Manchester United: An ending and a beginning

[Eaglesfan27]

10 minute mark: Eagles with a corner.. finds Smith by the near post.. he traps it.. shoots.. upper left corner.. GOAL!!!! 1-0.

39 minute mark: smith with a long pass to McFadden.. he dribbles around a defender.. into the box.. shoots.. barely wide right.


Halftime: 1-0 lead for us. They have a full house of a little over 11,000 fans here today.


47 minute mark: Westlake passes into the box for Swayne.. he immediately shoots.. upper right corner.. Howard dives.. it is past him! GOAL! 1-1.

50 minute mark: McFadden gets it in the left corner of the pitch.. crosses to parker.. he heads it.. wide left.

57 minute mark: Mcfadden is hurt.. I put Adriano on for him.

66 minute mark: Downing crosses to Eagles in the box.. he looks tentative.. he shoots.. the keeper saves it.

72 minute mark: Adriano and the keeper collide.. the keeper is hurt... he stays on the pitch.

73 minute mark: Beautiful play.. Adriano takes it up the left side of the pitch.. a sharp crossing pass outside the box to Fletcher who heads it down to Smith's feet.. between two defenders.. Smith shoots.. lower right corner.. GOAL!!!! 2-1. That is Smith's 15th goal of the year.

82 minute mark: Lucio is takcled just outside the box.. free kick.. Downing shoots.. strong curving shot.. upper left corner.. it just barely sails over the bar.

88 minute mark: Downing crosses to Fletcher who shoots.. over the bar.


Game over. 2-1 win. I expected more dominance, but I'm glad we got the win.

We outshot them 16-8 (6-2 on target)

Downing wins MoM, 9 for form, 19 of 22 passes, 2 of 4 tackles, 1 of 2 headers, 4 interceptions, 22 runs, 1 foul drawn.

Eagles also had an 8. Howard and Grygera had 7's. Adriano also had a 7. The rest of the team had 8's,

[Eaglesfan27]

Post Match Info: We were awarded 130,000 dollars for that win in the English FA Cup.

[Eaglesfan27]

Jan. 23, 2012 -

Jeroen Schreurs and Wayne rooney were selected to the EPL Team of the Week.

Today the 5th round of the English FA cup was drawn. We will be playing either the MK Dons or Southampton depending upon who wins the rematch. Either way, it will be on our pitch.


Arsenal have splashed the cash to land 25 year old striker Vicenzo Di Giacomo for 35.5 million dollars from Inter.


Eric Djemba played well, but his Cameroon team was beat by Angola 1-0 in the African Nations Group B play.


Manchester City lost David Miller for 7 months as he suffered a fractured vertebrae in his back!

[Eaglesfan27]

January 25, 2012 -

Wigan have signed El-Hadij Diouf from Leicester on a Bosman deal. He is a good veteran attacking midfielder.

Wigan has signed Toni Gonzalez from Oldham. He is a 30 year old veteran defensive midfielder/centreback. Both are quality signings.


Bologna has signed Diego Placente away from Newcastle. Placente is 34 and is starting to show his age, so this isn't too big of a loss for Newcastle.

[Eaglesfan27]

January 25, 2012 -

Today we travel to play Birmingham (yet again) in the 2nd leg of the Semi-final of the English League Cup. We are up 6-0 on aggregate. In the other semi-final, Leicester (EPL) is up 5-1 on Watford (League 1). Unless a miracle happens, we will be playing Leicester in the English League Cup Final.

We are 4-7 favorites.

It's raining, windy, and in the high 40's today.

GK: Howard
DL: Silvestre
DC: O'Shea
DC: Ferdinand
DR: Brown
ML: Duff
MC: Parker
MC: Cook
MR: Schreurs
SC: Saha
SC: van Nistelrooy

S1: Taylor
S2: King
S3: Cahais
S4: Adriano
S5: alfonso

[Eaglesfan27]

1st minute: Duff passes to Parker.. he shoots from 30 yards out.. hard shot.. the keeper blocks it.

2nd minute: Duff crosses to Saha.. he heads it.. over the bar.

14 minute mark: Howard stops a long shot from Smolarek.


Halftime: 0-0 tie. (6-0 on aggregate in our favor.) The rain is making for a slow pitch that is slowing down both offenses. That is fine with me as I just don't want to allow them to score 6 today.

46 minute mark: Sychev dribbles down the pitch.. past both of my defenders.. into the box.. shoots.. upper left corner.. Howard saves it.

60 minute mark: Schreurs is exhausted. I put Alfonso on at right wing. I also put Cahais on for O'Shea. Finally, I put King on for van Nistelrooy.

74 minute mark: Cook with a long range shot.. the keeper saves it.

79 minute mark: Duff passes to Cook just outside the box.. hard shot.. upper right corner.. the keeper dives.. tips it over the bar.

86 minute mark: Howard stops a point blank shot from Sychev.


Game over. 0-0 tie. 6-0 win on aggregate.

We outshot them 18-8 (10-6 on target)

Jose Moreira (their keeper) wins MoM for his 10 saves. He has a 10 for form and he also completed 22 of 30 passes.

[Eaglesfan27]

Post Match Info

We were given 900,000 dollars for winning the semi-final of the English League Cup.

Leicester also played in a 0-0 tie. Therefore, they won 5-1 on aggregate and are through to the English League Cup Final to play us.

We will play at Wembley on Sunday Feb. 26, 2012.

[Eaglesfan27]

January 27, 2012 -

Eric Djemba had a goal for Cameroon in their 2-1 win over Senegal in the African Nations Group B Game.

[Eaglesfan27]

January 28, 2011 -

Fulham has signed a good striker in Helder Postiga. They signed him away from Porto as a Bosman player. He will arrive on July 1, 2012.


We play Fulham today on their pitch. They are currently 17th in the EPL. They have a talented midfielder in Thomas Hitzlsperger. He is their second leading scorer, and their main assist man. Striker Imre Szabics leads the team with 10 goals. Milan Baros is also a good striker. Centreback Nyron Nosworthy leads the defense. Their keeper Michael Rensing has had a rough year.

We are 4-7 favorites.

It's raining and temperatures are in the high 30's.

GK: Hoard
DL: chivu
DC: Lucio
DC: Ferdinand
DR: Brown
ML: Downing
MC: Parker
MC: Fletcher
MR: Eagles
SC: Rooney
SC: Adriano

S1: Taylor
S2: King
s3: Cahais
S4: Neville
S5: Marino

[Eaglesfan27]

1st minute: Howard kicks it to Downing at midfield.. he heads it on to Rooney.. Rooney burns two defenders.. dribbles into the box.. shoots.. great save by the keeper.

5 minute mark: Downing, Adriano and Rooney wth a breakaway.. Adriano crosses it to the far post for Rooney.. who heads it back to Downing in the middle of the box.. he fires a quick shot into the middle of the net for the easy goal!!!! Great Team Goal. 1-0 lead.

10 minute mark: Chivu passes it to Downing in the left corner of the pitch.. he quickly plays a curving cross to the middle of the box.. Adriano jumps.. heads it.. into the upper left corner.. GOAL!!!! 2-0.

21 minute mark: Rooney steals it deep in our zone.. immediately plays an amazing pass all the way down the pitch.. it stops just before rolling into the box.. Adriano broke perfectly.. gets to it before the two defenders.. shoots.. upper left corner.. the keeper dives.. he can't get to it.. GOAL!!!! 3-0.


Halftime: 3-0 lead for us. They have over 21,000 fans here today.


47 minute mark: Downing passes it 20 yards up the pitch to Adriano just outside the box.. he dribbles around a defender.. shoots from 20 yards out.. curving shot.. upper left corner.. GOAL!!!! 4-0! That is Adriano's hattrick!

63 minute mark: Downing has picked up an injury. I put Marino on for him. I also put King on for Rooney who is tired.

68 minute mark: Cahais on for Ferdinand.

85 minute mark: Howard with a good save on a long range shot from Hitzlsperger.

87 minute mark: Eagles gets a yellow card for a trip on Tabb.


Game over. 4-0 win on the road.

We were outshot 13-9 (but 6-3 on target in our favor)

Adriano wins MoM, 10 for form, 12 of 16 passes, 0 tackles, 4 of 7 headers, 2 interceptions, 2 runs, 5 fouls drawn, and 3 goals.

Downing also had a 10 for form. King had a 6, Cahais had a 7, and Marino had a 7. The rest of the team had 8's.

[Eaglesfan27]

Post Match Info:

Eagles has picked an automatic ban for one match for collecting 5 yellow cards.

Darren Fletcher has suffered a calf strain and will miss about 2 weeks.

Arsenal have sold 35 year old midfielder Patrick Vieira to Inter for 1 million dollars!

Vieira went public with his appreciation that he received from Arsenal Fans during his many years with the team. He said that the level of encouragement he received from the fans would be his lasting memory of his time at Emirates Stadium.

[Eaglesfan27]

Jan 30, 2012 -

Downing, Fletcher, and Adriano were selected to the EPL Team of the Week.

Aston Villa's Luke Moore is complaining publicly that he wants more money. Moore currently makes 100,000/week.

[Eaglesfan27]

Jan. 31, 2012 -

Aston Villa have signed a promising young keeper, Paul Lancaster, away from Liverpool on a Bosman signing.

Aston Villa have signed Leicester's attacking midfielder Thomas Hassing Skjaerbaek for 10 million dollars.


The day before the match against us coventry Boss, Paul Scholes, told Skysports.com that he was of the opionion that Manchester United are likely to win the EPL Title, particularly if they can continue their winning ways. He feels his side has its work cut out if they are going to come away with any points in our match.

I choose to respond graciously, "Paul is a good guy, and I think he is right that if we continue to play hard we will win the title."

[Eaglesfan27]

Feb 1, 2012 -

The Board is very pleased with my performance as manager.

Stewart Downing won EPL Player of the Month.

Adriano (of Manchester United) came in 2nd, and Arjen Robben of Chelsea came in 3rd.

Adriano has won the EPL Young Player of the Month! Charlie Wilson of Sunderland came in 2nd, and Frank Wolf of Arsenal came in 3rd.

I won EPL Manager of the Month for guiding our team to victory in all 4 of our league games. Jose Mourinho of Chelsea came in 2nd, and Tony Colbert of Liverpool came in 3rd.


With 13 games to go, we are 5 points ahead of Chelsea in the EPL. We are 15 points ahead of 3rd place Liverpool. We haven't allowed a goal in league play in our last 6 league games! Our 10 goals allowed is best in the league. Our 56 goals scored is also best in the league. Our plus 46 is best in the league. Chelsea is second best with plus 34.


Speaking of Chelsea, They have Freddy Adu playing attacking midfielder and he is doing well there. In 28 starts and 4 reserve appearances, he has 12 goals and 9 assists. His 12 goals are 2nd on the team, only behind Adriano. His 9 assists are 4th on the team.

[Eaglesfan27]

Feb 1, 2012 -

Today we travel to play coventry. They are currently 12th in the EPL. We are in 1st. They are led by striker Shola Ameobi who is still a very effective player. He has 12 goals and 10 assists on the year both of which lead the team. Left winger Richie Partridge is playing well for them and is the 2nd leading assist man with 6. Left fullback Paul Konchesky is a tough tackler who leads the defense. Their keeper Marco Tedeschi has been average.


We are 4-7 favorites.

It's sunny with temperatures in the mid 40's.

GK: Howard
DL: Silvestre
DC: O'Shea
DC: Ferdinand
DR: Grygera
ML: Downing
MC: Parker
MC: Cook
MR: Schreurs
SC: McFadden
SC: Smith

S1: Taylor
S2: King
S3: Cahais
S4: Alfonso
S5: Marino

[Eaglesfan27]

16 minute mark: Downing gets the ball from O'Shea at midfield.. quick long curving pass that leads McFadden.. he gets it in the box.. dribbles to his right.. zags to his left.. around the keeper.. shoots into the upper left corner.. GOAL!!!! 1-0.

25 minute mark: Grygera throws it into to Smith who crosses it to Downing in the middle of the box.. he shoots.. upper left corner.. GOAL!!!! 2-0.

33 minute mark: Parker steals it at midfield.. he passes it to Cook who passes between two defenders to McFadden.. McFadden with a powerful crossover dribble to his left.. around the keeper.. shoots.. lower left corner.. GOAL!!!! 3-0. That is McFadden's 2nd goal of the game.


Halftime: 3-0 lead. They have over 32,000 fans here today.


59 minute mark: Brittain dribbles down the right sideline.. passes it to Ameobi in the right half of the box.. he passes it to Chaplow in the center of the box.. he shoots.. upper right corner.. GOAL. 3-1.

65 minute mark: A quick series of passes to get the ball up the pitch.. first Downing to Cook at midfield.. Cook passes it to Parker outside the box.. Parker with a great leading pass into the box for Smith.. who one times it into the upper left hand corner.. GOAL!!!! 4-1. What a great team goal.

65 minute mark: Alfonso on for Schreurs who is tired.

68 minute mark: King on for Smith and Cahais on for Ferdinand.

80 minute mark: Chaplow shoots from 30 yards out.. blistering curving shot that curves into the upper right corner of the net! GOAL. 4-2.

87 minute mark: Downing crosses to McFadden in the middle of the box.. he settles.. shoots.. wide right.. just missed his hattrick.


Game over. 4-2 win.

We each had 10 shots (we had more on target, 6-4)

McFadden had a 10 for form, won MoM, 18 of 19 passes, 2 of 4 tackles, 2 of 10 headers, 1 interception, 8 runs, 1 foul drawn, and 2 goals.

Downing also had a 10 for form.

[Eaglesfan27]

Post Match Info:

Chelsea tied Aston Villa 0-0. As a result of their tie, we are now 7 points ahead of them with 12 games to go. Of course, our next match is against Liverpool so it could be tough.

[Eaglesfan27]

Feb 4, 2012 -

James McFadden suffered a calf strain in practice yesterday and will be out about 2 weeks.

[Eaglesfan27]

Feb 5, 2012 -

Today we host Liverpool in an EPL Match. They are 3rd in the EPL while we are 1st. They have a very talented team. Steven Gerrard is playing on the right wing this year and he is doing very well. He leads the team with 9 assists, and is 4th with 8 goals. Michael Owen is playing very well at striker and has 9 goals. Djibril Cisse has 13 goals. Left winger Luis Garcia is playing well. Andres D'Alessandro continues to play well in the midfield. Jamie Carragher has started playing centreback instead of right wing, and he is doing it well. Their keeper Chris Kirkand is also playing well this year.

We are 5-4 favorites.

It's sunny with temperatures in the high 40's.

GK: Howard
DL: Chivu
DC: Lucio
DC: Ferdinand
DR: Brown
ML: Downing
MC: Stevanovic
MC: Cook
MR: Eagles
SC: Rooney
SC: Adriano

S1: Taylor
S2: King
S3: O'Shea
S4: Schreurs
S5: Smith

[Eaglesfan27]

5 minute mark: Downing crosses to Cook outside the box.. he shoots.. over the bar.

14 minute mark: Downing tackles Gerrard with a two footed tackle.. yellow card for Downing.

18 minute mark: Ferdinand gets called for tripping Owens.. Cook is angry.. argues the call.. Cook gets a yellow card.

30 minute mark: Jordi pulls Adriano's jersey.. yellow card for Jordi.

35 minute mark: Rooney intercpets a keeper pass.. heads it up the pitch into the box.. runs and gets it.. shoots.. upper right corner.. GOAL!!!! 1-0! What a goal by Rooney!

40 minute mark: Stevanovic is tripped by Luis Garcia.. Garcia gets a yellow card.


Halftime: 1-0 lead. We have over 91,000 fans here today.


52 minute mark: Downing throws it into Stevanovic.. he passes it back to Downing on the left corner of the pitch.. Downing crosses to Rooney.. in the left half of the box.. he settles it.. shoots.. upper left corner.. the keeper dives.. it's past him! GOAL!!!! 2-0! That is Rooney's 20th goal of the year!

55 minute mark; D'Alessandro passes it into the box to Yakubu who heads it to D'Allesandro.. D'Allesandro shoots.. it deflects off Lucio.. Owens pounces on the rebound.. shoots.. upper right corner.. GOAL. 2-1.

63 minute mark: Howard stops a shot from D'Alessandro.

68 minute mark: Downing with a corner kick to the near post.. Stevanovic heads it.. the keeper saves it.

75 minute mark: Howard stops a shot by cisse.

77 minute mark: Cisse gets the ball 15 yards out.. shoots.. Howard saves it.

77 minute mark: Schreurs on for Cook who is tired, and King on for Adriano who is tired.

82 minute mark: D'Alessandro passes it into the box for Cisse.. he shoots.. Howard dives.. and catches it.

83 minute mark: D'Alessandro gets a yellow card for tripping Lucio.

86 minute mark: Schreurs with a long pass to Rooney.. he shoots.. GO.. offside on Rooney.

88 minute mark: D'Alessandro with a 40 yard shot.. it curves.. over Howard's head.. fortunately it curves a little wide right.

91 minute mark: Lucio gets a yellow card for tripping Cisse.

93 minute mark: King gets it at midfield.. makes a nice long pass to the box.. Rooney gets to it.. has a 1-on-1 with the keeper.. shoots.. the keeper dives.. tips it over the bar.


Game over. 2-1 win.

They outshot us 14-9 (8-6 on target in our favor)

Downing wins MoM, 10 for form, 14 of 17 passes, 0 tackles, 1 of 5 headers, 1 interception, 18 runs, 1 foul drawn, and 2 assists(?) I don't know he got credit for that one assist.

Rooney has 2 goals and a 9 for form. Eagles had an 8 for form. Brown had an 8 for form. The rest of the team had 7's.

[Eaglesfan27]

Post Match Info:

The attendance of 91,279 last match was a new record high for the club!

[Eaglesfan27]

Feb 6, 2012 -

Grygera, Downing, and McFadden were selected to the EPL Team of the Week.

Newcastle beat Chelsea 2-1 last night!

With 11 games to go, we are now 10 points ahead of 2nd place Chelsea. We are 20 points ahead of 3rd place Liverpool.

[Eaglesfan27]

Feb 8, 2012 -

18 of my players played in friendly international play, but I'm only going to focus on a few who excelled.

Howard played very well in a 3-0 USA win over Puerto Rico.

Damien Duff had 2 assists for Ireland in their 2-0 win over Belarus.

Wayne Rooney had a hattrick in England's 3-0 win over Mexico.

[Eaglesfan27]

Feb 10, 2012 -

Speaking before our match, Birmingham City manager Roonie Mooore told journalists that he was slightly envious of the vast array of talent that I have available to me. He believes that at least half of our players would walk into most teams in the Premier Divison (I assume he means be a starter or star right away?)


I decide not to reply to that comment.

[Eaglesfan27]

Feb 11, 2012 -

Today we travel to play Birmingham. They are currently 7th in the EPL while we are in 1st. Birmingham is led by the very good play of Robin van Persie. They have a solid defense led by Martin Taylor and Matthew Upson. Dmitry Suchev is a very good striker. Their keeper Jose Moreira has been abused by us lately, but he is a decent keeper.

We are 4-6 favorites.

It's raining windy and in the mid 40's.


GK: Howard
DL: Chivu
DC: Lucio
DC: Ferdinand
DR: Brown
ML: Downing
MC: Djemba
MC: Cook
MR: Schreurs
SC: Smith (Rooney is tired from international play 3 days ago and McFadden is hurt)
SC: Adriano

S1: Taylor
S2: King
S3: silvestre
S4: Alfonso
S5: Marino

[SunDancer]

You are cranking it out today!

Just curious, when does WC Qualification begin (and where is it being played in 2014?), and how does the US talent look?

[Eaglesfan27]

1st minute: parker with a long range shot.. Howard blocks it.. Sychev gets the rebound.. blasts it into the upper right corner. GOAL. Down 1-0.

9 minute mark: van Persie passes it to Sychev in the box.. he blasts a strong curving shot into the upper right corner of the net! GOAL. Down 2-0.

23 minute mark: Downing with a corner to Smith.. he heads it.. into the upper left corner.. GO.. Crud! Smith is judged to have unfairly jumped with Martin Taylor.. free kick and the goal is waved off.

44 minute mark: Downing gets the ball at midfield.. dribbles past two defenders.. crosses the ball towards the near post.. Smith jump.. heads it.. into the upper left corner.. GOAL!!!! 2-1.


Halftime: We are down 2-1. They have just over 30,000 fans here today.


Djemba has picked up a knock and has to go off. I put Alfonso on for him.

66 minute mark: Downing blasts a free kick from just outside the box.. curving.. curving.. great save by their keeper.

79 minute mark: Parker trips Alfonso.. yellow card for Parker.

80 minute mark: Adriano is exhausted. I pull him for King. I also try an experiment that I have been working on... I pull Chivu and put on Marino going with a 3-4-3 to help us try to comeback.

87 minute mark: Downing gets to the ball in the left corner of the pitch.. he crosses for King.. he heads it.. over the bar.


Game over. 2-1 loss.

We were outshot 7-5 (5-2 on target)

Downing wins MoM, 9 for form, 24 of 31 passes, 2 of 7 tackles, 1 of 3 headers, 14 runs, 2 fouls drawn, and 1 assist.

Adriano had a 5! Everyone else had a 7.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by SunDancer

You are cranking it out today!

Just curious, when does WC Qualification begin (and where is it being played in 2014?), and how does the US talent look?

Hehe.. did a lot of playing while watching the Final Four in the background. I'm about to stop playing for tonight soon.

I'm not sure when the WC Qualification is going to begin, but I would guess sometime late in 2012 or early 2013. It is being played in China.

As far as the USA talent, Howard is still the best keeper. There is a young 23 year old keeper named Stephen Catanese who might be ready to start by the time the World Cup starts though.

The defense looks old, and they really need to have some more talent appear in the defensive pool soon. Jonathan Spector is the only good young defender.

The midfield is decent with DaMarcus Beasley still potentially having one more World Cup in him. He has become a very fast player and still has great speed at 29 years old. Landon Donovan is doing well at Atletico Madrid, and he should be good in the World Cup as well. Of course, Freddy Adu looks like a superstar and he is doing very well for Chelsea. So, they have some good talent, but I worry about their lack of youth.

However, Christopher Edwards is a 21 year old midfielder who is developing nicely and might be good enough to help out in the World Cup when it rolls around. His lack of foot speed worries me a bit though.

I'll be following the team closely when the time comes

[Eaglesfan27]

Feb 12, 2012 -

Chelsea beat Charlton 2-0. They are now 7 points behind us with 10 games to go.

[Eaglesfan27]

Feb 16, 2012 -

Louis Saha strained his knee ligaments during practice today and will miss about a month.

[DeToxRox]

I am not a soccer fan, nor do I even understand the rules (so far as transfers, etc) but your dynasty is helping me like it. keep it up.

[weinstein7]

Any chance you'd leave Manchester in a couple of years to take the helm of the US squad?

[daedalus]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

Speaking before our match, Birmingham City manager Roonie Mooore told journalists that he was slightly envious of the vast array of talent that I have available to me. He believes that at least half of our players would walk into most teams in the Premier Divison (I assume he means be a starter or star right away?)

I'm pretty sure he means that they'd become starters on most teams right away.

Originally Posted by weinstein7

Any chance you'd leave Manchester in a couple of years to take the helm of the US squad?

He should be able to do both in the game, if I understand it correctly and SI haven't changed that portion. (Not so in real-life or for computer managers.)

[illinifan999]

Yeah you can manage a club and a national team. And I have seen computer managers managing both.

[daedalus]

Ahhhh. Good catch, illini. I never saw the computer do it.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by DeToxRoxDVHStyle

I am not a soccer fan, nor do I even understand the rules (so far as transfers, etc) but your dynasty is helping me like it. keep it up.

Thank you for a very nice compliment.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by weinstein7

Any chance you'd leave Manchester in a couple of years to take the helm of the US squad?

I don't plan on leaving Manchester for any reason except when I'm fired.

However, I will risk earning their wrath a bit by managing a national team while managing for them. My two desired national managing jobs would be either the USA or England. I would consider other nations if I thought it might help my profile, and aid in getting one of those two jobs. However, I suspect if I do well in the Champions League, the EPL, and one other cup that a national job will be offered to me sooner rather than later.

[Eaglesfan27]

Feb 18, 2012 -

Today we host Southampton in the 5th round of the FA Cup. Southampton is currently 11th in the EPL. Their most consistent player, midfielder Jorge Pina, is injured for this game. They have recently acquired right back Nicky Hunt who is playing well for them. Their keeper Simon Jentzsch is questionable. Ronnin Kieft is a powerful skilled striker. Danny Higginbotham leads the defense.

We are 4-5 favorites.

It's overcast with temperatures in the mid 30's.

GK: Howard
DL: Chivu
DC: Lucio
DC: Ferdinand
DR: Brown
ML: Downing
MC: Djemba
MC: Fletcher
MR: Eagles
SC: Rooney
SC: Adriano

S1: Taylor
S2: King
S3: Silvestre
S4: Smith
S5: Schreurs

[SunDancer]

EF, I ask Marc about the left-wing bias under the "I Love FM 2005" thread.

[Eaglesfan27]

8 minute mark: Rooney with a free kick from 30 yards out.. strong curving shot.. upper right corner.. solid save by the keeper.

15 minute mark: Downing passes it to Rooney outside the box.. he dribbles between two defenders.. passes it to Adriano.. Higginbotham intercepts the pass and clears it.

26 minute mark: Ferdinand intercepts it deep in our zone and heads it to Rooney at midfield.. he dribbles up the pitch.. around a defender.. two other defenders closing in on him.. he shoots from 30 yards out.. powerful banana shot.. it is wide right.. it is curving.. it curves inside the post.. GOAL!!!! 1-0! Great strike from Rooney.

27 minute mark: Downing steals the ball at midfield.. plays a perfect through ball to the edge of the box.. Adriano beats the defenders to it.. dribbles to his right.. around the keeper.. shoots.. upper right corner.. GOAL!!!! 2-0. That is Adriano's 15th goal of the year.

30 minute mark: Rooney steals the ball at midfield.. dribbles past two defenders.. into the box.. draws the keeper over to him.. two defenders running over to him.. he passes between the nearest defender and the keeper to his left.. Downing gets it.. WIDE open net.. Downing finishes it off with a tap-in! GOAL!!!! 3-0. Rooney with a great assist.


Halftime: 3-0 lead for us. We have over 68,000 fans here today.


55 minute mark: Eagles gets the ball at midfield.. dribbles up the right sideline.. crosses it to Fletcher just outside the middle of the box.. Fletcher shoots.. upper left corner.. the keeper dives.. it is out of his reach! GOAL!!!! 4-0. That is Fletcher's first goal of the year.

65 minute mark: I put King on for Rooney (to give him rest for the match in 4 days), Smith for Adriano for the same reason, and Schreurs for Djemba who is tired.

Our fans gave Rooney a standing ovation as he left the pitch.


71 minute mark: Eagles passes it diagonally from the right wing at midfield.. into the box.. King gets it.. wide open.. King shoots.. upper right corner.. blistering shot.. the keeper had no chance! GOAL!!!! 5-0.

76 minute mark: Downing takes it up the left side of the pitch.. beats three defenders.. crosses it to the far post.. Eagles is there.. he heads it.. into the upper right corner.. GOAL!!!!! 6-0.

88 minute mark: Howard stops a long range shot from Beattie.



Game over. 6-0 win for us.

We outshot them 14-5 (9-1 on target)

Downing won MoM, 10 for form, 30 of 37 passes, 0 tackles, 2 of 4 headers, 2 interceptions, 31 runs, 4 fouls drawn, 2 assists, and 1 goal.

Eagles, and Rooney had 9's. All other starters had an 8, except for Howard who had a 7. The reserves all had 7's.

[Eaglesfan27]

Post Match Info:

Oxfored has sacked Ray Houghton.

Shane Paul's agent has approached me for the fourth time this year. I haven't been mentioning it, but I've been approached by at least a dozen player's agents with video. Unfortunately, all of them are strikers, and I don't need any more strikers right now. I do have to admire Paul's persistence.


We were given 260,000 dollars for winning in the 5th round of the English FA Cup.

[Eaglesfan27]

Feb 19, 2012 -

After further thought, I decide I'm going to take a chance, and start my 2nd team against Aston Villa on the road in the 1st leg of the 1st knockout round of the Champions League. I'm doing this because we have the League Cup Final 4 days later. I believe our team is good enough to play Aston Villa close without our stars, and I will make sure they are ready to go for the 2nd leg.

Peter Taylor was sacked by Fulham today.

Santi enjoyed his time at Wigan and is sad that he had to leave them. I'd sell him to them if they made a good offer.

[Eaglesfan27]

Feb 20, 2012 -

An unfavorable draw occurred for the 6th round of the English FA Cup as we will have to travel to play Liverpool on their pitch.

We could have had Coventry or Bristol C, or a few other more favorable matchups.

[Eaglesfan27]

Feb 21, 2012 -

Gillingham wants to borrow our young striker, Cedric Gomis, for 3 months. I agree to let him go on loan.

[Eaglesfan27]

Feb 22, 2012 -

Wes Brown injured his ankle in practice yesterday. He will be out for about 2 weeks.

Zdenek Grygera also suffered an injured ankle, but he is doubtful for the next 5 days. I'll need him to play.



Today we play at Aston Villa in the 1st leg of the 1st knockout round of the Champions League. Aston Villa is currently 4th in the EPL. They have a talented team. Left fullback Gareth Barry has played very well. Centreback Liam Ridgewell has been a defensive stalwart. Keeper Leo Franco has been difficult to score against. Right winger Mouran Meghni is a fast creative player who can be a big time assist man. Left winger Daniel Bierofka is also a very talented playmaker. Strikers Lue Moore and Roobie Keane are both talented, but Moore is unhappy and demanding to be traded. The team hasn't been playing him as a result. It will be interesting to see if he will play tonight. Ciprian Marica is their third striker and he isn't as good as Keane and Moore.

Since I've became maanager, the team has beat Aston Villa every time in a close game.

We are 4-5 favorites.

It's sunny with temperatures in the 40's.

GK: Howard
DL: Silvestre
DC: O'Shea
DC: Ferdinand
DR: Grygera (we need him, bad ankle or not.)
ML: Duff
MC: Stevanovic
MC: Cook
MR: Schreurs
SC: McFadden
SC: Smith

S1: Taylor
S2: King
S3: Adriano
S4: Downing
S5: Mamam
S6: Chivu
S7: Eagles

[Eaglesfan27]

3 minute mark: Dickhoff shoots form 35 yards out.. The ball deflects off Cook 30 yards out.. it floats softly towards the upper right corner.. WTF!?!? What is Howard doing.. he doesn't move and it sails into the right side of the goal! GOAL. Down 1-0.

15 minute mark: Moore with a breakway into the box.. he shoots.. Howard saves it.

20 minute mark: Duff passes to McFadden in the box.. he dribbles past the defender.. Gorlitz trips him.. Whistle! Penalty awarded.. Mr. Queiroz says to let the kid, Cook take the shot.. Cook steps up.. shoots.. upper right corner.. GOAL!!!! 1-1.

31 minute mark: Moore with a shot from 20 yards out.. Howard saves it.

37 minute mark: Schreurs steals it at midfield.. passes it down the right sideline to Smith.. he crosses it to Duff in the left side of the box.. Duff shoots.. upper left corner.. GOAL!!!! 2-1!


Halftime: 2-1 lead for us. They have over 42,000 fans here. Except for Howard's early mistake, we have played well. Grygera looks good out there.


48 minute mark: Whittingham passes it to Marica in the box.. Marica shoots.. Howard saves.

60 minute mark: Bierofka gets the ball in our zone on a pass from Moore.. Bierofka burns cook.. he dribbles past Grygera into the box.. he has a 1-on-1 with Howard.. he shoots.. upper left corner.. Howard dives.. it is past him.. GOAL. 2-2.

71 minute mark: King on for McFadden who is tired, Mamam on for Eagles, and Chivu on for Grygera.

90 minute mark: Howard stops a hard shot from Keane from only 15 yards out.


Game over. 2-2 tie. I'm very happy with this result on the road. 2 away goals will be nice to have going into the second leg.

We were outshot 21-10 (10-5 on target)

Daniel Bierofka won MoM, 9 for form, 24 of 28 passes, 1 of 2 tackles, 2 of 7 headers, 12 runs, 2 fouls drawn, and 1 goal.

Howard had a 9, O'Shea had an 8, and Duff had an 8. Everyone else had a 7, except Silvestre who had a 5!

[Eaglesfan27]

Feb 23, 2012 -

Derby has signed Joao Paulo away from Wigan on a Bosman deal.

Al Ittihad are offering me 1.2 million dollars for Santi. This is triple his listed "value" right now. He is a good young keeper, but I don't see the potential at the age of 21 for him to become a top EPL keeper.

His contract expires in 3 monhts, and while I was thinking about renewing it, I haven't yet. I decide to accept the deal. It will be interesting to see if he agrees to go.

[Eaglesfan27]

Feb 26, 2012 -

Today we play Leicester in the English League Cup Final. Liverpool is the current holder of this competition, but there will be a new team taking over that. Leicester are currently 10th in the EPL. They are led by the strong dynamic scoring of Dean Ashton and Jafeth Asprilla who each have 15 goals. Their keeper, Paul Gallacher, is very good. Their left winger Piotr Trochowski is a talented playmaker. Edgar Barreto is playing well in the midfield as well. Jordan Stewart is a good left fullback. Centreback Martin Cranie has been playing well the last few weeks.


The match will be at Wembley.

We are 1-2 favorites.

It's overcast with temperatures in the mid 50's.

GK: Howard
DL: Chivu
DC: Lucio
DC: Ferdinand
DR: Grygera (I need his ankle to hold up.)
ML: Downing
MC: Djemba
MC: Fletcher
MR: Eagles
SC: Rooney
SC: Adriano

S1: Taylor
S2: King
S3: Parker
S4: O'Shea
S5: Mamam

[Eaglesfan27]

1st minute: Adriano gets a yellow card for a trip on their centreback.

2nd minute: Asprilla gets a yellow card for tripping Ferdinand.

11 minute mark: Ashton passes it to Asprilla in the box.. he has a breakaway.. 10 yards out.. shoots.. upper left corner.. Howard dives.. blocks it.. Grygera clears the rebound.

14 minute mark: Djemba gets a yellow card for tripping Ashton.

15 minute mark: Adriano steals it at midfield.. passes it up the pitch to Rooney.. he shoots.. upper left corner.. the keeper dives.. barely tips it over the bar.

19 minute mark: Downing crosses it to the far post.. Eagles heads it.. upper right corner.. the keeper saves it.

21 minute mark: Howard witha corner kick to Adriano at midfield.. he passes it to Rooney.. Rooney shoots a powerful banana shot from 30 yards out.. curving towards the upper right corner.. great save by the keeper.

23 minute mark: Eagles burns two defenders.. dribbles towards the right side of the box.. passes it to his left to Adriano.. great pass.. Adriano shoots.. upper right corner.. powerful shot.. the keeper dives.. it is out of his reach! GOAL!!!! 1-0.

30 minute mark: christian Wilhemsson has tripped Downing.. yellow card for Wilhemsson.

35 minute mark: Fletcher passes to Rooney 25 yards out.. Rooney with a hard curving shot.. the keeper punches it over the bar.

40 minute mark: Jordan Stewart trips Eagles.. yellow card on Stewart.


Halftime: 1-0 lead for us. There are over 90,000 people here today.


51 minute mark: Grygera passes it down the right side of the pitch to Adriano.. he crosses it for Downing.. the keeper intercepts the pass.

60 minute mark: Rooney steals the ball from Gallacher who was inexplicably dribbling it in the box for 5 seconds or so after his defender passed it back to him.. Rooney shoots.. into the middle of the net! GOAL!!!! 2-0!

73 minute mark: Rooney gets the ball in the left corner of the ptich.. passes it long to Eagles in the right edge of the box.. he quickly passes it to Downing by the far left post.. Downing shoots.. upper left corner.. GOAL!!!! 3-0.

76 minute mark: O'Shea on for Grygera, Parker on for Djemba, and King on for Adriano who is tired.


Game over. 3-0 win for us! We have won the English League Cup!!! That is the 1st of a hopeful Quadruple this year.

We outshot them 16-12 (11-2 on target)

Rooney wins MoM, 10 for form, 18 of 23 passes, 2 of 2 tackles, 4 of 11 headers, 1 interception, 11 runs, 1 foul drawn, and 1 goal.

Now, I can praise Rooney again and hopefully assauge some hurt feelings.

Eagles and Downing both had 9's. Every other starter had an 8. The reserves all had 7's in very limited time.

[Eaglesfan27]

Post Match Info:

Our board is very happy with me for winning the English League Cup.

We were given 1.8 million dollars for this win.

Djemba has picked up an automatic one match ban for collecting 5 yellow cards.

We have 6 days until our next match which is useful, and then 4 days later our 2nd leg match against Aston Villa for the Champions League. This sets up just how I wanted it to be.