October 29, 2005
away at Chester City (currently 24th)
Finally! I think. We finally get to play somebody out of the top 10 teams of League One. While trying not to take newly promoted Chester City too lightly, I know that now is the time to give some of my regulars a breather. That includes my starting keeper, Mark Goodlad, whom I replace with backup Rob Beckwith. Not that Goodlad needs the rest, but I also want to give Beckwith some first team playing time and keep him in playing shape, in case an injury should happen to Goodlad. This is also the first game for attacking middie Marc Bridge-Wilkinson, who shows some great stuff at some point and ends the game with a 7 ratings, being replaced late in the game by Mark Jones. We try and try, but nobody can connect and we end up with a draw, despite outshooting them two to one. Bartosz Tarachulski was everywhere, creating chances left and right, and earns the 3rd MoM in a row for a Hatter...
Final Score: Luton 0, Chester City 0
Shots (on target): Luton 8 (2), Chester City 4 (1)
MoM: Bartosz Tarachulski with a ratings of 8
We move down slightly again, to 12th place.
This is it for the matches played in that playing session, so I'll introduce a little chart I like very much. It shows how your position in the league table has changed over the course of the season.
As you can see, we started with a loss that put us in 23rd, but since then we've stabilized ourselves and hang in between 9th and 14th, a position I'm satisfied with, at least for now.
Transfer News
My first offer for Watford's Gavin Mahon was categorically refused by Watford. I like him a lot, given that he his a sweeper/defensive midfielder, so I up the ante to 220k, even though he's only valued at 200k. A few days pass and that bid is also rejected without even a chance for negotiation. I decide to declare my interest, see what they will say. Well, Watford's manager doesn't say a word, but our fans speak out, and loud. They are telling me, through the media, that they would be unhappy to see me sign Mahon. That's good information to me and I decide to let go of him...
International Call ups (part 1)
Keith Keane and Kevin Foley both get called up by the Ireland U21 squad for a pair of international friendlies that will be played on November 11th and November 15th. I don't put any restriction on their participation in these friendlies, even though I had not realized at the time that the team has a long break from November 9th to November 19th...
Achievement News
Bartosz Tarachulski makes the League One Team of the Week, following his great play in the Chester City match.
Team Board News
November 1st comes and the Luton team board tells me they are pleased with my management of the club. Things are looking good.
International Call ups (part 2)
Four other Hatters have been called up for international friendlies. I almost freaked out, fearing I'd lose close to half my team for almost a week, especially after the first two call ups for Foley and Keane. This is where I took a look at my fixtures list and realized the team had no match scheduled from November 9th to November 19th. The call ups are for defender Chric Coyne, keeper Dino Seremet (a backup of the backup, I'm kind of puzzled he's on any national team, may have to look into it... SVN is what, Slovenia? weird), striker Bartosz Tarachulski, and defender Mark Williams. They're all set to play on possibly two matches each, on November 12th and November 16th.
FM