Things are beginning to come together for the next stage of our tilt at Euro 2012 qualification, and there may well be life yet after Raúl. I think that both Kortina and Fransisco Javier Hernández had wonderful debut games that they will both treasure for a long time to come. I don’t normally get along with Kortina after he made public his desire to leave Cartagonova, but it’s hard to dislike the 21 year old winger who has just played his first game in the colours of his nation. And we weren’t playing against muppets, which makes the win all the sweeter.

I should note that again, Joseba Llorente, was forced out from the game with injury incurred just a couple of days before we were to take the field.

Argentina (3-5-2): Saja; Milito ©, Donnet, Méndez (Puertas 62); Gamarra, Lux, Riquelme (D. Alvarez 56), Falcón, C. Alvarez (Bidal 79); Saviola (Estévez 74), Bardaro (Cavenaghi 79).

Spain (4-1-2-1-2): Vidal ©; Cabrera, Amaya (Rodrigo 83), Marchena, César; Gavião (de la Rosa 83); Kortina, Zubizarreta; Gerard (Morán 62), J. Hernández, F. Hernández.

Final score: Argentina 0:2 Spain

MoM - Enrique Kortina

In other games, Zlatan Muslimovic scored as Bosnia defeated Slovenia 2-1. Martin Smith played for Denmark as they lost 2-1 to Sweden, but Bojan Djordjic was not needed by the Swedes, even to sit on the bench. Mark Williams came on after 55 minutes as England were defeated 2-1 by Romania at New Wembley. George Clegg did not feature. Shimon Gershon had a relatively untroubled game as Israel defeated Paraguay 2-1 in Tel-Aviv. Andy Owen was a fiftieth minute substitute for Wales, but the Welsh lost 2-0 to Northern Ireland in Belfast. Jean-François Gillet had a successful time with Belgium, as he played between the sticks in their 2-1 win over Norway in Oslo. Alex Notman played the first 69 minutes and scored a goal, while Gary Mason came on in the 37th minute, as Scotland and Ghana drew 2-2 in Glasgow.

[Dixie Flatline]

18th of November 2010

FC Köln make me an offer of £2.5 million for Zlatan Muslimovic, where £1.8 million is payable over 18 months, and the remainder is contingent on twenty appearances. The offer is accepted.

It only takes Zlatan the remainder of the day to agree terms with FC Köln, so he’s off in the morning.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Rodrigo put up for sale after telling his club he wants to move

Spanish international defender Óscar Rodrigo handed in a transfer request to his manager, Señor Miguel Rubio this evening, saying that Espanyol was not a club big enough to meet his ambitious demands. The defender, who earned his first cap for Spain in their recent 2-0 win over Argentina, has long been earmarked as one for the future for Espanyol, but the growing interest in him, particularly from Cartagonova, has apparently forced Rodrigo to reevaluate his future.

The club was not immediately available for comment beyond a short statement confirming that Rodrigo was available ‘for the right price’, but the supporters’ association President, Señor Carlos Guerrero said that the supporters were shocked that such extreme action had been taken by both the club and the player and hoped that patient negotiations between them would resolve the problem and Rodrigo would be able to work successfully with Espanyol. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I have to admit that I would like to have Óscar Rodrigo in my squad, pairing him up with Matthew Altena, so I submit a bid of £5 million to Espanyol for the 24 year old defender, which undervalues him by about £1.5 million.

19th of November 2010

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Muslimovic leaves Cartagonova for German club FC Köln

Bosnian international forward Zlatan Muslimovic formally ended his four-year association with Cartagonova as he sealed his move, worth in total £2.5 million, to German club FC Köln.

Señor Dixie Flatline paid tribute to the Bosnian, saying that he had been a pleasure to work with, always gave his all and was a mentor to the younger players at Cartagonova. Señor Flatline said that he understood Muslimovic’s desire to find regular first team football and he believed that the deal put forward by FC Köln was the best the club could hope for in the circumstances, with Muslimovic’s contract due to expire at the end of the season. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Zlatan’s fact-file: Zlatan Muslimovic (29 y/o, BOS 63 caps, 31 goals, AM/F RC): 38(8) apps, 7 goals, 6 assists, 1 MoM, av. rating: 7.09.

[Dixie Flatline]

20th of November 2010

Primera Liga - Game 10: Compostela v Cartagonova

I’m very disappointed in my team. We really dropped the ball today after we conceded a late, late equaliser to the bottom team in the league.

After a cagey start, we get things under way with putting the pressure on goalkeeper Leo Franco, and he cracks on 21 minutes when Gary Mason picks up the loose ball and smashes home a brilliant goal. We continue to keep up the pressure, but Compostela serve us a warning that they won’t collapse when Sierra easily evades Olmo and tests Vidal with a rasping drive that the Spanish international turns away. Seven minutes later Vidal needs to save from Santamaría. But on the cusp of half-time, Martin Smith rattles the cross-bar with a powerful header that Franco was nowhere near, and that gives me some hope going into the break.

Olmo almost doubles our lead on 51 minutes when he advances unhindered into a shooting position, and Leo Franco spills his shot, but the ball is cleared away before we can capitalise. However, a few minutes later, Santamaría repays the compliment, forcing Vidal into a terrific save and Martin Smith completes a hasty clearance. Notman smashes a drive against the bar on 57 minutes, then whistles a free kick just wide on 59 minutes. We pile up the shots on goal count over the course of the next 15 minutes or so, but cannot find the second goal to kill off the game.

Then, with the referee just seconds away from blowing full-time, Olmo trips Santamaría in the box, but is adjudged to have tackled effectively for a corner, only for Jiménez to send it over for Barbu to head home delightedly to pick up an unexpected point for the home side.

Not a good result for us.

Compostela (1-2-5-2): Leo Franco; Barbu; Guarrotxena, Mateo; Rivarola, Cobas ©, Rubén (Alberto 78), Sierra (Neca 65), Dudic; Santamaría, Jiménez.

Cartagonova (4-1-2-1-2): Vidal ©; Olmo, Gershon, Smith, Bressán; Mason; Djordjic, Garrido; Clegg; Moedim Júnior, Notman.

Final score: Compostela 1:1 Cartagonova

MoM - Leo Franco

In the other game, Barcelona soundly defeats Real Sociedad 3-1 at the Nou Camp, to move into second, three points behind Cartagonova.

[Dixie Flatline]

After ten games, the league ladder looks like this:

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1st Cartagonova 10 4 1 0 10 4 3 2 0 15 7 24

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2nd Barcelona 10 4 0 1 12 6 3 0 2 7 4 21

3rd Real Madrid 10 4 1 0 12 7 2 2 1 9 8 21

4th Elche 10 4 1 0 8 1 2 2 1 4 3 21

5th Zaragoza 10 4 0 1 13 7 2 1 2 10 10 19

6th Atlético Madrid 10 2 1 2 6 8 4 0 1 9 5 19

7th Valencia 10 5 0 0 11 3 1 0 4 7 14 18

8th Betis 10 2 1 2 4 4 3 1 1 8 4 17

9th Villarreal 10 3 1 1 9 7 2 1 2 7 10 17

10th Deportivo 10 2 1 2 9 8 2 1 2 7 7 14

11th Alavés 10 2 1 2 6 8 2 1 2 6 5 14

12th Numancia 10 4 0 1 18 7 0 1 4 5 13 13

13th Espanyol 10 3 1 1 8 7 1 0 4 10 13 13

14th Osasuna 9 1 2 1 7 6 2 0 3 9 7 11

15th Real Sociedad 11 3 1 1 13 8 0 1 5 5 12 11

16th Sporting Gijón 10 1 1 3 2 5 2 0 3 5 8 10

17th Celta 10 1 1 3 4 7 1 2 2 6 6 9

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

18th Athletic Bilbao 9 2 1 2 8 7 0 0 4 0 9 7

19th Tenerife 10 0 1 4 4 12 0 1 4 1 10 2

20th Compostela 11 0 1 5 2 10 0 1 4 2 11 2

</pre>

In England, Manchester United leads Ipswich by seven points after 14 games, with Notts County a further five points behind. Stoke, Manchester City and West Ham United fill the relegation places. Over to Italy, Juventus enjoys a four point lead over Torino, with two games in hand. Udinese sits a further point behind. Parma, Cosena, Brescia and surprisingly, Inter Milan lie in the relegation zone. In Portugal, Benfica leads Sporting Lisbon and Gil Vicente by three points, but has played one more game than Sporting Lisbon. Sporting Clube Pompal, Porto and Naval are in the relegation zone.

[Dixie Flatline]

22nd of November 2010

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Espanyol sacks its manager, Señor Miguel Rubio

Bowing to enormous supporter pressure, Espanyol chairman, Señor Daniel Sánchez Llibre, sacked manager, Señor Miguel Rubio. Espanyol currently sits 12th on the Primera Liga ladder, and with question marks hanging over the future of star players Óscar Rodrigo and Francisco Javier Zubizarreta at the club, Señor Sánchez Llibre decided to act now to preserve the viability and marketability of the club. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I’m in Moskva with the European Champions' League portion of my squad, as we prepare to meet Lokomotiv Moskva in the first game of the second phase of this competition. Before I describe to you what happens, let’s quickly preview the group Cartagonova has been drawn in, beginning with tonight’s opponent Lokomotiv Moskva. The Russian club qualified second, some eleven points behind runaway group winner AC Milan, in Group F. The club did the double over Arsenal, beating the English club home and away, while it drew with Celtic in Moskva, and was beaten away by the Scottish side, while it lost twice to AC Milan. Russian international Vitaly Grishin anchors the midfield, providing steel and drive from the centre of the park. Vladimir Kardanov provides a sharp cutting edge up front, with good support from Alexandr Sergeev. Lokomotiv Moskva will prove a difficult opponent, particularly at home, but in a strong group, this might not prove sufficient to achieve qualification into the knock-out phase.

Paris-Saint-Germain offers only an aging squad, relying upon the likes of striker Nicolas Anelka and Mario Turdó. Guinean international striker, Souleymane Youla is perhaps PSG’s greatest asset, and he will be expected to provide most of the goals. However, PSG finished top of its group by six points, losing only one game in its push for qualification. That is impressive form to carry in to the second group phase.

AS Roma has put together a very impressive squad and should be looking to qualify for the quarter-finals, as anything less will be a disappointment. In a tightly-fought group, AS Roma finished a point behind Bayer Leverkusen and equal on points with Feyenoord. AS Roma, however, has a strong squad, with the likes of Spanish internationals Ãngel, Antonio Vázquez, and Vicente, Swedish international Hector Cures and Argentine international striker Cristian Bardaro. AS Roma will be confident of qualifying for the knock-out phase.

[Dixie Flatline]

So, to tonight’s action in a cold Moskva…

European Champions' League - Phase 2, Group D, Game 1: Lokomotiv Moskva v Cartagonova

This is certainly a very exciting game for the spectators to watch, but I would have preferred if we had defended better. We have an early warning when on just a minute, Kardanov tests Vidal’s reflexes, but finds them quite satisfactory. However, on 8 minutes Kardanov too easily found a way past Bressán, cuts inside then plants an unstoppable shot in the top right corner. We immediately begin to fight back and we have an equaliser on 16 minutes when Scheweleff, restored to the first eleven after his injury, flicks the ball out to Notman, and the Scottish striker does the rest. We continue to keep the pressure on our opponents, and Lokomotiv’s goalkeeper is kept busy for the remainder of the game, saving shots from Notman and Mason, in particular. So although we reach the half-time break all-square, I feel quite confident, as we had the better of the first half.

The second half begins like the first ended, with us on the front foot. Gary Mason forces Kabanov into making a fine save, at the cost of the corner, on 47 minutes, but Cabrera’s corner is headed home magnificently by Alex Notman to put us in the lead! On 56 minutes, we make the score 3-1 in our favour when George Clegg finds himself with sufficient time to place an unreachable shot beyond Kabanov after good work from Mason. Then, on 64 minutes, Henri Scheweleff scores our fourth goal when he beats Mor to Cabrera’s corner and heads it past Kabanov. Now, I feel really confident, holding a three goal lead and with the home crowd silent.

But on 74 minutes, Kardanov pulls a goal back when he escapes his marker long enough to slot home Zlydnev’s cross. Five minutes later, he has his hat-trick when he curls home a shot from just outside the box to give us a nervous finish to the end of the game. Notman misses a couple of shots that would have settled my nerves, but we hold on to our lead and take a good three points.

Lokomotiv Moskva (1-2-5-2): Kabanov; Romanov; Mor (Petrov 74), Semenenko ©; Panin, Grishin (Zlydnev 57), Kalinichenko (Sokolov 46), Kusov, Yakovlev; Sergeev, Kardanov.

Cartagonova (4-1-2-1-2): Vidal ©; Cabrera, Gershon, Smith, Bressán; Mason; Djordjic, Williams; Clegg; Scheweleff, Notman.

Final score: Lokomotov Moskva 3:4 Cartagonova

MoM - Henri Scheweleff

In the other game, AS Roma thrashes PSG 4-0 to top the table.

[Dixie Flatline]

28th of November 2010

Primera Liga - Game 11: Cartagonova v Elche

Elche begin the game very defensively, with plenty of men behind the ball, looking to protect their goal. But that doesn’t stop Notman breaking free in the area to smash a drive towards Dorronsoro’s goal on two minutes, but the keeper does well to get his hand to it, for the cost of a corner. Elche fail to clear their defensive lines, so we move the ball back in to the danger area for Notman to have another crack, but again, Dorronsoro is on the ball and prevents us taking the lead early in the game, and he even manages to block Mason’s follow-up shot. But on 8 minutes, he has no answer to the superb drive from Scheweleff, who picks up Garrido’s clever through-ball, chests it down adroitly and thunders a drive from the edge of the box past the hapless Dorronsoro.

However, our lead lasts a mere seven minutes, as Oscar Mascorro follows up Vidal’s save from his earlier shot to tap in on 15 minutes to bring joy to the travelling band of Elche supporters. But seven minutes later, we re-establish our lead when Djordjic’s wonderful cross is beautifully converted on the six-yard line by Garrido. We continue to maintain pressure, and Dorronsoro is forced on 31 minutes to turn away Garrido’s fine effort, while he pulls off a brilliant double-save from Clegg eight minutes later. But Elche’s own Garrido tests Vidal a couple of times on 42 minutes, and I don’t like seeing my defence lose concentration so close to the interval.

The second half is a little more sedate, though Vidal needs to sharply save Reyes’ speculative bicycle kick on 62 minutes, while Dorronsoro does well to parry Garrido’s 76th minute drive. But when Scheweleff is bundled over in the penalty box, and the referee blows his whistle for a penalty, the Finnish striker steps up to the plate and scores - only to be ordered to retake the penalty for a phantom infringement. However, it does not bother Scheweleff and he duly converts, extending our lead to an unassailable 3-1 with but four minutes to play. Sure enough, Elche have fired all their shots in their locker and we run out comfortable winners in the end.

Cartagonova (4-3-1-2): Vidal ©; Cabrera, Gershon, Smith, Bressán; Djordjic, Mason, Garrido; Clegg; Scheweleff, Notman.

Elche (4-3-2-1): Dorronsoro ©; Byrnes, Ettien, Rodríguez, Cappelletti (Méndez 59); Duscher, Bernardi, Reyes (Börjesson 64); Lozano (Júnior 73), Garrido; Mascorro.

Final score: Cartagonova 3:1 Elche

MoM - Henri Scheweleff

Scheweleff is named in midfield in the team of the week, while Vidal sits on the bench.

[Dixie Flatline]

30th of November 2010

World Club Cup - River Plate v Cartagonova

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Hat-trick from Juan Hernández seals easy victory for Cartagonova

Cartagonova defeated River Plate 4-0 before a crowd of 54,400 people in Tokyo’s National Stadium, with Spanish international Juan Hernández scoring a hat-trick in 24 minutes to crush the spirits of the Argentines.

The first half was an even affair, with River Plate dominating possession in the first twenty minutes, but unable to find the cutting edge to take the lead and capitalise on their pressure. Paulo Miranda, a former Cartagonova player, was particularly profligate, continuously spraying his shots wide of the mark. Cartagonova steadied the ship and da Silva Marques missed two relatively simple chances on 28 and 33 minutes, while a moment later, Hernández served notice of what was to come, with Islas needing to save a powerful drive from the midfielder. Cartagonova finally took the lead on 41 minutes, when debutant Juan Antonio Rubio dispossessed Guo in midfield then drove the ball forward for da Silva Marques, who knocked it down for Olmo to sweep home past Islas for his first goal in Cartagonova colours. Iván Vidal made a superb finger-tip save on the cusp of half-time to save from Pereyra to preserve Cartagonova’s half-time lead.

When Ramón was sent off on 54 minutes for a dangerous, two-foot tackle on Cherno Samba, the complexion of the match changed markedly in favour of Cartagonova. The Spanish and European champion took the game by the scruff of the neck, and doubled its lead when Juan Hernández leaped highest to powerfully meet Lasa’s cross and turn it into the net. Cartagonova should have had a penalty on 79 minutes when Reyes was bundled over by Zapata, but the referee waved away appeals. However, five minutes later, Hernández scored Cartagonova’s third goal when he gathered up Islas’ punch from Gershon’s attempted cross and slotted it past the Argentine keeper. Then right on injury time at the end of the game, Hernández scored a wonderful 45-yard goal after spotting Islas out of position to claim his hat-trick in spectacular fashion. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Well, that was a great game for us in the end. With most of my first eleven not fit enough to travel from Spain to Japan, I decided to play largely a second-string side, and they performed very well. Although Juan Hernández will steal the headlines, and rightly so for his hat-trick, I was particularly impressed with my young defensive midfielder, Juan Antonio Rubio, who did his best to keep things on an even keel when River Plate were battering at our goals in the first 20-25 minutes. It was the 22 year old’s first game for the club, and I think he acquitted himself very well. Of course, things became easier when we started scoring goals, but my defence and Rubio performed reasonably well in the circumstances.

River Plate (4-1-2-1-2): Islas; Ramón (s/o 54), Zapata, Andreoli, Lombardi (Toedtli 46); Pereyra; Carrizo © (Jiménez 46), Guo; Miranda; Molina, D’Amico (Pulido 46).

Cartagonova (4-1-2-1-2): Vidal ©; Cabrera, Gershon, Lasa, Olmo; Rubio; Reyes, Williams; Hernández; da Silva Marques (Owen 78), Samba.

Final score: River Plate 0:4 Cartagonova

MoM - Juan Hernández

Dixie Flatline, signing off, for the moment.

[Dixie Flatline]

Back with more from Cartagonova!

2nd of December 2010

Well, I’ve finally landed my man, beating off the interest of Atlético Madrid (who couldn’t even muster a bid high enough to match our bid) to Óscar Rodrigo, as he agrees personal terms with us this evening, putting ink to paper on a lovely contract for the Spanish international defender. The transfer fee of £5 million also represents some good business for us, too, given he’s valued at more than £6.5 million.

4th of December 2010

Primera Liga - Game 12: Real Betis v Cartagonova

What a Saturday afternoon for football fans. In first place, we travel to play third-placed Real Betis, while second-placed Atlético Madrid hosts Real Sociedad and fourth-placed Villarreal hosts fifth-best Real Zaragoza.

On their home patch, Real Betis come out firing, and Edú draws a fine save from Vidal on 10 minutes with a drive that stings the palms of our captain. From the corner, Mora finds enough space to sink his boot in the ball and send it towards goal, only for Vidal to palm it away for another corner, which Olmo deals with. We take the ball down the other end of the field, but Mason lifts his header over the bar. But route-one football gives Cavenaghi an opportunity to give Real Betis the lead, but Cavenaghi wastes the shot, over the bar.

Gavião is forced off the pitch with an injury on 25 minutes, but Real Betis maintain momentum with La Paglia forcing Vidal into making a top-drawer save from a set-piece on 30 minutes. Seven minutes later, Edú bamboozles my defence long enough to reach a shooting position, but hits the ball wide of the mark, thanks to pressure from Gershon. From the resulting goal-kick, we sweep the ball down the field and with his first touch of the ball, Notman buries it in the back of Bagnacani’s net with a blistering drive! Mora misses a vital opportunity on 42 minutes to bring the scores level when his header is tipped away by Vidal, and right on half-time, George Clegg scores his fiftieth league goal for the club when he runs away from future teammate, Matthew Altena, and blasts a drive from just outside the box!

The second half begins with Scheweleff testing Bagnacani’s reflexes on 53 minutes, but the former Cartagonova goalkeeper is good enough to stop the Finnish international from adding to our scoresheet. Vidal stops Edú from scoring on 56 minutes, and Smith completes the clearance by sinking the boot into the ball. But Cavenaghi drags Real Betis into the contest with a brilliantly taken half-volley on 64 minutes.

I stand firm, knowing my boys are good enough to finish off our opponents, and our third goal comes on 75 minutes, thanks to a mistake from Altena. Garrido fires in the free kick, which is knocked down by Mason into the path of Martin Smith, and the defender smashes the ball unhesitatingly past Bagnacani. A moment later, Reyes takes the ball off Carlos and tries to plant a shot into the net, only for it to clear the bar by inches. Scheweleff has the last word on this game when he heads powerfully towards goal, but Bagnacani has his angles covered and stops him from making it 4-1.

Real Betis (4-4-2): Bagnacani; Placente, Mora, Altena ©, Carlos; Aranburu, La Paglia, Gavião (Morales 25 (Gustavsson 58)), De Lucas; Cavenaghi, Edú.

Cartagonova (4-1-2-1-2): Vidal ©; Cabrera, Gershon, Smith, Olmo; Mason; Reyes, Garrido; Clegg; Scheweleff, Notman.

Final score: Real Betis 1:3 Cartagonova

MoM - George Clegg

[Dixie Flatline]

7th of December 2010

European Champions' League - Phase 2, Group D, Game 2: Cartagonova v AS Roma

With Olmo and Reyes not able to compete in the European Champions’ League, and with Gershon slightly lacking in fitness, I make three changes to the side that defeated Real Betis. Andrés Bressán replaced Olmo, José Manuel Lasa took Gershon’s place, and Djordjic stepped in for Reyes. AS Roma adopted a very defensive posture in the opening stages of the game, allowing us to control possession from the back, and fairly soon Lasa and Smith had touched the ball on multiple occasions. But with AS Roma flooding their defence, we lacked penetration, and goalmouth action was severely lacking. Indeed, it was AS Roma who almost opened the scoring on 23 minutes when Dedê drifted through our defence to pick up Cures clever short pass, but the Brazilian’s drive cleared the bar quite comfortably. Christer George then picked apart our defence on the half-hour mark, but he also cleared the bar with his drive. Mason has our first clear-cut opportunity on 39 minutes to test the AS Roma defence, but he is unable to keep his header (from Djordjic’s pass) down and the scores remain deadlocked. Three minutes later, Scheweleff botches his attempt at a diving header and the ball trickles out for a goalkick. Then, right on half-time, AS Roma strike, with Bardaro drawing a terrific save from Vidal, only for Inácio Piá to seize upon the rebound and blast it above the despairing glove of Vidal to give AS Roma the lead going into the break.

We open proceedings in the second half on the offensive, with Bucchi saving well from Scheweleff, and Dedê took the ball off Notman’s feet before the Scottish striker could have a shot. On 60 minutes, Clegg intercepted Laursen’s pass intended for Aho, and the English midfielder flicked the ball to Mason. Mason wound up and thunders home a 35-yard howitzer to draw us level. AS Roma, not content to pick up a point, withdraws van Bommel for Riquelme, but may have rued that move when on 61 minutes, a brilliantly worked move puts the ball on a platter for Clegg to volley into the corner from the edge of the box! Three minutes later, we kill the match dead when Notman scores his obligatory goal, taking a pass from Clegg in his stride then hitting it low and sweetly past Bucchi to seal the victory! After that, we strangle the game and run out comfortable victors.

Cartagonova (4-3-1-2): Vidal ©; Cabrera, Lasa, Smith (Gershon 62), Bressán; Djordjic, Mason, Garrido; Clegg; Scheweleff, Notman.

AS Roma (4-3-2-1): Bucchi; Dedê (Vicente 68), Laursen, Lanzaro ©, Szymkowiak (Ãngel 54); Cures (inj 90), van Bommel (Riquelme 60), Aho; Inácio Piá, George; Bardaro.

Final score: Cartagonova 3:1 AS Roma

MoM - George Clegg

Our win over AS Roma extends our unbeaten run in all competitions to 22, stretching back to 29th of August 2010. This eclipses our previous best run of 21, set back between 1st of October 2006 to 6th of January 2007.

[Dixie Flatline]

8th of December 2010

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Mads Timm for Cartagonova

… Fiorentina striker, Mads Timm, will move to Cartagonova during the summer of 2011 on a Bosman free transfer, after he agreed personal terms with the Spanish and European champion, ahead of offers from the likes of Bordeaux, Glasgow Celtic and Sheffield United. Timm, who began his professional career at Danish club OB, before switching to Manchester United in 2000/01, first came to prominence when he moved to Fiorentina on a Bosman free transfer in 2004/05. With two Serie A championships under his belt, along with a Coppa Italia, Timm brings plenty of experience at winning trophies to Cartagonova, along with 47 international caps and 14 international goals for Denmark… </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Well, I’m happy to have signed Timm on a Bosman free transfer. I’m not sure how I will fit him into my first eleven regularly, but he is certainly a very talented player.

9th of December 2010

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Sheffield United’s Andreas Lewitz bound for Cartagonova

… Hot on the heels of news that Fiorentina’s Mads Timm will join Cartagonova in the summer is the announcement from the club that Swedish international striker Andreas Lewitz will join the club on a Bosman free transfer from Sheffield United. The powerful striker, who tormented Cartagonova when the clubs met in the European Champions' League, will be a valuable addition to the Cartagonova squad and will compete with the likes of Timm, Henri Scheweleff, Alex Notman and Moedim Júnior for places up front for Cartagonova… </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I was happy to beat off interest from Ajax to land Lewitz’s signature on a playing contract for the next few seasons. He is a great player, having watched him at close quarters on several occasions, and he felt that he had travelled as far as he could at Sheffield United.

[Dixie Flatline]

12th of December 2010

Primera Liga - Game 13: Cartagonova v Villarreal

Villarreal, not unsurprisingly, begin this match with plenty of players camped in their defensive third of the pitch, to strangle the space in which Scheweleff and Notman want to operate in. On 9 minutes, Garrido unlocks the defence to float in a cross for Notman to head towards goal, but López Vallejo pushes the ball away and it’s cleared by Sonkaya to Adolfo, and the danger for Villarreal passes. Clegg tries a spectacular bicycle kick on 16 minutes after good work from Scheweleff, but the Englishman’s attempt isn’t on target. After that, the game tightens up, and Villarreal begin to gain in confidence as our attacks are continually stifled.

On 37 minutes, Vidal is called upon to make a good double-save from Adolfo. We regain control of midfield and on 41 minutes, Scheweleff rifles a drive that stings the palms of López Vallejo, who misdirects his clearance into the path of Djordjic. The Swedish international passes infield to Mason, who threads a pass through to the onrushing Scheweleff, and the Finnish international puts it between the legs of López Vallejo for the opening goal of the game! That will do us for the first half. The second begins with Adolfo heading towards Vidal’s goal on 50 minutes, but our captain won’t be denied and turns it away for a corner kick. A couple of moments later, we double our lead when Mason feeds Notman, who puts the bal away with a typical fiercely struck drive. On 61 minutes Djordjic gives away a free kick, and Gaitán slams the ball against the bar, with Vidal motionless. Lasa concedes a corner kick and from it, González Pérez finds enough space to head home a goal to halve our lead. Djordjic tries to immediately restore our two goal lead when he curls a shot towards the top corner, but López Vallejo stretches up his palms to knock it away. We tie things up thereafter, until practically stoppage time at the end of the game, when Olmo thinks he has scored, only to have it ruled out for off-side against Scheweleff. Not pretty, but a good effective win.

Cartagonova (4-3-1-2): Vidal ©; Cabrera, Lasa, Smith (Gershon 63), Olmo; Djordjic, Mason, Garrido; Clegg; Scheweleff, Notman.

Villarreal (4-4-1-1): López Vallejo ©; Sonkaya, Engonga (Otfors-Palmqvist 60), Schmidt, Abad; González Pérez, Gaitán, Wallerstedt, Victorino; Franck (Jonay 60); Adolfo.

Final score: Cartagonova 2:1 Villarreal

MoM - Gary Mason

After the game, Scheweleff is singled out for praise by a football website. I decide to echo the praise, which pleases both the fans association and the President.

13th of December 2010

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Young defender, José Manuel Díez, to join Cartagonova

Cartagonova will sign young left-back, José Manuel Díez, from Lleida on a Bosman free transfer in the summer of 2011. Díez was courted by Salamanca, Albacete and Toledo, but said that the interest of Spain’s champion was too much to ignore. The pacey full-back has played 137 times for Lleida for three goals and nine assists to date, and Cartagonova manager, Señor Dixie Flatline, believes that Díez will be a good long-term prospect for the club. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

[Dixie Flatline]

15th of December 2010

The transfer window opens again for the winter period. Enrique Kortina is already in Barcelona this morning, preparing for life after Cartagonova. At least we can bank £10 million: Enrique Kortina (21 y/o, ESP 1 cap, 1 goal, AM/F RLC): 13(8) apps, 2 goals, 3 assists, 1 MoM, av. rating: 7.10

Half the money goes to Espanyol to pay for the purchase of Óscar Rodrigo. A further £12 million goes into the bank account of Real Betis, as Matthew Altena becomes a Cartagonova player.

In addition to signing Enrique Kortina, Barcelona spend £7.75 million on Villarreal’s central defender Angel Puertas and £15.75 million on Ajax Amsterdam’s striker Roque Santa Cruz. Deportivo La Coruña spend £6.75 million on bringing Italian international winger Filippo Perinon from Udinese to Spain.

Villarreal smashes Gimnástica 7-3 in the Copa del Rey this evening, including leading 5-0 at half-time. Surprisngly, no Villarreal player scored a hat-trick in this game, but Gaitán and Franck scored a brace of goals each.

17th of December 2010

We avoid the big clubs in the draw for the second round of the Copa del Rey, being drawn to meet Segunda Liga B club Sanse away from home. The fixture is set for the 5th of January 2011.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Cartagonova continues to add players

Cartagonova continues to add players to its squad via the Bosman free transfer, with the club announcing today that former Spanish Olympian, José María Hernández signing a pre-contract with the Spanish champion that will see him move to Cartagonova in the summer of 2011. The 25 year old utility defender began his career at Burgos, before moving to English club Aston Villa. But he failed to consolidate a place at Aston Villa, and spent a season on loan to Real Oviedo, before moving to Tenerife at the end of the 2006/07 season on a Bosman free transfer. Cartagonova manager, Señor Dixie Flatline, described Hernández as a player who could be used to plug gaps on the left and in the centre of defence, and combining pace, poise and ability to pass the ball, Hernández is a welcome addition to the Cartagonova squad. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Veteran striker, Ronaldo, to come back to Europe

Brazilian international striker, Ronaldo, will come back to Europe after agreeing terms with Ajax Amsterdam. Ronaldo, starring for Brazilian club, Corinthians, had turned down offers to join other European clubs after leaving Barcelona two seasons ago, has decided that the lure of Dutch football is too much to refuse. Capped 110 times by his country, and having scored 49 international goals, Ronaldo’s transfer fee is undisclosed, but is rumoured to be in the vicinity of £1 million. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Dixie Flatline, signing off, for the moment!

[abu645]

when was the last time you lost a game?!

keep it up

[Dixie Flatline]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by abu645:

when was the last time you lost a game?!

keep it up </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

The question should be, when did I last play a game?!

Thanks abu645, I'll have to check into it and get back to you!