FM: Harrogate is Moving on Up..

[Eaglesfan27]

3 minute mark: Palmer gets called for a vicious bodycheck on Stuart Anderson.. Red Card. Palmer is ejected. What a stupid play!

20 minute mark: Smyth gets it on the left wing.. dribbles it up the left sideline.. passes to Kelly inside the box... Kelly shoots.. upper right corner.. the keeper isn't going to get there.. it's over the bar.

44 minute mark: Both keepers have made a few easy saves. Smyth dribbles down the left sideline.. around the right fullback.. centers for Surey.. Surey settles it.. shoots from 15 yards.. blistering shot.. Thomas with a good save.

Halftime: 0-0.

48 minute mark: Bloody hell! Barnett gets called for a trip on Talbot.. Yellow card.. Barnett argues the call.. 2nd yellow card! He is ejected! We are now down two men.

I decide to sub out Smyth. I bring on Dunning to play DC, and change to a 4-3-1 formation (with the 1 being an AMC - Kelly)

61 minute mark: Who the heck paid off this ref! Wright gets a yellow card for a trip on Stride. Wright argues the call.. 2nd yellow card! He is gone! We are now down 3 men!

I decide to pull Kelly and put on Baker at left wing, playing 4 along the defensive line and 3 in the midfield. We are just going to try to hold onto the tie at this point.

71 minute mark: Morley intercepts the ball.. dribbles up the sideline.. shoots from midfield.. long shot.. it bounces.. over the keeper's head.. just barely wide left..
Goal kick.

79 minute mark: Talbot leads an attack.. passes to Pearman inside the left half of the box.. Pearman shoots for the right corner.. great save by Scarsella.

88 minute mark: Morley with a good header to prevent a pass from getting to Talbot.

Game over. 0-0 tie. I'm sort of angry at both my players and the ref, at the same time, I'm thrilled the other 8 guys hung together and managed to hold off the opposition for a shutout tie.

They outshot us 15-6 (5-1 on goal.)

Davey Luker won MoM, 36 of 48 passes, 10 of 14 tackles, 4 of 5 headers, 2 interceptions, 1 run.

[daedalus]

That's impressive.

[Eaglesfan27]

Post Match Info:

Barnard hit his yellow card limit, he will be banned for the next match.

Barnett, Wright, and Palmer each were suspended for one game.

Morley and Surey each sprained their ankles. They will miss about 5 days.

Unfortunately, our next game is in 4 days. Therefore, we will potentially be without our entire defensive line. In total, we will likely be missing 8 guys our next game.

Despite only getting a tie, we are still only 3 points out of 1st place. We are 11 points ahead of the 6th place team.

[Eaglesfan27]

Correction. Wall is tired, but available for this next game. Therefore, my entire defensive line won't miss the game. No rest for the weary. I'm trying to figure out who will start the next game, and at least one or two guys are going to start out of position.

[Eaglesfan27]

Feb 14th, 2007 -

I normally don't play guys the day they finish recovering from an injury, but Black just recovered and I need him to start.

Morley, Barnard, Barnett, Surey, Wright, Davies, and Palmer are the guys who are either hurt or suspended for this game.

We travel to play 13th place Barnet today. Their keeper, Matthew Baker has been strong in goal the last few weeks. However, their offense has been disappointing. Liam Hatch, the striker, leads all scorers with 8 goals. Lee Roache his partner has 6 more. The defense is solidified by Sagi Burton.

We beat this team 1-0 at home earlier in the year.

They are 4:6 favorites.

It's expected to rain with temperatures in the low 40's.

Our Lineup:

GK: Scarsella (might have to be spectacular today for a win)
DL: Foulkes (I almost started Smith, but Foulkes has looked better in practice between the two young fullbacks)
DC: Shepherd (by default)
DC: Wall (tired but I need him to come up big.)
DR: Black (Back from injury.. just in the nick of time.)
ML: Baker (easy choice with Wright out.)
MC: Atkins (tough call, but he has played quite well in limited time the last few games)
MR: Collett
AMC: Kelly (Has really cooled off the last month or so. We need him to get it going again.)
SC: Smyth
SC: Farrell

S1: O'Conner
S2: Fox
S3: Krief (likely will have to play as I have no illusions about Atkins endurance.)
S4: Morris
S5: Hunter

[Eaglesfan27]

1st minute: Simon Griffiths is tripped by Atkins. Free kick. Simon King takes the free kick.. nice pass to Darius Henderson by the left post.. Henderson settles the ball... turns around.. shoots.. past Scarsella.. GOAL. 1-0. Not a good start.

7 minute mark: The left winger, Clist takes it down the sideline.. crosses for Roache.. Wall heads it away but Legate gets it.. passes to Henderson by the right post.. Henderson heads it.. into the goal. GOAL. Down 2-0.

14 minute mark: Robinson has it on the right wing.. centers for Legate.. he heads it to Roache.. Roache heads it from by the right post.. into the net.. GOAL. 3-0. Skillful goal.. our defense looks horrible.

16 minute mark: Scarsella with a long kick... Kelly gets to it.. Burton has the speed to catch him from behind.

20 minute mark: Farrell gets it on the right edge of the box.. crosses to Kelly who is on the left edge of the box.. Kelly shoots.. wide right.

21 minute mark: Farrell with a pass from the right corner of the field to Collett who is at the right corner of the box.. Collett shoots.. nice shot towards the lower right corner.. Baker saves it.

41 minute mark: Atkins hits the corner kick towards the far post.. Shepherd outjumps his man.. heads it.. into the center of the net.. GOAL!!!! 3-1.

44 minute mark: Simon King with a long pass to Henderson.. Shepherd misplays it.. Henderson heads it.. upper left corner.. GOAL.. 4-1. That is Henderson's hattrick.

Halftime: We are down 4-1. Kelly is playing horribly. 4 for form. He looks tired as well. I decide to put Fox in for him. Atkins has played well, but he is tired. I put Krief in for him.

62 minute mark: Farrell gets it on the edge of the box.. puts a move on his man.. dribbles a few steps.. shoots from 15 yards out.. Great save by the keeper.

65 minute mark: Smyth dribbles down the left sideline.. great pass to Fox.. open left side of the net.. Fox shoots for the upper left corner.. over the bar! I decide to pull Smyth as he is tired, and this game is over. Morris on for Smyth.

Farrell is also very tired, but we are out of subs.

75 minute mark: Robinson has it on the right wing.. centers for Legate.. Legate shoots from 30 yards out.. sails over Scarsella's right shoulder.. he should have stopped that. GOAL. Down 5-1 now.

87 minute mark: Dan Beck takes the free kick from 20 yards.. shoots between cracks in the wall.. upper right corner.. Scarsella is late picking it up through the wall.. GOAL.. Down 6-1.

Game over. We got our ass kicked 6-1. That will put a dent in our league leading Goal Differential.

They outshot us 17-11 (11-7 on goal.)

Darius Henderson wins MoM, 47 of 48 passes, 0 tackles, 3 of 6 headers, 1 assist, 3 goals.

[Eaglesfan27]

Post Match Info:

Kelly picked up a suspension for a game due to too many yellow cards.

Crystal Palace has made an inquiry into how much we want for him. I was wondering how long it would be until the vultures started searching him out.

We are still in 3rd place, 4 points out. Our GD has been lowered to +25. That is still better than 1st place Scarborough (+21) and 2nd place Kidderminster (+20), but the margin is much smaller now.

We have 10 games left on the season. We need to get on a roll again.

[Eaglesfan27]

Feb. 15, 2007 -

WTF?!?

Kevin Nugent just left Scarborough (1st in English Conference National) to go coach at Sutton United. Sutton is currently 14th in the English Conference South. I'm confused by these coaches who take what appear to be backward steps down the job ladder.

[Eaglesfan27]

Feb 17th, 2007 -

We are currently in 3rd place. We are 4 points out of 1st place. We are hosting Morecambe which is in 12th place today. Morecambe's offense has been below average this year, but their defense has been above average. Danny Carlton has been their most consistent player and he has 10 goals on the season. Attacking midfielder, Michael Twiss has 4 goals and has played very well in the midfield. Left fullback David Perkins is one of several good defenders, but he has been the most consistent. Keeper Anthony Williams has been very acrobatic in goal, and he has 8 cleans sheets in 18 starts this year.

Morecambe beat us 2-1 on the road earlier in the year.

They are even odds favorites.

It's going to be overcast with temperatures in the low 40's.

GK: Scarsella
DL: Barnard
DC: Barnett
DC: Wall
DR: Black
ML: Wright
MC: Surey
MR: Collett
AMC: Baker (for the suspended Kelly)
SC: Smyth
SC: Palmer

S1: O'Conner
S2: Fox
S3: Shepherd
S4: Farrell
S5: Morley

Most of our guys are back (thankfully.) The only guys who are suspended or injured are: Kelly, Davies, and Lee Morris.

[Eaglesfan27]

19 minute mark: Barnett with a big tackle on Carlton in the box. So far, they are dominating time of possession.

25 minute mark: My heart skips a beat as Twiss sets up Carlton with a great pass.. Carlton has it in the box.. shoots from 15 yards.. wide left. whew!

38 minute mark: Wall trips Carlton just outside the box.. yellow card. That will get him a suspension for the next game for too many yellow cards.

45 minute mark: Ruffer does a great job of beating Smyth to a ball in the left corner.. The defense is fast and their speed is neutralizing Smyth, Baker, and Palmer.

Halftime: 0-0.

53 minute mark: Baker with a bad decision to pass it back to the keeper with Twiss in the line of fire.. Twiss intercepts it.. Scarsella does a great job to block his quick shot.. rebound heading towards Carlton.. Wall with a great last second tackle.. ball goes to Chris Blackburn.. he fires a shot into the wide open left side of the net.. GOAL. Down 1-0.

70 minute mark: Smyth gets it.. dribbles down the left sideline.. nice cross for Palmer by the far post.. Palmer heads it.. saved by Williams.

72 minute mark: I sub on Fox for Baker, Farrell for Smyth both due to fatigue. I also tell the team to press the attack more.

Game over. 1-0 loss Teams with fast centrebacks are shutting us down for the most part.

We were outshot 13-6 (6-0 on goal)

Jim Bentley (DC) won MoM. He doesn't have great speed, but he has great positioning and technique. 20 of 33 passes, 5 of 5 tackles, 10 of 10 headers, 7 interceptions.

[Eaglesfan27]

Post Match Info:

Scarborough won their match, so we are now 7 points out of 1st place with 9 games to go. We are 7 points ahead of the 6th place team.

Wall is suspended for our next game.

The Physio reports that Smyth and Wright need rest next game. Wall also needs rest. Least one of them will get it.

[Eaglesfan27]

Feb. 19th, 2007 -

Yes! After many rejections (actually many many many rejections), I finally convinced a player to come join us on loan. Wigan's David Moore has agreed to come on loan for 3 months. He will hopefully arrive in time for tomorrow's game to help boost our offense.

[Eaglesfan27]

Feb 21st, 2007 -

I didn't get the chance to watch any of these matches as I was trying to devise some new gameplans, but I saw the summaries on the telly.

In the 1st knockout round of the European Champions Cup:

Barcelona demolished Real Madrid 5-0. It will be interesting to see if Real Madrid can come back at home.

Chelsea and Milan tied 0-0. This doesn't bode well for Chelsea going to play on Milan's pitch.

Inter beat Amica 3-0.

Leverkusen and Juventus played to a 1-1 tie.

Liverpool beat Club Brugge 2-0.

Lyon beat Arsenal 2-1! It will be interesting to see if Lyon can hold out on Arsenal's pitch.

Man Utd and Porto played to a 1-1 tie on Man's pitch.

Valencia and Sampdoria played to a 1-1 tie.

David Moore made it to the team yesterday, and he is already working with the 1st team. Hopefully, he can help reinvigorate the attack.

[SirFozzie]

Personally, a 0-0 tie at home doesn't bother me..

why?

Because no away goals.

One away goal in the 2nd leg means THEY have to score two, or you win.

[Eaglesfan27]

Feb 24, 2007 -

Today Crystal Palace offered 120,000 dollars, 50% of next sale, and a friendly at our stadium next season for Greg Kelly.

Kelly has really slowed down the 2nd half of the season, but he had an amazing 1st half of the season. I decide to decline the offer and cross my fingers hoping Kelly isn't disappointed.

[Eaglesfan27]

Feb 24, 2007 -

We are in 3rd place and we are traveling to play Dag & Red who are in 6th place and fighting to work their way into a playoff position. Dag & Red has had a varied offense that has scored from many different players and positions. Fortunately, their main leader attacking midfielder Mark Bentley is doubtful for this game due to strained knee ligaments. He will likely not play, and if he does, he will not be 100%. Striker Chris Moore is dangerous and he has 12 goals. Centreback Tim Cole has been playing in a superior fashion the last 5 games. Keeper Stephen Henderson has played very well the last month.

We beat them 3-0 in league play this year, but they beat us 1-0 in the English FA Trophy match as Henderson totally shut us down with a great effort.

They are even odds favorites at home.

It's going to be overcast with temperatures in the low 40's.

GK: Scarsella
DL: Barnard
DC: Barnett
DC: Morley (for the suspended/tired Wall)
DR: Black
ML: Wright
MC: Surey
MR: Collett
AMC: Kelly (I need him to wake up from this 2nd half funk)
SC: Smyth
SC: Moore (Newcomer looks great in practice.. hoping he can ignite the offense.)

S1: O'Conner
S2: Farrell
S3: Shepherd
S4: Palmer
S5: Baker

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

Personally, a 0-0 tie at home doesn't bother me..

why?

Because no away goals.

One away goal in the 2nd leg means THEY have to score two, or you win.

Very good point.

[Eaglesfan27]

First thing I notice is that Dag & Red are coming out with a unique looking 4-3-1-2 in an odd alignment that I've never seen before. It will be interesting to see if we can shut down AMC Craig MacKail-Smith who appears to be the focal point of this formation.

6 minute mark: Barnett appears to have picked up a minor injury. I consider bringing on Shepherd but decide to see how long Barnett can play effectively.

8 monute mark: Moore gets the ball in the right corner.. great speed getting to the ball.. centers for Kelly in the right side of the box.. Kelly shoots.. Henderson blocks it and tips it wide of the net.

23 minute mark: Black stands by the near post on a corner kick and makes an important header to prevent Chris Moore from getting a good scoring chance.

25 minute mark: David Moore gets a long kick from Scarsella.. 30 yards out.. turns on the speed.. races up the field.. into the box.. tries to dribble to his right around the keeper.. Henderson backpedals.. Moore shoots.. Henderson blocks it.. Shane Blacklett clears it.

28 minute mark: Chris Moore sets up MacKail-Smith with a great pass... good shot from MacKail-Smith.. Scarsella with a nice play to tip it over the bar.

34 minute mark: Barnett with a good long pass to Kelly.. he dribbles past the centreback.. into the box.. steps to his left.. Henderson maintaining good position.. Kelly shoots.. Henderson blocks it.. defense clears it.

45 minute mark: Barnard intercepts it in our zone.. plays it up the left sideline to Wright.. Wright with a good through ball.. Kelly races to the ball.. gets it just outside the box.. two dribbles into the box.. shoots.. lower right corner.. Henderson can't get to that one... it is.. just inside the post... GOAL!!!! 1-0.

Halftime: 1-0.

60 minute mark: Kelly with a nice pass to David Moore.. he races past the defender.. showing great speed.. he isn't going to be caught.. into the box.. shoots.. lower left corner.. it's past the keeper.. just wide.

63 minute mark: Intricate series of passes gets MacKail-Smith the ball about 15 yards out inside the box.. he shoots.. Scarsella with a good clean save.

69 minute mark: Collett gets the ball from Black.. Collett with a good pass to Moore..Moore dribbles past his defender.. dribbling towards the right post.. Keeper is trying to block the shot.. defender is trying to cover Smyth who is by the left post.. Moore passes.. past the keeper.. past the defender.. to Smyth.. open net on the left side.. Smyth taps it in.. GOAL!!!! 2-0. What an artistic goal.

72 minute mark: Palmer on for Moore, Farrell on for Kelly, and Baker on for Wright.

Game over. 2-0 win. The team played very well. Except for the subs, everyone got an 8 or higher for form. The subs all got 7's.

They outshot us 18-11 (but we outshot them 8-6 on goal)

Scarsella wins MoM.

[Eaglesfan27]

Feb. 26, 2007 -

Wright and Collett both made the English Conference Team of the Week.

[Eaglesfan27]

Feb 28, 2007 -

Wright sprained his ankle in practice today. He is expected to miss about 2 weeks

[Eaglesfan27]

Feb 28th, 2007 -

Yes! Crawley managed to do the unlikely and tie Scarborough 1-1. As a result, we are now only 5 points (instead of 7) out of 1st place with 8 games to go.

[Eaglesfan27]

March 1st, 2007 -

Barnet's Ray Houghton won manger of the month for the English Conference for 3 wins in the last 5 games. John Dreyer of Exeter City came in 2nd. Dean Harrison of Bury came in 3rd.

York City's Andy Bishop won Player of the Month. He has 5 goals in the last 5 games. Dave Challinor of Bury came in 2nd, and Richard Walker of Kidderminster came in 3rd.

Woking's Luke Oliver won young player of the month. Adam Arthur of York City came in 2nd, and Callum Legate of Barnet came in 3rd.

Former England International player, David Platt has taken over as manager of Brighton. Platt had 62 caps during his playing career.

[Eaglesfan27]

March 3rd, 2007 -

We are in 2nd place (tied for points with Kidderminster but ahead on GD) and we are traveling to play Stevenage which is 9th place today. Stevenage acquired Owen Price on loan from Tottenham about a month and a half ago, and they have ben playing very well since then. Price is a skilled young striker who has 11 goals in 15 appearances. Anthony Elding has played well alongside him, and he has 12 goals on the season. Midfielder Richie Hanlon also has 12 goals. Keeper Chris Neal has played well over the past few weeks.

We beat them 3-1 on our pitch earlier in the year.

They are even odds favorites.

It's going to be sunny with temperatures in the mid 50's.

GK: Scarsella
DL: Wall (Barnard needs rest, and I don't trust my young left fullbacks enough for this important game.)
DC: Barnett
DC: Morley
DR: Black
ML: Baker (for the injured Wright)
MC: Surey
MR: Collett
AMC: Kelly (needs to build on his 1 goal last game)
SC: Smyth
SC: Moore (Newcomer looks great in practice.. hoping he can continue to play well.)

S1: O'Conner
S2: Farrell
S3: Shepherd
S4: Palmer
S5: Fox

[Eaglesfan27]

First thing that I notice is that Stevenage is one of the first teams to play a 3-4-3 against us. This should be interesting.

1st minute: We get the counter attack going.. Morley hits it out to Baker.. Baker dribbles up the left sideline.. centers for Kelly.. he is all alone in the box.. kicks it.. over the bar!

4 minute mark: Kelly gets it at midfield.. great through ball for Moore.. Moore gets to it.. about to dribble into the box.. vicious tackle from behind by Ben Chenery. Whistle. Yellow card for Chenery.

6 minute mark: Morley gets a yellow card for a trip on Price.

8 minute mark: Collett gets a yellow card for a trip on the left winger, Nurse.

Darn it. The ref is John Pearce.. He loves that yellow card.

12 minute mark: Barnett saves an almost sure goal as he tackles Price after Price receives a great pass that had given him an open net to shoot into.

16 minute mark: Paul O'Brien with a nice pass to get Price the ball.. Price inside the box.. good shot for the lower left corner.. Scarsella dives.. catches the ball.. what a save!

31 minute mark: Baker gets it to Kelly just outside the box.. Kelly dribbles.. being chased by two defenders.. dribbles to his left.. shoots for the lower right corner.. it's past the keeper.. just wide.

33 minute mark: Smyth steals it deep in Stevenage's zone.. passes to Moore.. Moore draws the defender.. quick pass to Kelly.. he is alone in the box.. shoots for the upper left corner.. the keeper tips it over the bar.

35 minute mark: Barnard intercepts a pass.. great long pass to Moore.. Moore shoots from 20 yards out.. towards the lower right corner.. the keeper dives.. tips it wide.

37 minute mark: Smyth gets it at midfield.. plays a great pass for Kelly.. Laker with an amazing play to get back and head it away.

41 minute mark: Wall intercepts the ball.. passes it long for Smyth.. he is all alone.. dribbling towards the box.. flag.. offsides.. Wall is furious.. argues the call.. Yellow card for Wall.

42 minute mark: Smyth gets a long pass from Surey in the left corner of the pitch.. crosses to Moore.. Moore heads it.. the keeper blocks it.

43 minute mark: Ben Chenery gets called for pulling Kelly's jersey... yellow card! That is his second. We'll now have the man advantage as Chenery leaves the field.

44 minute mark: Elding backs into Kelly.. Whistle on Elding. Paul O'Brien argues the call.. Yellow card for O'Brien. The ref moves the free kick up 10 yards for dissent.

Halftime: 0-0.

46 minute mark: Smyth gets it in the left corner of the pitch.. crosses for the far post.. Moore with a diving header... great save by the keeper.

56 minute mark: Moore trips Francis Tierney.. yellow card on Moore.

62 minute mark: Quite a few of my guys have yellow flags, I decide to Pull Moore to protect him from a second yellow card, and put in Palmer. I'm going to give Kelly a few more minutes before I sub in Farrell.

66 minute mark: Richard Hanlon with a great cross to Elding.. he is alone in the box.. Great Save by Scarsella!

83 minute mark: Baker with a nice through ball for Kelly.. Laker catches Kelly before he can dribble.. tackles him.. the ball goes back to the keeper.

85 minute mark: Farrell in for Kelly in an effort to get fresh legs onto score late.

88 minute mark: Smyth gets the ball at midfield.. despite being tired.. dribbles down the field.. Smyth beats a defender.. dribbling towards the left post.. has Farrell open on his right.. Smyth shoots.. keeper blocks it.. Farrell tries to get to the ball, but Laker beats him to it.

92 minute mark: Wall with a big header to clear a corner that would almost certainly have been an Elding goal if it reached it's mark.

93 minute mark: Laker manages to intercepts a cross from Smyth that was intended for Palmer.

Game over. 0-0 tie.

We outshot Stevenage 17-9. (9-4 on goal)

David Wietecha shocks us in only his 3rd start of the season and wins MoM.

[Eaglesfan27]

Post Match Info:

Fortunately Scarborough tied as well. We lost the opportunity to gain ground, but at least we didn't lose any ground either.

We continue to be 5 points out of 1st place.

[Eaglesfan27]

March 4th, 2007 -

Hull have made an inquiry about Wright. I really like Hull and their manager, but I tell them he is not for sale at this point.

[Eaglesfan27]

March 7th, 2007 -

Inter beat Amica 2-0 to win 5-0 on aggregate.

Arsenal beat Lyons 4-1 to win 5-3 on aggregate.

Club Brugge beat Liverpool 1-0, but loses 2-1 on aggregate.

Juventus beat Leverkusen 3-0 to win 4-1 on aggregate.

Milan beat Chelsea 1-0 to win 1-0 on aggregate.

Man Utd beat Porto 5-2 to win 6-3 on aggregate.

Barcelona and Real Madrid tied 0-0. Barcelona wins 5-0 on aggregate.

Valencia beat Sampdoria 3-2 to win 4-3 on aggregate.

[Eaglesfan27]

March 10th, 2007 -

We are currently in 2nd place. We are 5 points out of 1st with 7 games to go. Today, we host 16th place Worcester. Worcester is led by midfielder Antony Sweeney. Centreback Barry Woolley has played very well for them too. Keeper Danny McDonnell has 15 clean sheets on the year. Striker Mark Owen has 11 goals on the year.

We beat them 1-0 on the road earlier this year.

They are 6:4 favorites.

It's expected to be overcast with tempertures in the low 50's.

GK: Scarsella
DL: Barnard
DC: Barnett
DC: Morley (Wall gets one last game of rest)
DR: Black
ML: Wright
MC: Surey
MR: Collett
AMC: Kelly
SC: Palmer (Smyth desperately needs rest.)
SC: Moore

S1: O'Conner
S2: Farrell
S3: Shepherd
S4: Baker
S5: Fox

[Eaglesfan27]

11 minute mark: Robert Warner with a very good pass between my defenders.. sets up Owen in the box. Owen with a blistering shot.. Scarsella had come out to challenge him.. he blocks it... it is trickling towards the goal.. it rolls wide left.

15 minute mark: Kelly steals it at midfield.. passes to Palmer 15 yards ahead of him.. Palmer passes to Moore just outside the right corner of the box.. Moore puts a move on the defender.. beats him.. dribbles into the box.. shoots for the lower right corner.. the keeper dives.. it's past him.. GOAL!!!! 1-0. That is Moore's first goal for us.

Halftime: 1-0 lead. We are dominating ball possession. Wright looks tired. As a result, I will replace him soon.

50 minute mark: Wright takes a little knock. I decide to pull him for Baker.

62 minute mark: Scarsella with a GREAT save of a point blank shot by Sweeney.

67 minute mark: Barnett blocks a shot by Owen.. it goes to their other striker James Stevenson.. Stevenson shoots for the lower left corner.. it's between the defenders.. Scarsella has no chance on this play.. it's in the net. GOAL. 1-1 tie.

Game over. A disappointing 1-1 tie at home.

We outshot them 7-6 (3-2 on goal)

Centreback Mark Ricketts won MoM, he did a nice job of shutting down our offense most of the game. 16 of 34 passes, 3 of 5 tackles, 10 of 14 headers, 5 interceptions.

[Eaglesfan27]

Post match info:

Black strained his wrist. He will miss about a week.

Palmer stubbed his toe!?! He will miss about 5 days.

Fortunately, Morecambe beat Scarborough. We could have gained more ground, be we have gained a point on them. We are now only 4 points out of 1st with 6 games to go.

[Eaglesfan27]

March 17th, 2007 -

We are in 2nd place. We are currently 4 points out of 1st with 6 games to go. Today Scarborough will travel to play 16th place Worcester. We will travel to play 17th place Canvey Island. Canvey's offense has been good, but the defense has let them down this year. They have a variety of goal scorers including their two main strikers, Oliver Berquez and Lee Boylan. Midfielder Anthony Barry also has chipped in 5 goals. Right winger Ben Sedgemore has also chipped in 5 goal.

We beat them 1-0 at home earlier in the year.

We are 6:4 favorites.

It's a muddy day with temperatures in the high 40's.

GK: Scarsella
DL: Barnard
DC: Barnett
DC: Wall
DR: Morley (for the injured Black.)
ML: Wright
MC: Surey
MR: Collett
AMC: Kelly
SC: Smyth (likely no more rest in these last 6 games.)
SC: Moore

S1: O'Conner
S2: Farrell
S3: Shepherd
S4: Baker
S5: Palmer

[Eaglesfan27]

11 minute mark: Collett gets the ball at midfield.. dribbles up the right sideline.. crosses for Kelly.. great pass.. Kelly has it in the box.. Kelly shoots for the lower right corner.. Great play by the keeper to fling his body in front of it and block it.

12 minute mark: Wall with a long pass to Smyth.. Smyth gets it in the box.. shoots.. over the bar.

23 minute mark: Smyth passes to Moore at the right edge of the box.. he heads it to Kelly.. Kelly shoots for the upper right corner.. the keeper tips it over the bar.

OOC: During this game, I just now realized a BIG mistake that I've made during the 2nd half of the season. I think I forgot to put Atkins (my only outfield coach) back in charge of the correct schedule when I resigned him. If I did.. my guys have been training with no coach for 3 months which would explain this sudden lack of accuracy in the 2nd half of the season! I can't wait to check this after this game. /OOC.

37 minute mark: Smyth gets the ball after a long pass from Barnett.. Smyth dribbles into the box.. shoots for the upper right corner.. the keeper tips it over the bar.

40 minute mark: Gorden dribbles down the right side of the pitch.. long cross for the left side of the field to Sean Evans.. Evans shoots.. lower right corner.. Scarsella can't get to it.. GOAL. Down 1-0.

Halftime: Down 1-0.

70 minute mark: Kevin Dobinson gets the ball inside the right edge of the box... blistering shot to the right corner.. past Scarsella.. GOAL. Down 2-0 now.

Game over. 2-0 loss.

They outshot us 14-12 (6-5 on goal)

Lee Gordon wins MoM, 21 of 27 passes, 1 of 2 tackles, 1 of 2 headers, 5 runs, 1 assist.

[Eaglesfan27]

OOC:

DARN IT! I've been playing over 2 months of the season.. almost half of a season with NO coach teaching my guys. No wonder my offensive production has gone way down! I though they were just tired, but I never reassigned Atkins when I redid his deal. This was such an idiotic mistake that may have cost us promotion. Looking at Kelly and Smyth, I see that there accuracy has definitely declined as the season went on, and now I know why. I'm kicking myself for this one. Hopefully, fixing this can get the guys ready for the playoffs. /OOC

[Eaglesfan27]

OOC: Atkins was responsible for training every single guy beside my keepers. The entire team has suffered /OOC

[Eaglesfan27]

OOC: Darn it. Now, I've found an apparent bug. My keeper hasn't been on the schedule I set him to all season long. I KNOW that I put him on a customized keeper schedule. I just changed him to the customized schedule again, but he keeps switching back on his own to either First Team or the Generic Keeper schedule. VERY annoying /OOC

Edit to add: I'm definitely hitting confirm after doing this each time.

[Eaglesfan27]

OOC: Apparently from SIGames.com, these are both "known issues." The 1st issue is that coach schedules should not reset after they sign a new salary. I still see the 1st issue as my own fault, as I knew this problem existed and I should have remembered to switch Atkins back in January after he signed his new deal.

The second issue is far more annoying. Apparently, coaches who are ex-players don't keep their schedule assignments and they default to "First Team" schedules. Martin is an ex-player. This is very annoying. I'm going to take a break from the dynasty until I figure out a way to get past this.

[Qwikshot]

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

[Barkeep49]

What a disappointment from my perspective as a reader, but as someone who plays games I completely understand how these sort of things happen. I hope you do find a way to resolve the issues so that we can get to see you move up to one of the Premeir teams you wanted to coach at the outset.

[Miller Time]

I totally understand where you are coming from. But I am going to miss my daily reading of your dynasty. It makes it that much tougher that you are right at the end of the season. Again, I have really enjoyed your 2+ seasons so far!

[Eaglesfan27]

First of all, I don't post it for sympathy or anything. I'm just really frustrated. I'm 50% pissed at myself. 50% pissed at the game for having this bug. Perhaps, It's more like 80-20 me. I can't believe I didn't notice this all year. I was upset earlier and I just posted in the heat of the moment. I'm sure I'll continue this dynasty. Just not tonight.
Probably tomorrow.. despite the problems with this game, I'm enjoying it too much. My addictness rating is getting insane

I'm also really mad because I should have noticed the Atkins problem (I noticed it last year) and I should have put him back on my outfielder schedule. I truly believe I cost myself at least a couple of points, and a likely promotion this season (unless we get fortunate in the playoffs)

[Eaglesfan27]

OOC:

Alright, I've decided on a workaround. I'm going to change the first team schedule into my customized goal schedule as far as the activities, since I never use it. That should solve the problem for this year. As far as Atkins, I have him on the right schedule now, and he should stick to it. Hopefully, he can get Kelly, Smyth, and Palmer back into top form quickly so that we can either sneak into the top slot in the last few games or at least win the playoffs.

I'll probably start playing late tonight or tomorrow (depending on how late I'm out celebrating tonight)

[Eaglesfan27]

March 22, 2007 -

Mr. Fotherby finally gave me the green light to expand our staff! I've hired 38 year ol Derek Saunders as a coach today. Derek is talented at coaching both outfielders and keepers. I'm going to have him work with Mark for now to work with my outfielders. I've also given Nigel some direction on how to work with keepers more closely. I've also reminded Mark to pay more attention to the outfield players and not just his own training regimen. Hopefully, we'll see improved results soon. I'm also going after one more coach and an additional physio.

[Eaglesfan27]

March 24th, 2007 -

Rushden Chairman Stephen Griggs just offered me their manager job! This is a tempting offer. They have a youth academy and top facilities. They are currently 11th in league 1. I will have a 1.6 million dollar transfer budget next year! Also, the wage bill is currently 40,000 dollars and I will have room to raise it! Very tempting offer. However, I can't bail on my guys, yet. I will pass on that job and hope that we can pull off the promotion in the last 5 games.

[Eaglesfan27]

March 25th, 2007 -

Carl Wilson has agreed to join my managerial staff at Harrogate. Wilson has the reputation of being a great taskmaster who is equally adept at teaching outfielders or keepers. I put him to work with Atkins on improving my outfielders.

[Eaglesfan27]

OOC: Is there something hard coded into the game about First Team being an inappropriate training schedule for Keepers? I've modified every activity to mimic what had been a very successful keeper schedule in the past, but now all of my keeper's ratings are declining. The coach comments state for 2 of the 3 players that they should be on a keeper schedule instead of a first team schedule, and the third says that the player shouldn't continue on the schedule. Very peculiar.

[Eaglesfan27]

March 25th, 2007 -

James Geary has agreed to join my staff as a physio for the club. He will help Marshall maintain the fitness of our players.

[Eaglesfan27]

March 26, 2007 -

Fox suffered a significant hip injury today and is expected to miss around 3 months.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

OOC: Is there something hard coded into the game about First Team being an inappropriate training schedule for Keepers? I've modified every activity to mimic what had been a very successful keeper schedule in the past, but now all of my keeper's ratings are declining. The coach comments state for 2 of the 3 players that they should be on a keeper schedule instead of a first team schedule, and the third says that the player shouldn't continue on the schedule. Very peculiar.

OOC: Never mind. In my second week using these schedules, every player on my team has green arrows going up. Also, for most of my players the coaches are delighted with their training schedules and the players level of dedication.

[Eaglesfan27]

March 31st, 2007 -

Today we play a critical game against 1st placed Scarborough. We are currently in 2nd place and are 5 points behind them with 5 games to go. Scarborough has been led by the defensive play of Ashley Lyth and the excellent midfield play of Keith Gilroy. Striker Steve Burton has been absolutely lethal with 24 goals on the year. Keeper Gareth Downey has 21 clean sheets, but has given up 1.6 goals/game in his other starts this year. He will be a tough nut to crack.

They beat us 2-0 on their pitch earlier in the year. Hopefully, we can return the favor this game.

They are even odds favorites.

It's going to be rainy with temperatures in the mid 50's today.

Our Lineup:

GK: Scarsella
DL: Barnard
DC: Barnett
DC: Wall
DR: Morley
ML: Wright
MC: Surey
MR: Collett
AMC: Kelly
SC: Smyth
SC: Moore

S1: O'Conner
S2: Farrell
S3: Shepherd
S4: Baker
S5: Palmer

[Eaglesfan27]

First 10 minutes were very defensive from both sides.

11 minute mark: Smyth gets the ball inside the left corner of the box.. quick shot.. saved by Downey.

16 minute mark: OH NO! One of our worst fears happens as Scarsella hurts himself with a diving save.. he can't finish this match. O'Conner comes on.

23 minute mark: Wall heads away a cross intended for Burton that likely would have been a goal.

38 minute mark: Moore gets the ball in the right corner.. great cross for Kelly.. Kelly shoots.. the keeper barely tips it over the bar.

We are really applying the pressure now.. dominating the ball in their half.



Halftime: 0-0 tie.


48 minute mark: Smyth gets the ball at midfield.. dribbles down the field.. past Lyth! Into the box.. shoots.. the keeper saves it.

50 minute mark: Barnett with a great tackle in the box on Burton.

51 minute mark: Surey steals it at midfield.. passes to Collett on the right wing.. he passes to Moore on the edge of the box.. great cross from Moore to Wright on the left wing.. Wright dribbles into the corner.. crosses to the near post.. Kelly heads it... past the keeper!!! GOAL!!!! 1-0.

54 minute mark: Morley with a huge header to prevent Burton from getting a cross!

56 minute mark: Lyth tackles Kelly just outside the box.. whistle.. Kelly takes the free kick.. powerful shot.. deflects off the wall... into the lower right corner! GOAL!!!! 2-0.

59 minute mark: Smyth gets called for a trip on Gilroy in our own box.. Penalty awarded! Gilroy steps up to shoot it.. he shoots to O'Conner's right.. O'Conner dives.. blocks it! Gets up and pounces on the rebound!!!! What a play by O'Conner!

62 minute mark: Morley with a great tackle on Gilroy just outside the box.

70 minute mark: Barnett with a great tackle on Burton.

80 minute mark: Burton gets open in the box.. laser shot for the upper right corner... O'Conner tips it.. just wide! Great save.

91 minute mark: Moore gets it on the right wing.. long pass into the box.. Kelly gets to it.. shoots.. will he get his hat trick.. no! It's over the bar.

Game over. 2-0 win for us

We outshot them 18-11 (9-4 on goal)

Kelly wins MoM, 20 of 27 passes, 0 tackles, 3 of 5 headers, 4 interceptions, 2 goals. 9 for form.