fm2005:working for Max "moneybags" Griggs an empty cuboard challenge

[condors]

argh our game against Arsenal is in 3 days wtf.

My head is telling me to run the B team out and take the loss. My heart is telling me play the A team maybe you can get lucky.

I have another league game 3 days after the Arsenal game so i will play my B team there.

Fernandez is hurt so i put Kelly out on the right wing (Turner hasn't impressed as much) and hope for a miracle.

It would be nice for Gilbert and Taylor to beat thier old team.

we are under a ton of pressure early and some guy name Henry scores in the 13th minute.

Reyes makes the scoreline 2-0 in the 39th minute. We are being outplayed here.

at the half we are being outshot 11-0. This is about as ugly as it gets. I probally should have played the B team. It just lets me know i got alot of work to do by the time we get to the Premier League. Arsenal are playing their best team and are in 1st place in the league so we are playing the currently best team in England at thier building.

Patrick Viera makes it 3-0 in the 56th minute.

Berkamp makes it 4-0 in the 81st minute.

they outshot us 22-1. Not a single play on our team distingushed himself. We were beaten and beaten badly.

[condors]

We are home vs Maccesfield who are 18th on the table, i play Taylor in goal but throw out the B team in front of him and hope for a result.

we outshot them 14-2 Chris Humprheys scores are only goal in a 1-0 win

Jamie Leacock and Lee Sims both have to come off the field injured.

[condors]

Our next game is on the road vs 7th place Leyton Orient. We are in 2nd place 2 pts behind Bristol Rovers but they have played an extra game.

we out shoot them 21-1. We get goals from Parkin, Fernandez and Griffit. 3-0 win. We are still 2 pts behind Bristol Rovers.

out next game is on the road vs 11th place Yevoil
Griffit gets a goal in the 6th minute
Hammond gets another in the 12th 2-0
Parkin adds another in the 35th minute 3-0 Rushen
Dalmat gets a red card in the 40th minute we are down to 10 men(i bring on Kelly to play left wing and take Hammond off)
they pull one back in the 45th minute 3-1
Fernandez gets a goal in the 48th minute 4-1
Parkin hits them for a 2nd goal in the 90th minute we win 5-1
outshot them 23-12.

with the win we are 1 pt ahead of Bristol Rovers both team have 16 games left.

I am now described as talented manager (much better than under pressure manager)

we are at home vs 3rd place Cheltenham they are 8 points behind us on the table a win here could really put a dent in their title chances.

we get a goal from McCann and a brace from Hammond to win 3-0 we outshoot them 21-2. This makes the league look like a 2 horse race with us and Bristol Rovers but anything can happen as there are 45 points left to play for.

[condors]

our next game is against 4th place Oxford at thier place. We can't afford to drop points here and its a game i am a little worried about. Fernandez is hurt so i start Kelly on the right side and Dalmat is back from his red card and goes in for Kelly on the left side.

14th minute Gavin McCann is hurt and has to come off Lee Sims was on the bench(luckily normally Kelly is in that spot) and steps right in.

Marcus Kelly gets us a 1-0 lead in the 30th minute.

in the 51st minute Marc Wilson scores for Oxford making it 1-1

Humphries who came on as a sub on the left wing scores in the 86th minute 2-1 Rushden

Matthew Turner who also came on as a sub gets injured in the 90th minute but i don't have any more subs so i have to play with 10 men. Griffit takes the free kick and scores to make it 3-1.

we outshot them 14-6 very good result on the road for us. I was worried when they equalized.

[condors]

Bristol Rovers lost and fell to 4 points behind us and once again. Roman Diaz the jerk he is said afterwards the better team didn't win (he lost 4-1 and his side was definatly outplayed) which is the same garbage he spued when Rushden beat him.

We have a tuesday game at home vs Lincoln i go with the B team(except for Stuart Taylor and Jon Otsemobor as Bardlsey is still injured).

Turner is injured so i play Watts on the right wing not his natural postion.

in the 70th minute its 0-0 so i bring on Dalmat, Fernandez and Griffit to gives us a late spark.

Darn the game ends 0-0 we outshot them 16-0. I think less and less of Coates and Humphreys the more i see from them. As luck would have it Bristol Rovers win their game and our 2 pts behind us on the table. We have a game against them later in the year which could be for the title if things keep going this way.

[condors]

McCann is out for a month with a groin injury. I debate a minute whether to go with Sims or Fox. I go with Fox he was supposed to be the guy when the season started so i will give him the nod(Sims has 7.09 average rating vs Fox 7.20 but Sims played well early and Fox has played better lately)

we outshot them 31-0 (yes 31-0)

we got goals
Parkin
Griffit
Fox

while Hammond and Fernandez both scored two for us in a 7-0 win.

Bristol Rovers won 3-0 to keep it 2 points between us and them.

[condors]

Our next game is on the road vs Shrewsbury who are 18th on the table. I worry about road games because our offense doesn't seem to click as well.

Kevin Street gives Shrewsbury a 1-0 lead at the 10 minute mark and i have a large vein bulging on my forehead.

we outshot them 14-6 but lose 1-0. This was what i was afraid of.

although we manage some luck as Bristol Rovers lost 2-0 in their game as well. So we manage to hang on to 1st place.

[condors]

we are on the road vs 13th placed Wycombe

Dalmat and Kelly are injured so Turner will start on the right wing and Fernandez will move to the left.

Neil Cooper scored an own goal giving us a 1-0 lead
Sam Parkin added a goal making it 2-0
Matt Turner goes a long way to get out of the doghouse by scoring making it 3-0 which is how the game ends.

we outshot them 11-2.

Again on the road we didn't generate the offense i like to see but at least this time we got the result.

Bristol Rovers beat 4th place Swansea 2-0 to keep themselves 2 points behind.

[condors]

we are on the road against 17th placed Scunthorpe.

I start the same lineup, although our backup keeper Dennis is hurt so we dress a gray guy.

We get goals from Fernandez and Hammond in a 2-0 win. We outshot them 18-0.

Bristol Rovers won but lost a game midweek so they are still 2 point behind us but now we have an extra game to play.

[condors]

We are home vs 16th place Mannsfield.

we outshot them 25-0 beating them 5-0.
Hammond got us 2 goals
Turner got a goal
Parkin got a goal and
Humphreys got a goal

that game was our game in hand so we are now 5 points ahead of Bristol Rovers with 8 games left to play.

[condors]

our next game is home vs Northampton.

Sam Parkin is tired so we leave him out of the lineup.

A couple of my players have wnt next to thier names. Warnock and Otsemobor. Neither are for sale.

we outshot them 17-2

Hammond adds another 2 goals to his record
David Fox scores for us also in a 3-0 win

Bristol Rovers tied giving us a 7 point cushion.

Even if we lose the rest of our games we will still win a promotion. We want to win the league though so there is still something to play for.

[condors]

our next game is on the road vs 20th placed Southend

we outshot them 17-10 getting a 1-0 win our goal was scored by Griffit.(its a shame Van Bommel is taking his spot he improved for us as the season has gone on, moreso after i changed my tactic to suit him)

Bristol Rovers beat Cambridge 2-0 so the race is still on.

Liverpool won the League Cup and Arsenal won the Premier League.

our next game is home vs 23rd placed Rochdale we should beat these guys badly.

we outshot them 16-0 in a 3-0 win. We get two goals from Gavin McCann 2 30 foot bombs from his defensive midfield postion. Also from Griffit.

Bristol Rovers lost 1-0 and are now 10 pts behind with 5 games to go.

[condors]

our next game is on the road vs 15th placed Bury.

we outshot them 13-3
we got goals from Coates (playing for the injured Hammond)
Giffit added another goal and Humphreys(who came on for Coates)
Glyn Garner scored on own goal to give us a 4-0 win

our next game is a midweek game vs Swansea. I play the B team including the keeper Dennis. I am not worried about a loss here to be honest.

our team manages to get 3 red cards. Both teams had 8 shots on goal and the game ends in a 1-1 tie. I am actually proud of our B team here. Andy Hogg is a terrible ref.

[condors]

our next game is against 2nd place Bristol Rovers at their place

i accidently leave my B team keeper Paul Dennis in the starting lineup

we outshot them 10-6 beating them 5-2

2 goals came from Griffit, one from Hammond, one from Parkin and another from Fernandes.

very happy with the result and i expect to see a news blurb how the better team didn't win again.

Our next game is home vs 5th place Boston Utd

Elvis Hammond starts the scoring in at the 24th minute
Sam Parkin makes it 2-0 in the 83rd minute
we outshot them 20-6

Dennis is actually wanted by Chelsea (maybe i should hang on to the kid)

Our last game of the season is on the road vs Darlington who are in 21st place

we outshot them 19-2 but don't get anything past their keeper.

we finish the season with 33 wins 8 draws 5 loses scored 116 goals and let in 21 for goal differance of +95 and 107 points.

Stephane Dalmat finished with the highest average rating with a 8.50
Fabrice Fernandes was 2nd in the league with 8.31
Elvis Hammond was 4th with 7.66
Sam Parkin was 5th with 7.65
(andrew weathers was third with 7.76 28 year old midfielder from Wycombe doesn't look that special to me but he obviously played very well)

other Rushden players on the list
Stephen Warnock 9th 7.55 average rating
John Cogger 19th with 7.46 rating
Otsemobor, Kelly and Griffit all had 7.41 average rating

Gavin McCann average 7.75 but didn't play in enough games to make the list i guess.

Elvis Hammond led the league with 24 league goals, Sam Parkin was 2nd with 23 league goals, Griffit was 12th with 16 and Fernandes was 13th with 14 Chris Humphreys added 10 and Gavin McCann added 5.

Fernandes lead the league with 20 assists, Dalmat was 2nd with 18. Hammond was 4th with 13. Parkin was 10th with 11.

All in all it wasn't a bad season for Rushen hopefully it will give us something to build on for next season.

[condors]

about to start season 2 and there have been alot of changes at Nene Park.

I was embarrassed against Arsenal i don't want that to happen again. I feel i need to bring in the best talent possible to be able to compete with the big four(Manutd, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal)

First things first i sign Graham Stack on a free transfer to be our backup keeper.Stuart Taylor has the starting job. I still have Paul Dennis but he isn't showing me much. All in all if i can get a world class keeper i may do that but not in a rush right now.

defenders: Glen Johnson signed from Chelsea will be our starting right fullback, this postion was a big concern last season. It no longer is. Kerrea Gilbert will be the backup he did a fine job last season and looks better this season (tackling is up to a 10 marking is 18 and still has a ton of speed).

Joleon Lescott will be in the center with Otsemobor, Bardsley and Scott will be the backups. I may get someone to replace Bardsley but i am not sure right now.

At the left fullback we have incumbent Stephen Warnock who was our best defender last season, We signed transferlisted 24 year old Gregory Vignal from Liverpool who played on loan for the Rangers. I really like him and have total confindence in him for the next few sesons.

Basically outside of Glenn Johnson i may need to upgrade my defense when i get to the permier league if none of the kids pan out. I am hoping a couple of my promising defenders get good enough to make it a non issue.

Midfield is definatly the strength of the team. At the defensive central midfield postion we have Gavin McCann but backing him up will be 22 year old Joey Barton brought in from Man City. I feel either of these guys can play against the big boys.

At the midfield left side Stewart Downing will be the man (left out of the Middlesbourgh team due to Zenden i got him at just the right time, i shudder to think of his transfer fee in 2 seasons). This kid will make things happen down the left side. Fernandes will be in his more natural left sided postion this season. He was the supporters player of the year and is quite good. Also brought in on a free was Kieran Richardson. Not sure why Manutd didn't renew his contract but i pounced on him. It sorta leaves Marcus Kelly in the reserves but its nice to have a 4th guy that you have some confidence in. I will be using Richardson as a late game sub and rotating Downing and Fernandes.

The right midfield features Shaun Wright-Philips. With Downing and SWP on the A team i don't what else i could ask for i think they will give any defense some problems. Mario Alberto Santana will be the backup. I was hoping to get him for the A team but then i didn't think i would get him now he is the B team and total quality player. Matthew Turner will be the late game sub as he came on at the end of the season.

In the center attacking midfield spot we have the signing that boosted shirt sales but was a free transfer. 28 year old Mark Von Bommel. The guy is a stud. He bascially does everything well. Backing him up will be last season standout Leandre Griffit. He is only 21 years old and is improving if he continues to do so he may very well earn the top spot down the road.

at the striker postion we have Elvis Hammond and Sam Parkin, Chris Humphreys remains with the first team as a late sub. I figure Santana could use a couple Argentina guys to help them all settle so i grabbed Carlos Tevez 21 year old striker who puts Hammond and Parkin to shame. Fernando Cavenaghi also 21 years old steps right beside him on the A team.

I also brought 9 youth players + the ones graduated from my youth academy. None of them are wonderkids but 10 of them are described as "promising".

[condors]

at the end of the season we win 43 games 2 draws and 1 loss and win League One.

We win the vans trophy.

We won the league cup

We lost in the 5th round of the FA Cup against Burnley. This was very tough to swallow. I had beaten Liverpool, Newcastle, and Birmingham in the league Cup to go out to Burnley is very dissapointing as winning the FA Cup was the whole goal in the offseason.

Graham Stack is upset about not being in the first team even though he signed on as a backup.

Our assistant believes we need a left fullback and a keeper.

To address our left back we make a record 30 million dollar purchase and pick up Ashley Cole. Francis Jeffers and Kieran Dyer are also headed to Nene Park on bosman transfers. Elvis Hammond is headed to Fulham.

We have been unable to secure a top level keeper. I don't see one becoming available any time soon. I have about a dozen shortlisted and hopefully something will happen. Stuart Taylor isn't a bad keeper heck he will be more than good enough to secure a promotion next season. The goal here is to be the best team in the EPL and Europe and that may be asking a little much from him. Our project in the reserves Paul Dennis doesn't look any better now then he did before the 2005 season. I have to label him a "failed" project. He is now 24 years old and although i had to play him in the 1st team (due to injuries) he isn't good enough (also was the FA Cup game we lost to Burnley)
and i see no future for him here. A 16 year old Nick Watson i already rate higher than him.

Defense With Cole, Lescott, Taylor and Johnson our top 4 is as good as you can find. Vignal, Otsemobor, Scott, and Gilbert are more than a compentant B team.

midfield with Downing, SWP, McCann, and Van Bommel we are more than good enough on the first team with Fernandes, Santanna, Barton, and Griffit the B team is good enough and Richardson and Dyer will give us late subs and depth on the wings.

Up front Cavenaghi and Tevez are great with Jeffers and Parkin as backups the B team is covered.

We still have a ton of money and everyone is rated 5 stars except Stuart Taylor who is rated 3 stars on the first eleven. The assistant is less than thrilled with the 2nd 11 only giving Fernandes and Santanna 5 stars 4 for Richardson and Vignal 2 for Parkin and Barton and 1 for the rest.

[condors]

there is this American kid Freddy Adu who is out of contract with DC United(guess they were unable to afford him). I offer the max the board will allow. He also recieves bids from Arsenal and Chelsea (first day he is a free agent 17 years old)

Freddy Adu has agreed to terms with Rushden and we are now awaiting his work permit. I think he will make a very nice late sub coming off the bench until he is ready to play full time.

Man City have made a 2.25 million dollar offer for 17 year old forward of mine David Walters. He doesn't look like much right now but he is improving and i am going to hold on to him.

[condors]

Every one of the big 4 in England made offers for Mark Von Bommel.

Mark Von Bommel has agreed to terms with Arsenal.

In exchange Rushden get "wonderkid" Francesc Febregas. I am surprised Arsenal made this move. Francesc can step into the first team right now.