FM2005: A Virgin Trip into LLM.

[jbmagic]

nice job so far...

what is Bosman players?

thanks

[SirFozzie]

Before the Bosman ruling in Europe, a team held a player's registration card (Ie, what allows him to play professional soccer) indefinitely.. even when the players contract ran out. Therefore, if the player could not get another team to buy out his registration, then he was stuck with whatever his existing team gave him, if he wanted to play at all!

(this next bit is cut and paste)

In 1990, when a Belgian player, Jean-Marc Bosman, claimed that the Belgian Football Federation and UEFA-FIFA transfer rules prevented his transfer to a French club, US Dunkerque, from RC Liege in Belgium. He took his case to court to challenge the transfer rules claiming that they were in conflict with EU rules on competition and free movement of workers and that therefore, they were illegal.

In its 1995 judgement, the European Court of Justice upheld Bosman’s claims and decided that when a professional football player's contract with his club expires and if that player is a citizen of an EU country, the club cannot prevent him from signing a new contract with another club in another EU country. Nor can it make it more difficult by asking his new club to pay a transfer, training or other fee.

(now, that's been slightly modified, younger players, under 23 years old, can get compensated for training fees and the like. But if they are over 23, you can sign them without paying a fee to the existing team WHEN their contracts expire.)

One quirk is, that a player is free to negotiate with other clubs when there are 6 months to go on his contract. In MLB terms, imagine Pedro Martinez being free to negotiate with all the MLB teams in June of 2004, which team he'll play for in 2005. It can be pretty interesting around December.

One things teams have to worry about is overreaching. Say it's december, and you're running high. You're kicking butt. You're going up a division next year, and you want some higher level players. So you splash the cash, signing players for next year on Bosman transfers..

Then you blow it. No higher league. No influx of extra cash. Some expensive players still coming in.

Bit risky, don't you think?

One thing you'll see as a player enters his last year of the contract. If the determines that they can't/won't resign him after this year, they'll attempt to sell him to another team (remember, contracts don't carry over from club to club. If a player gets sold to another team, he's free to reject the transfer, or demand more money or a longer contract from his new team) in an attempt to cash in on the player while they still can. Economics, doncha know

[daedalus]

Yay! Good wins! Good signing, too!

Any luck finding any unattached players?

Have you figured out why you're bleeding out money like crazy?

[Eaglesfan27]

I'm not sure why I'm bleeding money like crazy. I do know this "other" expense of about 8,000/month is hurting me bad.

As far as the Bosman risk.. very true.. I think my boss is pissed at me because I received that Bosman early! I'm still amazed that I received the Bosman immediately since I didn't offer a transfer for him. In any case, with his salary I'm currently 200 dollars over my wage budget. So, I've been debating all day today (between boring moments at the parties ) about what to do.

I'm strongly considering ending Donaldson's loan early. It might hurt my professionalism rating. It might hurt our goal scoring capacity. However, it is the only way I can see to bring our wage budget immediately under control (then I'd be a few hundred under the wage budget again) and might be the only way to appease my boss. Of course, if we lose a few more games than it might be a moot point.

[Eaglesfan27]

January 19th, 2005 -

Today is a difficult day. After reading about my potential firing in the newspaper, I went and talked to my boss. He said that he is primarily concerned about our high wage budget. I review the roster and the associated contracts. I realize I never was good at math, but I better become proficient quickly. I see that Turley and Donaldson are the two highest paid players at 700 dollars/week. I realize that Turley might have a future with us, but Donaldson is gone after this season.. can I afford to send him back to Hull early?

I'm considering this issue when I get word that David Scarsella a young talented keeper from Australia wants to join our club! I offered his parent club 2,000 dollars since my boss had approved us to spend 20,000 dollars after my sale of Josh. The reason that I offered the money to his club is that this kid had dynamite skills according to my scout. My scout brought me some game tape of this kid, and I had to agree that he was spectacular in goal. His only problem was that his reflexes appeared slow at times, however, he was good at directing his defenders. He was very good at 1:1 situations. He was only 22. I thought this was a kid who could improve, and now he wanted to come play for us!

I thought about it all day, and finally I rechecked my figures. If I sent Donaldson back to Hull, and I signed this kid to the 220/week he was asking for, I'd still be 1 dollar under the wage budget. After careful consideration, I decided to pull the trigger. I call Scarsella's agent and told him to fax over the contract and I'd sign it. I then called Donaldson into the office. It was a difficult meeting. I valued his contribution. I checked one more time if he would consider signing on with us after the loan was over. He told me a polite but firm no. I told him, "I'm sorry, but we need to terminate your loan immediately. Thank you for playing here, and I hope we can work together in the future." He seemed fine with this and walked out of my office quickly. I wonder if I'll ever see him again.

[Eaglesfan27]

January 19th, 2005 -

Wow, the kid moves quick. He arrives in time to talk to one reporter who must hate his wife. The reporter is still around at 10:30 PM. The kid and the reporter talk. I like how he the kid handles himself. He tells the reporter "I know I have skills. I know I won't be in the first team immediately, but I hope to show Coach Engles that I have what it takes to make it into the first team." I like his moxy. We'll see how he progresses. If he looks good in practice, I'll be able to move either Buxton or Pettinger for some cash.

[Eaglesfan27]

Today my 17th ranked team hosts 9th ranked Alfreton town. Will we be hungover without Donaldson? Alfreton Town is led by Grant Brown at DC. Mark Sale provides the scoring punch with 11 goals on the season. Gavin Saxby is an average keeper at best. We are 5:4 favorites.

Starting Lineup:

GK: Pettinger (will the new kid chase him out of a job?)
DL: Dunning
DC: Shepherd
DC: Curtis
DR: Black
ML: Wright
MC: Surey
MC: Atkins
MR: Fox
SC: Smyth
SC: Farrell

S1: David Scarsella (the kid just arrived but he is my top choice for backup keeper)
S2: James Turley
S3: Krief
S4: Hunter
S5: Lee Morris (18 year old striker will get some PT with Donaldson gone if we stick with 4-4-2. Kid is determined so hopefully he will develop with PT)

It's a cool dry 39 degrees.

[BreizhManu]

Is Scarsella going to get a work permit ?

[Eaglesfan27]

18 minute mark: Wright feeds the ball down the left side of the pitch.. Smyth races to it.. he centers.. Surey receives the pass.. he shoots... he misses wide left.

21 minute mark: Mark Sale floats a pass to Peter Duffield... Pettinger races out to intercept it.. he misses the ball.. Duffield runs around him.. taps it in.. goal. 1-0

28 minute mark: Mark Sale takes the ball into the box.. he shoots.. it's past the keeper.. hits the crossbar.. Curtis clears it.

32 minute mark: Wright plays a wonderful through ball for Farrell.. Farrell chases it down in the box.. he is about to shoot.. Grant Brown tackles him and kicks the ball away.

1-0 at the half.

59 minute mark: Dunning sends it long for Smyth.. Smyth gets to the ball.. dribbles past Brown.. into the box.. shoots.. over the bar.

64 minute mark: Wright picks up a minor injury.. I sub Hunter on for him. Also, I notice that Farrell is having a horrible game.. a 4 for form according to my report. I decide to yank him for Turley. I wonder if Farrell is upset about Donaldson's departure.

1-0 final score. The opposition played Turtle and keepaway for most of the remainder of the game with 9 guys frequently back in their zone.

We outshot them 8-4, but only 1 of our shots was on target.

Despite this Gavin Saxby is awarded MoM for his astonishing 1 save.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by BreizhManu

Is Scarsella going to get a work permit ?

My bad. I forgot to mention he also has Italian nationality. If he didn't, there would be no way I could get him as there is no way he would qualify for a WP.

[daedalus]

Is it possible that Surey's contract was unprotected as well as being near ending? If it was unprotected, that might explain how you signed him immediately.

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by daedalus

Is it possible that Surey's contract was unprotected as well as being near ending? If it was unprotected, that might explain how you signed him immediately.

contracts for Bosman type players are always unprotected in their last 6 months. If you offer for the transfer to happen *now*, you have to pay the transfer compensation, if you offer for the transfer to happen at the end of the player's contract, you don't have to pay any compensation. Only way I see that he got the player before the end of his contract may be that he offered to have the transfer happen now and did not realize it...

And about it being risky to sign many on Bosman, I can attest to that, as I signed 6-7 players on Bosman with my Luton side between the 04-05 season and the 05-06 season. Put me some 20k over my weekly wage budget. I was in the crapper, didn't know what to do, then I got a good offer for my player of the year in 2004-05, whom I didn't feel like was performing as well in the new season. They offered me 450k, I majored it to 750k, and they accepted (it was Gillingham I think), so he went off. I was ready to get slaughtered by my fans, but have not heard one bit. Then I checked the team's finance, and the board must have been very happy about the transaction since they upped my wage budget to a point where I'm only 1k over budget The sold player only had a wage of 4k, se he can't have done all that by himself...

FM

[daedalus]

Originally Posted by FrogMan

contracts for Bosman type players are always unprotected in their last 6 months. If you offer for the transfer to happen *now*, you have to pay the transfer compensation, if you offer for the transfer to happen at the end of the player's contract, you don't have to pay any compensation. Only way I see that he got the player before the end of his contract may be that he offered to have the transfer happen now and did not realize it...

I was more referring to the fact that the contract might have been unprotected (something like 2 years after the contract is signed for certain age and 3 for others) as well as being within 6 months of ending, giving him having a choice to either acquire the player immediately or at the end of the contract where he might have accidently chose an immediate transfer. As you said, he would have had to pay compensation if he chose to do an immediate transfer instead of at the end of the contract. I, uhh, have acquired many quality players by way of unprotected contract that I could not get their team to agree to sell.

As an example, if you look at Pascal Cygan on Arsenal at the start of the game, his contract is unprotected and anyone can come over and sign him (please?) on immediate transfer even though his contract is nowhere near expiring.

I guess I shouldn't knock the Cybot. Much. He's actually a "commanding centre-back" in the game and actually useful. In the game.

[FrogMan]

daed, we're saying the same thing

I only found it weird that he would get the player in advance and can only see that he asked for the transfer to happen now and not only at the end of the contract. The puzzling thing is that I didn't have to feeling that EaglesFan had that much to work with in transfer money...

FM

[daedalus]

He had 20 large to play with from selling Josh Bowker.

[daedalus]

Well, yes and no, Frogger. Unless something has changed in recent versions . . .

You can negotiate with the player in the last 6 months of his contract as he can leave on the Bosman and he will leave at the end of the contract. To get the player immediately, he would have to go through the club and make it an actual transfer, not just by contacting the player via the "Sign Player" screen. An example of this would be, to use Arsenal examples since I know them well, Edu and Lauren in January following the start of the game. You can go ahead and negotiate with them and sign them but they won't complete their transfer until the end of their contract in June.

An actual unprotected contract is just that, unprotected (the old criteria was something like 2 years after contract signed for someone 28 and over and 3 for someone under, don't know what it is now). You can sign the player now, regardless of when his contract expires. An example of this would be Pascal Cygan. Or, Roy Keane. Assuming you can get him to leave Manchester United, you can go ahead and sign him as soon as the game starts and you would owe them 8 million pounds.

It's possible that Surley's contract were both unprotected and expiring and, so, Eaglesfan27 had a choice between signing now or later where the game had defaulted to the "now" choice without him seeing.

[Eaglesfan27]

I'm having a ton of patients (I actually typed players at first ;0) call and cancel. In a rare moment of foresight I brought my laptop and my game to work. I just checked, and I see that I did in fact pay 6,000 dollars in compensation to Surey's old team!! I'm positive that I hit sign player and not transfer, but I guess I didn't set an option to wait until the end of the contract?

Oh well, live and learn. In any case, I've used 2,000 for the keeper, and 6,000 for Surey, so I still have 14,000 from the Josh sale to play with. However, being 1 dollar under my wage budget I doubt I will be acquiring any players unless they are cheap and stellar from what my scout reports. If I do that, I will have to get a buyer for one of my current players as our finances are generally crap right now.

Of course, I could be fired soon.. we'll see

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

I'm having a ton of patients (I actually typed players at first ;0) call and cancel. In a rare moment of foresight I brought my laptop and my game to work. I just checked, and I see that I did in fact pay 6,000 dollars in compensation to Surey's old team!! I'm positive that I hit sign player and not transfer, but I guess I didn't set an option to wait until the end of the contract?

Oh well, live and learn.

something very similar happened to me before I learned what a Bosman transfer really was. I had seen this 22yo AM C whom I thought would fit pretty well in my 4-3-3 tactics. So I send my scout and they come back with very good comments, saying he has a lot of potential and would be a good signing for the team. I go in, click on "Approach to sign", make sure I set it to be effective once his current contract is over but fail to see the compensation I'd have to pay to his current team. He accepts the offer, everything seems all nice and good, until I click on the last "accept" button and I get the email that I will have to pay 180k in compensation to his team I had like 36k in transfer budget left, so I thought it would simply say I wasn't allowed to sign the player when the time would come, but it went through, simply putting my transfer budget balance to zero.

I have since sold one of my players for 750k, and while my team board allows me to keep 85% of every sales, I only have some 450k left in my budget, which means they have taken off the 180k.

I'm still happy about the acquisition, since Mark Jones, said player, as now played on and off for my first team, alternating with my usual starting AM C, and he's averaged over 7 in form since the start of the season

FM

[Eaglesfan27]

That sounds like a nice signing!

I always find myself compulsively checking how much I have to compensate teams when the player is a younger player. I could have sworn that I didn't see any compensation due to wherever I signed him from. In any case, I'm still happy with getting him for 6,000 as his value is rising

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

That sounds like a nice signing!

I always find myself compulsively checking how much I have to compensate teams when the player is a younger player. I could have sworn that I didn't see any compensation due to wherever I signed him from. In any case, I'm still happy with getting him for 6,000 as his value is rising

And you know what I compulsively check? player values before and after they arrive on my team I then keep them on check, see if they gain value, then I know I've made a good buy

FM

[Eaglesfan27]

January 22nd, 2005 -

Today I find myself reconsidering how to mold this roster. My scout has raved about a kid, Adam Muller. Adam plays for my next opponent Worksop. I take a look at the video tape he shot. The kid is quick.. he's fluid with the ball, and he definitely shows a depth touch around the goal. He might be as fast as Turley with better accuracy on his shot. I decide to give Worksop a call. They are 3rd in the league and likely to be advancing. I'm hoping they might let him go, since he probably isn't good enough to play at the next level. I ask them how much they might sell him for. They say, "12,000 dollars." I look at the budget and see that we have 18,000 dollars in the transfer budget. I talk to my chairman, and he says he wants me to do what is best to improve the squad. I consider not doing it because of our debt. I decide to pull the trigger. I make an offer. If it is approved, I will be attempting to move Turley whose speed is put to waste by his amazing level of inaccuracy.

[Miller Time]

Great read! Can you post the standings again when you get a chance? Do the winners of your conference get promoted to Division 3? I know promotion might be the last thing on your mind now, but who knows what could happen next year.

Thanks!

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Miller Time

Great read! Can you post the standings again when you get a chance? Do the winners of your conference get promoted to Division 3? I know promotion might be the last thing on your mind now, but who knows what could happen next year.

Thanks!

Assuming that I understand the English system correctly (which is a big assumption), the winners of my conference will be promoted to the national conference level. Least that is my understanding. I think the winners of the national conference are the ones that get promoted to League 2 (formerly called Division 3?)

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Miller Time

Okay, that makes sense to me. On the other side, where do you go if you get ***cough*** relegated?

Again, based on my limited understanding, I would go to the English Regional Divisions which I don't believe are simulated in this game. Therefore, I'll be very curious to see what happens should I be relegated.. well I hope I don't find out

[Miller Time]

Okay, that makes sense to me. On the other side, where do you go if you get ***cough*** relegated?

[Eaglesfan27]

Today my 18th ranked team travels to 3rd ranked Worksop. Worksop is lead by the amazing Dene Cropper who seems to score goal after goal with just hard work. Cropper has 18 league goals in 24 league games. Adam Muller (whom I'm targeting for transfer) plays alongside him and has 8 goals on the year. Gavin Smith has been their most consistent midfielder this year. Darren Bradshaw has been a rock for the defense the last month. Their keeper, Kristian Roberts, appears to be above average. Despite this, we are 5:4 favorites!?!

Our starting lineup is a little different this match:

GK: Scarsella (this kid looks too good in practice to not give him a start.)
DL: Barnard (freshly back from his physiotherapy)
DC: Wood (freshly back from injury - I was tempted to leave Curtis in at this spot as Curtis has played well, but Wood also plays well and I think he is the more talented player - and he is younger.)
DC: Shepherd.
DR: Black
ML: Dunning (versatile player who moves up from left fullback due to an injury to our star player Wright. Wright will miss about a week.)
MC: Surey
MC: Atkins
MR: Fox
SC: Smyth
SC: Farrell

S1: Pettinger (hopefully he doesn't sulk about the demotion.)
S2: Turley (could be out the door...)
S3: Krief
S4: Hunter
S5: Curtis

It's a monsoon out on the field.. with gusty winds.. driving rain, and it's 44 degrees.

Time to start the match..

[Eaglesfan27]

2 minute mark: Fox is slammed to the ground by Bradshaw. No flag!?! I can't believe it. Fox looks hurt, but insists he can play. I'll be watching him closely.

9 minute mark: Wood intercepts a pass in our box.. he passes to Atkins.. Atkins dribbles three steps to midfield.. he passes long to Smyth.. Smyth dribbles past a defender.. to his left.. into the box.. big left footed shot... the keeper dives to his left.. it's past him into the right lower corner!!! GOAL!!!!! 1-0

13 minute mark: Barnard is tackled hard by Adam Muller in our zone.. he looks like he is hurt.. he insists on staying in the match. I see that Fox is limping bad and holding his side. I decide to pull Fox for Krief.

19 minute mark: Krief takes it across midfield down the right side.. he is tracked down by a defender.. he centers to Atkins.. Atkins sends it to the left winger Dunning.. Dunning is challenged.. he sends it to the left corner.. Smyth tracks it down.. he is challenged by a defender.. he makes a move on the defender.. he takes two steps towards the goal.. and crosses it long for Farrell who is inside the 6 yard box.... Farrell outjumps the defender.. he hits a powerful header... the keeper can't get it.. GOAL!!!! 2-0

24 minute mark: Muller gets a long ball on the counter.. he is racing towards my box.. Black is trying to catch up with him.. Black tackles him cleanly.. Scarsella boots the loose ball up the field.

29 minute mark: Scramble for the ball in front of my net after Scarsella stops a Muller shot from point blank range.. a few defenders block shots.. finally Krief manages to come out of the traffic with the ball.. he clears it up the field.

39 minute mark: Bradshaw sends a long ball to Muller who races past my defense.. Muller takes it inside the box.. to about 8 yards out.. he shoots high and to the right.. Scarsella tips it over the bar.

41 minute mark: Muller passes to Peacock in the right corner.. Peacock crosses to Cropper who is by the near post.. Cropper heads it to Matty Caudwell who is by the far post.. Scarsella misses the pass.. Caudwell heads the ball into the net.. 2-1.

44 minute mark: Surey intercepts a pass at midfield.. he flicks the ball ahead to Smyth.. Smyth races into the box.. Bradshaw catches up to him and tackles the ball away.

44 minute mark: On the counter attack, Caudwell gets the ball.. he passes to Muller who dribbles to the right corner of the box, Muller passes to Cropper at the left corner of the box.. Cropper shoots.. just wide right on the sharply angled shot.

45 minute mark: Gavin Smith steals a pass from Krief.. he sends it deep down the pitch to Cropper.. Cropper races into the box.. he fakes left.. goes right.. blasts a shot to the lower right corner.. Scarsella dives.. he gets his finger tips on it.. deflects it.. it hits the post and goes in. 2-2

2-2 at the half.

Barnard appears to be laboring with his new injury. I sub in Curtis at left full back for him.

49 minute mark: Atkins is slammed to teh ground by a hard shoulder from Darren Bradshaw!! NO FLAG again!?! I'm yelling at the ref. Meanwhile, Atkins is hurt.. he has to come off the pitch. I put Hunter in as my last sub for Atkins.

66 minute mark: Muller gets a breakaway on a counterattack... he dribbles into the box.. shoots to the lower right corner.. Scarsella barely manages to tip it wide.

80 minute mark: Muller dribbles into the left half of the box.. it's a 2 on 1! Muller passes to Cropper.. Cropper shoots.. Scarsella somehow flings himself into the path of the ball.. deflected away.. Wood has recovered by this point and he clears it.

84 minute mark: Scarsella sends a long kick to midfield.. Surey heads it down the field on the fly.. it's into the box.. Smyth races to it.. he dribbles left.. one step.. two steps.. three steps.. past the keeper.. he has a wide open net.. he shoots.. and it sails over the bar!!! Smyth can't believe it.. neither can I.. Smyth hangs his head in his hands.

86 minute mark: Curtis dribbles down the left side of the pitch.. he gets even with the box.. he centers for Smyth.. Smyth beats his man.. he is by the left post.. he aims it for the right corner of the goal.. just wide.

89 minute mark: Scarsella makes a good save of a long shot by Gavin Smith.

91 minute mark: Curtis makes a key tackle on a potential Muller breakaway.

92 minute mark: Krief steals the ball at midfield from Gavin Smith.. he plays an ok ball into the box.. Farrell catches up to it.. he aims for the high left corner.. he hits it.. just over the bar.

92 minute mark: Dunning plays a ball up for Smyth.. Smyth is tackled from behind with a dangerous slide. Yellow card for Bradshaw (finally!) The call is outside the box.. so no penalty kick. Dunning takes the set piece.. he shoots.. just over the bar.

Final whistle. 2-2 tie.

We were outshot 12-11.

Matty Caudwell, their left winger won MoM. He completed 13 of 15 passes, 1 of 1 tackles, 1 of 4 headers, 1 assist, and 1 goal.

[Eaglesfan27]

Talking to my physio post match, he tells me: "You are exhausting Black. Give the guy some rest." He also lets me know that Atkins will miss about a week with a bruised thigh (suck it up man) and that Krief twisted his ankle and will miss about 2 weeks likely.

[Eaglesfan27]

January 25th, 2005 -

Worksop countered my offer for Muller. They want 6,000 immediately, 14,000 over the course of a year (to be paid in monthly installments) and 35% of next sale. I countered that offer with 6,000 up front and 50% of next sale.

[Eaglesfan27]

January 26th, 2005 -

I think Worksop is confused about the art of negotiating. They are increasing their demands. They are now asking for 8,000 immediately plus 14,000 over the course of a year, and 50% of next sale!

I decide I will counter with 8,000 up front and Turley. I'd have to cut Turley's salary anyway. Turley's lack of determination in practice in combination with his poor shooting skills have convinced me he is the expendable part of this equation. I tell them I want these negotiations to remain private so that Turley isn't upset. They assure me that they will be kept private.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

Again, based on my limited understanding, I would go to the English Regional Divisions which I don't believe are simulated in this game. Therefore, I'll be very curious to see what happens should I be relegated.. well I hope I don't find out

My understanding is that you become unemployed, but I might be wrong.

Enjoying this, by the way.

[Eaglesfan27]

January 27th, 2005 -

Worksop counters my offer. They ask for 28,000 up front! They also want 44,000 over 6 months. I take it as a sign to end negotiations.

I read in the newspaper that Kevin Keegan has taken over management of Southampton. Glad to know that fired managers can get rehired..

[Eaglesfan27]

Today my 20th ranked team hosts 18th ranked Droylsden. Droylsdan appears to have a talented squad that hasn't worked well together. Mark Bailey is anchoring the defense. Chris O'Brien has been the most consistent midfielder. Claran Kilheeney has been a potent scorer from the striker position. Their keeper position has been in flux and it's unclear who they are going to start. Our earlier match on September 25th ended in a 1-1 tie. We are 5:4 favorites.

Our starting lineup:

GK: Scarsella (another start to see what the kid can do.)
DL: Barnard (didn't get hurt seriously last game.)
DC: Curtis (I'm really torn between him and Wood as I'm not happy with either's play.)
DC: Shepherd
DR: Wood (due to Black's fatigue)
ML: Dunning (wright is still recovering from an injury)
MC: Hunter (atkins is almost recovered but not in game shape from his injury)
MC: Surey
MR: Fox
FC: Smyth
FC: Farrell

S1: Morris
S2: Turley
S3: Sturdy (backup left winger will get time as Wright needs rest)
S4: Marc Smith (backup left full back will get time because he is my only backup defender who is healthy)
S5: Pettinger (in case of injury.)

It's a cool crisp 45 degrees today.

[Eaglesfan27]

First 3 minutes: Curtis makes several good headers to send passes back to midfield where they came from (as opposed to entering the box)

30 minute mark: Austin Skelly sends a cross to Claran Kilheeney inside the 6 yard box.. Scarsella can't catch the pass.. but he somehow recovers to block Claran's header... Barnard comes to the ball and clears the rebound.

0-0 at the half.

49 minute mark: Fox takes the corner.. he sends a high kick into the box.. to the far post.. Surey is by the post.. he jumps.. his defender jumps.. Surey jumps higher and heads the ball towards the corner of the goal.. the keeper can't get to it... GOAL!!!! 1-0

60 minute mark: I put Turley in at right wing for the tired Fox.

66 minute mark: Turley steals the ball from the left winger.. he takes a few steps.. sends a surprisingly good pass 20 yards up the field to Smyth.. Smyth dribbles past his man.. into the left side of the box.. he shoots.. the keeper can't get to it.. it hits off the right post.. and in!!!! GOAL!!!! 2-0

70 minute mark: Their keeper comes out to kick the long pass away from Smyth who is charging the ball.. he hits it up the right side of the field.. Dunning intercepts it.. Dunning sees the keeper out of net.. and he launches a laser from midfield.. it's past the keeper.. heading to the right corner.. will it be wide? NO!!! It's a GOAL!!!! 3-0

71 minute mark: Smyth is tired, so I sub on Morris for him. Wood is tired, so I sub in the kid Marc Smith to play right fullback.

78 minute mark: Curtis makes a great play on a long pass heading into the box.. heading it away.. on the counter Turley dribbles it up the right hand side.. he crosses the ball into the box.. 6 yards out Morris heads it.. right into the middle of the net past the stunned keeper.. Morris has his first goal!!! 4-0! Turley has 2 assists, and I find myself considering putting him at right wing more often (even though he is not rated to play the position )

The announcer mentiones Droylsden had an "8 game unbeaten streak that is sure to end today."

88 minute mark: Claran gets the ball inside the box.. he puts a move on the defender to get wide open.. the keeper cuts down the angle.. Claran shoots up and away to the right corner.. Scarsella moves quickly and catches the shot cleanly!

4-0 Victory!

We were outshot 5-4 (but made every single shot count )

Turley won MoM despite being a sub for only the last 30 or so minutes of the match. Turley completed 11 of 15 passes, 1 of 1 tackles, 1 of 2 headers, 2 passes intercepted, 6 runs, and 2 assists.

He was one of 7 men to receive an 8 for form this match. Hopefully the morale of the team will go up and we can ride it for a while.

[Eaglesfan27]

After the game, Mr. Fotherby hugged me and told me how proud he was of the team. I'm not sure I liked him hugging me, but a guy can't hug another guy and then fire him in a few days, can he?

[Desnudo]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

After the game, Mr. Fotherby hugged me and told me how proud he was of the team. I'm not sure I liked him hugging me, but a guy can't hug another guy and then fire him in a few days, can he?

Ever hear of the kiss of death?

[Eaglesfan27]

January 30th, 2005 -

Today I received good news/bad news.

First the good news. Another loan player agreed to come play for us for free (well his team is paying all of his salary.) Hudderfield's Greg Kelly is coming to play for us for 3 months. He is a talented midfielder from the match that I saw on TV. He is also a nifty finisher and could play up front in a pinch. I think he will be a nice boost to the tiring Atkins and the rest of the midfield.

As far as the bad news. I woke to see this article in the newspaper:

"Harrogate Town manager Christopher Engles has received a vote of confidence from the club's directors ahead of Tuesday's away game against Altrincham.

Engles has come under increasing pressure recently, but the Harrogate Town board have handed the manager a life-line by telling him his job is safe for now."

Darn, this is the dreaded vote of confidence.

[Eaglesfan27]

Feb. 1st, 2005 -

Mr. Fotherby called me into his office for our monthly meetings. He made it quite clear that he is unsatisfied with my performance, and I better start winning quickly if I wish to remain manager. I nod solemnly, and am about to leave when he says, "I am glad how you got our wage budget under control."

Least he likes something that I'm doing.

[Eaglesfan27]

I'm feeling the heat today. We are currently ranked 17th and we travel to 11th ranked Altrincham. We lost 1-0 to them on September 28th at home. I'm hoping we can turn that around today. They have recently added Gareth Evans on loan from Blackpool and he is a beast on their defensive line. David Beharall is still playing well at DC. Scott Brown has been playing spectacular in the midfield the last 5 games. Rod Thornley has been the main scoring threat, and he has 11 goals so far this season. Stuary Coburn has played well in goal with 11 clean sheets in 32 appearances on the year. They are 5:4 favorites

Morale on the team is excellent except for Pettinger who is sulking. Fortunately, the rest of the team seems to be behind my decision to play Scarsella. Perhaps because of my precarious situation, I decide to take a few risks.

GK: Scarsella
DL: Barnard
DC: Shepherd
DC: Curtis (played really well last game.)
DR: Wood (also played well here last game.)
ML: Wright (back from injury.)
MC: Surey
MC: Atkins (back from injury.)
MR: Turley (played very well in 30 minutes at the posiiton..)
SC: Smyth
SC: Farrell

S1: Pettinger
S2: Greg Kelly (I want to work the newcomer in slowly and not disrupt chemistry.)
S3: Dunning
S4: Hunter
S5: Morris (I can't totally bench him after his first goal.)

It's a wet 35 degrees today.

[Eaglesfan27]

6 minute mark: Turley trips the left winger... no flag but a whistle. Turley argues the call.. yellow flag!

9 minute mark: Wright is run over by Beharall. No foul.. no penalty, but an injured Wright results. Kelly can play left wing among other positions, and I decide to give him a shot.

13 minute mark: Turley steals the ball.. passes from the right wing up to Farrell.. Farrell quickly passes a short pass to Smyth.. Smyth dribbles to his left.. shoots.. just over the bar.

20 minute mark: wod gets called for a trip on Jack Wanless, a striker. Yellow flag.

22 minute mark: Curtis makes a key tackle in the box to clear a ball.

29 minute mark: Scarsella makes an excellent save on a shot from 10 yards by Wanless.

35 minute mark: Rob Matthews centers to Scott Brown who is 15 yards out... right in the center of the pitch.. he shoots.. towards the upper left corner.. Scarsella dives.. but can't get to it. Goal. 1-0 Altrincham.

35 minute mark: The midfielder passes the ball back to Wood at right full back.. he sends a very long pass to Smyth in the box.. Smyth takes too dribbles to his left.. around the keeper who came out to get the ball.. shoots.. right into the center of the net!!! GOAL!!!! 1-1

44 minute mark: Curtis heads a crossing pass away from the dangerous Thornley. Shepherd clears.

1-1 at the half.

54 minute mark: Scarsella makes an amazing save on a great pass from Scott Brown to Thornley that got him an open look at the net.

Oops (accidental post.. rest of post to follow.)

[MizzouRah]

My scout brought me some game tape of this kid

Maybe I'm stretching a bit, but does the game really have a clip from some of his games?


Todd

[SirFozzie]

Probably not in this case, but one of the things that happen is the game, is that an agent will aproach you, representing a player on another team, bringing you highlights (and you can view the highlights just like any other match) of his player and inviting you to make a bid for him

[RPI-Fan]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

Probably not in this case, but one of the things that happen is the game, is that an agent will aproach you, representing a player on another team, bringing you highlights (and you can view the highlights just like any other match) of his player and inviting you to make a bid for him

The scout won't necessarily give you "clips", but he does provide you a link to the game he scouted, so if the kid scored you can easily view it.

[MizzouRah]

Thanks to the both of you, that's pretty neat.


Todd

[Eaglesfan27]

The end of this game will be posted in a little bit.. had a long protracted meeting with some people tonight on the web to discuss some stuff. As far as my prose.. some of it is creative license. I don't want to say I just looked at his numbers!

[Eaglesfan27]

57 minute mark: Turley dribbles down the right sideline.. he beats his man.. he starts dribbling towards the goal.. beats another man.. into the box.. shoots.. over the bar.

64 minute mark: Turley is exhausted. I reluctantly put Dunning there out of position. Farrell is also tired, so I give Morris another shot at playing.

71 minute mark: Kelly feeds the ball up to Morris in the box. Morris makes a nifty move on his man.. goes to his left.. shoots.. into the keeper's arms.

76 minute mark: Surey is seriously hurt by a collision with Gareth Evans. Unfortunately, I've already used up all 3 subs, so I have to play with 10 men at this point. I decide to go with a 4-4-1.

1-1 tie.

We were outshot 19-9!

Leigh Wood wins MoM with 18 of 22 passes, 9 of 11 tackles!, 7 of 12 headers, 5 passes intercepted, and an assist.

[Eaglesfan27]

Post match report: Wright's encounter with Beharall is going to be costly. Damaged ankle ligaments.. out at least 4 weeks.

Surey's encounter with Gareth Evans wasn't nice either. His shoulder is "damaged" according to my crack physio. He will be out at least a week.

[Eaglesfan27]

[Eaglesfan27]

Viewing the standings in my local newspaper, I see that I'm only 3 tantalizing points from being in the top half of the league like my board wants. Of course, that means 5 different teams would have to lose while I won, but it could happen. We just need to get a winning streak going..

[Eaglesfan27]

Hello again my friends! Today we play Droylsden again for the 4th round of the FA trophy. We recently beat them 4-0 and the team remembers this and is pumped. We feel that we should do well. The key people on their team have not switched. We are 5:4 favorites despite missing several of our players.

Injured/Banned:
Wright (out)
Surey (out)
Turley (5 yellow cards = 1 game ban!)

Despite these absences, my team feels confident.

Our lineup:

GK: Scarsella
DL: Barnard
DC: Shepherd
DC: Curtis
DR: Wood
ML: Greg Kelly
MC: Hunter
MC: Atkins
MR: Fox
SC: Smyth
SC: Farrell

S1: Pettinger
S2: Krief
S3: Dunning
S4: Black
S5: Morris

It's a dry cold 34 degrees today.