Tamworth: Back To The Future

Chief Rum · 06-20-2004, 03:37 AM

Hey all,

Chief Rum here again, back with a new CM03/04 dynasty.

I'm going to try and a different approach to this one, though. I'm going to go fast. Well, relatively, for me anyways.

In the past, I have specialized in dynasties which bring a ton of detail. I find this really gets the readers immersed in the world, but in the end, it tends to lose interest for the readers because of the slow resolution of things, and then I lose interest because I would rather play the game than stop to write out a long drawn out article about the same thing.

Basically, this will be my attempt at Quiksand-ish "quick" CM03/04 dynasty. I will still give a lot of details about the football world I am playing in, but there won't be extended previews of leagues or long articles about the goings-ons. Basically, it's just the facts, and you can take from it what you will.

Oh, there's one more catch: It's 2008. I have been playing since the beginning fo 2003 and am about to begin the 2008-09 season.

A lot has happened, so I will try and catch you up on things.

CR

Chief Rum · 06-20-2004, 05:00 AM

Okay, here are the basics.

In 2003, I took over manager-ship of the Tamworth Lambs of the Nationwide Conference. The Lambs had just been promoted from the lower leagues to the pinnacle of non-league football in England.

Oh yeah, and they also inherited a $200,000 wage overrun (annual) and limited talent to say the least. To put that overrun into perspective, consider that the whole wage budget was set for about $300,000.

I wasn't going to bve saved by my ground. Despite being the largest stadium in the Conference, the Lamb Ground housed just over 4,000 fans at full capacity, and most of them aren't even sitting.

I only received $24,000 in transfer fees, too, so I wasn't likely to get much from outside the club that I could afford.

I did what I could. Although I made many key moves and got some key seasons from incumbent players, particularly assistant manager/player Mark Cooper, a 34-year-old midfielder with a sweet long shot, in the end the only move that mattered was the free transfer signing of winger Mark Hicks.

Hicks was a great dribbling and crossing Irish winger who could work both sides of the pitch. He was also relatively blessed with solid mental skills, and was quick as well (15+ acceleration and pace). He was a former reserve of First Division Milwall who never got a chance. I signed him on a free and watched him put up 7 G, and a team-leading 13 assists and 7.78 rating, asd he earned the Supporters' Player of the Year nod.

Thanks to Hicks, Cooper, a very strong effort by veteran goalkeeper Phil Whitehead and a number of others, the Lambs were unusually strong. We went seven matches without losing to start the season, and stayed int he top five all year. In March, we went on a seven-win streak that extended to the end of the season, and ended up running away with the Conference title.

We went 27-6-9 (note that the middle numbe ris draws, and the last number losses, not the American reversal of that) for 87 points. We scored 81 goals and allowed only 32, for a +49 GD.

Our cup play was decent if not spectacular. We got to the fourth round qualifying in the FA Cup and to the quarters of the Vans Trophy cup, the cup for non-league clubs (Conference and below). In the FA Trophy, another low-end English cup, we got to just the fourth round before falling. Depsite modest success here, we wouldn't have better success int hese cups for several seasons.

Nevertheless, we had reached the League, ascending to the Third Division for th 2004-05 season.

CR

Chief Rum · 06-20-2004, 06:25 AM

2003/04 Season, Around The World

Major League Results

English Premier Division: Man Utd, Arsenal, Chelsea
Primera Liga (Spain): Real Sociedad, Betis, Real Madrid
Serie A (Italy): Juventus, Roma, Inter
Bundesliga (Germany): FC Bayern, Leverkusen, Hertha BSC
Ligue 1 (France): Auxerre, Guingamp, Nantes
Casino Eridivisie (Holland): PSV, Ajax, Feyenoord
Portuguese Superleague: Sporting Lisbon, Braga, Boavista
Supeligaen (Denmark): FC Kobenhavn, AB, AaB
National A Division (Greece): PAO, Olympiakos, AEK
Belgian First Division: Anderlecht, GBA, Westerlo
Scottish Premier League: Rangers, Celtic, Hearts
Turkish Premier Division: Galatasaray, Fenerbahce, Samsunspor
Ukrainian High League: Metalurg Donetsk, Dinamo Kiev, Chornomorets

Other European Champions: Austria Vienna (Austria), Dinamo (Croatia), Sparta Prague (Czech Republic), HJK* (Finland), Belaton FC (Hungary), Shamrock Rovers* (Ireland), M. Haifa (Israel), Crusaders (Northern Ireland), Rosenborg* (Norway), Wisla (Poland), CSKA Moscow* (Russia), OFK Beograd (Serbia & Montenegro), Zilina (Slovakia), Hammarby* (Sweden), Neuchatal Xamax (Switzerland), Haverfordwest (Wales)

*-- season runs from winter to fall, instead of summer to spring; champion is from last complete campaign

National Cups

English FA Cup: Man Utd over Man City
English League Cup: Man Utd over Tottenham

Spanish Cup: Real Madrid over Almeria
Italian Cup: Perugia over Sampdoria
German Cup: Schalke 04 over Leverkusen
French Cup: Strasbourg over Nantes
Dutch Cup: Hoek over FC Utrecht
Portuguese Cup: Porto over Vit. Guimaraes

European Club Competitions

Champions League: Man Utd over Lazio
UEFA: Liverpool over Auxerre

CR

SirFozzie · 06-20-2004, 09:14 AM

More CR CM stuff! Woohoo!

(I'm going to try to get 3-5 of the most committed CM fans when FM05 comes out for a net game.)

Chief Rum · 06-20-2004, 04:40 PM

That should be fun, although when we tried to do it with CM03/04, I found it harder to get involved, as there was just too much going on in a CM games at the time for me to follow on the quick. That's one thing I like about CM. I can really take my time and look things over before having to make a decision.

CR

Chief Rum · 06-20-2004, 05:30 PM

Top Transfers of the 2003/04 Season

SC Adriano (BRA) from Parma to Inter for $27.5 M on January 21, 2004.
SC Nicolas Anelka (FRA) from Man City to Man Utd for $21 M on July 15, 2003.
SC Louis Saha (FRA) from Fulham to Man Utd for $20 M on January 26, 2004.
LW Jose Antonio Reyes (SPA) from Sevilla to Arsenal for $17 M on January 28, 2004.
MC Scott Parker (ENG) from Charlton to Chelsea for $16 M on January 30, 2004.
FB Lilian Thuram (FRA) from Juventus to Arsenal for $15.25 M on July 13, 2003.
SC Frédéric Kanouté (MAL) from Tottenham to Man Utd for $15.25 M on January 29, 2004.
SC Djibril Cissé (FRA) from Auxerre to Zaragoza for $14.5 M on July 5, 2003.
SC Sanli Tuncay (TUR) from Fenerbahçe to Betis for $14.25 M on July 10, 2003.
MF Hidetoshi Nakata (JAP) from Parma to Juventus for $13.75 M on July 27, 2003.
LW Alex (BRA) from Cruzeiro to FC Bayern for $13 M on AUgust 20, 2003.
MF Simone Perrotta (ITA) from Chievo to Valencia for $12.75 M on July 6, 2003.
MF Fernando Sales (SPA) from Valladolid to Zaragoza for $11 M on August 31, 2003.
MF Fabio Liverani (ITA) from Lazio to Deportivo for $11.5 M on December 19, 2003.
MF Giovanni Tedesco (ITA) from Perugia to Genoa for $11.5 M on January 28, 2004.
SC Diego Milito (ARG) from Racing to Genoa for $10.5 M on February 1, 2004.

Comments: Well, the change of address of young Brazilian superstar on the rise Adriano was the biggest fee paid from June, 2003 to May, 2004, but the biggest news had to be made by Manchester United. The acquisitions of Anelka, Saha, and Kanouté made them so powerful they won both the domestic and international trebles. From what I understand, doing what they did might be considered the most dominant accomplishment in football history. Other things I note from scanning this list is that a lot of Frenchmen were moved in this period, and that the transfer of young Brazillian star winger Alex was sort of tossed in the middle, but I think that's actually a pretty big deal, as he becomes a real star for FC Bayern. It should be noted that a bunch of these are future transfers that the player roster I used (Calcio) already had input into the game.

CR

Chief Rum · 06-20-2004, 06:13 PM

Euro 2004

Hosts: Portugal

I wish I could tell you more about this tournament, because it was a lot of fun to follow. There were some exciting games here, but I did it a long time ago. I'm not sure I can remember exactly how it all went.

All the biggest teams (France, Spain, Italy, England, Germany, Holland) made it to the tournament, and Portugal, of course, got an automatic in.

There were upsets in the groupings, of course. England didn't make it to the quarters, but the others all did.

The best matchup in the quarters was Italy and Spain. And it was a great game, too. It went to extra time, with Italy moving forward eventually, 1-0. Holland also got to the quarters, but lost to Portugal.

Italy and Germany was a tight, defensive match, as you might expect with Buffon and Kahn in goal. Italy figured out Kahn, though, and won 2-0.

The Portugal-France game was great. France was the clear fave, but Portugal was the home squad and playing great. This one actually went to penalty kicks, and was the best match of the tourney. France won, 4-3, after a scoreless draw.

France and Italy got into a defensive match, but Buffon proved to be too much for mighty France. He shut them out, and Italy won Euro 2004 1-0.

Olympics

France beat Nigeria to win the gold in Greece. Brazil placed third. This is less important because the teams are limited to Under-23 squads. Stupid Olympics.

African Nations

Senegal beat Guinea, with Nigeria in third.

Asian Cup

South Korea beat Qatar, with Iran in third.

OFC Nations Cup

Australia beat Tonga, with New Zealand in third.

Copa America

Colombia beat Argentina, with Uruguay in third.

CR

Chief Rum · 06-20-2004, 06:50 PM

Tamworth, 2004/05

I had reached the League for the first time.

I was picked as relegation favorites, of course, but I was used to this.

My board punished my "extravagant spending" from the year before by limiting me to a transfer fund of just $14,000. I can't say I blame them. I spent more than double the wage budget last year.

The effort to improve my team wa sa constant process, of course. I got a boon in the arrival of my first youth class, which included a young 14-year-old power winger name Chris Booth. Booth, a promising winger, had some solid physcial stats and enough technical know-how to force his way ontot he first team. With Simon Gray, the promising 14-year-old left winger seemingly ready for first team action, I had a pair of 14-year-old wingers as starters--and they weren't half bad neither.

Of course, I already had a fine winger--my best player Mark Hicks. My assistant manager/player Mark Cooper called it quits after the 2003/04 season, so I had a hole in the middle of my tactic. I gave it to Hicks, a role he would take with aplomb.

I still had Sylla and One and Portway up front, and I added another quick striker in Che Stadhart from Margate. With the four of them and former starting left winger Steve Torpey around, i was fairly solid up front.

My best work came in the back end, though. I brought in a solid 34-year-old Bosnian midfielder named Faruk Hujdurovic, he turned out to be just the guy I needed to be a savvy wall between my opponents' best strikers and my often unsteady backline. I also solved my problems at left fullback with the Bosman signing of 31-year-old Justin Skinner, a fairly quick fullback with great marking skills. I went to Margate again to get Graham Porter, a slow, but steady centreback, to help out Robinson, Taylor and the agin Rodwell.

Finally, I kept Whitehead in goal, but signe d anice Irish youth goalkeeper named Adam Harris to help him out.

Most of these guys were gotten off of frees, but I had no idea if it would be enough in the Third Division.

I started off very strong and was in the top five in the early going. I hit a harsh malaise, though around October, and it took me two months to pull out of it. I didn't win a match in November, and lost three in a row to begin December.

But all of this was just a prelude to "The Streak." Starting on December 18, 2004, I began what remains the best run by a Tamford squad in the short history of my run with the club. From ecember to May, 2005, I went 25 matches without losing. Not all of them were wins, of course, but it was the longest loss-less streak in Tamworth history.

Still, I had lost so much ground in the two months prior, that it turned out to be a struggle to make it to an automatic promotion. In the Third Division, the top three teams got an automatic promotion, while the fourth through seventh teams haver a playoff to determine the fourth promoted team.

I wanted to avoid the hassle of a promotion, but I was struggling to get ahead of Lincoln for the third place spot. In the second to last week, I lost at home (it broke the streak) to a mediocre squad, while Lincoln won on the road. They leapfrogged me into third-place by a point.

In the last weekend, I was on the road against another middle-of-the-table squad, while Lincoln had a home walk agai8nst one of the relegated squads. My guys played a good match and got a needed draw to pull into a tie wioth Lincoln. But I considered it a foregone conclusion Lincoln would win that match and make the point moot.

Just goes to show what I know. Lincoln mystifyingly lost that match to that crappy soon-to-be-a-Conference squad at home, and I won to third place on goal differential. I got the automatic promotion, and Lincoln had to win its way into the Second Division via the playoff (which it did).

I finished 28-12-6 in the Third Division (remember, the "12" is draws, not losses) for 96 points. I scored 78 goals and allowed a Third Division-best 25 goals on defense, for a +53 GD.

As you can see, Whitehead was amazing, and when he was tired or hurt, Harris was even better. Skinner turned out to be great on the left of the backline, and Taylor and Porter made a great team starting int he middle. This allowed me to move Robinson over to the right of the backline, where his athleticism and better offensive skills could better be utilized. And Hujdurovic...I can't say enough about how many key tackles that guy made in the midfield, and how many fine offensive runs he started moving the ball forward to Gray, Booth and Hicks.

Oh yeah, Hicks? His best season ever taking over in the middle. He led the squad with 22 goals, and he made countless big scores when we needed it. He finished with a 7.98 rating, and was voted the Supporters' Player of the Year again. Up front, Stadhart turned out to be a great get, as he led the way among our forwards with 17 goals and 7 assists.

We didn't do squat in the cups. We lost in the ifrst round of the FA Cup and League Cup, and we only got to the third round of the Vans Trophy.

Oh yeah, and what dfo you know, I ran a wage budget a good $500,000 over what I was allotted. Well, if they will let me...

CR

Chief Rum · 06-20-2004, 07:44 PM

2004/05 Season, Around The World

Major League Results

English Premier Division: Arsenal, Newcastle, Man Utd
Primera Liga (Spain): Villareal, Barcelona, Real Soceidad
Serie A (Italy): Milan, Parma, Inter
Bundesliga (Germany): FC Bayern, Leverkusen, Hertha BSC
Ligue 1 (France): Lyon, Auxerre, Marseille
Casino Eridivisie (Holland): PSV, Ajax, Feyenoord
Portuguese Superleague: Sporting Lisbon, Benfica, Porto
Supeligaen (Denmark): FC Kobenhavn, AaB, FC Midtjylland
National A Division (Greece): Olympiakos, Ionikos, PAO
Belgian First Division: Standard, Anderlecht, Club Brugge
Scottish Premier League: Celtic, Rangers, Kilmarnock
Turkish Premier Division: Bursaspor, Fenerbahce, G. Birligi
Ukrainian High League: Chornomorets, Dinamo Kiev, Shakhtar

Other European Champions: Austria Vienna (Austria), Slaven Belupo (Croatia), Sigma Olomouc (Czech Republic), FC Hämeenlinna* (Finland), Györ (Hungary), Shamrock Rovers* (Ireland), M. Haifa (Israel), Dungannon (Northern Ireland), Sogndal* (Norway), Wisla (Poland), Spartak Moscow* (Russia), Partizan (Serbia & Montenegro), Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia), Malmö FF* (Sweden), Basel (Switzerland), Cefn Druids (Wales)

*-- season runs from winter to fall, instead of summer to spring; champion is from last complete campaign

National Cups

English FA Cup: Arsenal over Man Utd
English League Cup: Birmingham over Newcastle

Spanish Cup: Valencia over Jerez
Italian Cup: Inter over Parma
German Cup: Bielefeld over HSV
French Cup: Lyon over Marseille
Dutch Cup: NEC over PSV
Portuguese Cup: Porto over Moreirense

European Club Competitions

Champions League: Dinamo Kiev over Arsenal
UEFA: Milan over FC Kobenhavn

Comments: Lots of interesting little tidbits. Man Utd fell from its perch and din't win anything. Arsenal scored the dometstic double and fell just short of the international treble. Real Madrid fell out of the top three, and trust me, Spain wasn't happy. There were few surprises elsewhere in the major leagues.

The story of the Champions League was the rise of Ukrainian teams. Not only did Dinamo Kiev win it all, but Shakthar and one other (Chornomorets maybe) won into the Champions, to join Dinamo Kiev and last year's High League champ Metalurg Donetsk, int he group stage. This was really the beginning of the rise of the High League, such that, now, in 2008, they are listed at the top of the UEFA coefficients, if you can believe it.

CR

Chief Rum · 06-20-2004, 09:11 PM

Top Transfers Of The 2004/05 Season

MC Owen Hargreaves (ENG) from FC Bayern to Real Madrid for $62 M on August 31, 2004.
SC Jan Koller (CZE) from Dortmund to FC Bayern for $26 M on August 7, 2004.
LW Kily González (ARG) from Inter to Real Sociedad for $24 M on December 19, 2004.
SC Arjen Robben (NED) from PSV to Chelsea for $19.25 M on July 1, 2004.
FB Jaap Stam (NED) from Lazio to Milan for $19.25 M on July 19, 2004.
MF Yildiray Basturk (TUR) from Leverkusen to FC Bayern for $18.75 M on January 14, 2005.
MC Anders Svensson (SWE) from Southampton to Newcastle for $17.5 M on July 31, 2004.
SC Filippo Inzaghi (ITA) from Milan to Juventus for $17.25 M on July 29, 2004.
MF Kieron Dyer (ENG) from Newcastle to Chelsea for [/b]$16.25 M[/b] on August 17, 2004.
DC Belletti (BRA) from Villarreal to Real Sociedad for $16.25 M on December 23, 2004.
MF Xavi (SPA) from Barcelona to Racing Santander for $15.25 M on August 31,2004.
MF Aliaksandr Hleb (BEL) from VfB Stuttgart to Inter for $15 M on August 18, 2004.
MF David Marcelo Cortez Pizzaro (CHI) from Udinese to Inter for $14.75 M on January 31, 2005.
DC Daniele Bonera (ITA) from Parma to Arsenal for $14.25 M on August 26, 2004.
LW Denílson (BRA) from Betis to Roma for $14.25 M on August 21, 2004.
MF Massimo Ambrosini (ITA) from Milan to Barcelona for $14 M on August 7, 2004.
RW Robert Pires (FRA) from Arsenal to Barcelona for $13.75 M on July 21, 2004.
SC Mikael Forssell (FIN) from Chelsea to Hertha BSC for $13.25 M on August 8, 2004.
MF Cristiano Zanetti (ITA) from Inter to Liverpool for $13.25 M on January 19, 2005.
SC Giuseppe Sculli (ITA) from Chievo to Marseille for $13 M on July 10, 2004.
LW Marek Jankulovski (CZE) from Udinese to Sevilla for $12.75 M on December 29, 2004.
GK Petr Cech (CZE) from Rennes to Chelsea for $11.25 M on July 1, 2004.
MC Giovanni van Bronckhorst (NED) from Arsenal to Barcelona for $11.25 M on July 13, 2004.
SC John Carew (NOR) from Valencia to Betis for $11 M on July 26, 2004.
FB Roberto Carlos (BRA) from Real Madrid to Man Utd for $11 M on July 17, 2004.
MC Hidetoshi Nakata (JAP from Juventus to Atalanta for $11 M on July 21, 2004.
MF Claude Makélélé (FRE) from Chelsea to Newcastle for $11 M on August 31, 2004.
FB Patrice Evra (FRA) from Mallorca to Real Madrid for $11 M on December 26, 2004.
SC Tote (SPA) from Betis to Valladolid for $10.75 M on December 11, 2004.
LW Sylvain Wiltord (FRA) from Arsenal to Newcastle for $10.5 M on August 9, 2004.
MF Lúcio Flávio (BRA) from Atlético Mineiro to Werder Bremen for $10 M on August 18, 2004.

Comments: I know Hargreaves is a fairly solid player, but $62 M? Man, Real Madrid just went nuts. I would imagine their inability to get much other help as a result of that move led in part to their fall from the top three in the Primera Liga. Barcelona obviously put a big hand into finishing second in the league by compeltely reforming its midfield with the purchases of Pires, Ambrosini, and van Bronckhorst. Arsenal provided two of those, and also sent Wiltord to Newcastle. That allowed it to buy Bonera to help the backline and maybe had a hand in its run to the EPL title. FC Bayern made some big moves. Thanks to the sale of Hargeewaves, the German power was able to bring in Koller and Basturk. With their incumbent talent, including star Brazilian winger Alex and the gatekeeper Oliver Kahn, it's no wonder that team won the Bundesliga with ease again. Chelsea's purchases seemed to go for naught, at least this season. The Robben and Cech deals were the last of the future transfers plugged in, and they brought in Dyer from Newcastle, too. But, then, they were sellers, too, sending out Forsell and Makélélé. Svensson, Newcastle and Wiltord probably handed Newcastle a spot int he EPL's top three.

CR

Chief Rum · 06-20-2004, 09:18 PM

International Competitions

With everyone preparing for Germany 2006 and in various qualifiers, 2005 wasn't a big year for international competition. Here are the results of what few tourneys took place.

Gold Cup

Brazil beat Guatemala, with the United States third.

Confederations Cup

Brazil beat Italy, with hosts Germany in third, in this tune up to the real thing in 2006.

Some other international notes: Switzerland and Austria will co-host Euro 2008, while China will be the host for the Olympics in 2008. Copa America will be held in Venezuela in 2008.

CR

Chief Rum · 06-21-2004, 12:23 AM

Tamworth, 2005/06

Midway through my Third Division campaign, I was, of course, making plans for the next season. Part of that included a trip to El Salvador and the club Aguila. There I saw three players I thought could take me to the next level.

All three players were veteran members of El Salvador's national team and seemed unlikely to have work permit problems.

Forward/midfielder Jose Alexander Amaya, 29, was a decently fast striker with solid mental skills, and good playmaking and finishing skills. Defensive midfielder Jorge Humberto Rodriguez, 34, was my expected steady replacement for Hudrovic, whom had decided to retire at the end of the 2004/05 season to pursue a career as a physio. The last player was a goalkeeper named Juan Jose Gomez, a 24-year-old netminder with fine aerial and command abilities, and solid basic goalkeeping skills. He was a little too eccentric and was poor athletically, but I knew he was better in the long haul than Whitehead for sure, and probably Harris, too.

Speraking of Whitehead, despite his phenomenal season with us, I let him go. With Gomez on his way and Harris in the fold, I didn't feel I needed to keep him on. I also allowed stodgy vet centreback Jim Rodwell go, now that Graham Porter had essentially taken his starting job on the backline. The last key departure I allowed was striker Norman Sylla--I just felt I was playing at a level he wasn't good enough to continue playing anymore.

The Salvadorans weren't the only players I brought in. In fact, probably the best player I brought in was a Welsh winger named Andy Williams from Bath City. I had long looked for a left-sided Hicks and I felt I had found him in this 27-yaer-old. He was fast, a great dribbler and crosser, and even better yet, was a hard worker with great teamwork. That's actually something neither Hicks nor Booth are strong at.

I also brought in a forward named Adam Wilde with finishing skills to rival Stadhart and Portway, and a Surinam midfielder named Ifenido Vlijker whom I thought would make a fine backup at the MC spot for Amaya or Hicks. I got two interesting messages in that both the purchases of Vlijker and Gomez, the Slavadoran goalkeeper, would lead to increased merchandising revenues. Apparently they both had some reknown.

As it stood at the beginning of my campaign in the Second Division, I had Gomez and Harris trading off in net, behind incumbents Joe Taylor and Graham Porter on the backline. Dave Robinson and Justin Skinner also returned as my fullbacks. I put Hicks back on the right wing and installed Williams on the left, using Gray and Booth as high-quality backups. Amaya I put in the middle to lead the offense. Up front, I still had a wealth of options that I rotated in and out. Stadhart was the top guy, but I felt I could count on Torpey, the dribbling menace, One, Quailley, and the veteran Portway to help out here, in addition to Wilde and Vlijker.

I discovered I had a trouble spot, though: DMC. About a month into the season, Rodriguez decided he wanted to be a coach some day. Apparently this triggered some weird bug in CM03/04 where it required him to go through the work permit process again--but it doesn't set a date for it. This means he sits there on the team, drawing a salary, and I can't play him at all.

And this was at the beginning of a three year contract! Ouch.

I swung it by using Vlijker, Robinson and Mark Noon there on occasion, but I didn't truly fix the problem until I brought in Danish midfielder John Jensen from Danish Second Division club Silkeborg for $18,000. Jensen was getting little playing time in his homeland and jump at the chance to go to England's Second Division. It might have ended up being my best move of the year, but more on that later.

The Second Division proved to be a test from the very beginning, although the Lambs did fairly well early on. It was hit-and-miss through October, though, before we hit a truly horrid stretch from November through January. It became clear that the game had found some tactical combinations to counter my tactics, or at the very least, my players weren't good enough at this level to carry out the tactics against my opponents.

I tried a couple different tactics I found, and I tried tinkering on my own. Nothing seemed to work. I plummeted to 19th in the division in January, just outside of relegation, and the team seemed stuck in reverse.

I decided to go to desperation and downloaded the famous diablo tacic. It's a tactic that is considered by some to be cheating, which is why I wasn't comfortable using it. And to be honest, I'm still not sure how comfortable I am using it. But, then, I'm no longtime football fan, so I don't know a good tactic from a bad one anyway. Even the tactics I had been using before with success were downloaded.

So I installed the diablo tactic, making just a few changes that were more toward my style of play. I found that the tactic relies on long runs and speed, which happens to be what I look for in my teams. In particular, it counted on strong and tall backline play, and multifaceted midfielders. Amaya certainly fit the ball at the attacking midfield spot, while recently acquired Jensen seemed to be a good fit at the defensive midfield spot. I had long put an emphasis on tall centrebacks, so I already some solid ones in place for that, with Taylor and Porter and youth defensive back Danny James.

It also called for fast wingers with good dribbling and crossing skills. Touché.

I installed the tactic and watched as my team struggled to learn it amidst bad form and and matches that mattered. It was gradual, but my team started to turn it around. From November to late January, I set a team-record for going 12 matches without a win. When things finally clicked with my new tactic, I put up my second best string ever, going 19 matches without a loss from February to June, 2006. And it set up an amazing comeback.

As I said, halfway through the season, I was sitting at 19th in a 24-team division. In the Second Division, you need to be in the top two to get automatic promotion, with the third through sixth spots fighting it out for the third promotion spot. So to have a chance at promotion, I needed to finish sixth or higher--and that was a good long way away.

It's amazing what seventeen straight matches in which I got at least a point can do. I steadily began climbing the table. In early March, I was probably playing at my highest form when I started winning and just kept on winning. In late April, I reached the promotion playoff levels, and when the Second Division wrapped up its season, I found myself sitting in fourth and a part of the playoff for that last spot to the First Division.

We beat fifth-place Walsall, 6-3 on aggregate, in two late matches. And then we faced off third-place Tranmere in our first match at the vaunted stadium of Wembley for a winner take promotion match.

In the 28th minute, we forced a corner. Mark Hicks sent the ball in, but it was sent back out to the touchline. Hicks retrieved it and ran back into the box under pressure. He ditched the ball off to Dave Robinson, set up inside as a heading target on the initial corner. Robinson punched the ball in amidst the traffic for our first score.

Tranmere tied it up, though, in the 42nd minute, and we went into the half notched up at one apiece.

We finally moved ahead for good in the 54th minute. Winger Steve Torpey sent a nice cross into the box after a good run to the goal line. Armand One collected the ball, and after some maneuvering, turned around and blasted the ball into the net for the go ahead score.

We put it away three minutes later with a score by Jose Alexander Amaya, and completed an amazing comeback to earn promotion to the First Division.

In the end, we did it with offense. Our final record was 24-8-14 for 80 points. We scored an amazing 112 goals! But we also allowed 63 goals, which was one of the higher totals in the league.

Amaya led the way with 25 goals in his Tamworth debut. He also had 10 assists and a 7.46 rating. He was ably supported, once again, by Hicks, who scored 17 goals and a team and league-leading 24 assists. Hicks, amazing all year once again with a career-high 8.13 rating, once again earned the Supporters' Player of the Year.

The Lambs got scoring from several different players besides Hicks and Amaya, as you would imagine when you put up 112 goals in a season. Adam Wilde chipped in 11 goals, with 13 assists. Che Stadhart put in 12 goals. Armand One had 13 goals and seven assist. And we got a big help from a three-month loan from Nottingham Forest's Darren Birchall, who put in 13 goals in 14 matches as a relief for Amaya in the midfield.

Aside from the tremendous playmaking skills we got from Amaya and Hicks, we also got a great first effort from Andy Williams on the left wing. Williams had six goals and ten assists to go along with a second-highest 7.92 rating. Jensen, after his arrival, had a goal and ten assists from the defensive midfield position.

I ended the season very happy with the offense, but not so with the defense. Taking care of the holes revealed back there was to be an offseason goal of mine. The good news is that most of the problems happened on Adam Harris' watch, as he allowed 24 goals in 15 matches. New Salvadoran goalie Gomez was much more solid, with 47 goals allowed in 38 matches.

Our cup hopes were doomed by the bad start. We didn't get past the first round in either the FA Cup or the League Cup, and we only got to the Second Round in the Vans Trophy competition.

CR

Chief Rum · 06-21-2004, 01:54 AM

2005/06 Season, Around The World

Major League Results

English Premier Division: Man Utd, Arsenal, Newcastle
Primera Liga (Spain): Barcelona, Alavés, Real Madrid
Serie A (Italy): Juventus, Milan, Parma
Bundesliga (Germany): FC Bayern, Hertha BSC, Dortmund
Ligue 1 (France): Nantes, Paris-SG, Lyon
Casino Eridivisie (Holland): PSV, Feyenoord, NEC
Portuguese Superleague: Sporting Lisbon, Benfica, Braga
Supeligaen (Denmark): AaB, OB, FC Kobenhavn
National A Division (Greece): AEK, PAOK, Olympiakos
Belgian First Division: GBA, Standard, Anderlecht
Scottish Premier League: Celtic, Rangers, Kilmarnock
Turkish Premier Division: Fenerbahçe, G. Birligi, Samsunspor
Ukrainian High League: Dinamo Kiev, Metalurg Donetsk, Shakhtar

Other European Champions: Admira Wacker (Austria), Dinamo (Croatia), Banik Ostrava (Czech Republic), TPS* (Finland), Ferencváros (Hungary), St. Pat's Athletic* (Ireland), M. Tel-Aviv (Israel), Distillery (Northern Ireland), Sogndal* (Norway), Wisla (Poland), CSKA Moscow* (Russia), Zeleznik (Serbia & Montenegro), Inter Bratislava (Slovakia), Malmö FF* (Sweden), Basel (Switzerland), Caersws (Wales)

*-- season runs from winter to fall, instead of summer to spring; champion is from last complete campaign

National Cups

English FA Cup: Man Utd over Chelsea
English League Cup: Chelsea over Arsenal

Spanish Cup: Alavés over Alcorcón
Italian Cup: Roma over Parma
German Cup: Leverkusen over Werder Bremen
French Cup: Lens over Auxerre
Dutch Cup: PSV over Heracles
Portuguese Cup: Porto over Braga

European Club Competitions

Champions League: Barcelona over FC Bayern
UEFA: Sporting Lisbon over Shakthar

Comments: Barcelona and FC Bayern have brought in a lot of top stars of late. It's no surprise to see them win their respective leagues and then end up going head to head for the Champions League. Shakhtar in the UEFA final is another indicator of the continuing strength of the Ukrainian High League. Man Utd pulled off the double after last year's disappoiting season, and Chelsea made up for failing yet again to break the top three in the EPL, by winning the league cup and playing for the FA Cup. Italy and France continue to change out champions on a yearly basis. Real Madrid fans can breathe a little easier, as they got back up to third in the Primera Liga, but the real surprise is Alavés, which won the Spanish Cup and finished second in league.

CR

Chief Rum · 06-21-2004, 04:08 AM

Top Transfers Of The 2005/06 Season

SC Miroslav Klose (GER) from Kaiserslautern to Man Utd for $62 M on August 9, 2005.
FB Luciano Zauri (ITA) from Lazio to Real Sociedad for $26 M on July 27, 2005.
SC Emile Lokonda Mpenza (BEL) from Standard to Dortmund for $23.5 M on January 15, 2006.
MF Mark Bresciano (AUS) from Parma to Juventus for $22.5 M on January 27, 2006.
MF Juan Sebastián Veron (ARG) from Chelsea to Newcastle for $21.5 M on July 16, 2005.
SC Javier Saviola (ARG) from Barcelona to Inter for $21.5 M on January 24, 2006.
MF Stilian Petrov (BUL) from Celtic to Aston Villa for $20.5 M on January 20, 2006.
SC Amoroso (BRA) from Dortmund to Barcelona for $19.25 M on August 2, 2005.
LW Daniel Bierofka (GER) from Leverkusen to FC Bayern for $19.25 M on August 30, 2005.
SC Raul Tamudo (SPA) from Espanyol to Valencia for $18.75 M on December 1, 2005.
MF Marcelinho (BRA) from Hertha BSC to Schalke 04 for $18 M on January 22, 2006.
SC Christian Vieri (ITA) from Inter to Valencia for $17.75 M on December 20, 2005.
SC Alejandro Domínguez (ARG) from River to Dortmund for $17.75 M on January 19, 2006.
SC Niko Kranjcar (CRO) from Dinamo to Atalanta for $17.75 M on January 30, 2006.
MF Stephen Appiah (GHA) from Juventus to Inter for $16.75 M on January 14, 2006.
SC Benjamin Lauth (GER) from 1860 Munchen to Napoli for $16 M on August 25, 2005.
RW Luis González (ARG) from River to Valencia for $15 M on August 25, 2005.
MF Fernando Sales (SPA) from Zaragoza to Villareal for $14.75 M on August 6, 2005.
RW Dennis Rommedahl (DEN) from PSV to Chelsea for $14.25 M on July 11, 2005.
MF Giampiero Pinzi (ITA) from Udinese to Chelsea for $14 M on January 25, 2006.
MF Juan Román Riquelme (ARG) from Barcelona to Valladolid for $13 M on July 15, 2005.
SC Jan Koller (CZE) from FC Bayern to Milan for $12.75 M on August 29, 2005.
SC Alvaro Recoba (ARG) from Inter to Napoli for $12.5 M on August 4, 2005.
MF David Dunn (ENG) from Birmingham to Fulham for $12 M on July 9, 2005.
MF David Prutton (ENG) from Southampton to Newcastle for $12 M on August 5, 2005.
LW Florent Malouda (FRA) from Lyon to Betis for $11.5 M on August 25, 2005.
MF Fabian Ernst (GER) from Werder Bremen to Milan for $11.5 on August 10, 2005.
FB Vincent Candela (FRA) from Roma to Barcelona for $11.5 M on August 27, 2005.
SC Ilan (BRA) from Atlético Paranaense to Rennes for $11.25 M on June 21, 2005.
SC Roy Makaay (NED) from FC Bayern to Valencia for $10.5 M on August 11, 2005.
LW Ryan Giggs (WAL) from Man Utd to Barcelona for $10.5 M on December 6, 2005.
MF Fabrício (BRA) from Corinthians to Real Madrid for $10.25 M on July 30, 2005.
MF Adriano (BRA) from Atlético Paranaense to Leverkusen for $10.25 M on August 8, 2005.
MF Jurica Vranjes (CRO) from VfB Stuttgart to Werder Bremen for $10 M on January 25, 2006.

Comments: It's getting hard to follow these extensive transfers, with so many big names passing back and forth between four leagues, England, Spain, Italy and Germany. The obvious standout is the transfer of Klose to Man Utd, in what was otherwise a relatively quiet transfer year for the British superpower. As always, Man Utd specializes in getting a lot of strikers, adding Klose to a team that already had Nistlerooj and Anelka, among others. Chelsea remained very active as well, getting Belgian winger Rommedahl and Italian midfielder Pinzi to replace the departed Veron, who went to join Prutton in a new midfield for Newcastle. The only major English power to stay quiet was Arsenal, but that didn't stop them from finishing second in the league and winning the league cup. In Spain, Barcelona continued its buying ways, bringing in striker Amoroso and winger Giggs, among others, and they certainly both played a role in the Spanish club's dobule this season. Buying didn't help Valencia, though, which struck out all around, despite bringing in superstar striker Vieri, Dutchman Makaay, and homeland striker Tamudo, in addition to Argentinian winger González.

CR

Chief Rum · 06-22-2004, 12:47 AM

Germany 2006

It's that time again. The biggest sporting event in the world takes place in this sport every four years, and here's the next one. A rundown of what happened:

Qualifiers

HOST: Germany

EUROPE: Czech Republic, Finland, France, Holland, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Scotland, Serbia & Montenegro, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine.

AFRICA: Angola, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Mali, Nigeria.

SOUTH AMERICA: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Peru

NORTH AMERICA: Honduras, Mexico, Trinidad & Tobago, United States

ASIA: China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, South Korea

OCEANIA: Australia

Comments: Astute observers will pick out right away who is missing. Yes, two years after missing the quarters at Euro 2004, England failed to even make it to the World Cup tourney. It's a low time for the Brits on the international pitch. There are surprises here and there. Sweden, Denmark, Belgium and Greece all probably should have made it somewhere, but Europe is a very tough place to come out of and qualify. Africa had a lot of its top teams--Cameroon, Senegal, Egypt, South Africa--fail to make it, with Nigeria perhaps the only regular top African team to actually make the cut. South America was largely as you would expect it, with the possibility that Uruguay would have been more deserving of that fourth spot than Peru. In North America, the big two nations got in, but Honduras and Trinidad & Tobago are probably minor upsets over Canada and Costa Rica. Asia seems pretty close to what you would expect, although it's disappointing Japan didn't find a way in.

The Groupings

GROUP A: Czech Republic, Honduras, Romania, South Korea

This should be an interesting grouping. South Korea is the best, but the other two teams are strong up-and-coming European squads.

GROUP B: Angola, Argentina, Iran, Trinidad & Tobago

Argentina is the clear favorite here, and should walk into the second round. Iran is probably the best of the rest, but it's close enough that you can dare to hope that the islanders from little Trinidad & Tobago could make it to the next round.

GROUP C: Australia, Brazil, Peru, Saudi Arabia

This looks like an easy group at first glance, at least for Brazil. And I'm not suggesting the powerful defending cup holders are going to have to sweat much here. But none of the other three teams are all that bad at all, and the fight for the second spot should be fierce.

GROUP D: Italy, Mali, Nigeria, Spain

This might be the best group in the tournament. Italy and Spain are top ten level competitors, with Italy the defending holders of the Golden Boot. Nigeria is the best team out of Africa. You have to feel for Mali, which is in over its head.

GROUP E: Colombia, Finland, Ivory Coast, Portugal

This is another very solid group. Colombia and Portugal will be the favorites, but there isn't an easy team in this group. Any of the four could make it to the second round.

GROUP F: China, Germany, Holland, Scotland

How do the Dutch and Germans always end up going head-to-head? That will be the pivotal matchup here, as they should be the favorites. Still, Scotland has the ability to stay with either team on a good day, and observers ahve been saying China is ready to break out for some time now.

GROUP G: Mexico, Serbia & Montenegro, Turkey, United States

Like Germany and Holland, the Rio Grande Border War seems to be a regular occurrence in international competitions. This is possibly the best overall group, though, with another up-and-coming European team in the Serbs, and steady Turkey to go with the traditional North American combatants.

GROUP H: Burkina Faso, France, Norway, Ukraine

France is obviously the class of this group, just eight years off of a World Cup win, and the runner up in Euro 2004. The battle for second should come between Norway and Ukraine, but figure the Vikings to get it, as the Ukrainian national team hasn't advanced nearly as far as its best league has in recent years.

CR

Chief Rum · 06-22-2004, 02:00 AM

Germany 2006 Group Stage

ROUND ONE

Group A

Romania 4, Czech Republic 2
South Korea 4, Honduras 1

Romania strikes first blood in the likely battle for the #2 spot between them and the Czechs. South Korea walks, as expected.

Group B

Argentina 2, Trinidad & Tobago 1
Iran 3, Angola 2

Argentina shouldn't have had as much problems as it did with T & T, but then Iran shouldn't have just edged out Angola either. This group remains wide open.

Group C

Brazil 2, Peru 0
Australia 3, Saudia Arabia 2

These were two very critical games. Brazil's toughest opponent might be the fellow South American Peruvians, and beating them gets the defending champs a leg up early on. Australia and Saudia Arabia are competitively close to each other, so Australia's win is a big step forward for the island-continent.

Group D

Spain 2, Italy 0
Nigeria 2, Mali 0

Despite outplaying the Spaniards, Italy managed to fall miserably to the best other team in the group. That puts the Euro champs in a difficult position the rest of the way. Nigeria, as expected, won easily over Mali.

Group E

Finland 3, Portugal 0
Colombia 2, Ivory Coast 0

Finland pulls off the stunning upset over Portugal. The loss likely means Portugal is going to have to beat Colombia to get in, and that's not going to be easy. Colombia handles Ivory Coast without difficulty.

Group F

Germany 2, China 1
Holland 1, Scotland 0

Host Germany probably should have won by more in front of its fans, but then, Germany never wins big. Holland escaped a tough match with Scotland with a win.

Group G

Mexico 2, Serbia & Montenegro 2
Turkey 1, United States 1

It's like they didn't even bother to play the first round, as everyone close to square one. And what's really funny is that you can't say that either result was unexpected.

Group H

France 3, Burkina Faso 0
Norway 2, Ukraine 0

France handles Burkina Faso without a worry, while Norway won an important game to establish itself as the second best team in the group.

ROUND TWO

Group A

Romania 2, Honduras 0
South Korea 3, Czech Republic 1

Just two games in, and this group is already settled. Romania and South Korea clinched spots in the final round with their wins. Romania's was expected, and the Koreans were favorites to win as well, but the Czechs are a good team that could have made it interesting fi they had beaten the Koreans.

Group B

Argentina 2, Iran 0
Trinidad & Tobago 3, Angola 0

You could say Argentina should still eb winning these matches by more goals, but beating Iran, probably the next best team in the group, and having just Angola left should mean the South American power can rest its stars for the next round. The big game came from the gutsy islanders, though, whom have set up a huge match with Iran for that second spot.

Group C

Brazil 4, Saudi Arabia 0
Peru 4, Australia 3

Brazil pasted the Saudis as expected, adn their advance to the next round is all but assured. Peru's win over Australia is likely the key win for them to join Brazil in the next round.

Group D

Nigeria 2, Spain 0
Italy 1, Mali 1

As solid as Nigeria is, Spain should have won that game. This is a huge win for the African nation. Fortunately for the Spaniards, it appears that the Italians have mailed it in, as they put up a pathetic performance in drawing with Mali.

Group E

Ivory Coast 3, Finland 2
Colombia 2, Portugal 1

Portugal put itself in the position of needing an upset win over tough Colombia, and sure enough, it failed to do so. This tourney seems liekly to move on without the Portuguese. Ivory Coast muddies the situation, though, with its big win over Finland. It would be a favorite to take that second spot behind COlombia were it not having to deal with Colombia itself in the final match of the grouping.

Group F

Germany 0, Scotland 0
Holland 4, China 1

Courtesy of the underachieving Germans biding their time before waking up, the Dutch are through to the next round with the expected walk win over the Chinese. The Scots are clamoring for a spot in the next round with very beatable China coming up, while Germany meets up with a group leader who holds a grudge against them. Could the hosts be out of this one?

Group G

Mexico 0, United States 0
Serbia & Montenegro 2, Turkey 0

This was a veyr even group to begin with, but if I had to pickw ho would be on top after the second round of the group stage, it would not have been the Serbs. They have the inside track, but a tough match against the United States looming ahead. This group is still wide open.

Group H

France 3, Ukraine 1
Norway 4, Burkina Faso 0

France wraps up a spot in the next round, as expected. The surprise is that Norway did, too, although after the win over the Ukraine, it could have been considered a foregone conclusion. After losing to Norwegians, the Ukrainians would have needed to beat powerful France to have a chance at sneaking in.

ROUND THREE

Group A

South Korea 2, Romania 1
Czech Republic 1, Honduras 0

With spots in the next round assured, the top two qualifiers were just playing for a match against a second place squad. The Koreans took that right. The Czechs did little but salvage a little pride in beating Honduras.

Group B

Argentina 2, Angola 0
Iran 3, Trinidad & Tobago 0

The Cinderella story ends here, as T & T dropped a big one to Iran. Argentina rolls to get the top spot it was expected to get from the very beginning.

Group C

Brazil 1, Australia 1
Saudi Arabia 1, Peru 1

This round was probably the most shocking of the group stage. The Aussies pulled off the huge upset in drawing the powerful Brazillians, while Peru lost to a weaker Saudi Arabia with a spot in the next round on the line. As a result, despite losing to Peru, Australia moves on to the second round while the Peruvians are going home.

Group D

Spain 5, Mali 0
Italy 1, Nigeria 1

Pathetically enough, Italy probably put up its best result of the tourney in drawing with a tough Nigeria squad, even if the Afrian nation had already clinched a spot. It mattered little, though, as Spain locked up the second spot with an easy win over Mali.

Group E

Colombia 2, Finland 1
Portugal 1, Ivory Coast 0

Colombia didn't have as easy a time as it should have had against the Finns, but it secured the grouping with its win. The more intriguing aspect came in that Portugal's win over Ivory Coast put the other three teams in a tie for the second spot with three points apiece. In the tightest group finish, Finland beat out Portugal and Ivory Coast on goal differential. Only two goals difference sseparated the three teams.

Group F

Germany 1, Holland 0
Scotland 3, China 1

Germany saved its spot in the next round by winning a tough defensive match over Holland. Its win made a good win by Scotland over China a moot point, as the Germans join the Dutch in the second round.

Group G

Mexico 3, Turkey 1
Serbia & Montenegro 1, United States 1

With the Americans continuing to pull draw after draw, Mexico was able to clinch a spot in the next round. The Serbs and Mexicans move on because they did what the United States couldn't--beat Turkey.

Group H

France 5, Norway 0
Ukraine 2, Burkina Faso 0

France finally really put it to someone, and it was probably the second best team in their group. You have to think they are the favorites in the next round right now. Otherwise, the match mattered little, as both the French and the Norwegians had already clinched their spots in the final.

Final Qualifiers

Group A: South Korea, Romania
Group B: Argentina, Iran
Group C: Brazil, Australia
Group D: Nigeria, Spain
Group E: Colombia, Finland
Group F: Germany, Holland
Group G: Mexico, Serbia & Montenegro
Group H: France, Norway

CR

SirFozzie · 06-22-2004, 08:29 AM

Argentina vs France in the final I think

PilotMan · 06-22-2004, 10:14 AM

Yeah, but wouldn't Iran v. Serbia be funny.

Chief Rum · 06-23-2004, 12:37 AM

Germany 2006 Second Round

Here are the matchups for the second round.

South Korea --vs-- Iran
Argentina --vs-- Romania
Brazil --vs-- Spain
Nigeria --vs-- Australia
Colombia --vs-- Germany
Mexico --vs-- Norway
France --vs-- Serbia & Montenegro
Holland --vs-- Finland

Some interesting matchups here. The best games to me look like Brazil and Spain (which should be a lot of fun), Nigeria and Australia (because my impression is they are fairly even), and Colombia and Germany.

Second Round Results

SOUTH KOREA 3, IRAN 1

This isn't a surprise. Iran might have been the weakest team in the final round. South Korea remains an up-and-coming team that has now reached at least the quaretrs in two straight World Cups.

ROMANIA 2, ARGENTINA 0

So much for Foz's prediction. Romania was an upset just to get to this round, so beating a worldclass power liek Argentina is quite a feat. Argentina held the edge in most of the match numbers (13 to 7 shots taken; 21% in its own end to 32% in Romania's), but the former Soviet bloc nation made their shots count. Both goals were scored by Marius Niculae, star striker for Portuguese champion Sporting Lisbon.

BRAZIL 1, SPAIN 1 (Brazil on PK, 3-2)

Wow, talk about a game! This one lived up to the press clippings prior to its start. Brazil, the winner of two of the last three World Cups, barely escaped the second round against one of the few teams in the world that can be considered to approach Brazil's talent. This one was a locked, tight defensive affair for most of the match. Superstar striker Ronaldo of Real Madrid put Brazil up in the 64th minute, but Arsenal's Jose Antonio Reyes tied it up for Spain in the 70th minute. The teams remained deadlocked throughe xtra time, and needed penalty kicks to figure this one out. It came down to the fifth kick, with the nations tied up at two apiece. Betis' Juanito missed his kick, though, giving Man Utd's Kléberson a chance to win it. And win it did--Brazil moves on.

AUSTRALIA 2, NIGERIA 1

I said this one was wide open, and it was. Australia won a tight one and got into the quarters. Nigeria was Africa's last representative in Germnay.

GERMANY 1, COLOMBIA 0

As usual, Germany became involved in a very defensive match. And as usual, Pliver Khan won it for them. He acted like a wall against what few Colombian shots got through (altogether, only 12 shots were taken, and just five went on goal). The only goal in the match didn't even come in gameplay. It was scored on a 33rd minute penalty kick by Greuther Furth's Sascha Rösler.

MEXICO 3, NORWAY 2

This one was a real free-for-all. Mexico came in as the favorite, but barely escaped a wide open match.

FRANCE 1, SERBIA & MONTENEGRO 0

France probably expected to roll in this one, but the Serbs had other ideas. They put the powerful French through a big test in this one. Like Germany-Colombia, this one was a tight defensive match with, once again, just 12 total shots (eight on goal). It remained locked up and scoreless until just near the very end. Finally, in the 86th minute, Auxerre's young Kapo scored the lone goal of the match to send France forward. Man Utd's goalkeeper Fabien Barthez was the man of the match in this one.

FINLAND 1, HOLLAND 0

Traditionally, the Orangemen blow this one in the group stage. Having vaulted that obstacle, they, of course, lose one they should have won in the second round. Despite a wealth of offensive talent, they are unabl;e to solve the Finns' defense and fall in a close one.

CR

Chief Rum · 06-23-2004, 12:59 AM

Germany 2006 Quarterfinals

It's getting tighter. Here are the matchups for the quarters.

South Korea --vs-- Australia
Brazil --vs-- Romania
Germany --vs-- Mexico
France --vs-- Finland

Quarterfinal Results

SOUTH KOREA 0, AUSTRALIA 0 (South Korea on PK, 4-3)

Wow, this was a great match. I remember watching it, so it was disappointing to me to not have the game stats for this one (I thought they saved all of those?

). Anyway, as you can see, this one went all the way to penalty kicks after a brutal 120 minutes of tight defensive play. The only thing I remember about the match is that Australia would lose because Juventus' Mark Bresciano missed his penalty kick. Either he failed to kick it to tie, or he failed to kick it in when Australia needed it, win or lose.

ROMANIA 1, BRAZIL 0

Wow. Upset of the century? So far at least. Romania may be changing the way people think about it as a football country. What's even odder about this is that Romania didn't just win, they outplayed the defensing World Cup holders, winning through with 13 shots against just four by Brazil. Chelsea's Adrian Mutu got the only goal, scoring in the 72nd minute and earning the Man of the Match.

MEXICO 1, GERMANY 0

Germany lost the defensive tango this time. In front of a vocal crowd of hometown germans, the Mexicans pulled off the upset and won past Germany despite being outshot 8-5. Germany didn't help its cause by only putting one shot on goal. The one goal was scored by Leverkusen's Mora in the 76th minute. The man of the match was veteran Jesús Arellano of Mexico's Monterrey.

FRANCE 2, FINLAND 0

Finland's surprising win over Holland basically handed France a gimme in the quarters. That proved to be the case when France outshot the Finns, 17-3. That's not the kind of domination you expect in a World Cup quarterfinal. Tehy also dominated possession, with 30% of the time spent in Finland's end, as opposed to just 15% in their own. The winning scores were by Arsenal's Thierry Henry in the 5th minute, and Man Utd's Nicolas Anelka in the 90th minute. Henry won the man of the match.

Semifinal Matchups

Here are the matchups for the semifinals of Germany 2006.

South Korea --vs-- Mexico

South Korea is back in the semifinals for the second straight World Cup and looking for the legitimacy that would come from winning through to the final. They are favored in this matchup with Mexico, a solid team in its own right, but probably shouldn't have gotten this far.

Romania --vs-- France

You would think this would be another gimme for France, but let's face it, any team that beats both Argentina and Brazil in the World Cup has proven itself to not be a gimme. It should be interesting to see if France can dominate this one, or if Romania can continue their run to an impressive Cinderella championship.

CR

Chief Rum · 06-23-2004, 01:19 AM

Germany 2006 Semifinals

Mexico 1, South Korea 0

Stupid game didn't save this one either. Gah. I did watch this one, too, although I don't remember too many details. What i remember is that it was a very tight match, with a lot of back-and-forth and close shots. It remained tied late, in fact, going into the final minutes. If I recall correctly, the winning goal was put in by Mora again, the guy who put in the winner against Germany. He is transforming himself into Mexico's signature player, as Mexico shocked the world and got to the final.

France 1, Romania 0

Not wanting to be outdone by the Korenas and Mexicans, France and Romania staged their own close match. Like the other rmatch, these two sieds kept it even at zero throughout the match. Contrary to previous belief, Romania did indeed hold up well against Francem playing even with them the whole way. It looked like extra time would be needed for this one. Well, it did, except Juventus' star striker David Trezeguet had other ideas. He finally got in a goal in injury time, earning France a return to the final for the first time since 1998, and international reknown for himself. Adrian Mutu got the man of the match in a losing cause. Despite losing, no one can doubt that Romania has established itself as a rising power in football, much as South Korea did four years ago.

THIRD PLACE MATCH

ROMANIA 5, SOUTH KOREA 0

The Koreans were apparently frustrated at having lost to Mexico with a shot at the World Cup in sight. They didn't even show up for this one. Or the Romanians are just that good.

CR

Chief Rum · 06-23-2004, 02:09 AM

Germany 2006 Final

France Versus Mexico

France has to be considered the favorite in this one. They may have the most talent in the world. Meanwhile, Mexico has made it this far playing well as a team, putting up a tight defense and allowing talents like Emilio Mora and Jesús Arellano to get them the one goal they will need. If it's a shootout, France wins hands-down, but if it's a tight defensive match--and this Cup has been filled with them--it's anyone's ballgame.

In the final at the Olympiastadion in Berlin, France showed that it was the better team early on, dominating Mexico like it had against Finland. Despite that, they couldn't solve Mexico's defense early on, and the two sides went into halftime in an improbable scoreless tie.

The second began much as the first, but France finally broke through in the 54th minute. Milan's Robert Pires sent in a corner, but it was headed back out to the touch. Pires, coming off of the corner spot, was first to the ball, and took it into the box, evading defenders. He found an opening across the box to Barcelona's Vincent Candela. Mexico's goalkeeper Cornejo Pérez was up the line to guard against the approach of Pires. The Cruz Azul keeper scrambled down to get in front of Candela, standing at the opposite corner of the six yard box. Candela blasted a high shot that hit the post above a leaping Pérez's head and sailed into the back of the net for the first score of the match and a 1-0 lead for France.

Mexico would put on a good show after that, trying to get back into it. But France and Fabien Barthez proved to be too tough, coming through again and again to save possible scores, most often initiated by Arellano. The clock ticked up to 90, and France won its second World Cup in eight years, by a final score of 1-0.

France dominated the action, with 16 shots to just five for Mexico. They also had a 23% to 31% possession advantage in their own end. Despite the limited offense and lack of a score, Mexico's Arellano got the man of the match.

France's Thierry Henry received the Golden Boot as the best player of the tournament. Romania's Marius Niculae, who really broke out in this tournament, took the second spot, and Norway's Daniel Braathen of Rosenborg was third.

Here is the World Cup's Dream team:

SC Thierry Henry (FRA) --Arsenal
SC David Trezeguet (FRA) --Juventus
MC Patrick Vieira (FRA) --Arsenal
MC Tomás Campos (MEX) --Cruz Azul
ML Robert Pires (FRA) --Milan
MR Belletti (BRA) --Real Sociedad
DC William Gallas (FRA) --Chelsea
DC Mikaël Silvestre (FRA) --Man Utd
DL Dédé (BRA) --Dortmund
DR Lilian Thuram (FRA) --Milan
GK Fabien Barthez (FRA) --Man Utd

Sub1 GK Oliver Kahn (GER) --FC Bayern
Sub2 FB Jaap Stam (HOL) --Roma
Sub3 MF Pablo Aimar (ARG) --Valencia
Sub4 MF Esteban Cambissso (ARG) --Real Madrid
Sub5 SC Miroslav Klose (GER) --Man Utd

The 2010 World Cup will be held in China.

CR

Chief Rum · 06-23-2004, 02:32 AM

International Competitions

As usual, there were other tournaments going on that season, not that anyone really paid attention with Germany 2006 coming up.

African Nations Cup

Senegal defeated Nigeria, with Ghana ending up third. Egypt served as the host.

OFC Nations Cup

Australia won its second straight OFC NAtions Cup, beating rival New Zealand. Samoa finished in third. Australia was also the host of the tournament.

CR

Chief Rum · 06-23-2004, 04:13 AM

Tamworth 2006/07

Well, we had reached the First Division, and I knew we were at a whole new level now. We were finally at a level that was somewhat nationally recognized. This seemed to be backed up by our board, which finally agreed to improve our training grounds and gave us its highest transfer fund account yet, with about $450,000.

Of course, I had already made significant improvements prior to the end of last season. In fact, I signed so many players to Bosman contracts, it was fortunate I made it to the First Division, because my wage bill would have severely handicapped me in the Second Division.

The best three players I brought in were Darren Birchall, Casper Nelis and Orri Freyr Oskarsson.

Birchall was with Nottingham Forest in the Premier Division last year, but he won us over with his loan period, when he scored 13 goals in 14 matches with us in three months late in the 2005/06 season. I wa surprised Forest was willing to let him go. The 28-year-old Birchall has the elite crossing and dribbling skills I like in midfielders, he's solid physically and speed-wise, and he is an excellent passer. He can play both in the middle and on either wing.

Dutchman netminder Nelis comes from a lower division club in Holland named Omniworld. I needed a good sub for Gomez, and Nelis was the best I could afford. He was also the first goalkeeper I went for with an eye toward both aerial ability and handling. He sttod well in both respects, and is also more atheltic than Gomez, although he is older by five years.

Oskarsson was a guy I was waiting for. The 26-year-old Icelandic forward is well-known in CM circles as a great player to get. In that respect, I almost didn't get him, as he was suppsoedly particularly effective in the diablo tactic I was using. Still, it seems his position in that tactic was as the central midfield position currently held by AMaya and soon to be joined by Birchall. I resolved not to use the speedy forward there, and instead put him up front as our best striker. Oskarsson came to us from Primera Liga's Second Division Terrassa.

With all the defensive problems on the backline I had last year, I saw that area as one that needed to be addressed heavily. So although my highest profile Bosman gets were in the net and in the offense, my most important acquisitions were on the backline. To that end, I brought in four defenders via Bosman in centrebacks Barry Laker and Reinder Hendriks, and fullbacks Jamie Fularton and Brian Shelley. Laker was a 32-year-old vet from former fellow Second Division squad Stevenage. He was a fine man marker with good speed and smarts. Reinder Hendriks was a Dutch defender from lower division Holland club Babberich with excellent positioning, good tackoign and aggressive play, even if he wasn't as fast or tall as Laker. Fularton was a 32-year-old defensive midfielder from Southend who had some good ball skills in additiont o being a terrific man marker and a smart player. He could use a speed infusion, but he was fairly solid. Shelley was a 24--year-old Irish fullback with almost wing-level ball skills, but he wasn't so strong defensively.

Once my Bosmans were settled, I went about bringing in further help, and managed to use my funds to bring in two very key parts, once again for the backline. Unlike the first four, though, these were guys I viewed to have a real future for us. And, yes, even in the next level, the EPL. The first was Mike Duff, a 28-year-old defender from the Wolves who already had 19 matches of EPL experience. Duff, from Northern Ireland, was fast and tall, quickly became the best man marker on the squad, was a hard worker and very determined and speed and height to make things happen. He also had enough ball skills and versatility to play at centreback, right fullback and in the midfield. He cost me much of my transfer account, a good $200K. The other, quieter acquisition was a 26-year-old centreback named Leon Cort. Cort was playing for Southend at the time, and it took $70K to bring him up to Tamworth. Physically, he was probably my most imposing player, with elite level jumping and heading skills and terrific pace and acceleration. As with most of my other defenders acquired this offseason, he was also blessed with strong defensive ability and was an excellent tackler. If he had weaknesses, it was that he didn't bring much into the offense technically, and he wasn't as mentally adept as most of my other defenders.

So my new lineup had Gomez and Nelis switching off in goal. Laker and Cort (eventually) teamed up in the middle, with Duff on the right and Fularton on the left. Jensen returned to the defensive midfield, while Amaya remained at the attacking midfield spot. Hicks and Williams were back ont he wing, with Booth as a key backup. Birchall was there to play at any of the midfield positions. And Wilde and Oskarsson were the best up front, with Stadhart as the third striker.

The season started off very well. We won seven in a row from the very beginning and quickly established ourselves as the class of the division? Was I surprised? You betcha. I really thought we would struggle to get along, but apaprently the division wasn't as far along from the Second Division as I thought. The offense was thrilling. Hicks and Williams were terrorizing offenses, Amaya was a dynamo in the middle, and Oskarsson and Wilde were perhaps one of the best striker combos I have ever seen.

What's really funny is that we still hit a bit of a crisis point in the middle of the season, as is customary for us, it seems. We lost two games in early November (the only time all year we lost two matches in a row, if you can believe it), and we went four matches during that stretch without winning. We lost in the League Cup to a Second Division squad. It was embarrassing. It only partially soothed me that we were still among the best teams in the division.

We were having problems defensively and that was the issue. I couldn't believe the compuetr has already figured out a counter for my tactic. I knew there had to be something I could do. So I started tinkering with diablo. It turns out I had the offside trap setting on. My defens ewas good, but not so good it could effectively pull that off, which requires worldclass level teamwork and anticipation along the backline to make work against this level of competition. I switched it off, went to a half-zonal, half-man-mark mix among my centrebacks, put my fullbacks on man-mark and close down on the ball, and other various little touches here and there. It turned out to be brilliant. The defense really turned around. We staretd winning strongly again, and we began to widen our lead in the First Division table. By the time our turn came up in the FA Cup in January, we were rolling.

Why do I mention the FA Cup? Because this was probably the area of our greatest triumph this season. First Division squads don't win FA Cups. A First Division team hadn't even been to the final since 1996. But I wasn't thinking about that when I started it. I was trying to last long enough to get to face an EPL team with a big stadium, because I was running a huge wage bill again, and I really could use the moneyf rom splitting those gate receipts that I couldn't get at little ole Lamb Ground.

While we were winning in the First Division, we were getting lucky in the FA Cup. We kept drawing Second and Third Division squads, often at home. We kept winning. We had won into the quarters in March before the luck of the draw finally brought us to a visit from Manchester City. I figured we were dust then, and I wasn't happy because it was a home match. If you can believe it, I didn't think we could beat Man City (which was in the top ten of the EPL at the time), and I was just praying we could draw them at our place, so we could get the replay at their place and get those gate receipts I was looking for.

We welcomed City to the Lamb Ground pitch that Wednesday evening and proceeded to put in a prodigious pounding the likes of which I still have no idea where it came from. I wa shocked. We came to play...and we kicked some seriosu ass. We won, 8-1. Eight to one! OMFG!

One moment I was thinking we would be lucky to score against Man City, the next I am realizing we have an FA Cup semifinal date with Newcastle! The semifinals take place at Wembley, so we were guaranteed our payday after all, win or lose.

But after shellacking Man City and domianting the First Division, I finally began to believe we could win the damn thing. We met Newcastle at Wembley in April, and as you would expect from a worldclass side like the Magpies, we had our hands full. We were down 3-1 going into the final ten minute sof the match. Shola Ameobi had just scored his second goal of the game, and I thought we were dut. Shows you what I know. In the 82nd minute, Amaya worked his way intot he box and blasted a shot past Shay Given to make it 4-2. Then Williams made a ncie cross into the box a couple minutes later, and Oskarsson put the ball into the net for a tie game at 3-3. And then Wilde got open on the keeper in unjury time and put in the winning goal! AMAZING! I knew if this were to happen in real life, the British (and liekly the European) media market would eb going nuts. Cinderella and then some.

Then we got our next gift of the season. Improbably, another First Division squad had won in the other semifinal, and for the first time, the FA Cup was certain to go to a First DIvision squad. Our opponent was Crystal Palace, the 13th-best team in the division at the time, and a team we had already beaten twice in league play, and handily.

I entered that match confident and rightfully so. We were expected to win it. So it was no suyrprise that we did, although Palace made it close (I scored late to move it to a two-goal deficit after clinging to a one-goal lead for most of the match). I couldn't believe it, but I had just won the FA Cup and a ticket to European football next year.

Meanwhile, in the First Division, I was really distancing myself from the competition. I didn't lose a match from early February to early April, a string of 15 matches, and by the time I did, I had practically clinched the division championship and promotion. I finished the season 32-7-7, for 103 points, my most in a season yet. I scored an amazing 118 goals, while allowing just 47 to my opponents. I won the division by 17 points over second place Leicester.

Oskarsson was the story. He was amazing. He scored 31 goals and also collected 17 assists--both team highs--and 13 Men of the Match. He put up an incredible 8.55 rating, and he broke Mark Hicks' hold on the Supporters' Player of the Year award.

Wilde was similarly amazing, with 27 goals and 15 assists, with a 7.50 rating. Amaya was probably the second best player on offense, with 29 goals, 16 assists and a 7.71 rating. On the wing, Williams really came into his own, with 10 goals and 13 assists, while Hicks had a bit of a down year (5 goals, 6 assists), but was still very solid. Birchall turned out to be a brilliant pickup, with 20 goals and 6 assists, mostly in relief of Amaya in the middle. Duff and Jensen did excellent work at defensive midfielder and also displayed fine skills setting up the offense (11 and 9 assists). Gomez allowed just 39 goals in 33 matches, while Nelis allowed 26 goals in 24 matches. Cort turned out to be a great get on the backline, and our defensive play was very solid.

We were coming off of a great First Division season, winning promotion to the great English Premier League, and we had won the FA Cup and would be a part of the UEFA competition the following year. We also earned a bunch of money thanks to our FA Cup wins, and would soon add a hefty check for Premiership TV. Tamowrth was at its richest yet as we entered into one of the top leagues in the world.

CR

Chief Rum · 06-23-2004, 10:45 PM

2006/07 Season, Around The World

Major League Results

English Premier Division: Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool
Primera Liga (Spain): Barcelona, Real Madrid, Celta
Serie A (Italy): Juventus, Inter, Parma
Bundesliga (Germany): Dortmund, Schalke 04, FC Bayern
Ligue 1 (France): Paris-SG, Montpelier, Nantes
Casino Eridivisie (Holland): PSV, Ajax, Zwolle
Portuguese Superleague: Benfica, Braga, Sporting Lisbon
Supeligaen (Denmark): FC Kobenhavn, AaB, Esbjerg fB
National A Division (Greece): Olympiakos, PAO, AEK
Belgian First Division: Club Brugge, Genk, GBA
Scottish Premier League: Celtic, Hearts, Kilmarnock
Turkish Premier Division: Bursaspor, Fenerbahçe, Samsunspor
Ukrainian High League: Shakhtar, Metalurg Donetsk, Dinamo Kiev

Other European Champions: Austria Vienna (Austria), Dinamo (Croatia), Sparta Prague (Czech Republic), AC Allianssi* (Finland), Balaton FC (Hungary), St. Pat's Athletic* (Ireland), M. Haifa (Israel), Ballymena Utd (Northern Ireland), Brann* (Norway), Groclin (Poland), CSKA Moscow* (Russia), Rad (Serbia & Montenegro), Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia), Djurgården* (Sweden), Basel (Switzerland), Caersws (Wales)

*-- season runs from winter to fall, instead of summer to spring; champion is from last complete campaign

National Cups

English FA Cup: Tamworth over Crystal Palace
English League Cup: Liverpool over Arsenal

Spanish Cup: Córdoba over Hércules
Italian Cup: Juventus over Genoa
German Cup: Hannover 96 over Kaiserslautern
French Cup: Sedan over Lyon
Dutch Cup: Ajax over MW
Portuguese Cup: Braga over Académica

European Club Competitions

Champions League: Inter over Juventus
UEFA: Iraklis over Olympiakos

Comments: After a couple years of FC Bayern, Man Utd and Barcelona dominating the top clubs, Juventus surged to the forefront, falling just one Champions final loss away from the prestigious treble. Man Utd's is even more prodigious, as the superpower failed to break the top three in league or appear in the final of either domestic cup. Chelsea finally broke through the Man Utd-Arsenal hold on the EPL title, and Liverpool, once a reknowned superpower itself, finally returned to prominence with a third place finish and a league cup win. Jucentus wasn't the only Italian club to do well. Inter was runner up in the Serie A and won the Champions League. In Spain, Real Madrid had its best season in recent years by finishing second. Some long runs came to an end as Dortmund ended FC Bayern's four-season lock on the Bundesliga championship, and Benfica ended a three-year run by Sporting Lisbon in the Portuguese Superleague. In Scotland, the Rangers fell out of the top three for the first time this century.

CR

Chief Rum · 06-24-2004, 12:33 AM

Top Transfers Of The 2006/07 Season

MF Andrés D'Alessandro (ARG) from Wolfsburg to Milan for $68 M on August 30, 2006.
MF Kléberson (BRA) from Man Utd to Milan for $46.5 M on August 25, 2006.
RW Sidney Govou (FRA) from Lyon to Man Utd for $45.5 M on August 25, 2006.
SC Zlatan Ibrahimovic (SWE) from Ajax to Schalke 04 for $42.5 M on January 23, 2007.
MF Sebastian Deisler (GER) from FC Bayern to Dortmund for $41.5 M on January 4, 2007.
MF Jerko Leko (CRO) from Dinamo Kiev to Schalke 04 for $35.5 M on August 16, 2006.
SC Jairo Fernando Castillo (COL) from América de Cali to Fiorentina for $28 M on August 25, 2006.
MF Patrick Vieira (FRA) from Arsenal to Milan for $28 M on January 26, 2007.
SC Diogo Rincón (BRA) from Dinamo Kiev to Hertha BSC for $27 Mon January 11, 2007.
MF Clarence Seedorf (NED) from Milan to Real Madrid for $24.5 M on August 25, 2006.
MF Owen Hargreaves (ENG) from Real Madrid to Arsenal for 24 M on January 27, 2007.
SC Mateja Kezman (SER) from PSV to Newcastle for $21 M on January 9, 2007.
SC Giacomo Cipriani (ITA) from Lazio to Barcelona for $17.5 M on August 30, 2006.
SC Andrea Gasbarroni (ITA) from Betis to Real Sociedad for $16.5 M on July 26, 2006.
MF Torsten Frings (GER) from Dortmund to Real Madrid for $16.5 M on December 8, 2006.
SC Marco Borriello (ITA) from Milan to Lazio for $16.25 M[/b] on January 1, 2007.
LW Santiago Hernán Solari (ARG) from Real Madrid to Barcelona for $16 M on December 5, 2006.
SC Mido (EGY) from Marseille to Chelsea for $15.75 M on January 27, 2007.
SC Michael Chopra (ENG) from Newcastle to Chelsea for $15.5 M on January 30, 2007.
SC Kléber (BRA) from Sao Paulo to Gladbach for $15.25 M on August 22, 2006.
MF Ricardhino (BRA) from Santa Cruz to Internacional for $14.75 M on March 15, 2007.
MF Igor Duljaj (SER) from Partizan to Lazio for $14.5 M on January 24, 2007.
SC Alan Smith (ENG) from Leeds to Fulham for $14.25 M on July 31, 2006.
RW Christian Tiffert (GER) from VfB Stuttgart to Chelsea for $14.25 M on August 13, 2006.
SC Yakubu (NIG) from Everton to Fulham for $14.25 M on August 30, 2006.
LW Thiago Motta (BRA) from Barcelona to Atlético Madrid for $14.25 M on December 28, 2006.
SC Amoroso (BRA) from Barcelona to Real Madrid for $14 M on July 18, 2006.
MF Christian Poulsen (DEN) from Schalke 04 to Real Madrid for $14 M on August 26, 2006.
MF Dudu Cearense (BRA) from Parma to FC Bayern for $14 M on January 30, 2007.
SC Lincoln (BRA) from Kaiserslautern toWerder Bremen for $13.75 M on August 20, 2006.
SC Mike Hanke (GER) from Schalke 04 to Kaiserslautern for $13.5 M on July 22, 2006.
MF Carlos Alberto (BRA) from Porto to Celta for $13.5 M on August 20, 2006.
FB Paul Konchesky (ENG) from Charlton to Kaiserslautern for $13.25 M on August 24, 2006.
SC Dimitar Berbatov (BUL) from Leverkusen to HSV for $12.75 M on January 26, 2007.
MF Bernd Korzynietz (GER) from Gladbach to VfB Stuttgart for $12.5 M on January 26, 2007.
MF Márcio (BTA) from Cruzeiro to Internacional for $12.5 M on May 27, 2007.
SC Ismael Iñiguez (MEX) from Pumas to FC Kobenhavn for $12.25 M on August 19, 2006.
LW Néstor Fabián Canobbio (URU) from Valencia to Málaga for $12 M on August 4, 2006.
MF Darren Fletcher (SCO) from Man Utd to VfB Stuttgart for $12 M on August 29, 2006.
LW Riccardo Montolivo (ITA) from Reggina to VfB Stuttgart for $11.75 M on August 28, 2006.
DC Jong-Kook Song (KOR) from Feyenoord to Schalke 04 for $11.75 M on January 12, 2007.
SC Ronaldo (BRA) from Real Madrid to Dortmund for $11.75 M on January 31, 2007.
MF Morais (BRA) from Paysandu to Besiktas for $11.5 M on August 18, 2006.
RW Cleiton Xavier (BRA) from Internacional to Schalke 04 for $11.5 M on August 27, 2006.
LW Emanuel Centurión (ARG) from VfB Stuttgart to Leverkusen for $11.5 M on January 10, 2007.
SC Landon Donovan (USA) from Leverkusen to Duisberg for $11.25 M on August 4, 2006.
RW Oscar Rojas (MEX) from San Luis to Alavés for $11.25 M on December 22, 2006.
MF Iván Helguera (SPA) from Real Madrid to Barcelona for $11.25 M on December 29, 2006.
MF Jurica Vranjes (CRO) from Werder Bremen to Hertha BSC for $11.25 M on January 15, 2007.
SC Portillo (SPA) from Real Madrid to Hertha BSC for $11 M on January 12, 2007.
MF Leandro Gracián (ARG) from Vélez to Boca for $10.5 M on July 15, 2006.
MF Cristian Ledesma (ARG) from Leverkusen to Inter for $10.5 M on August 8, 2006.
SC Mikael Forssell (FIN) from Hertha BSC to Atlético Madrid for $10.5 M on December 15, 2006.
SC Nelson Haedo-Valdez (PAR) from Werder Bremen to Gladbach for $10.25 M on January 27, 2007.
FB Michel Salgado (SPA) from Real Madrid to Betis for $10 M on August 28, 2006.

Comments How do I even begin to comment on this list of the transfers? It is by far the longest list of transfers with $10 M-plus pricetags since I took over at Tamworth. D'Alessando's move to Milan is the new high fee paid, topping past deals for Hargreaves and Martin Klose at $62 M. That $68 M was the big deal on August 30, which saw $99.75 M exchanged that day in three separate deals. Of course, that's nothing compared to the $116.5 M that was spent in three other deals on August 25, including the second and third biggest deals of the year involving Kléberson from Man Utd to Milan, and then Man Utd turning that around and spending it on Govou. There were a ton of little things to note about this year. The first ever $10 M-plus transfers entirely within South America made the list, with three of them in place here. The first American (Landon Donovan) reached a double digit transfer fee. Bundesliga squads in particular were spending like mavens. It must have been a banner year for football in Germany. And some big names exchanged teams, too, even beyond the above, including superstar striker Ronaldo, previous transfer fee record holder Hargeaves, star French midfielder Vieira, German defensive midfield star Deisler and Swedish star striker Ibrahimovich.

CR

GoldenEagle · 06-24-2004, 12:43 AM

Keep it coming Chief. This is outstanding.

Chief Rum · 06-24-2004, 12:46 AM

International Competitions

Just like 2005 and 2003, 2007 was a slow year for international competitions, as most fo the world prepares for several major continental tournaments in 2008, including the European Championships, Copa America, and the African Nations Cup.

Gold Cup

The United States rebounded from a poor Germany 2006 showing by winning the Gold Cup and beating Brazil along the way. Mexico finished second, and South Korea, the lone Asian nation invited to the New World tournament, finished third.

Confederations Cup

France backed up its Cup win in 2006 by taking the follow up Confederations Cup, held in Bolivia this year. France beat Italy to get a little revenge for falling to the Italians in Euro 2004. Colombia finished third in the only tournament other than the World Cup that includes full-age teams from all around the world.

CR

Chief Rum · 06-24-2004, 02:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoldenEagle

Keep it coming Chief. This is outstanding.

Thanks, GE. I plan to. I'm pretty excited, too, since I am now finally getting close to where I currently am. It was the regualar updates as we go along that I was most interested in doing. I'm just a year away now.

Good luck with your dynasty. I have never played in Belgium. It should be interesting to follow.

CR

Chief Rum · 06-24-2004, 03:53 AM

Tamworth 2007/08, Part I

I am about to embark on my most exciting season yet. I had so much to look forward to going into this season that I hadn't before. I was in the EPL with Tamworth. I was actually the defending champion of the FA Cup. I was in the UEFA. My transfer account and wage bill cap were unbelievably huge. It was just a great time to play the game. And Euro 2008 in Switzerland and Austria was coming up, too, and that's the toughest tourney in the world.

So there was a lot going on as I entered the new season in the Premiership for the first time. One frustration was the small size of my stadium. The board had refused to increase my 4,000-seat lamb Ground during my run in the First Division. It was already being dwarfed in the Second Division. And, now, here I was in the Premiership with a badbox for a stade. Fortunately, the board approved a 2500 or so seat expansion. Of course, that would only get to about a third of the next smallest stadium in the league, and until then, I would have to play in a smaller stadium. But at the time I was willing to accept that,simply because they had finally given me what I wanted in getting an expansion. There is much more to that story, though, and I will update you later on in this post.

I had a lot of decisions to make, of course. This wasn't made more apparent to me than by the wage limit and transfer fees I was given. My tranfser fund in the First Division was just over $400,000. With the influx of $19 M in Premiership TV money and my winnings from a successful run at the FA Cup, I was given a shocking $14 M in transfer fees. That's so much money, I don't know what to think. And then there's the wage bill. It was just over $1 M in the First Division. It was $12 M in the EPL--and most of my players were still signed to bargain First Division salaries at best.

Despite my domination last season, including cup wins over Man City and Newcastle, I had to assume my current roster would be somewhat outclassed by most of the sides in the Premiership, especially the top dogs like defending champ Chelsea or the rich bastards at Trafford and Ashburton Grove (yes, the Gunners are in their new place now). So I knew I had a lot of work to do in the transfer market. I got to work right away.

Before I settle on who I bring in, though, I have to send some people out. Over the years, I have acquired a lot of parts at each stop that have stopped being useful or able to help as I climbed higher in the League. So I cleared off a lot of those players by simply allowing their contracts to run out after the First Division season ended. Some were fairly worthless, but there were a handful of decent players in the mix.

Leon Cort's arrival bumped Barry Laker to a backup role, so it was an easy decision to let the veteran centre back go. Former starting fullback Dave Robinson was still an effective player, but he had way too many single digit ratings for a guy at this level, and I knew I could find better easy. Past key players like striker Armand One and midfielder Mark Noon were also deemed expendable.

With some of the excess off of the staff, I went about with my transfer shopping. I did almost all of it in the first period of June-August, 2007. I'm not sure I know where to begin, because I just bought a ton of players. Altogether, I brought in 18 players. Some were just potential future players, guys my scouts had said could be excellent rospects for the future. These included strikers Ian Collins and Mark Hooper, midfielder Alan Elliot, defenders Kevin Gorman and Peter Castle and goalkeeper Thomas Heaton. These guys I stuck on my U-19 squad or my reserves squad with a bunch of my remaining rejects from my lower division squads, as well as what was left of my last round of youth academy prospects from the First Division year.

But those kids only formed a small percentage of what I went after. I'll just go from area to area.

In the net, I felt that Nelis was a solid option, but I remained worried about Gomez long term because of his athleticism issues. Nelis was also turnign 30 soon, and I knew I needed to get younger if Gomez wasn't the answer. So I brought in a 20-year-old Finnish goalkeeper named Jon Masalin from Aston Villa. Maslain has some teamwork and work ethic issues to deal with, but he is decent physically (not as good as nelis, but much better than Gomez), has the best combo of aerial ability and handling, and unlike my other keepers, he isn't eccentric. Plus, he's young. He cost me $230,000, and my plan was to throw Nelis, Masalin and Gomez to the wolves and see who came out the strongest.

At centreback, I still had Cort in place, but Laker was gone. I was more comfortable with Duff at right fullback with his offensive abilities, and most of the rest of my depth here was just not good enough for this level. So I brought in three centrebacks. The best of the bunch was 2--yaer-old david Raven from Millwall. Raven wasn't the fastest player around, but he plays very tall, marks like a demon and works very well with others. He's also and engine room leader and blessed with a fullback's offensive ability. And he was just 22 years old. I boguht him for $1.1 M. The next two were Jon Otsemobor, a 24-year-old former youth product of Liverpool whom they released on a free, and Mark Warren, brought in on a free from Southend. Otsemobor was as good a marker as Raven, and he has the speed to keep up with Premiership strikers. Where he falters is in the mental areas of the game, where he isn't nearly as solid. Warren doesn't bring much except steadiness. He's clearly a backup type who is just good enough to stick to the first team of a low end Premiership squad for a while.

At the fullback spots, I brought in some key players. I wanted to amke these positions more offensive, as I have found in my tactic that they are very heavily involved in initating the offense. This was why Duff interested me more on the right side. I still had Justin Skinner on the left, but he was getting odl and was borderlien anyway. So I went and signed 33-year-old veteran Icelandic internation Hermann Hreidarsson. Hreidarsson has just a step above average speed and at 33, he's certainly not a long term solution. But he was a very smart defender, he had centreback hops and was very technically skilled defensively and as a tackler. Also, his ball skills were just a shade below the wingers I was using in the First Division. I got him from Charlton for $1.1 M. To back both Duff and Hreidarsson up, along with Skinner, I signed Norwegian defensive midfielder Jarl Andre Starbæk away from a lower division Norwegian squad. The versatile 28-year-old defender and midfielder wasn't as blessed technically and his work ethic was poor, but he had better speed than my other fullbacks, and he was an elite crosser, even better than my wings, who rank among the best you can be. Plus, he could play both sides. I signed him from Ham Kam, the lower Norway side, for $120,000.

I went into the offseason figuring I needed some big upgrades at the defensive midfield spot, as Jensen was clearly too slow for this level. He was struggling at times in the First Division actually. So I went after two players for this position, and several of my backline players (Duff, Hreidarsson, Gorman, Otsemobor, Starbæk) were also possibilities at the spot. I'm glad I didn't go for one of them, though, because otherwise I wouldn't have signed Scottish midfielder Michael Stewart from Sheffield United. Stewart, a 26-year-old who cost me $1.6 M, had a centreback's height, a brilliant tactical mind, solid defensive and physical skills, and terrific on-ball skills, including striker level finishing. He was just a well-rounded player and seemed to fit well for what I was looking for at the defensive midfield spot. I went back to Milwall for more help here and also nabbed Mark Phillips for $1.1 M. Phillips, who is actually a centreback, doesn't have terrific on-ball skills, but he had just enough to be able to function there as a more defensive option at the position. The 25-year-old Englishman had the explosive speed to stay with Premiership strikers and midfielders, and defensive skills as good as anyone's on the team besides perhaps Cort. He's also a terrific tackler. Where he faltered next to Stweart was in the mental abilities. While still very solid there, he was dwarfed in the mental game by Stewart, a tireless, aggressive midfielder with a captain's leadership abilities and the ability to work at top level with highly-cooridinated backlines. In these areas, Phillips was more of a pedestrian. He seemed like a good bet to backup both the defensive midfield and centreback spots.

By now, you all must realize I have a love affair with wings. I love good, fast wings, with great crossing and dribblign. They just really make the offense work. So, despite the presence of several solid wings in Williams, Hicks, a fellow named John Corbett I never mentioned in the First Division part of this dynasty, and the youthful up-and-coming Chris Booth, I jumped at the chance to bring in some really exciting talent here. The notable name was Richie Partridge, an Irish winger who could play both sides of the pitch. He was just 26 when signed away from Liverpool, where he was stuck ont he reserve team and frustrated. His contract was coming up, so I signed him on a free. Partridge doesn't have the teamwork I like, and was slightly less explosive than my previous wings (we're talking a drop to 15 or so pace/acceleration, so not much), and he was also very passive (5 aggression). But he had the best combination of ball skills I saw available in my price range. He's a very good passer and had 20 Decisions. He was also a 20 Dribbler, and his crossing was very good as well. He could finish as well as most strikers. And he can play any midfield, wing or forward position. The other guy I got was Carl Motteram, a $1.4 M transfer from Birmingham. The 21-year-old winger could also play both sides of the pitch. He was an elite level crosser and also happened to have close to elite level finishing, and acceleration that put him up among the fastest individiuals to ever play for my team (albeit not as fast as Oskarsson). In fact, I actually tried him out at striker at first, but it soon became clear he was much more comfortable at his winger position. Motteram wasn't as smart with the ball, nor as good a dribbler as Partidge (he was merely very good, rather than elite there), but he was a more natural passer, a better tackler, more aggressive and slightly faster. Plus, he's just 21. I signed a third winger, a Frenchman named Yoann Bigné from Bordeauz for $90,000, but to be honest, had I known I would get Partridge and Motteram, I wouldn't have signed him. I won't go into too many details except to say that he is similar to Warren on the backline--good enough to occasionally spell the starters and do a passable job, but certainly not a long term keeper.

Unbelievably, I made no changes in the middle. Amaya was coming off of a great season, and Birchall did well as a backup. I eventually wanted to get more "creative" types at that spot, instead of the striker types I was using, but I felt other areas needed addressing first, so I went for them instead.

With Oskarsson coming off his great season, and Wilde also doing very well, I didn't get much up front. The fact of the matter is that prices of good strikers are severely inflated in football (and CM 03/04 as well), so there was little I could afford that were much better than what I had. So by the end of the first transfer window, I had only brought in one new striker, a Ukrainian kid named Andrei Pereplyotkin from Southampton. Thw 21-year-old, like Partirdge was Liverpool, was frustrated at his lack of first team experience and looking for an out. I was able to get him relatively cheap for $2 M, which was a good 50% less than his assessed value. And that's still more than I spent on any one other player in this transfer window. Perplyotkin, skillw-ise, matched up well with my ideal striker. Whereas Oskarsson and Wilde got results, you wouldn't say they really had the talent. Oskarsson made things happen with good technical and mental skills and explosive speed, but he wasn't a good dribbler or finisher, ironically. Wilde was a great finisher, near as good as you can be, and plenty smart, too, but he was at best average, speed wise, barely in doule digits. So Pereplytokin was an exciting player to get, with elite-level finishing and speed that was much closer to Oskarsson's than Wilde's. He was also a very good dribbler and crosser, which is nice to have when you're trying to make things happen on breakaways. He wasn' as mentally solid, and was a bit of a willow with the ball (could be blown off course with a slight wind), and those were his failings. He seemed to be a player with some good potential.

Altogether, I spent about $10 M of my $14 M during the opening transfer season.

My lineup had Nelis, Gomez and Masalin vying for the #1 netminder job. Cort had a new partner in Raven at centreback, with Duff on the right and Hreidarsson on the left. Stewart would start at defensive midfidler, with Phillips backing him and the centrebacks up. Amaya and Birchall returned to man the attacking midfield spot. Williams and Motteram were my left wingers, and Corbett and Partridge were on the right. And I moved Hicks, whom had long ago proven to have a nose for the goal, up front, where he could join Wilde, Oskarsson and Pereplyotkin to help rpovide us with our scorers.

I was readyt o begin my first ever season in the Premiership.

CR

John Galt · 06-24-2004, 03:50 PM

Great reading so far. Can't wait for more.

Chief Rum · 06-24-2004, 09:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Galt

Great reading so far. Can't wait for more.

Thanks, John. Next round of posts coming up.

CR

Chief Rum · 06-25-2004, 12:00 AM

Tamworth 2007/08, The Early Season

Fact is, enough happened this season, that it's worth it to split this one up into two posts (above and beyond the offseason post). So here goes...

As one of the benefits to winning the FA Cup, we earned the right to play in the Community Shield, which symbolically opens the English football season. Our opponent was Premiership champ Chelsea. We itnroduced ourselves to the Premiership in style, beating Chelsea 4-2 at Wembley, the site of our FA Cup win in May.

That certainly kicked us off right. The team quickly showerd it wasn't the relegation candidate the oddsmakers said it would be. Of course, they were saying that pretty much every season from the very beginning, and we always proved them wrong. Why should this year be different?

We suffered an early home loss to Fulham in our second league match of the season, but it was a rare blemish on a record that was mostly wins from the get-go. We embarrassed three different teams in the first few weeks by identical 6-1 scores. We seemed game to at lesats lose or draw one match every month, but not much beyond that. The Fulham loss was our only one in August. We dropped a 3-1 match at my old haunts in Middlesbrough in late September. We drew with Sunderland early in November, 0-0, and later that month, lost 4-2 to Birmingham on the road.

Really, we weren't out of any match in league until December, when we were embarassed by the powerful man Utd squad at Old Trafford on December 22, and then fell 5-1 to, again, Fulham, on New Year's Day. They seem to have our number.

In the end, few teams had answers for our offense. We gave up our share of goals. In fact, based on the numbers, we weren't in the top half of the league in defense. But no one could touch us on offense. Oskarsson was amazing, both scoring and passing. Amaya was incredible from the midfield--I am talking a season for the ages from the vet Salvadoran. Wilde showed that his lack of apparent talent was as unimportant in the EPL as it had been at previous levels.

Man Utd, though, proved to be very tough. After the first couple of matches, we were never lower than the top five in the league, through January. But that loss to the Red Devils in December was key, because they were with us the whole way, and used that win to vault themselves into a first place spot they would hold for a good deal longer. We seemed to settle into second place as the other powerful teams in the league worked out their own problems and started to put on runs. Strong wins at home over Liverpool and Arsenal showed we could definitely hang with them in the early going. The match of the first half of the season came the day after Christmas, when we won a wild shootout with Newcastle at the Lamb Ground, 5-4. Considering our amazing two-goal comeback to win through in the semifinals of the FA Cup the season before, I would imagine the Magpies are rather sick of me by this point.

Despite the offensive success, we felt we could use more depth and quality up front, as Hicks was moved up to the front more because of that than because we felt he was really better there. I hate to play guys out of position--just something I don't like to do. So it bugged me having to run Hicks out there a lot when my top strikers were tired. So I was searching around trying to find someone to use that $3.7 or so M I had left in the transfer account.

Eventually, I settled on 24-year-old Nigerian striker Yakubu, a player who hurt me in the first game I lost. I had a future transfer agreed to for more than what I had, hoping I could move some minor parts to cover the difference by the time the transfer could go through on January 1, 2008. Unfortunately, I was unable to get any interest in my available players and the deal fell through. Then the very same day the deal fell apart, I watched as Yakubu put up a hat trick against me in Fulham's second woin over us on New Year's. That just resolved me to land the player, who was listed by Fulham despite he's seeming quality as a player. In fact, he had apparently been listed so long, they had lowered their demands almost 50%, much like Pereplyotkin in Southampton. Frsutrated by having the deal fall through, I tried offering all of my remaining transfer budget, which in the past had been turned down. Perhaps doing the AI version of its own frustration, Fulham agreed to this offer and sent Yakubu to me later that week.

Yakubu was really the first well-known player I had landed, I felt, and at 24, he had a long career ahead of him. Yakubu was stronger mentally than Perploytokin, the only other player with similar skill level at the position, and was a proven commodity in the past, having scored 57 goals for Portsmouth and Everton from 2003 to 2006.

The league wasn't the only thing I was doing during this time, of course. I began my quest for success in the domestic cup that had proven to be very difficult for me to advance in: the League Cup. I had yet to go beyond a November match for this first prize of English competition, and as always, I stressed doing well in the cup competitions.

I drew Liverpool in the third round to open that quest, but fortunately, it was at home. I beat the Reds, 5-1, in a Halloween match, behind an Amaya hat trick. In the fourth round, I drew a much tougher match in Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Fortunately, Chelsea seemed to have matchup problems with me that were apparent int he Community Shield, and they showed up again when we beat them, 5-2, on December 5, 2007. Oskarsson led the way with two goals.

One of the benefits of being in the Premiership is you are introduced to the League Cup competition rather than late in the running. Just two wins and I was already in the quarterfinals. After two tough opening matchups, I got lucky when I drew First Division Derby at home for the quarterfinal on December 19. As expected, I smacked them hard, 6-1, with Amaya turning in an amazing four-goal performance.

The semifinal of the League Cup, scheduled for late January-early February, is played in two home-and-home legs. As it turned out, I did not get a fortunate draw in Arsenal. The first match was to be played on January 23 at Ashburton Grove, with the follow up at the Lamb Ground on February 6. I expected a tough match on the road, but Arsenal seems to have problems with em the way Chelsea did. We beat them, 4-2, at their place, with another Amaya hat trick to go with it. Amaya had never played better than that December-January stretch. Having played so strong on the road, it was a simple matter at home in the second leg, as we won easily, 5-1, with the recently-arrived Yakubu scoring two goals.

That game symbolized a potential issue, though. Amaya did not score in that one. In fact, he did not even play. The reason? He was sent off early with a personal foul in a horrible 4-1 loss the previous week at Blackburn, and was thus ineligible for the Arsenal match. He would in fact draw a further three-match domestic ban as a result of the harshness of his foul, an attack on Blackburn midfielder Barry Ferguson in which he kicked him after a hard tackle.

This would have far reaching consequences, but since much of that lies in the second half of the season, I will leave it for then.

As important as my runs in the Premiership and League Cup were, I was just as intrigued by the UEFAm the international tournament I had earned my way into by virtue of my FA Cup win. I was a first seed, which meant I didn't have to qualify for the tournament first, which, at its beginning has no less than 96 of the top teams in Europe (in fact, all of the best teams but the top 32, which have won their way to the more prestigious Champions Cup).

Each round of the UEFA is played in two home-and-home leg matches, just like the semifinal of the League Cup. My draw in the first round was Finnish club Tampere United, which had finished as the runner up in the Finnish Premier Division in 2006 (like many Scandinavian divisions, the FPD is a spring to fall league, not a summer to spring leasgue as in elsewhere in Europe). My first UEFA match, at the Lamb Ground, didn't start off so well. The Finnish club jumped out to a 2-0 lead and held on for the 2-1 win. Now having to play them at their place, I did not like my chances. The second match, played in Tampere, Finland on October 17, didn't go so well either for the most part. Entering the last fifteen minutes, we were knotted up at one apiece, which put me down 3-2 in aggregate. After a match in slumber, though, MAaya finally woke up and broke through, tying the aggregate score with a goal in the 78th minute. It seemed set to go to extra time, when Amaya got a hold of another one in injury team and got past the Tampere Utd keeper for the series-winning goal. We had escaped with a tight 4-3 aggregate socre against Tampere Utd to advance to the next round.

Our second round opponent was Bundesliga squad 1.FC Köln, which finished 5th in one of the world's top leagues the year before. having been tested by Tampere Utd, I figured this one would be very tough. Strangely, though, we had an easier time with the German club, beating them 4-1 at our place on November 8. Amaya, of course, scored the now traditional hat trick. On November 29, we finished them off at their place, although it was much closer, 4-3 Tamworth. On aggregate, we won, 8-4, to reach the 2008 stretch of the tournament. That stretch is tough both because the field has been whittled down in Darwinian fashion, and because losing teams from the Champions League group stage are now being introduced into the field. We drew Rosenborg, the longtime Norwegian power, for our third round opponent.

It was right around now that I dscovered a seeming bug in the game's stadium expansion logic. The Lamb Ground had been undergoing construction of the 2500-seat expansion since June, and was scheduled to be finished on December 7. Well, that day came and went, and the ground remained unchanged. In fact, it was still listed as being under construction for the expansion, with the same already-past date listed. So I had no idea when my stadium would actually increase in size. Questioning here at FOFC suggested it might be years. That is very frustrating, considering that revenue from my park has to be considered a key thing here, and having a 3500-capacity stadium in the Premiership is just ridiculous.

I decided that, if by the end of the year, the expansion hadn't happened, I would download aneditor and change it to a level more appropriate for my level. I was hoping I wouldn't have to do that, though.

The second half of the season is coming up.

CR

Chief Rum · 06-26-2004, 01:06 AM

Tamworth 2007/08, The Home Stretch

So here we are. We're still in the two main domestic cups and the UEFA, and we're second in the Premiership.

Before I get into that, though, it's time to talk a little about Amaya. I can't say enough right now about the guy's performance. He has been phenomenal this season. I had praised him, too, something I had yet to do for any other player in this dynasty. When he was sent off in that Blackburn game in late January, he had about 40 goals in 30 matches. That is incredible.

Still, the foul was just stupid, and after he was banned for three more matches, I felt I need to do something. So I gave him a warning. A simple warning. I had done this to others in the past who committed stupid fouls, and they were fine with it. Amaya, unfortunately, appears to be a big bad baby. He didn't like it at all. In the span of a week, he went from happy to be with club to unsettled, wants to leave club, and dislikes "you" (that being me). Maybe I should have known--he is temperamental. But, really, only a fool would not see that foul was just idiocy. So the rest of this season will be a battle between Amaya's hurt feelings and my attempts to either reconcile that situation or at least get his performances up to par.

At first, I hoped it would just go away, although I kenw from past experience in other dynasties that is sometiems hard, even impossible, to change a player's mind in a situation like this. What's really funny is that, under my manager profile, I have Amaya listed as a favoured personnel. Go figure.

After playing it easy didn't work, I complimented him in the media again. No luck. Later on in the season I gave that move another shot, and it didn't work any better than the first time. The second time, though, was just a last ditch effort, because I had made a decision by then: despite him having the best numbers on the team, I was going to do my best to ensure Amaya was not a Lamb come 2008/09. I wasn't going to list him until the season ended, but I knew it was time. He's 32, and not really all that talented for this level (good, but not great). He's temperamental and upset with me. And what would have been impossible just a couple years ago (everyone on the team seemed to admire Amaya and think he was a great talent), now seemed possible because the team seemed to be much more enamored with guys like Partridge and Stewart and Cort now. I felt moving Amaya not only made sense from the standpoint of ymself and the player, but that his leaving now was the right team for the team.

This is a situation I will address further in the offseason.

The Premiership Final Fixture

Man Utd had established itself as the top team in the league, leading my squad consistently by about 4-5 points.

We were continuing to pretty much lose or draw a league match a month, but not much more than that. This was a tricky time, becuase I was juggling three cup competitions and a heavy Premiership schedule. My depth was really tested, a fact of this season that I have taken to heart in future moves.

The Blackburn was the February loss. We won all three of our remaining matches in February before going into a long stretch of cup competition in late February-early March (which I will detail shortly). We didn't play a league match from February 23 to March 16, thanks to our commitments elsewhere. This included two league matches that were bumped back twice.

Once we returned to league action, we went 2-1 through the end of March. The March matches were much more difficult, though. Whereas in February, we essentially rolled through our three wins, in March, all three league matches were one-goal affairs, including 3-2 loss to Liverpool at home and a close 4-3 escape against Chelsea on the road.

This seemed to reach a low on April 13, when we lost to Arsenal at Ashburton Grove, 4-2. This was a key point of the season. We had our losses, but Man Utd was going througha tough stretch themselves, and we had actually closed the gap on them by this point. But with us both playing a touch poorer than before, Newcastle, Chelsea and Arsenal all closed the gap some. After the Arsenal match, Tamworth was three points back of Man Utd, 70 points to 67, while Chelsea had 65, and both Newcastle and Arsenal had 63. It was the first time at which you could really say the league was at a bitter free-for-all.

Fortunately, we came to play in this winner-take-all situation. After the Arsenal loss, we went on a string of five wins. The first wins weren't easy, beyond a 4-1 tally over Sheffield Wednesday at the Lamb Ground. We were winning, tight defensive matches, and our defense put up two clean sheets during that stretch as well. Man Utd continued to play poorly--so poorly in fact that we soon had a sizable lead. By the time May 11 and a circled match with Man Utd came around, we were on the brink of the league championship.

We had 79 points with two to play. Man Utd had 72 points with three to play. Everyone else was out of it. If we won, we clinch it. Nothing like playing Man Utd at home with the league championship on the line, eh? And our last match of the season at the Lamb Ground, too.

We came to play in this one. Our high-octane offense immediately hit its stride, scoring an incredible three goals in the opening twelve matches. Even by our standrads, that's fast! Two of the goals were by Wilde, with the third by Oskarsson. That set the tone for the day, as we traded goals with the Red Devils the rest of the way. When the whistle blew, we were up in an unconventional, high-scoring, 6-3, affair, and we were the champions of England!

With the championship clinched, we had mostly backups in for our last match, a road tilt at newcaste. We lost that one, 3-1, of course, not that it mattered. The win over Man Utd ended up being key, considering our loss to Newcastle, as United won both of its last games to finish with 78 points. We had 82 points. Had that game come out with a Man Utd victory, we would have fallen to second with 79 points, while Man Utd would have finsihed with 81 points.

For the season, we went 27-1-10 (that '1' is a draw, remember; we had 10 losses), and finished with 82 points. Our offense was incredible, scoring 115 goals in the 38 league matches. Our defense was less so, allowing 65 goals, but still giving us a league-leading +50 goal differential.

The Domestic Cups

When last we visited the cups, Tamworth was set for a League Cup final after beating Arsneal in the two-leg semifinal.

That league final would be played against First Division Sunderland, following its own Cinderella bit. Since it was a First Division squad, I felt we could take them even with a mix of backups. Why would it be necessary to play backups? Well, as it turns out, that League Cup final, scheduled for March 2, 2008, was right smack in the middle of a brutal set of cup competitions for us. From February 16 to March 13, we played six matches, and only one of them was a Premiership match (versus Man City on February 23). From February 28 to March 13, we had our opening UEFA match with Rosenborg in Norway, the League Cup final three days later (it was a leap year), the second leg against Rosenborg at home three days after that, on March 5, and an FA Cup match three days after that on March 8. My players (and probably no one else's either) can't recover fully from three days' rest, for the most part, so I knew I would have to pick ym spots to play my best players. I decided, given the prestige of the tournament and my difficulties advancing in the UEFA, that Rosenborg shoul dget my attention, and I would play some backups, with starters where I could, against Sunderland in the League Cup Final.

Well, that was a big mistake. The match against Sunderland, which returned us to our home away from home at Wembley, would feature just two Lamb starters in keeper Jon Masalin and fullback Mike Duff (returning to his First Division centreback spot for this one). We didn't even have any starters among the backups. Now, understand, when I say backups, I'm still talking about Partridge and Motteram and Birchall and Pereplyotkin here--I didn't march out nobodies. But Amaya (recently returned from suspension), Oskarsson, Cort, Stewart, Williams and Ravewn, among others, were all sitting and waiting for the second leg of the Rosenborg UEFA competition to be completed three days later.

Sunderland put us on our heels from the very beginning. Forward Matthew Piper put in a goal in the 6th minute. Birchall, playing in Amaya's midfield role, finally broke through and scored in the 35th minute to tie it up. Duff made a dumb mistake, though, and brought down a Sundelrand player in the box in the 43rd minute. Defensive midfielder George Boateng, whom I was very familiar with from my Middlesbrough dynasties, put in the penalty kick to put Sunderland up for good.

Tommy Smith made the lead insurmountable in the second half, with a 50th minute goal, as we continued to flounder. We only put three of nine shots on goal. While Sunderland only had five shots, all were on goal, and Masalin was just awful. So we blew it, and lost our first shot at the League Cup.

Our defense of the FA Cup began in early January with a third round matchup with Third Division Torquay United. That was when we were playing at our peak level, pre-Amaya-spat, and we smoked Torquay, 5-1.

We got a somewhat tougher opponent in First Division Stoke in the fourth round on January 26. Despite that, we still had little problem with them, winning 4-1 at home. We were still on a roll.

The fifth round matchup on February 16 against First Division Norwich City came at a much more pivotal time, as it kicked off our five cup matches in six strecth that went from the Norwich match on the road to March 13. We smacked Norwich, 6-2, showing that we were quite intent on defending our FA Cup. Of course, we had been fortunate in that we had yet to draw a Premiership side in the competition.

That luck would end for the sixth round, the quarterfinals, as we would draw Liverpool for a home match. Thinking like a small side manager again, I actually was disappointed we didn't play at Anfield, so we could get the box receipts. At the time, actually, we were fairly short on funds, down below $10 M in the balance again, as the combination of higher wages and the huge transfer account (all spent) along with poor total gate money from the small stadium and having yet to receive big monies from league or cup competitions, led us to be relatively poor for such a highly-ranked squad.

We showed up to play on March 8, perhaps rejuvenated by the fact we had blown the League Cup just a week earlier with backups. Liverpool pretty much didn't, and we moved on to the semifinals with a 4-1 win.

Now, if you have been reading along, you will recall that the FA Cup semifinal is played at a neutral site, generally either Wembley or the Milennium Stadium in Cardiff. We had a real treat awaiting us at Wembley, the site of our recent League Cup debacle: Man Utd, the very team we were battling the Premiership for.

The match was set for April 6, and there was no way a backup was going to find his way into the lineup for this one. Last year, we came back late to stun Newcastle in this match, after being down two goals with ten minutes left.

With history like that in our minds, we took on a team that has quickly become a bit of a rival in the league. And we started off right, as Oskarsson put a goal past Fabien Barthez in the very opening minute. Amaya added another in the 16th minute, and we had a 2-0 lead. I would call that comfortable, excpet this is man Utd we're talking about here. Sure enough, winger Kieran Richardson scored in injury time of the first half for the Red Devils to give them some momentum going into halftime. We quickyl squashed that bug in the second half, as Oskarsson nabbed his second goal in the 51st minute, and winger Jim Corbett put us up to a commanding 4-1 lead in the 56th minute.

I began to rest easy. Too soon? Perhaps. In the 63rd minute, midfielder Gilberto Silva scored to move Man Utd to within two. Then after surviving some scares, we allowed fullback Patrice Evra to finally break through, and he scored to move Man Utd to within one! We were just hanging on!

The Red Devils kept the pressure up and even had a couple really good chances. But our defense came on strong when it needed to, and we shut the door on them the rest of the way. We escaped the FA Cup semifinal with a 4-3 victory.

Our FA Cup final opponent would be, surprisingly, another First Division squad, just like last season and like the League Cup final. This time, it was the Wolves, who impressed by shellacking Chelsea, 5-0, in the other semifinal. For the Wolves, it was a particularly big game in that they lost in the semifinals of the FA Cup last year on penalty kicks to Crystal Palace, our victim in the final.

Having lost the League Cup with a questionable lineup, I determined not to lose the FA Cup in the same manner. Fortunately, it was the final match of the season for us, scheduled on May 24, so we could afford to allow the players to get tired in this one. All of our starters were in except for Oskarsson, Stewart and Williams, with Nelis in goal. The former two were on the sub list. Williams, unfortunately, was out with an injury I will be detailing in a little bit, with Motteram starting in his place.

It was back to Wembley again. It's strange to think that, since we started this dynasty, we have played the Second Division promotion playoff final here, two FA Cup semifinals, an FA Cup Final (and about to play a second), a League Cup final and a Charity Shield, all in this great London stadium. It always makes us money, too, which is nice.

The Wolves put up five goals against Chelsea. I wasn't going to take them likely. Despite that success against Chelsea and our own league-leading 115 goals, this match turned suprisingly defensive. Neither side could quite get close enough to take good shots.

In the 31st minute, Amaya picked up on a nice pass from Mark Phillips--starting for Stewart in this one at the defensive midfield spot--and took it into the box. He dodged to the right and put in a shot past Wolves' keeper Roy Carroll for the 1-0 lead. It was around then I thought that might end up being his last ever goal for the Lambs, having already made my decision on his future (he would actually be listed right after this match).

I figured there would be more goals, even with the defensive nature of the match. I underestimated both sides' abilities to frustrate the others' chances, though. We played a back-and-forth, ahrd-tackling match the rest of the way, with few plays resulting in actual shots. The Wolves put up a couple great chances, but we were there to clear them out or divert them for corners, and when we couldn't Casper Nelis stepped up and stopped the ball. In the end, we allowed just three shots to the Wolves, two on goal, while we ourselves had just six shots, with four on goal. Nelis and the defense did a great job as we won a very tight 1-0 match for our second straight FA Cup, and the domestic double.

The UEFA Cup

Having won through the early two rounds of the UEFA to get to the third round, we had a matchup with Norway's Rosenborg when the competition resumed in late February.

As you will recall, this was during that tough stretch of cup competition, with the two legs of the Rosenborg matchup surrounding the League Cup final.

I went into this one hoping to have one of those games I had been having and blowing the Norwegain side out, so I could take more risks with a tired, but starter-level lineup in the League Cup three days later, and then throw a reserve squad against Rosenborg in the second match.

Rosenborg, no slouch, of course, would not cater to my desires in this matter. We played to a tough 1-1 draw at their place on February 28. Consiodering we didn't really breeze through the first two rounds of this tournament, drawing 1-1 is cause for concern. I needed to be sure to have my starters for the next match at home against Rosenborg. Little did I know that would end up costing me the intervening League Cup.

When we matched up with Rosenborg again, my starters were well rested and playing at home. Rosenborg rpoved to be much easier at the Lamb Ground, and we beat the, 4-0, to take the 5-1 aggregate win.

This late in the year, the UEFA competition turns around quickly, and we immediately had a fourth round match scheduled for March 13, not much more than a week after our Rosenborg win.

With teams ousted from the Champions League now in the mix for the UEFA Cup, I drew one of those teams in highly-regarded Ukrainian High League squad Dinamo Kiev. We had actually met up with this team in a preseason friendly at the Lamb Ground, drawing 1-1. Of course, separated by eight months and a wealth of importance, that match was of no use to us at all in this leg.

The first match was at the Lamb Ground, and I expected to be truly tested. So it was with some relief that we actually really came to play this day. We shellacked Dinamo Kiev 5-0. The follow up in Kiev on March 27 was much closer, of course, but they still couldn't solve our defense, and we won, 2-0. That gave us a 7-0 aggregate win and a ticket to the quarterfinals.

Wow! The quarterfinals of the UEFA! Dare I think we can win this thing?

We drew Portuguese Superleague power Braga for the quarterfinal. I don't know what's gotten into us, or if these leagues just aren't as good as they seem, but we really put it to Braga in the opener of this leg, too, winning 6-0 at the Lamb Ground on April 10. Partridge scored a hat trick late for us. We then finished off the leg with a 3-0 win at their place on April 16. The 9-0 win vaulted us into the semifinals and a matchup with Braga's league partner, Benfica.

Benfica proved to be as little a match for us as well. By now, we were heavy into our good stretch in the Premiership that eventually won us the league championship. The UEFA competitions were just other matches to win in among the league matches. We dominated Benfica at their place, winning 7-1 on APril 24 behind a hat trick by Oskarsson. It was a much more back-and-forth match at the Lamb Ground on May 8, where we won a close one, 4-3. Of course, we weren't starting many starters, as we were preparing to go for the league championship against Man Utd three days later. On aggregate, we won 11-4.

We had done it. We had won through to the UEFA Final, to be held this year at Lerkendal Stadion in Trondheim, Norway. And we had made it this far with only one matchup with a squad from one of the big four leagues (1.FC Koln in the second round is a member of the Bundesliga).

That would end in the final, though, scheduled for May 21. Our opponent would be Serie A power Parma, currently fifth in the powerful Italian league. I figured this would be a very tough match.

The best players appeared to be forwards Marco di Vaio and Alberto Gilardino, both younger members of an Italian national team in transition, and goalkeeper Sebastian Frey, whom would soon replace Man Utd goalkeeper Fabien Barthez as France's starting netminder. American winger Connor Roberts was also on the team, as well as Brazilian veteran defender Junior. These guys were no slouches.

Oskarsson opened up the scoring in the 17th minute, beating Frey for the 1-0 lead. The lead was very shortlived, as Parma's Swedish midfielder Henok Goitom tied the score up just one minute later. A Parma defender made the ill-advised decision to cut down Oskarsson in the box in the 20th minute, though. Williams put int he resulting penalty to give us the 2-1 lead.

After that, both sides seemed to settle into a long match of key tackles and interceptions and finely set up plays, as we tried to put more points on the board. For the most part, we had the edge over them, although we didn't score again on Frey through the first half.

The second half was much like the first, with the monotony only broken up, unfortunately, by an injury to Williams. We put Partridge in and went on with what was becoming a very defensive match filled with close calls. There were a number of times when I thought Parma would tie it up, but we always just managed to escape it.

Finally, in the 88th minute, Oskarsson got a hold of another one on the keeper and beat Frey for a relief-inducing 3-1 lead. A surprise goal by Birchall in injury time was just frostong on the cake. We had won the UEFA Cup and completed the international treble!

It was an impressive achievement, although the treble wasn't actually achieved until the FA Cup final three days later (at the time of the win over Parma, it was just the international double, as we had already clinched the Premiership championship).

We outshot Parma, 13-9 (9-4 on goal), and Oskarsson's two goals gave him the Man of the Match. We did not escape unscathed, though. The injury to Williams turned out to be very serious. Our starting left winger suffered damaged cruciate ligaments and would miss nine months. Basically, the match cost us our left winger for most of next season, complicating our offseason plans and depriving us of one of our premier wing talents.

But I will worry about that when I worry about that. At that time, i was only concerned with the fact we had finished off one of the greatest, unexpected football seasons in European club football history.

The End Results

All in all (and not counting friendlies), we played in 38 league matches, 12 domestic cup competitions, the Charity Shield, and 13 international matches, for a total of 64 matches. Our total record was 50-2-12, including an amazing 23-1-2 in cup competitions (including the Charity Shield).

Money was no longer an issue. We won millions for our success in the FA Cup and UEFA Cup, and we got $16 M for our table-topping finish in the Premiership. We would soon add another $19 M in Premiership TV monies for the 2008-09 season, and our balance ended up higher than $40 M. Money problems were not an issue anymore.

We reached the end of the season, though, and the promised expansion of the Lamb Ground had not happened. It is a maddening bug. I decided that, despite it not perhaps being within the spirit of the dynasty, that I should edit my ground to be more appropriate for the level of team I had become (a Premiership squad).

So I went in with Mind Compression (a CM03/04) editor and changed the Lamb Ground to a 29995-all seater park, which is slightly under the average for a Premiership ground (probably about 13th-15th or so among the 20 teams. I made no other adjustments, although I was pleased to get upgraded training facilities (from "adequate" to "top training grounds with youth academy). I also adjusted Tamworth's caps on these numbers, allowing the stadium to expand to 45,000 and the local population to support the club up to 48,000. Once again, I felt this was within reason, as I was not all that far from Birmingham, and fans would certainly travel the short distance to go see one of the better clubs in the Premiership. I set the initial stadium attendance at 24,000 or so. Strangely enough, the approved expansion is still in place. But then, I figure that's not ever going to happen, so I'm not too worried about it.

Obviously, it was a banner year for many of my players, especially my forwards and midfielders. Amaya, despite his emotional issues and dislike of me, had a phenomenal season from the attacking midfield role. He had an incredible 54 goals on the season in 43 matches, with 14 assists and an 8.47 rating. And, yes, I'm still planning to move him.

The real star, though, was Orri Freyr Oskarsson. The Icelander was amazing, with 37 goals and 40 assists in 43 matches, to go along with an 8.53 rating and his second straight Supporters' Player of the Year award.

The other strikers were no slouches themselves. Yakubu scored 11 goals and had 16 assists in his five competitive months with the club, along with a 7.71 rating. He also got six goals and assists with Fulham prior to that, so he finished with 17 goals and 22 assists on the season. Wilde (20), Hicks (15), Pereplyotkin (14) and Birchall (16) all also contributed much offense to the club.

Williams, whose injury seems likely to be very key for the club in the next season, had five goals, 17 assists and an 8.13 rating. His wing partner Corbett had 11 assists and a 7.95 rating as well. Partridge (12 goals, 10 assists) and Motteram (6 goals, 8 assists) were very good as reserve wings as well.

Stewart, the imported Scottish midfielder, turned himself into a star, and the second-highest valued player after Yakubu. It seemed like everyone had Stewart as a "thinks Stewart is a good player". Stewart had four goals, 15 assists and a 7.65 rating. His backup, Phillips, had 9 assists.

Along the backline, when players weren't praising Stewart, they propped up Cort, who had become the defensive leader of the team. Cort had a 7.35 rating and 6 assists. His partner Raven put up a 7.05 rating. ANd getting higher ratings on the backline is hard to do unless you're very good.

Duff (7 assists, 7.49 rating) and Hreidarsson (4 assists, 7.22 rating) also did very well as the fullbacks.

Symbolic of our defensive problems, the goalkeepers were at best solid, but really could have been much worse with a worse defense in front of them. Masalin allowed 46 goals in 30 matches, putting up 7 clean sheets and a 6.73 rating. His net partner Nelis put up very similar numbers, with 45 goals conceded in 30 appearances, 6 clean sheets and a 6.60 rating.

And that was the end of a tremendously successful season.

CR

Chief Rum · 06-26-2004, 04:24 AM

2007/08 Season, Around The World

Major League Results

English Premier Division: Tamworth, Man Utd, Liverpool
Primera Liga (Spain): Barcelona, Deportivo, Celta
Serie A (Italy): Juventus, Genoa, Milan
Bundesliga (Germany): FC Bayern, Leverkusen, Werder Bremen
Ligue 1 (France): Guingamp, Lens, Cannes
Casino Eridivisie (Holland): Ajax, NEC, PSV
Portuguese Superleague: Sporting Lisbon, U. Lamas, Académica
Supeligaen (Denmark): AaB, OB, FC Kobenhavn
National A Division (Greece): Olympiakos, PAOK, AEK
Belgian First Division: Anderlecht, Mouscron, Standard
Scottish Premier League: Celtic, Dundee, Hibs
Turkish Premier Division: Fenerbahçe, G. Birligi, Galatasaray
Ukrainian High League: Dinamo Kiev, Arsenal Kiev, Shakhtar

Other European Champions: GAK (Austria), Varteks (Croatia), Banik Ostrava (Czech Republic), FC Haka* (Finland), Debrecen (Hungary), Bohemians* (Ireland), M. Haifa (Israel), Linfield (Northern Ireland), Bodo/Glimt* (Norway), Wisla (Poland), CSKA Moscow* (Russia), Partizan (Serbia & Montenegro), Zilina (Slovakia), Elfsborg* (Sweden), Grasshopper (Switzerland), Caersws (Wales)

*-- season runs from winter to fall, instead of summer to spring; champion is from last complete campaign

National Cups

English FA Cup: Tamworth over Wolverhampton
English League Cup: Sunderland over Tamworth

Spanish Cup: Real Madrid over Valencia
Italian Cup: Parma over Perugia
German Cup: Bielefeld over Schalke 04
French Cup: Nîmes over Montpelier
Dutch Cup: Ajax over Willem II
Portuguese Cup: Belenenses over P. Ferreira

European Club Competitions

Champions League: Milan over Dortmund
UEFA: Tamworth over Parma

Comments: I don't think I would be tooting my own horn to say that my club's success was the story of European football this season. I was the only team to win the treble, and I did it in the first year I ascended to the top league. In fact, I came a bad result against Sunderland away from pulling off not only the international treble, but the domestic one as well. After winning their respective leagues for the third year in a row, you have to consider Juventus and Barcelona to be two of the very best clubs in the world. FC Bayern regained its perch atop the Bundesliga after a drop to third. Bayern has won five of the last six Bundesliga championships. A long streak came to an end in Holland. Ajax finally broke through and defeated PSV, which had won five in a row since 2002. Incidentally, Ajax, which also took the domestic double, was the last Dutch team besides PSV to win that league. Dortmund made a big splash last season with a wealth of strong signings and a league championship, but a drop out of the Bundesliga top three has to be a considerable disappointment. Parma eased its pain of losing in the UEFA final by taking the Italian Cup. Overall, Italy was very strong this year, with powerful Juventus as champs, the Champions Cup winner in Milan, and UEFA runner up Parma. For the second year in a row, Rangers were nowhere to be found in Scotland's top three.

CR

Chief Rum · 06-27-2004, 03:50 AM

Top Transfers Of The 2007/08 Season

RW Mancini (BRA) from Roma to Real Madrid for $63 M on December 7, 2007
LW Rafael van der Vaart (NED) from Ajax to Liverpool for $46.5 M on August 9, 2007
FB Wilfred Bouma (NED) from PSV to Schalke 04 for $29 M on August 27, 2007
RW Mauro Germán Camoranesi (ITA) from Juventus to Barcelona for $28 M on July 13, 2007
MF Gennaro Ivan Gattuso (ITA) from Milan to Arsenal for {b]$25 M[/b] on January 17, 2008
MF Gilberto Silva (BRA) from Arsenal to Man Utd for $24 M on January 15, 2008
SC Peter Levenkrands (DEN) from Rangers to Blackburn for $22 M on July 29, 2007
SC Javier Saviola (ARG) from Inter to Schalke 04 for $21.5 M on August 27, 2007
SC Fabrizio Miccoli (ITA) from Juventus to Real Madrid for $21 M on August 30, 2007
SC Jermain Defoe (ENG) from Tottenham to Roma for $20 M on August 31, 2007
MF Mark Bresciano (AUS) from Juventus to Liverpool for $19.5 M on August 3, 2007
MF Andrea Prilo (ITA) from Milan to Inter for $18 M on January 1, 2008
SC Ruud van Nistlerooy (NED) from Man Utd to Real Madrid for $17.75 M on July 18, 2007
SC Gil (BRA) from Corinthians to Sampdoria for $17.25 M on January 30, 2008
MF Stephen Appiah (GHA) from Inter to Fiorentina for $17 M on July 18, 2007
SC Guiseppe Sculli (ITA) from Marseille to Man Utd for $16 M on August 7, 2007
SC Djibril Cissé (FRA) from Zaragoza to Man Utd for $16 M on August 9, 2007
SC Dimitar Berbatov (BUL) from HSV to FC Bayern for $15.75 M on January 10, 2008
MF Michele Pazienza (ITA) from Udinese to Chelsea for $15.25 M on January 30, 2008
MF Paul Scholes (ENG) from Man Utd to Arsenal for $14.75 M on August 6, 2007
LW Gaetano D'Agostino (ITA) from Roma to Man Utd for $14.5 M on August 25, 2007
MF Juan Román Riquelme (ARG) from Valladolid to Barcelona for $14.5 M on August 24, 2007
MF Giampiero Pinzi (ITA) from Chelsea to Inter for $14 M on January 16, 2008
MF Emerson (BRA) from Roma to Milan for $13.25 M on July 19, 2007
FB Bernd Korzynietz (GER) from VfB Stuttgart to Man Utd for $13.25 M on August 22, 2007
SC Benjamin Lauth (GER) from Napoli to HSV for $12.75 M on July 17, 2007
SC Nenê (BRA) from PAO to Juventus for $12.25 M on January 6, 2008
SC Cacau (BRA) from VfB Stuttgart to Rostock for $12 M on January 7, 2008
SC Andrea Gasbarroni (ITA) from Real Sociedad to FC Bayern for $12 M on January 24, 2008
MF Torsten Frings (GER) from Real Madrid to Barcelona for $11.75 M on January 1, 2008
MF Roland Bonimeier (GER) from Basel to Leverkusen for $11.25 M on January 1, 2008
RW Lucas Martín Castromán (ARG) from Vélez to Real Madrid for $11 M on December 22, 2007
SC Milos Krstic (SER) from Basel to Sporting Lisbon for $10.75 M on January 30, 2008
DC Belletti (BRA) from Real Soceidad to Real Madrid for $10.5 M on August 30, 2007
MF Patricio Pérez (ARG) from Valencia to Parma for $10 M on January 25, 2008
SC Davide Matteini (ITA) from Piacenza to Parma for $10 M on January 26, 2008
SC Ricardinho (BRA) from Internacional to Cruzeiro for $10 M on February 16, 2008

Comments: Gotta hand it to Real Madrid. The world's richest club knows how to buy in style. This past season they brought in Mancini and Castroman on the wing, Belletti on the backline, and Nistlerooy and Miccoli up front. Their spending was almost matched by Man Utd, though, which brought in its own wealth of star players in Sculli and Cissé up front, D'Agostina on the wing, Silva in the midfield, and Korzynietz at fullback. Amazingly, both teams still managed to fall short in their leagues, with Real Madrid once again finishing behind three-time straight Primera Liga champ Barcelona, while Man Utd were shocked by surprise squad Tamworth. This transfer season also had one move that was just wrong: Scholes to Arsenal? Heaven forbid! Among the nationalities of players moved, it was a strong year for the Netherlands, Italy and Brazil. A ton of good players from these countries were moved in the past year.

CR

Chief Rum · 06-27-2004, 05:34 AM

Euro 2008 Austria/Switzerland Qualifiers

Tamworth may have come out of nowhere to win the international treble, but it's time to put aside club success and look at the most competitive international tournament in the world.

Here are the four Groupings for Euro 2008:

Group A

Austria, Greece, Holland, Turkey

Comments: This should be a very competitive group, as no one team will stand out here, judging from past reputation. Holland was the only team here to get to the World Cup final round, while Turkey embarassed itself with just one point in the group stage of Germany 2006. Still, they will likely be the two favorites here, as Greece didn't even make the World Cup and Austria is probably only here because it's hosting this thing.

Group B

France, Norway, Poland, Spain

Comments: Obviously, the clear standout here is the World Cup champion French. Not only do they have that standout achievement on the docket, they should also be well-motivated by their runner up finish in this competition in Portugal in 2004. But they didn't get a friendly draw in two other teams that made the Germany 2006 final round in Spain and Norway. Poland, obviously, is in over its head in this group.

Group C

Belarus, England, Italy, Serbia & Montenegro

Comments: Serbia & Montenegro, the favorite? You laugh, but it was the Serbs who reached the final round in Germany in 2006, while the defending Euro champ Italians embarassed themselves in the group stage, and England watch the tourney from the cozy confines of their living rooms. Still, this figures to be a very tough group. Belarus was quite a Cinderella in the qualifying, but the dream almost certainly ends here.

Group D

Croatia, Czech Republic, Portugal, Switzerland

Comments: Portugal seems to be the favorite here, coming off of a run to the semis as hosts of Euro 2004, but they won't be in front of the home crowds here, and they didn't escape the group stage at Germany 2006. But then neither did the Czech Republic, and Croatia and Switzerland weren't even invited. The Portuguese have the talent to walk here. After that, it's a much more open group, although the Czechs probably have a clear edge for the second spot.

WHO DIDN'T MAKE IT

Well, one country in particular should stand out, since they were mentioned enough above: Germany. Embarassingly enough, the Germans--supposedly one of the top football countries in the world--did not make it to Euro 2008. But they have some pretty significant company. The other standout here is Romania, which may have ruined all the good it did in finishing third at Germany 2006 by not even qualifying for this tournament. With Finland also on the outs, that makes three World Cup 2006 quarterfinalists who didn't make it to Austria/Switzerland.

Other notable countries to not make it were Sweden, Belgium, Scotland and the Ukraine.

CR

Chief Rum · 06-27-2004, 06:23 AM

Euro 2008 Austria/Switzerland Group Stage

ROUND ONE

Group A

Turkey 0, Austria 0
Holland 3, Greece 1

Buoyed by the home fans, the Austrians continued the Turks' recent bad run in the internationals but pulling off the upset scoreless draw. That allowed the Dutch to take the early upperhand int he group when the beat the Greeks handily, as expected.

Group B

Spain 1, France 1
Norway 3, Poland 1

This probably went as good as the Vikings could hope for. They beat Poland to give them the clear edge among the "also-rans", while the two favorites drew, putting the Norsemen on top of the group. For all as good as Spain is, France has to be disappointed to not start off strong here.

Group C

Serbia & Montenegro 2, Belarus 1
England 3, Italy 1

The English put in a statement in this match, as they took a commanding lead of the group with the toughest other team in their rear view mirror. Serbia & Montenegro probably should have beaten Belarus by more, but the win and three points is what counts. Italy is likely up in arms over this latest international debacle. They were barely competitive at Germany 2006, and they are the defending champs of this tournament.

Group D

Croatia 2, Portugal 0
Switzerland 1, Czech Republic 0

It's amazing how just one round can turn a whole group on its ear. The Swiss are here for show--or so it was said. They didn't get the memo, though, and surprised the stronger Czechs in front of the home crowd. And then Croatia pulled off the even bigger upset, continuing Portugal's recent string of poor success in international competitions.

ROUND TWO

Group A

Turkey 2, Holland 2
Greece 3, Austria 1

Holland missed a brilliant chance by failing to beat Turkey. The Turks, meanwhile, would be looking a lot better at this point if the Greeks hadn't beaten the Austrians to move up to second. A draw in that game would have suited Turkey much better. Holland still has the edge, but at this point, this group is still wide open.

Group B

Spain 2, Poland 1
France 1, Norway 0

For Norway, they need to win one of these last two games to get in, and Spain figures to be slightly easier than the French. Still, Norway put up a good fight before falling to the World Cup holders. Poland becomes the first squad to be eliminated after falling to Spain.

Group C

Italy 1, Serbia & Montenegro 0
Belarus 4, England 2

Here we have the epitome of intestinal fortitude. On one hand, we have the Italians, downtrodden and looking for a wint o break them out of their malaise. And we have the English, with an easy opponent at hand and a spot in the quarters there for the taking. Italy finally came through and got a hard fought win over the Serbs. England fell on its keister and gave up one of the biggest upsets in recent football history.

Group D

Croatia 3, Switzerland 1
Portugal 2, Czech Republic 0

Croatia could be expected to beat the Swiss, or at the very least match them blow-for-blow, but it was their win over Portugal that made this a pivotal game. Although their spot is not clinched, the surprising Croatians are virtually assured of advancing now. Portugal puts themselves square with the Swiss for that second spot, while the Czechs are all but eliminated in a very disappointing performance.

ROUND THREE

Group A

Turkey 2, Greece 0
Holland 2, Austria 0

The group's two spots were there for the taking, and the Dutch and Turks followed through. For Holland, it's just a completion of a foregone conclusion in this group, although there is some retribution for having drawn with Austria to start this group off. Turkey meanwhile earned itself some props for making up for a very poor showing at Germany 2006.

Group B

Spain 2, Norway 1
France 4, Poland 1

It came down to the Spain-Norway game, as no one realistically expected the eliminated Poles to compete with the French (and they didn't). It was a winner take all. Spain came in with more talent, and in the end, that was the difference in a tight contest. It wasn't quite the easy road projected, but France and Spain both left this group for the quarters.

Group C

Serbia & Montenegro 3, England 2
Italy 2, Belarus 0

England, perhaps disheartened by its shocking loss to Belarus, didn't have the gumption to come up with a needed win against the tough Serbs, and that proved to be their undoing. Italy, as expected, beat Belarus handily and won its way into the quarters after all. The surprising Serbs got the top spot on the basis of total goals scored. Of course, after reaching the World Cup final round in 2006, maybe it shouldn't be a surprise anymore that Serbia & Montenegro have gotten as far as they have.

Group D

Croatia 0, Czech Republic 0
Switzerland 2, Portugal 1

Who are the biggest losers in this Euro? England or Portugal? With a spot in the quarters on the line, the Portuguese choked away their chances and unbelievably fell to the homeland Swiss. Croatia wasn't as impressive in this round as previously, but it only needed a point to advance, and it got it. Shocking as it is, the two favorites are going home, and the Swiss and Croatians are moving on.

Quarterfinal Matchups

Holland --vs-- Spain
France --vs-- Turkey
Serbia & Montenegro --vs-- Switzerland
Croatia --vs-- Italy

CR

Chief Rum · 06-27-2004, 05:24 PM

Euro 2008 Austria/Switzerland Quarterfinals

SPAIN 1, HOLLAND 1 (Spain win on PK, 3-1)

What a way to start off the quarters! This is by far the best match yet of the tourney. The two teams evenly split up 38 total shots, with 22 on goal. Holland got a late exciting goal from midfielder Mark van Bommel of PSV in the 86th minute, to fight off the desperation of trying to solve Iker Casillas of Real Madrid in net for Spain. Spain had been holding onto a 1-0 lead since Raúl, also of Real Madrid, scored in the 24th minute. After equalizing, Holland and Spain battled it out through two extra time periods before reaching the penalty kicks. Xavi of Racing Santander opened up Spain's own end with a score, but Barcelona's Patrick Kluivert didn't get the Dutch started right by missing his. Fortunately for Holland, Deportivo's Diego Tristán gave them a gift and missed his, allowing PSV's Kevin Hofland to tie it up at 1-1. Fernando Navarro of Barcelona converted his turn to give Spain the 2-1 lead, setting up the shot of the day. Navarro's club teammate Denny Landzaat kicked his shot for Holland, but Casillas saved it, giving Spain the edge. Valencia's Miguel Angel Angulo put Spain up 3-1 on the next kick and putting the backs of Holland to the wall. When Inter's Andy van der Meyde missed his kick, it was all over, and Spain advanced to the semifinals. Despite losing, Dutch netminder Sander Westerweld of Real Sociedad got the man of the Match.

TURKEY 1, FRANCE 0

Wow! France's "inevitable" march to the title ended shockingly today, as Turkey continued to play well. This one had a goat, though. Real Madrid centreback Phillip Mexès tripped Betis's striker Sanli Tuncay in the 43rd minute and earned himself a send off with a professional foul! France was already a goal down, courtesy of a 23rd strike from Fenerbahçe's Akin Serhat, and now they had to fight back from a man down, too. Showing how good they are, they still outshot Turkey for the match, 13-9, and the ball was in Turkey's end 32% of the match, as opposed to 21% in France's end. But they couldn't beat Turkish goalkeeper Reçber Rustu of Barcelona. Fullback Kahriman Memhmet of Fenerbahçe earned the Man of the Match for his defensive work.

SERBIA & MONTENEGRO 2, SWITZERLAND 0

For all of the Swiss' relative reputation to Serbia & Montenegro, they held to past form and really tested the favored squad before falling. Switzerland put up six shots on goal to Serbia & Montenegro's three (although the Serbs took the overall shot count fight, 11-6), but they couldn't beat Vitesse netminder Dragoslav Jevric. The Serbs got to Swiss goalkeeper Diego Benaglio of Perugia early. Benaglio allowing two of the three shots on goal to get past him. They were scored by striker Andrija Kaludjerovic--ironically, Benaglio's teammate at Perugia--in just the 3rd minute, and midfielder Branko Boskovic of Paris-SG in the 27th minute. Jevric got the Man of the Match.

CROATIA 2, ITALY 0

Apparently beating out England to get to the quarters took all of fight out of the Italians, who quailed in typical form in this one. This was a very tight, defensive match, with just 13 shots taken. The Italians only put two of their seven on goal, while stunning Croatia had five of its six shots on goal. Unfortunately for Italy, star goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon of Juventus had an off-day, and allowed two goals to go by. It was a scoreless draw for most of the match before Croatia finally tested Buffon midway throught he second half. Striker Tomislov Sokota of Benfica finally got Croatia up one in the 66th minute, and fellow striker Domagoj Abramovic of Kamen Ingrad put the Croations up 2-0 just four minutes later, before the Italians realized they had been scored on in the first place. In a tournament that is becoming reknowned for its huge upstes, this is just another one. Juventus fullback Igor Tudor got the Man of the Match for his help on the backline.

SEMIFINAL MATCHUPS

Croatia --vs-- Spain
Serbia & Montenegro --vs-- Turkey

CR

Chief Rum · 06-27-2004, 06:31 PM

Euro 2008 Austria/Switzerland Semifinals

CROATIA 2, SPAIN 1

You have one major upset, why not make it two? Croatia seems intent on letting everyone know they are not to be taken lightly, after dispatching Spain to reach the Euro 2008 final, after being longshots to get to the tournament, out of the group stage and out of their quarterfinal match with Italy. They outshot the Soanish in a close match, 9-7, with a slight 3-2 on-goal advantage, while possession remained largely even. As in Spain's game against Holland, the Spanish got an early lead off of a Raúl goal in the 17th minute, but they couldn'ty make it stick. Striker Domagoj Abramovic, after scoring against Italy, is beginning to make a name for himself with important scores, as he pout in the equaliser in the 72nd minute. The Spanish, perhaps reeling from losing their grip on the lead, quickly allowed another in the 74th minute to Cibalia striker Ivan Zgela. That proved to be the difference, as Croatia pulled off yet another amazing upset. One of the few true stars on the Croation team, midfielder Jerko Leko of Schalke 04, got the Man of the Matchf or being a tackling force in the defensive midfield.

TURKEY 3, SERBIA & MONTENEGRO 0

As tough as this tournament has been with mostly defensive play, this one was a bit of a surprise. The Serbs were coming off of a strong showing in Germany 2006, a shutout of the Swiss in their quarterfinal, watched as Turkish star goalkeeper Reçber Rustu had to leave the match with a back strain in the 5th minute, and outshot the Turks 11-6. Despite all of this, they couldn't solve young star sensation netminder Ceylan Fatih of Denizlispor. The 19-year-old put up a 9 rating performance in replacing Rustu and shutting out a Serbian squad that tested him on a number of occasions. The Serbs also lost their goalkeeper, Jevric, the star of the quarterfinal with Switzerland, but unfortunately for them, he didn't get hurt until the 86th minute, as he played poorly (4 rating). Striker Tuncay got the early score in the 15th minute, and for a long time, that looked like it would be it. It wasn;t until late scores by Celta midfielder Yildiray Basturk and Werder Bremen midfielder Sahin Selçuk in the 78th and 88th minutes, respectively, that the Turks turned this one into a blow out. Tuncay receiuved the Man of the Match.

Okay, who picked the Turkey-Croatia final? Certainly wasn't me!

CR

Chief Rum · 06-27-2004, 07:07 PM

Euro 2008 Austria/Switzerland Final

Turkey Vs Croatia

Well, perhaps these two teams weren't expected to be here, meeting for the Euro 2008 Final at Ernst Happel Stade in Vienna, Austria, but they are.

For the Croatians, they are following in the footsteps tread by previous Eastern European successes like Romania and Serbia & Montenegro, which have begun to establish that football east and southeast of Germany is not necessarily worse.

For the Turks, this is retribution for what was once considered a very strong team that hit upon hard times. Poor perfoemcnes at Euro 2004 and Germany 2006 have stripped the gloss off of Turkey, but their strong showing here has firmly re-established them as a team to be reckoned with.

The Turks will have to go this one without goalkeeper Reçber Rustu, as he is still hurt from the back injury he suffered against Serbia & Montenegro, but they are probably feeling good with Ceylan Fatih in net. Since he played so well against the Serbs in relief of Rustu, he seems like a strong candidate to do well against Croatia today.

The Turks have had their problems putting goals on net, and this was quickly established once again, as what early shots they were taking didn't really reach Croation goalkeeper Stipe Pletikosa of Marseille. Their defense wasn't helped either when fullback Kahriman Mehmet, the star of their quarterfinal win over France, had to leave the match with a foot injury in the 10th minute. Centreback Asik Emre of Besiktas was put into service slightly out of position for the rest of the match.

Although there were a fair number of shots, the Turks couldn't put a shot on goal, and the Croatians couldn't solve Fatih, who is proving to be a huge big name goalkeeper on the rise at this point. It took an angry flare up between the two sides to change things.

In the 60th minute, defensive midfielders Turkey's Belözoglu Emre of Inter and Croatia's Jurica Vranjes of Hertha BSC got into it, resulting in Emre pushing Vranjes. The shove earned Emre a card. That only seemed to enrage him and he pushed Vranjes again! Referee Gilles Veissière had no choice but to send off the hothead Emre with his second yellow!

So now the Turks were going with a man down, an injured backline and their reserve goalkeeper. It was only a matter of time.

In the 82nd minute, Silvio Meric of Iraklis collected a clear out by Fatih at the midfield. After running to the middle of the pitch under pressure, Maric found striker Ivan Zgela charging toward the left corner and lofted a nice pass to him. Zgela, who scored the match winner against Spain, has been a creative playmaker up front for Croatia all tournament, and he is no different on this play. After a quick jaunt into the box, Zgela sent a high pass into the far end of the six-yard box. Fatih, drawn to the post near Zgela, had to scramble back to fron the expected shot. The pass fell to star midfielder Jerko Leko, and Leko powered a header toward the right corner of the goal. Fatih wasn't able to get near the shot before the ball blasted into the net for what proved to be the only score of the match.

Croatia wins Euro 2008 in Austria/Switzerland by the score of 1-0.

Overall, the Croatians had the edge in shots taken, 12 (8) to 10 (3), and they also generally cotnrolled possession, with 31% of the time spent in Turkey's end, asopposed to 21% in their own. Still, you have to wonder what the match might have been like if Emre hadn't have lost his cool. Not only did he put the Turks a man down, but he is also one of their best playmakers.

Despite allowing the game-winner, Fatih rightfully got the Man of the Match. His play at Euro 2008 might signal the arrival of a new star goalkeeper on the scene.

Euro 2012 will also be held jointly, in the British kingdoms of Scotland and Wales.

CR

Chief Rum · 06-27-2004, 07:37 PM

Other International Competitions

African Nations Cup

Senegal won its third straight African Nations Cup, beating Cameroon. It's a shame neithee of those temas made it to the World Cup in Germany. Morocco was in third, and Cameroon was hosting the event.

Asian Cup

Perhaps buoyed by reaching the World Cup in Germany and hosting the 2010 event, the Chinese surprised and won the Asian Cup, beating traditional power South Korea. Iran, another Asian team that did surprisingly well at Grmany 2006, finished in third. The event was held in the United Arab Emirates.

OFC Nations Cup

Australia won its third straight OFC Nations Cup, and for the second straight time, it was over New Zealand that they won it. No other nation from the Oceania area has ever won the cup excpet for Australia and New Zealand. The Solomon Islands finished in third in the event, hosted by New Zealand.

Copa America

Argentina edged out the United States in a tight final for the most prestigious New World international event. Powerful Brazil, which was defeated by the American team, finished in third. The event was hosted by Venezuela.

CR

Chief Rum · 06-28-2004, 03:56 AM

Tamworth 2008/09 Offseason

We are finally beginning to approach where I am in the game, and where I will resume in somewhat Quiksand form.

Before we get to the season, though, we have an offseason to go through. And as you might expect, having a wildly successful season as we have had, we have both more expectations and a lot more money to work with.

Last season, I had about an $11-12 M wage bill, and $14 M in transfer fees. With our balance as high as it is (in the 40 M's, and that includes paying some $7 M in dividends to club stockholders, whom I didn't even know we had).

This year, I was shocked when I was handed a $24.5 M wage budget and $24 M in transfer fees! I had had enough troubles filling last year's wage budget (I ended up about $1.7 M short), although I did spend just about all of my transfer account.

WHO"S GONE

Before I go into what needs I may have, I figure it is important to note who is leaving. I can afford to keep everyone from last year's roster, even the reserve squad, but if I don't have to, why keep them?

Amaya was the obvious first player to know of. I transfer-listed him, as I said I would, a move he liked, of course, as he has wanted to leave the club for some time. It will take someone else to get him off of my hands, though--I signed him to a trhee-year extension the last offseason, and he still has two years to go.

I'm not going to say the guys I released (or allowed to leave) are importna. They were almost all reserve team guys. Amaya was the highest profile player that is on the outs, and he's not even gone yet.

The other main guy I am moving out also happens to be Salvadoran. Juan José Gómez, my former goalkeeper, spent most of the season with my reserve squad and wasn't too happy about it. He and I were both relieved when his contract came to an end.

In all, nineteen players were released from their contracts in July. John Jensen was probably the most significant of the remaining guys. I will remember his contributions fondly, but the fact is, Jensen was getting too old and has always been too slow to really help me at either defensive midfielder or on the backline anymore.

Among significant long time Lambs, this offseason also witnessed the expiration of contracts for former dribbling star Steve Torpey, occasional backup midfielder Martin O'riordan and several former key backline players, including former starters Joe Taylor, David Perkins, Danny James and Richard Follett. Notable frontline and midfield departures include Ifenildo Vlijker--who atually scored 11 goals for this past season in spot duty in the midfield spot, and striker Jason Jadin, who saw more action in the lower divisions than he did this season.

HOW WE STAND

Before we begin to try and spend this offseason money, it's time to take a snapshot of how we stand at our positions.

In the net, with Gomez gone, we have three remaining goalkeepers of some value. Casper Nelis played in many of our key matches, but he is getting older and has the lesser of skills amongst my keepers. Jon Masalin, the young Finnish goalkeeper, has youth and good skills, but he was inconsistent this season. Then I have Thomas Heaton, the reserve goalkeeper. Heaton perhaps has better upside than Masalin, but he is unhappy at spending the season on the reserve squad. My defense allowed too many goals, and I would like to bring in a big name goalkeeper, if anything else, for ease of mind. But i'm not sure, skills-wise, I'm going to find much better than what I have for a reasonable price.

So I decided to list Nelis, place him on the reserve squad and elevate Heaton to the first team. Nelis and Masalin might provide me with the better combo this season, but Nelis is just here now, while Heaton is a part of the future. I think it's time to bring him up.

At centreback, I am happy with Raven and Cort defensively, but I like the concept of having centrebacks with some offensive skills. I also felt I needed more quality depth, as Otsemobor is relatively unproven, Phillips is split between centreback and defensive midfielder, and young Peter Castle, my top reserve centreback and himself a youth ont he rise, is still unproven. So I figure to bring in some centreback help.

On the reserve squad, young Kevin Gorman appears to be ready to move to the big club, and I am excited by his potential, especially as an attacking fullback. With Mike Duff still around as the starter, and another good kid in Pat Davenport (and do-everything defneder-midfielder Jarl Andre Starbæk) around, I am relatively happy with right fullback.

Left fullback is another matter. While I have no individual issues with the quality of play I was getting from either Hermann Hreidarsson or Justin Skinner, the fact is they are 33 and 35 years old, respectively. I definitely need to get younger and get better depth there.

The emergence of Michael Stewart as a star at defensive midfielder was huge for me, as that is a very critical position in my tactic. But I knew I could use mroe depth. I felt I could use Phillips--who isn't very strong offensively--better at centreback, and if I do so, and keep guys like Duff and Hreidarsson at fullback, then I am suddenly out of quality depth at defensive midfielder. So this is an area to look at.

I was strong on the left wing until Williams suffered his knee injury. With him out to at least January and most of my other options outside of Motteram either not good enough or better suited at other positions, I saw this as a need area for at least one player.

Strangely enough, the right wing has ridiculous depth. Corbett was wonderful as the starter, and Partridge is probably our best backup player. We still have Chris Booth, who played with the reserve squad, and he appears to be ready for the jump to the big time. And we have Darren Birchall as well, who is better suited to wing spots anyway than the midfield positions he has been handling. We even still have Hicks, although, for now, he remains better used up front as frontline depth.

In the middle, we could have some issues. With Amaya unhappy and tarnsfer-listed, we can't count on him. And with Birchall being as inconsistent as he has been, I'm not ready to commit to him as the starter either. So it's just about an empty slate here, and probably our top priority of the offseason.

The front spots have long time stars (Oskarsson and WIlde), and newer, younger star talents (Yakubu and Pereplyotkin). But I would feel more comfortable with another hired gun or two up here. The problem is, strikers cost so much, I'm not sure I can actually bring one in.

And that's where we stand.

INTERNATIONAL JOBS

Just a break from the offseason maneuvering for a second. I don't aspire to just be a club manager. I also would like to manage national teams.

Not surprisingly, the latest round of international competitions have produced some openings. Italy, England and France all sacked their managers. Having looked around, I also found that the Colombian manager was sacked for a poor performance in the Copa America, and bad play int he Asian Cup opened up the Japan job. I went ahead and applied for all.

I quickly found out I wouldn't get the English or Italian jobs, as they were filled right away. France remains open, though. A month into the season, Colombia and Japan both hired new managers. It would have been nice if they had sent me a message to acknowledge this. So it's France or bust--and they still haven't filled the position. Weird.

WHO I BROUGHT IN

Unlike previous seasons, I didn't sign a bunch of players via Bosman ahead of time, at least not before my new wage budget and transfer accounts were announced. So I knew what I had to get and what I had availabel to spend to it before I made any personnel decisions here.

I immediately began a round of offers, to both impending Bosman transfers, and for straight transfers as well.

Plenty of players didn't work out at all. I put in a bid for Freddy Adu, now an 19-year-old with SC Freiburg, and even worked out a deal for him and with him, but he has yet to establish his credentials internationally, and he did not receive a permit. That was a huge deal ($10 M) that fell apart. I put in enquiries for midfielders like Middlesbrough's Stuart Downing, a left winger I remembered fondly from my Boro dynasty days, and Romanian midfield star Tiberiu Ghaone with Greuther Furth. Greuther Furth asked for way to much for Ghaone, and so did the Boro with Downing, although we eventually agreed to a deal that I allowed to fall apart because of the possibility of an Adu deal.

I inquired about numerous top goalkeepers. My requests for transfer prices on Spanish goalkeeper Iker Casillas and American star keeper Tim Howard, with real Madrid and Deportivo, were both turned down. I could have bid for Chelsea's Petr Cech, but decided I didn't like him any better than my current guys.

I had a deal for Poland striker Emmanuel Olisadebe fall through after he demanded far too much money to sign with us. That deal, which I tried to put together after the Adu deal fell apart, was far an even larger amount, some $13 M or so. There were many others for whom it's not importent enough to detail what happened with them and my enquiries. Suffice to say, who I did get was the result of numerous offeres and considerations across Europe, and I missed as much as I hit.

At goalkeeper, rebuffed for my top targets, I didn't end up signing anyone and stood by with Masalin and Heaton. No one has bitten on Nelis either, so it appears he will remain with my reserve team in the mean time.

My most expensive signing of the offseason was Blackburn defender James McEveley, a 23-year-old star who already had four seasons starting in the EPL under his belt, with three of them averaging over a 7 rating. He's fast, tall, smart, a great tackler and good defender, and he has midfield offensive skills. He can also play center or on the left, meaning he fills two roles for me. I spent $8.5 M on him, by far the most I have ever spent on a player.

McEveley was nice because he was just 23, but I failed to get the other young centreback I was hoping to get, and I failed to get another true left back at all (alhough I fouind guys at other spots to help out there). So I signed veteran 32-year-old Dutch defender Tieme Klompe. Klompe isn't a long term answer, obviously, but he was one of the most skilled players I could have gotten. He is an incredible defender and even faster and taller than McEveley. He, too, has very good offensive skills, works very hard and works well with others. I spent $2.3 M on him from Erdivisie club Herenveen.

Not only was defensive midfield a need position for me behind Stewart, but it also provided the best combination of skilsl that were useful for the sort of attacking fullbacks I wanted to have at left fullback. So when I had the chance to sign three different guys here, I went for it.

The most prominent is a name some you will know from real life, or will have remembered from this recent Euro: Denny Landzaat. Landzaat, the 32-year-old defensive midfielder for Holland and one of the players to miss a penalty kick in the loss to Spain in the quarters of Euro 2008, was nearing the end of his contract with Barcelona. He combined solid physical skills, great field smarts and fine playmaking ability, especially as a passer. He was also a very good defender. His only detractions were his age and the fact he wasn't top of the lists physically (merely very solid). I signed Landzaat on a Bosman transfer to a very reasonable deal.

The other two defensive midfield signees are younger players with more longterm potential for success. I signed them both on Bosmans as well. David Prutton is a well-regarded 27-year-old who can play both defensive midfield and at wing and fullback. He isn just a shade slower than Landzaat, but he is a premier offensive defender. He also works very hard and is very good defensively. It took a bit to sign him, with him drawing a second-highest $1.1 M salary, but I won his services over several other teams. He came originally from Newcastle. Gaël Clichy was the other signee. The French 23-year-old is more comfortable on the left side, and he will be my primary backup at left fullback. He has a good round of skills, much like Landzaat and Prutton, but he is less developed right now, and also not nearly as physically blessed (although he has fine top speed). He could develop further, but Landzaat and Prutton are clearly the catches in this group.

On the left wing, I targeted a player I had long kept tabs on, someone I loved having on my team when I was in Middlesbrough. WImbledon winger Lionel Morgan was a terrific winger in the mold of what I look for at the position. He is an elite crosser and dribbler, with skills there that I haven't seen on anyone else yet but the very top wingers in the world. He is just a tad short of explosive with his speed. He is a fine passer and is very dangerous with long shots, enough that I will occasionally use him int he middle. Where he lacks a little is that he isn't as strong a tackler as I like, and while he is no slouch mentally, he isn't as nearly as across the board competent at the mental game as some of my other players. Regardless, he should serve very well as a backup to Motteram and Williams, when he comes back. I got him for $4 M.

I said the middle of the tactic was in dire need of a new round of players, with Amaya on the outs and Birchall not perceived as the answer. I did my most work bringing in help here. I tapped South America for help here, although all three players I signed were European regulars.

Colombian forward Johnnier Montaño is an international regular and a player dangerous from both the midfield and at striker. In fact, it was his strength as a striker that made me consider him for this position, as my attacking midfielders make a lot of aggressive forward runs. He is as explosive as Pereplytokin and Yakubu. He has an excellent combination of passing, creativity, flair and decisions, which makes him a very creative playmaker. And he has winger-level dribbling and crossing skills to go along with solid finishing and off the ball. He isn't very tall or powerful, but he more than makes up for it elsewhere. We signed the 25-year-old away from Parma, where he scored 70 goals from 2003-05 before being relegated to reserves and loans by Parma's ridiculous wealth of talent.

To be his primary backup, I brought in 29-year-old Chilean international David Marcelo Cortez Pizarro from Inter. Pizarro spent most of his career in Serie A, but for the past two years, he was playing as a loan with Turkish power Galatasaray. Pizarro is just as creative as Montaño, works harder and is a smarter player. He's also a terrific dribbler, and is a better tackler. Where he falters, besides age, is that he isn't nearly fast (although his speed is still very good). Unlike Montaño, Pizarro is definitely a natural midfiedler and has been his whole career, from the looks of it.

The third acquisition was more because of his versatility when the team had a run of injuries in the first month of the season in August. Last year, I had tried to bring in Man Utd reserve midfielder Giovanny Hernández, but he wanted too much money per year. His demands this time around were much more reasonable. The 32-year-old Colombian is also an international teammate of Montaño, and has long had the ability to play all three midfield positions, a versatility that earned him an offer from me. Man Utd had been trying to move him for some time, and he was dissatisfied with his backup role as well. He isn't as aggressive as Pizarro and Montaño, but he is just as creative as either of them. He nearly has the technical offensive skills to match Montaño, and he has better speed than Pizarro. He's also a smarter player than Montaño, if not so much as Pizarro. He's somewhat of a mix of the two. Additionally, with him having gotten regular time with Man Utd just two seasons ago, he was well-known and his signing increased shirt sales for us.

The last signing here may be the most significant. I felt I wanted to bring ina another striker, but, as I said, I was concerned about the cost. Efforts to bring in Adu and Olisadebe failed, but I had already secured my first option in case those didn't work out (which they didn't). I signed away Sevilla striker Louis Saha of Fulham and Man Utd fame. The French striker looks like he has been through several career cycles, and yet, he is just 29 years old when we bring him in. After a return to quality play following a couple down years in 2003-04, Saha was bought by Man Utd. The British superpower was too well-stocked, though, and Saha was eventually transferred to Sevilla in the middle of the 2004-05 season. There he saw regular first team time for a couple seasons (and played well) before being sent to Sevilla's Second Division team. Despite playing well, he never got back to the first team in the Primera Liga and was clearly frustrated with the lack of progress his career was making. So, basically, I came along at just the right time and signed, IMO, the biggest name I could for relatively cheap.

Saha doesn't quite have the combination of speed and finishing that some of my other strikers have, but he's still 15+ across the board there. He may be the most complete of my strikers mentally. And he has the sort of creative skilsl that can make him useful when he needs to turn to more midfield style play. Really, his all around quality, while not elite everywhere, is rather shocking considering he was basically relegated to anonymity by Sevilla and Man Utd. I'm hoping his return to the EPL will faeture him with a huge chip on his shoulder. I got him on a Bosman transfer.

And that completed my offseason transactions for the first offseason. I really feel I have put together a second team that could compete well in the EPL. In fact, I have split up my best two "elevens" as separate units, and have a set of backups to play with both of them. The result is I basically have two wholely different lineups, which support each other.

CR

Chief Rum · 06-28-2004, 06:28 PM

When I reach around the first of September in my dialogue here, I will provide you all with a look at osme of th ebest footballers and leagues in the world, and what is thought ot happen this season. But I have a lot fo stuff going down in August first, including our first matches, so I will do that first. I will also go through the first position lists, as Quik would do with his teams.

CR

Chief Rum · 06-28-2004, 09:07 PM

Tamworth First Team Roster

Here is the Tamworth roster we are currently running with.

Some small notes: I have included Casper Nelis on the first team, but the relaity is that he will actually be on the reserve squad to get regular playing time, in case I need him. I have not included Amaya on this list, for reasons both already listed and others soon to be made.

I don't have it noted here, but Andy Williams is hurt and out until January. There are other injuries, but I won't detail them until my August post.

If the first team looks large, partly that's because some of these guys are transfer-listed, and partly because I'm just looking to carry a big team. Guys who are listed include GK Casper Nelis, DL Justin Skinner, and DC Mark Warren, as well as most of my reserve squad, which mostly has left overs from my lower division teams.

The roster...

Code:


Keepers             Age  Wage   Value   Top Skills

Thomas Heaton        22  $100K   $1.7 M  Agility, Reflexes, Aerial Ability, Command of Area
Jon Masalin          22   $35K     $1 M  Handling, Rushing Out, Aerial Ability, Communication
Casper Nelis         31   $35K   $875 K  Agility, Aerial Ability, Handling, Eccentricity

Defenders           Age  Wage   Value   Top Skills

Pat Davenport        18   $40K   $475 K  Teamwork, Acceleration, Stamina, Balance
Mike Duff            30  $575K   $2.9 M  Work Rate, Marking, Determination, Balance
Kevin Gorman         20  $160K   $1.7 M  Agility, Balance, Jumping, Stamina
Jon Otsemobor        25   $65K   $2.3 M  Marking, Acceleration, Agility, Pace
Jarl Andre Starbæk   29   $85K   $1.4 M  Crossing, Influence, Positioning, Pace
Gaël Clichy          23  $160K   $3.5 M  Stamina, Pace, Determination, Decisions
Hermann Hreidarsson  34  $825K   $300 K  Heading, Bravery, Positioning, Agility
James McEveley       23   $1 M   $5.5 M  Tackling, Heading, Pace, Stamina
Justin Skinner       35   $40K    $95 K  Aggression, Work Rate, Marking, Teamwork
Peter Castle         21  $100K   $2.2 M  Marking, Tackling, Positioning, Acceleration
Leon Cort            28  $110K   $5.5 M  Heading, Jumping, Tackling, Positioning
Tieme Klompe         32  $625K     $1 M  Marking, Work Rate, Bravery, Positioning
Mark Phillips        26  $300K   $3.7 M  Determination, Acceleration, Pace, Influence
Mark Warren          33   $75K   $200 K  Heading, Agility, Marking, Jumping
David Raven          23   $75K   $2.9 M  Passing, Heading, Teamwork, Marking

Midfielders         Age  Wage   Value   Top Skills

Denny Landzaat       32  $850K     $2 M  Strength, Decisions, Influence, Positioning
Danny Prutton        26 $1.1 M     $6 M  Determination, Off The Ball, Teamwork, Work Rate
Michael Stewart      27  $230K  $10.5 M  Heading, Determination, Bravery, Aggression
Darren Birchall      30   $85K   $3.7 M  Dribbling, Off The Ball, Technique, Crossing
Chris Booth          18   $60K   $625 K  Penalty Taking, Balance, Agility, Pace
Jim Corbett          28   $80K   $2.7 M  Dribbling, Crossing, Passing, Agility
Giovanny Hernández   32  $725K   $2.2 M  Flair, Set Pieces, Decisions, Off The Ball
Carl Motteram        22  $900K  $6.25 M  Crossing, Passing, Creativity, Finishing
Richie Partridge     27  $400K  $6.75 M  Dribbling, Decisions, Stamina, Crossing
Lionel Morgan        25  $825K  $6.75 M  Crossing, Dribbling, Long Shots, Balance
Andy Williams        30  $500K   $1.6 M  Crossing, Bravery, Dribbling, Pace
David Pizarro        29  $500K $13.25 M  Teamwork, Flair, Agility, Creativity
Johnnier Montaño     25  $775K  $10.5 M  Off The Ball, Pace, Agility, Acceleration

Forwards            Age  Wage   Value   Top Skills

Mark Hicks           27  $450K   $9.5 M  Dribbling, Crossing, Pace, Long Shots
Orri Freyr Oskarsson 28  $950K   $2.4 M  Pace, Determination, Off The Ball, Work Rate
Adam Wilde           29  $400K   $2.6 M  Finishing, Strength, Balance, Agility
Andre Pereplytokin   22  $475K $10.25 M  Finishing, Influence, Acceleration, Pace
Louis Saha           30  $625K     $4 M  Off The Ball, Determination, Flair, Pace
Yakubu               25 $1.2 M    $17 M  Finishing, Acceleration, Pace, Strength

My projected first team is as follows:

GK Jon Masalin
DR Mike Duff
DL Hermann Hreidarsson
DC Leon Cort
DC David Raven
DMC Michael Stewart
AMC Johhnier Montaño
MR Jim Corbett
ML Carl Motteram
FC Orri Freyr Oskarsson
FC Yakubu

My "second first" team is as follows:

GK Thomas Heaton
DR Kevin Gorman
DL Gaël Clichy
DC James McEveley
DC Tieme Klompe
DMC Denny Landzaat
AMC David Marcelo Cortez Pizarro
MR Richie Partridge
ML Lionel Morgan
FC Andrei Pereplyotkin
FC Louis Saha

I will be switching these whole lineups game-after-game, and my plan is to never have one serving as backups for the other (I mean, as substitutes). That way, I alwys have a fresh-and-ready lineup to go for each match. The only exception will be Masalin/Heaton, whom will switch off in backup roles. As goalkeepers don't really get tired, this should eb very doable.

Although every player not on the above list is technically available for backup/sub-duty, there will certainly be favorites. These are the players I see as likely being heavy backup/sub contributors.

DRC Jon Otsemobor
DC Peter Castle
DRL Jarl Ander Starbæk
DMC Danny Prutton
MRC Darren Birchall
AMC Giovanny Hernández
MR Chris Booth
FC Mark Hicks
FC Adam Wilde

Of course, that's practically a thrid team right there. I have a feeling juggling limited playing time will be a key to me keeping these guys happy.

CR

Chief Rum · 06-28-2004, 11:32 PM

Top Transfers Of June-August, 2008

I have detailed my own offseason, but there were a bunch of other clubs making moves, too, of course. Here's a look at the big transfers that took place during the first transfer window.

SC Fernando Cavenaghi (ARG) from River to Inter for $32.5 M on August 28, 2008
SC Kapo (FRA) from Auxerre to Barcelona for $32 M on August 12, 2008
DC William Gallas (FRA) from Chelsea to Roma for $24 M on July 20, 2008
FB Gianluca Zambrotta (ITA) from Juventus to Milan for $24 M on July 30, 2008
LW Denílson (BRA) from Roma to Arsenal for $24 M on August 31, 2008
MF Barry Ferguson (SCO) from Blackburn to Newcastle for $23.5 M on August 28, 2008
DC Mikaël Silvestre (FRA) from Man Utd to Milan for $21 M on July 26, 2008
SC Ronaldhino (BRA) from Roma to Dortmund for $20.5 M on July 12, 2008
FB Diego Placente (ARG) from Deportivo to Chelsea for $19.25 M on July 18, 2008
SC César Delgado (ARG) from Cruz Azul to Parma for $18.75 M on August 7, 2008
MF Johann Vogel (SWI) from PSV to Juventus for $18.5 M on August 25, 2008
SC Tristán Diego (SPA) from Deportivo to Barceolna for $17.75 M on August 22, 2008
SC Hernán Crespo (ARG) from Chelsea to Arsenal for $17.25 M on August 26, 2008
FB Willy Sagnol (FRA) from FC Bayern to Dortmund for $17 M on August 3, 2008
MF Gérson (BRA) from Bahia to PSV for $16.5 M on August 15, 2008
SC Bobo (BRA) from Grêmio to Juventude for $16.25 M on August 30, 2008
DC Sylvain Distin (FRA) from Milan to Roma for $15 M on July 27, 2008
FB Juan Pablo Sorin (ARG) from Deportivo to Juventus for $15 M on August 25, 2008
MF Richard Blonk (NED) from Feyenoord to Ajax for $14 M on August 29, 2008
RW Mario Alberto Santana (ARG) from Chievo to FC Bayern for $14 M on August 31, 2008
FB Wayne Bridge (ENG) from Chelsea to Man City for $13.75 M on June 30, 2008
SC Sylvain Perrin (FRA) from Auxerre to Newcastle for $13.5 M on August 17, 2008
MF Kieron Dyer (ENG) from Chelsea to Roma for $12.5 M on July 1, 2008
MF Riccardo Montolivo (ITA) from VfB Stuttgart to FC Bayern for $12.5 M on August 12, 2008
RW Javier León (SPA) from Athletic Bilbao to Benfica for $12.25 M on July 15, 2008
SC Aruna (IVO) from Anderlecht to Man City for $11.75 M on August 30, 2008
RW Simao (POR) from Benfica to Deportivo for $11.25 M on August 25, 2008
SC Ronaldo (BRA) from HSV to Real Madrid for $11 M on August 24, 2008
SC Jaime Alfonzo Ruíz (COL) from Cortuluá to Basel for $10.75 M on June 30, 2008
MF Christoph Preub (GER) from Valencia to VfB Stuttgart for $10 M on July 31, 2008
MF Cristiano Zanetti (ITA) from Liverpool to Liverpool for $10 M on August 30, 2008

Comments: A couple years ago, it was Gemrnay dominating the purchasing. This past window, it was the Italians. Milan, Inter, Juventus, Roma and Parma all made huge buys in their attempts to secure one of the tougher crowns to get in football. Of course, Juventus has won it three years in a row--will their moves be enought o hold off the others? Another thing I noticed here is a huge run on defenders, particularly the starting backline for France. Usually, defenders don't cost so much, so they aren't so prevalent on lists based around transfer fee amounts. But with names like Gallas, Silvestre, Distin, Zambrotta, Placente, Sagnol and Bridge out there, it's not a surprise to see them drawing some big ticket prices. Among interesting side notes, it's no surprise that France's budding star striker Kapo finally found his way to the always-rich Primera Liga, although it is a bit of strange twist that Brazilian superstar striker Ronaldo--now 32--has found his way back to Real Madrid. The Brazlian was bought by Dortmund two years ago, moved to HSV after a season, and now goes back to Madrid. Not surprisingly, none of the Tamworth deals made the list, although the McEveley deal ($8.5 M) would have been close, and the Adu ($10 M) and Olisadebe ($12.75 M) deals would have qualified if they hadn't fallen through.

CR

Chief Rum · 06-29-2004, 02:09 AM

August 2008

Player Contracts

We were told whose contracts would be up at the end of this season. Here are the key players, and what we are planning to do with them.

MF Darren Birchall ($85,000, asking for $575,000)-- Birchall has had a good run with us, but I can't see re-signing a guy in his 30s to be a third team backup. If I determine I can get by without him, I will probably list him soon.

DC Leon Cort ($110,000, asking for $1.1 M)-- Cort's situation will bear watching. He remains a tremendous player and the best guy on our backline. That said, McEveley is probably the future at his spot, and his current partner Raven is younger than he is. Both McEveley and Raven have better offensive skills than Cort, and are better working together on defense. Cort is only 29, though, and in his prime.

DRC Mike Duff ($575,000, asking for $750,000)-- Duff's future may rest with the development of Pat Davenport and Kevin Gorman. Gorman is the future, and a true attacking fullback, but Duff is still the best defender of the three. Davenport, who is only 18, is likeoly the defensive future at the position, and although Duff is a nice guy to keep around, I'm not sure I will need to.

All three primary listed players, GK Casper Nelis, DL Justin Skinner, and DC Mark Warren are all in their last years, and obviously, we have no intention of resigning any of them.

Premiership Odds

Early in the month, the Premiership odds were announced.

Oddsmakers set Manchester United as the favorites at 7-4 to win the league this season, which didn't surprise me at all.

We were picked for third, with 3-1 odds to repeat as the Premiership champs. This is the first time in this dynasty that the oddsmakers didn't think we would be relegated, which is no surprise--it matches the expectations of our board and our supporters.

Chelsea was picked just ahead of us for second, with 2-1 odds. They also mentioned Arsenal (5-1), Liverpool (10-1) and Newcastle (10-1).

Community Shield

As the winners of the EPL and the FA Cup, we get to meet ourselves for the Community Shield--just kidding.

In the traditional opener of the Premiership season, we were set to face EPL runenr up Manchester United at our home away from home Wembley on August 10.

Last year, when we beat Chelsea 4-2 in this event, the boys at Stamford Bridge marched out alrgely a second-squad team, much to my disappointment. I wasn't to be disappointed against Man Utd. They presented me a lineup that included Barthez, Ferdinand, Govou, Anelka and Klose.

With both of us sending out top lineups, it was a brutal, wide-open contest from the very beginning. Orri Freyr Oskarsson got us scoring right away, blasting a shot into the corner off of a nice Johnnier Montaño pass in the 9th minute.

Nicolas Anelka equalized in the 30th minute, off of a nice crossing pass from Sidney Govou. The tie didn't last long, as Montaño took a terrific long ball from Mike Duff on a run into the box. Barthez tried to cut him off with a rush out, but Montaño sidestepped slightly and sent in a low shot off of the right post for the 2-1 lead.

It went to halftime that way, but it didn't take Man Utd long in the second half to tie it up again. In the 50th minute, Anelka sent a really nice pass to Miroslav Klose, who timed it well to get a step on our backline. Jon Masalin made a bad decision to rush out on the ball and missed the loose ball. Klose chipped a little side pass to Govou, and the French winger sent an easy score into a wide open net.

Klose probably could have scored on his one in that last one, but he got his eventually. In the 53rd minute, Klose took a nice pass from Govou into the box and sent a low shot across the goal and into the side net. Masalin is not doing well today.

Anelka got back into the action just a minute later, as Man Utd was really turning it on. Duff went for a bad interception attempt on a Keiran Richardson pass, and Klose got open toward the goal. He moved it up to Anelka, streaking into the box. Anelka finished off the goal with a nice 20-yard striker past Masalin, and a 4-2 Man Utd lead (including three goals in four minutes).

The blitzkrieg by Man Utd was finished off in the 60th minute, when Klose went in wide on the box with the ball. He took a difficult shot, but it showed that he is a worldclass striker in that he still made the difficult angled shot, putting Man Utd up 5-2. Ouch.

In the 82nd minute, we got a little bit of pride back. Mark Hicks got free on the left flank near the box and sent a strong cross into the six yard box. The ball was intercepted by centreback Phillip Bardsley, but he couldn't control it. it squirted out to Richie Partridge, playing attacking midfielder in this one, and Partridge blasted it past Fabien Barthez for our third score.

And that's how it ended. Machester United 5, Tamworth 3

Player Injuries

August was a tough month for the Lambs, as we lost a number of key players to injury.

I have mentioned Williams, of course, with his knee injury. He is still a long way from coming back.

Early in the month, young fullback Pat Davenport suffered a groin injury and will be out for two months. He had been contending for the second team right back spot, but it looks like Kevin Gorman gets it by default.

The week leading up to and including the open of the Premiership season on August 16 was particularly brutal. On August 9, new defensive midfielder David Prutton suffered a shin inury that will sit him for two weeks. As if it's a spreading disease, starting right winger Jim Corbett also suffered a shin injury on August 12, putting him out of the opener for sure and probably putting him out of the second game as well. Then, as if we needed more hits to our wing depth, new left winger Lionel Morgan had a knee injury (and true to form, as he has proven ot be oft-injured in his career, as has Prutton), and will miss two weeks.

The big injury didn't happen until the August 16 season opener against Aston Villa, though. Oskarsson suffered an arm injury, and it turned out to be broken. He will miss a month, and that will hurt our striker depth, which ois probably the weakest depth on the team.

Complicating things, we didn't get Giovanny Hernández from Man Utd until August 17, meaning that on top of missing several players to injury, we were also short in the midfield for a bit. We were so short, we even had to play the doghoused José Alexander Amaya against Chelsea in our second match.

Amaya and Montaño

Why Montaño, our new attacking midfielder, with Amaya? You'll see in a sec.

First of all, I did finally resolve the future of Amaya. I sent out feelers to clubs early in August after I didn't get any bites from just having him on the list. One of the teams to express interest, but not at the price I was asking (Amaya was valued at $1.4 M at the time), was Colchester United, which had just been promoted from the First Division.

After a couple back-and-forths, we finally settled on a $100,000 transfer. That's obviously not a terrific value for me, but I just didn't see the point of expecting so much for him at this point. It was more worth it for me to move him. Amaya's move, which had to go through a work permit application, finally went through on August 23.

In the days leading up to the season opener against Aston Villa, I had problems with Amaya's primary replacement, Montaño. Apparently, Montaño was having personal problems, and would be looking to take a small break from football for a while. I hadn't ever seen this before, so I wasn't even sure how to deal with it. Montaño didn't seem to want to leave the club; he was just generally unhappy. The message hinted it would go away with time, but I decided to honor his message by leaving him off of the playing roster for a little while. I didn't play him for the three matches following the season opener (which also contributed to Amaya making one last appearance with us before being shipped out).

Of course, this turned out to be the wrong thing to do, as Montaño soon sent me a message questioning why he wasn't seeing regular football. I guess his break didn't last so long. So I put him back in the rotation, and just hoped his unhappiness would ease over time. He still wants to stay with the club, so that's a good thing. The last thing I wanted in a new attacking midfielder was a headcase, though.

The First Premiership Matches

We started off with three Premiership matches from August 16-23. We opened the season at the Lamb Ground against Aston Villa on August 16, went to Chelsea on August 20, and then wrapped up the week by playing Liverpool at home on August 23.

Yakubu really showed up for our season opener, scoring two goals to lead us against Aston Villa. We limited the Villans to just one shot in the match. Tamworth 3, Aston Villa 0

Our first road match with Chelsea was a wild one. We jumped onto a 2-0 lead behind David Pizarro's first score with us, and a strike by Pereplytokin. Star Dutch striker Arjen Robben made it 2-1 in the 44th minute, but we seemed to have things under control when Louis Saha put us up two goals in the 61st minute. Shows how much I know. Two more of Chelsea's star forwards in Adrian Mutu and Hernán Crespo--before he was moved to Arsenal--brought the Blues storming back to a 3-3 tie in the 71st and 75th minutes.

I thought it would end up in a draw, when we finally broke through in injury time, scoring past Petr Cech for the win. Who did the scoring? You won't believe it--Amaya. It was his last goal for us. Tamworth 4, Chelsea 3

Pizarro and Montaño both scored in their debuts with us this month, so it should come as no surprise that Giovanny Hernández should do the same in his. He kicked us off to a strong start against a good team in the 9th minute. Adam Wilde and Richie Partridge also both scored as we took care of the Reds at home with ease. Tamworth 3, Liverpool 1

With three opening wins to the Premiership season, we're off to a good start in our title defense.

Super Cup

Thanks to our victory in the UEFA Cup, we also received the honor of playing in the Super Cup, which is the international version of the Community Shield.

We would meet up with Serie A power AC Milan at the Stade Louis II in Monaco on August 29.

I knew Milan had a good team, but when I checked out their lineup, I was just shocked at all the stars they had. They had Ruud van Nistlerooy, fresh off of a $5.75 M transfer from Real Madrid, at one striker spot, and Pereplyotkin's striker partner for the Ukrainian national team in Andriy Shevchenko at one other spot. As they ran a 4-3-3, they actually employed three forwards, so they had Brazilian star forward Kaká in the lineup, too. Their three midfielders were former Arsenal star Patrick Vieira in the middle, former Man Utd star Kléberson and Italian national midfielder Massimo Ambrosini. They had another Italian national in Alessandro Nesta at centreback, and among other players back there, they had recent star transfers Gianluca Zambrotta and Mikaël Silvestre. Oh yeah, and Brazil's long time star netminder Dida was in the goal, and the guy who brought on the highest ever transfer fee paid in this dynasty, Argentinian forward Andrés D'Alessandro, was coming off of the bench. Good Lord.

I wasn't going to quake in my boots, though, as I knew I had a good team, too. My guys proved it early on. New defensive midfielder Denny Landzaat played a nice ball up to Pereplyotkin on a breakaway in the 5th minute, and the Ukrainian scored it past Dida for the 1-0 lead.

It would stay that way until first half injury time. Kaká lofted a ball forward to Nistlerooy, with Tieme Klompe just missing a heading clear out attempt. Nistlerooy sent in a cross to Shevchenko as he charged into the box. He faked out Heaton and scored the ball for the tie match.

It seemed likely we would have to go to penalty kicks on this one, as we approached the 80th minute with the score tied. Fortunately, were that to happen, no extra time is played--it just goes to penalty kicks.

It runed out not to matter. In the 80th minute, Landzaat collected a clear out and went on a run up the middle of the pitch. He moved a ball nicely to Saha, who broke free just in time to gain a step on the Milan backline. He ran onto it, worked in space and blasted the go ahead past Dida. We survived some final minute scores before Hernández put it away with an injury time goal. Tamworth 3, Milan 1

I was really pleased to beat a team as powerful as that. I think it shows I'm not to be taken lightly in this game.

CR

Katon · 06-29-2004, 06:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

MF Cristiano Zanetti (ITA) from Liverpool to Liverpool for $10 M on August 30, 2008

So how did that one work, exactly?

Great dynasty.

Chief Rum · 06-29-2004, 07:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Katon

So how did that one work, exactly?

Great dynasty.

Sneaky Thai financing, of course. Those new investors finally earn their weight, and they even convinced Zanetti he's on a new team!

Heh...good catch. I was typing too fast for my own good. Zanetti went back to his homeland and Napoli.

Thanks and keep reading.

CR

SirFozzie · 06-29-2004, 07:42 AM

Set em up and knock em down, Tammies!

06-20-2004, 06:25 AM	#3
Chief Rum Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Where Hip Hop lives	2003/04 Season, Around The World Major League Results English Premier Division: Man Utd, Arsenal, Chelsea Primera Liga (Spain): Real Sociedad, Betis, Real Madrid Serie A (Italy): Juventus, Roma, Inter Bundesliga (Germany): FC Bayern, Leverkusen, Hertha BSC Ligue 1 (France): Auxerre, Guingamp, Nantes Casino Eridivisie (Holland): PSV, Ajax, Feyenoord Portuguese Superleague: Sporting Lisbon, Braga, Boavista Supeligaen (Denmark): FC Kobenhavn, AB, AaB National A Division (Greece): PAO, Olympiakos, AEK Belgian First Division: Anderlecht, GBA, Westerlo Scottish Premier League: Rangers, Celtic, Hearts Turkish Premier Division: Galatasaray, Fenerbahce, Samsunspor Ukrainian High League: Metalurg Donetsk, Dinamo Kiev, Chornomorets Other European Champions: Austria Vienna (Austria), Dinamo (Croatia), Sparta Prague (Czech Republic), HJK* (Finland), Belaton FC (Hungary), Shamrock Rovers* (Ireland), M. Haifa (Israel), Crusaders (Northern Ireland), Rosenborg* (Norway), Wisla (Poland), CSKA Moscow* (Russia), OFK Beograd (Serbia & Montenegro), Zilina (Slovakia), Hammarby* (Sweden), Neuchatal Xamax (Switzerland), Haverfordwest (Wales) -- season runs from winter to fall, instead of summer to spring; champion is from last complete campaign National Cups* English FA Cup: Man Utd over Man City English League Cup: Man Utd over Tottenham Spanish Cup: Real Madrid over Almeria Italian Cup: Perugia over Sampdoria German Cup: Schalke 04 over Leverkusen French Cup: Strasbourg over Nantes Dutch Cup: Hoek over FC Utrecht Portuguese Cup: Porto over Vit. Guimaraes European Club Competitions Champions League: Man Utd over Lazio UEFA: Liverpool over Auxerre CR __________________ . . I would rather be wrong...Than live in the shadows of your song...My mind is open wide...And now I'm ready to start...You're not sure...You open the door...And step out into the dark...Now I'm ready. Last edited by Chief Rum : 06-20-2004 at 06:26 AM.

06-20-2004, 09:14 AM	#4
SirFozzie Hall Of Famer Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: The State of Insanity	More CR CM stuff! Woohoo! (I'm going to try to get 3-5 of the most committed CM fans when FM05 comes out for a net game.) __________________ Check out Foz's New Video Game Site, An 8-bit Mind in an 8GB world! http://an8bitmind.com

06-20-2004, 04:40 PM	#5
Chief Rum Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Where Hip Hop lives	That should be fun, although when we tried to do it with CM03/04, I found it harder to get involved, as there was just too much going on in a CM games at the time for me to follow on the quick. That's one thing I like about CM. I can really take my time and look things over before having to make a decision. CR __________________ . . I would rather be wrong...Than live in the shadows of your song...My mind is open wide...And now I'm ready to start...You're not sure...You open the door...And step out into the dark...Now I'm ready.

06-20-2004, 05:30 PM	#6
Chief Rum Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Where Hip Hop lives	Top Transfers of the 2003/04 Season SC Adriano (BRA) from Parma to Inter for $27.5 M on January 21, 2004. SC Nicolas Anelka (FRA) from Man City to Man Utd for $21 M on July 15, 2003. SC Louis Saha (FRA) from Fulham to Man Utd for $20 M on January 26, 2004. LW Jose Antonio Reyes (SPA) from Sevilla to Arsenal for $17 M on January 28, 2004. MC Scott Parker (ENG) from Charlton to Chelsea for $16 M on January 30, 2004. FB Lilian Thuram (FRA) from Juventus to Arsenal for $15.25 M on July 13, 2003. SC Frédéric Kanouté (MAL) from Tottenham to Man Utd for $15.25 M on January 29, 2004. SC Djibril Cissé (FRA) from Auxerre to Zaragoza for $14.5 M on July 5, 2003. SC Sanli Tuncay (TUR) from Fenerbahçe to Betis for $14.25 M on July 10, 2003. MF Hidetoshi Nakata (JAP) from Parma to Juventus for $13.75 M on July 27, 2003. LW Alex (BRA) from Cruzeiro to FC Bayern for $13 M on AUgust 20, 2003. MF Simone Perrotta (ITA) from Chievo to Valencia for $12.75 M on July 6, 2003. MF Fernando Sales (SPA) from Valladolid to Zaragoza for $11 M on August 31, 2003. MF Fabio Liverani (ITA) from Lazio to Deportivo for $11.5 M on December 19, 2003. MF Giovanni Tedesco (ITA) from Perugia to Genoa for $11.5 M on January 28, 2004. SC Diego Milito (ARG) from Racing to Genoa for $10.5 M on February 1, 2004. Comments: Well, the change of address of young Brazilian superstar on the rise Adriano was the biggest fee paid from June, 2003 to May, 2004, but the biggest news had to be made by Manchester United. The acquisitions of Anelka, Saha, and Kanouté made them so powerful they won both the domestic and international trebles. From what I understand, doing what they did might be considered the most dominant accomplishment in football history. Other things I note from scanning this list is that a lot of Frenchmen were moved in this period, and that the transfer of young Brazillian star winger Alex was sort of tossed in the middle, but I think that's actually a pretty big deal, as he becomes a real star for FC Bayern. It should be noted that a bunch of these are future transfers that the player roster I used (Calcio) already had input into the game. CR __________________ . . I would rather be wrong...Than live in the shadows of your song...My mind is open wide...And now I'm ready to start...You're not sure...You open the door...And step out into the dark...Now I'm ready. Last edited by Chief Rum : 06-20-2004 at 07:52 PM.

06-20-2004, 06:13 PM	#7
Chief Rum Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Where Hip Hop lives	Euro 2004 Hosts: Portugal I wish I could tell you more about this tournament, because it was a lot of fun to follow. There were some exciting games here, but I did it a long time ago. I'm not sure I can remember exactly how it all went. All the biggest teams (France, Spain, Italy, England, Germany, Holland) made it to the tournament, and Portugal, of course, got an automatic in. There were upsets in the groupings, of course. England didn't make it to the quarters, but the others all did. The best matchup in the quarters was Italy and Spain. And it was a great game, too. It went to extra time, with Italy moving forward eventually, 1-0. Holland also got to the quarters, but lost to Portugal. Italy and Germany was a tight, defensive match, as you might expect with Buffon and Kahn in goal. Italy figured out Kahn, though, and won 2-0. The Portugal-France game was great. France was the clear fave, but Portugal was the home squad and playing great. This one actually went to penalty kicks, and was the best match of the tourney. France won, 4-3, after a scoreless draw. France and Italy got into a defensive match, but Buffon proved to be too much for mighty France. He shut them out, and Italy won Euro 2004 1-0. Olympics France beat Nigeria to win the gold in Greece. Brazil placed third. This is less important because the teams are limited to Under-23 squads. Stupid Olympics. African Nations Senegal beat Guinea, with Nigeria in third. Asian Cup South Korea beat Qatar, with Iran in third. OFC Nations Cup Australia beat Tonga, with New Zealand in third. Copa America Colombia beat Argentina, with Uruguay in third. CR __________________ . . I would rather be wrong...Than live in the shadows of your song...My mind is open wide...And now I'm ready to start...You're not sure...You open the door...And step out into the dark...Now I'm ready.

06-20-2004, 05:00 AM	#2
Chief Rum Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Where Hip Hop lives	Okay, here are the basics. In 2003, I took over manager-ship of the Tamworth Lambs of the Nationwide Conference. The Lambs had just been promoted from the lower leagues to the pinnacle of non-league football in England. Oh yeah, and they also inherited a $200,000 wage overrun (annual) and limited talent to say the least. To put that overrun into perspective, consider that the whole wage budget was set for about $300,000. I wasn't going to bve saved by my ground. Despite being the largest stadium in the Conference, the Lamb Ground housed just over 4,000 fans at full capacity, and most of them aren't even sitting. I only received $24,000 in transfer fees, too, so I wasn't likely to get much from outside the club that I could afford. I did what I could. Although I made many key moves and got some key seasons from incumbent players, particularly assistant manager/player Mark Cooper, a 34-year-old midfielder with a sweet long shot, in the end the only move that mattered was the free transfer signing of winger Mark Hicks. Hicks was a great dribbling and crossing Irish winger who could work both sides of the pitch. He was also relatively blessed with solid mental skills, and was quick as well (15+ acceleration and pace). He was a former reserve of First Division Milwall who never got a chance. I signed him on a free and watched him put up 7 G, and a team-leading 13 assists and 7.78 rating, asd he earned the Supporters' Player of the Year nod. Thanks to Hicks, Cooper, a very strong effort by veteran goalkeeper Phil Whitehead and a number of others, the Lambs were unusually strong. We went seven matches without losing to start the season, and stayed int he top five all year. In March, we went on a seven-win streak that extended to the end of the season, and ended up running away with the Conference title. We went 27-6-9 (note that the middle numbe ris draws, and the last number losses, not the American reversal of that) for 87 points. We scored 81 goals and allowed only 32, for a +49 GD. Our cup play was decent if not spectacular. We got to the fourth round qualifying in the FA Cup and to the quarters of the Vans Trophy cup, the cup for non-league clubs (Conference and below). In the FA Trophy, another low-end English cup, we got to just the fourth round before falling. Depsite modest success here, we wouldn't have better success int hese cups for several seasons. Nevertheless, we had reached the League, ascending to the Third Division for th 2004-05 season. CR __________________ . . I would rather be wrong...Than live in the shadows of your song...My mind is open wide...And now I'm ready to start...You're not sure...You open the door...And step out into the dark...Now I'm ready.

06-20-2004, 06:50 PM	#8
Chief Rum Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Where Hip Hop lives	Tamworth, 2004/05 I had reached the League for the first time. I was picked as relegation favorites, of course, but I was used to this. My board punished my "extravagant spending" from the year before by limiting me to a transfer fund of just $14,000. I can't say I blame them. I spent more than double the wage budget last year. The effort to improve my team wa sa constant process, of course. I got a boon in the arrival of my first youth class, which included a young 14-year-old power winger name Chris Booth. Booth, a promising winger, had some solid physcial stats and enough technical know-how to force his way ontot he first team. With Simon Gray, the promising 14-year-old left winger seemingly ready for first team action, I had a pair of 14-year-old wingers as starters--and they weren't half bad neither. Of course, I already had a fine winger--my best player Mark Hicks. My assistant manager/player Mark Cooper called it quits after the 2003/04 season, so I had a hole in the middle of my tactic. I gave it to Hicks, a role he would take with aplomb. I still had Sylla and One and Portway up front, and I added another quick striker in Che Stadhart from Margate. With the four of them and former starting left winger Steve Torpey around, i was fairly solid up front. My best work came in the back end, though. I brought in a solid 34-year-old Bosnian midfielder named Faruk Hujdurovic, he turned out to be just the guy I needed to be a savvy wall between my opponents' best strikers and my often unsteady backline. I also solved my problems at left fullback with the Bosman signing of 31-year-old Justin Skinner, a fairly quick fullback with great marking skills. I went to Margate again to get Graham Porter, a slow, but steady centreback, to help out Robinson, Taylor and the agin Rodwell. Finally, I kept Whitehead in goal, but signe d anice Irish youth goalkeeper named Adam Harris to help him out. Most of these guys were gotten off of frees, but I had no idea if it would be enough in the Third Division. I started off very strong and was in the top five in the early going. I hit a harsh malaise, though around October, and it took me two months to pull out of it. I didn't win a match in November, and lost three in a row to begin December. But all of this was just a prelude to "The Streak." Starting on December 18, 2004, I began what remains the best run by a Tamford squad in the short history of my run with the club. From ecember to May, 2005, I went 25 matches without losing. Not all of them were wins, of course, but it was the longest loss-less streak in Tamworth history. Still, I had lost so much ground in the two months prior, that it turned out to be a struggle to make it to an automatic promotion. In the Third Division, the top three teams got an automatic promotion, while the fourth through seventh teams haver a playoff to determine the fourth promoted team. I wanted to avoid the hassle of a promotion, but I was struggling to get ahead of Lincoln for the third place spot. In the second to last week, I lost at home (it broke the streak) to a mediocre squad, while Lincoln won on the road. They leapfrogged me into third-place by a point. In the last weekend, I was on the road against another middle-of-the-table squad, while Lincoln had a home walk agai8nst one of the relegated squads. My guys played a good match and got a needed draw to pull into a tie wioth Lincoln. But I considered it a foregone conclusion Lincoln would win that match and make the point moot. Just goes to show what I know. Lincoln mystifyingly lost that match to that crappy soon-to-be-a-Conference squad at home, and I won to third place on goal differential. I got the automatic promotion, and Lincoln had to win its way into the Second Division via the playoff (which it did). I finished 28-12-6 in the Third Division (remember, the "12" is draws, not losses) for 96 points. I scored 78 goals and allowed a Third Division-best 25 goals on defense, for a +53 GD. As you can see, Whitehead was amazing, and when he was tired or hurt, Harris was even better. Skinner turned out to be great on the left of the backline, and Taylor and Porter made a great team starting int he middle. This allowed me to move Robinson over to the right of the backline, where his athleticism and better offensive skills could better be utilized. And Hujdurovic...I can't say enough about how many key tackles that guy made in the midfield, and how many fine offensive runs he started moving the ball forward to Gray, Booth and Hicks. Oh yeah, Hicks? His best season ever taking over in the middle. He led the squad with 22 goals, and he made countless big scores when we needed it. He finished with a 7.98 rating, and was voted the Supporters' Player of the Year again. Up front, Stadhart turned out to be a great get, as he led the way among our forwards with 17 goals and 7 assists. We didn't do squat in the cups. We lost in the ifrst round of the FA Cup and League Cup, and we only got to the third round of the Vans Trophy. Oh yeah, and what dfo you know, I ran a wage budget a good $500,000 over what I was allotted. Well, if they will let me... CR __________________ . . I would rather be wrong...Than live in the shadows of your song...My mind is open wide...And now I'm ready to start...You're not sure...You open the door...And step out into the dark...Now I'm ready.

06-20-2004, 07:44 PM	#9
Chief Rum Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Where Hip Hop lives	2004/05 Season, Around The World Major League Results English Premier Division: Arsenal, Newcastle, Man Utd Primera Liga (Spain): Villareal, Barcelona, Real Soceidad Serie A (Italy): Milan, Parma, Inter Bundesliga (Germany): FC Bayern, Leverkusen, Hertha BSC Ligue 1 (France): Lyon, Auxerre, Marseille Casino Eridivisie (Holland): PSV, Ajax, Feyenoord Portuguese Superleague: Sporting Lisbon, Benfica, Porto Supeligaen (Denmark): FC Kobenhavn, AaB, FC Midtjylland National A Division (Greece): Olympiakos, Ionikos, PAO Belgian First Division: Standard, Anderlecht, Club Brugge Scottish Premier League: Celtic, Rangers, Kilmarnock Turkish Premier Division: Bursaspor, Fenerbahce, G. Birligi Ukrainian High League: Chornomorets, Dinamo Kiev, Shakhtar Other European Champions: Austria Vienna (Austria), Slaven Belupo (Croatia), Sigma Olomouc (Czech Republic), FC Hämeenlinna* (Finland), Györ (Hungary), Shamrock Rovers* (Ireland), M. Haifa (Israel), Dungannon (Northern Ireland), Sogndal* (Norway), Wisla (Poland), Spartak Moscow* (Russia), Partizan (Serbia & Montenegro), Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia), Malmö FF* (Sweden), Basel (Switzerland), Cefn Druids (Wales) -- season runs from winter to fall, instead of summer to spring; champion is from last complete campaign National Cups* English FA Cup: Arsenal over Man Utd English League Cup: Birmingham over Newcastle Spanish Cup: Valencia over Jerez Italian Cup: Inter over Parma German Cup: Bielefeld over HSV French Cup: Lyon over Marseille Dutch Cup: NEC over PSV Portuguese Cup: Porto over Moreirense European Club Competitions Champions League: Dinamo Kiev over Arsenal UEFA: Milan over FC Kobenhavn Comments: Lots of interesting little tidbits. Man Utd fell from its perch and din't win anything. Arsenal scored the dometstic double and fell just short of the international treble. Real Madrid fell out of the top three, and trust me, Spain wasn't happy. There were few surprises elsewhere in the major leagues. The story of the Champions League was the rise of Ukrainian teams. Not only did Dinamo Kiev win it all, but Shakthar and one other (Chornomorets maybe) won into the Champions, to join Dinamo Kiev and last year's High League champ Metalurg Donetsk, int he group stage. This was really the beginning of the rise of the High League, such that, now, in 2008, they are listed at the top of the UEFA coefficients, if you can believe it. CR __________________ . . I would rather be wrong...Than live in the shadows of your song...My mind is open wide...And now I'm ready to start...You're not sure...You open the door...And step out into the dark...Now I'm ready.

06-20-2004, 09:11 PM	#10
Chief Rum Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Where Hip Hop lives	Top Transfers Of The 2004/05 Season MC Owen Hargreaves (ENG) from FC Bayern to Real Madrid for $62 M on August 31, 2004. SC Jan Koller (CZE) from Dortmund to FC Bayern for $26 M on August 7, 2004. LW Kily González (ARG) from Inter to Real Sociedad for $24 M on December 19, 2004. SC Arjen Robben (NED) from PSV to Chelsea for $19.25 M on July 1, 2004. FB Jaap Stam (NED) from Lazio to Milan for $19.25 M on July 19, 2004. MF Yildiray Basturk (TUR) from Leverkusen to FC Bayern for $18.75 M on January 14, 2005. MC Anders Svensson (SWE) from Southampton to Newcastle for $17.5 M on July 31, 2004. SC Filippo Inzaghi (ITA) from Milan to Juventus for $17.25 M on July 29, 2004. MF Kieron Dyer (ENG) from Newcastle to Chelsea for [/b]$16.25 M[/b] on August 17, 2004. DC Belletti (BRA) from Villarreal to Real Sociedad for $16.25 M on December 23, 2004. MF Xavi (SPA) from Barcelona to Racing Santander for $15.25 M on August 31,2004. MF Aliaksandr Hleb (BEL) from VfB Stuttgart to Inter for $15 M on August 18, 2004. MF David Marcelo Cortez Pizzaro (CHI) from Udinese to Inter for $14.75 M on January 31, 2005. DC Daniele Bonera (ITA) from Parma to Arsenal for $14.25 M on August 26, 2004. LW Denílson (BRA) from Betis to Roma for $14.25 M on August 21, 2004. MF Massimo Ambrosini (ITA) from Milan to Barcelona for $14 M on August 7, 2004. RW Robert Pires (FRA) from Arsenal to Barcelona for $13.75 M on July 21, 2004. SC Mikael Forssell (FIN) from Chelsea to Hertha BSC for $13.25 M on August 8, 2004. MF Cristiano Zanetti (ITA) from Inter to Liverpool for $13.25 M on January 19, 2005. SC Giuseppe Sculli (ITA) from Chievo to Marseille for $13 M on July 10, 2004. LW Marek Jankulovski (CZE) from Udinese to Sevilla for $12.75 M on December 29, 2004. GK Petr Cech (CZE) from Rennes to Chelsea for $11.25 M on July 1, 2004. MC Giovanni van Bronckhorst (NED) from Arsenal to Barcelona for $11.25 M on July 13, 2004. SC John Carew (NOR) from Valencia to Betis for $11 M on July 26, 2004. FB Roberto Carlos (BRA) from Real Madrid to Man Utd for $11 M on July 17, 2004. MC Hidetoshi Nakata (JAP from Juventus to Atalanta for $11 M on July 21, 2004. MF Claude Makélélé (FRE) from Chelsea to Newcastle for $11 M on August 31, 2004. FB Patrice Evra (FRA) from Mallorca to Real Madrid for $11 M on December 26, 2004. SC Tote (SPA) from Betis to Valladolid for $10.75 M on December 11, 2004. LW Sylvain Wiltord (FRA) from Arsenal to Newcastle for $10.5 M on August 9, 2004. MF Lúcio Flávio (BRA) from Atlético Mineiro to Werder Bremen for $10 M on August 18, 2004. Comments: I know Hargreaves is a fairly solid player, but $62 M? Man, Real Madrid just went nuts. I would imagine their inability to get much other help as a result of that move led in part to their fall from the top three in the Primera Liga. Barcelona obviously put a big hand into finishing second in the league by compeltely reforming its midfield with the purchases of Pires, Ambrosini, and van Bronckhorst. Arsenal provided two of those, and also sent Wiltord to Newcastle. That allowed it to buy Bonera to help the backline and maybe had a hand in its run to the EPL title. FC Bayern made some big moves. Thanks to the sale of Hargeewaves, the German power was able to bring in Koller and Basturk. With their incumbent talent, including star Brazilian winger Alex and the gatekeeper Oliver Kahn, it's no wonder that team won the Bundesliga with ease again. Chelsea's purchases seemed to go for naught, at least this season. The Robben and Cech deals were the last of the future transfers plugged in, and they brought in Dyer from Newcastle, too. But, then, they were sellers, too, sending out Forsell and Makélélé. Svensson, Newcastle and Wiltord probably handed Newcastle a spot int he EPL's top three. CR __________________ . . I would rather be wrong...Than live in the shadows of your song...My mind is open wide...And now I'm ready to start...You're not sure...You open the door...And step out into the dark...Now I'm ready. Last edited by Chief Rum : 06-20-2004 at 09:12 PM.

06-20-2004, 09:18 PM	#11
Chief Rum Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Where Hip Hop lives	International Competitions With everyone preparing for Germany 2006 and in various qualifiers, 2005 wasn't a big year for international competition. Here are the results of what few tourneys took place. Gold Cup Brazil beat Guatemala, with the United States third. Confederations Cup Brazil beat Italy, with hosts Germany in third, in this tune up to the real thing in 2006. Some other international notes: Switzerland and Austria will co-host Euro 2008, while China will be the host for the Olympics in 2008. Copa America will be held in Venezuela in 2008. CR __________________ . . I would rather be wrong...Than live in the shadows of your song...My mind is open wide...And now I'm ready to start...You're not sure...You open the door...And step out into the dark...Now I'm ready. Last edited by Chief Rum : 06-20-2004 at 09:18 PM.

06-21-2004, 12:23 AM	#12
Chief Rum Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Where Hip Hop lives	Tamworth, 2005/06 Midway through my Third Division campaign, I was, of course, making plans for the next season. Part of that included a trip to El Salvador and the club Aguila. There I saw three players I thought could take me to the next level. All three players were veteran members of El Salvador's national team and seemed unlikely to have work permit problems. Forward/midfielder Jose Alexander Amaya, 29, was a decently fast striker with solid mental skills, and good playmaking and finishing skills. Defensive midfielder Jorge Humberto Rodriguez, 34, was my expected steady replacement for Hudrovic, whom had decided to retire at the end of the 2004/05 season to pursue a career as a physio. The last player was a goalkeeper named Juan Jose Gomez, a 24-year-old netminder with fine aerial and command abilities, and solid basic goalkeeping skills. He was a little too eccentric and was poor athletically, but I knew he was better in the long haul than Whitehead for sure, and probably Harris, too. Speraking of Whitehead, despite his phenomenal season with us, I let him go. With Gomez on his way and Harris in the fold, I didn't feel I needed to keep him on. I also allowed stodgy vet centreback Jim Rodwell go, now that Graham Porter had essentially taken his starting job on the backline. The last key departure I allowed was striker Norman Sylla--I just felt I was playing at a level he wasn't good enough to continue playing anymore. The Salvadorans weren't the only players I brought in. In fact, probably the best player I brought in was a Welsh winger named Andy Williams from Bath City. I had long looked for a left-sided Hicks and I felt I had found him in this 27-yaer-old. He was fast, a great dribbler and crosser, and even better yet, was a hard worker with great teamwork. That's actually something neither Hicks nor Booth are strong at. I also brought in a forward named Adam Wilde with finishing skills to rival Stadhart and Portway, and a Surinam midfielder named Ifenido Vlijker whom I thought would make a fine backup at the MC spot for Amaya or Hicks. I got two interesting messages in that both the purchases of Vlijker and Gomez, the Slavadoran goalkeeper, would lead to increased merchandising revenues. Apparently they both had some reknown. As it stood at the beginning of my campaign in the Second Division, I had Gomez and Harris trading off in net, behind incumbents Joe Taylor and Graham Porter on the backline. Dave Robinson and Justin Skinner also returned as my fullbacks. I put Hicks back on the right wing and installed Williams on the left, using Gray and Booth as high-quality backups. Amaya I put in the middle to lead the offense. Up front, I still had a wealth of options that I rotated in and out. Stadhart was the top guy, but I felt I could count on Torpey, the dribbling menace, One, Quailley, and the veteran Portway to help out here, in addition to Wilde and Vlijker. I discovered I had a trouble spot, though: DMC. About a month into the season, Rodriguez decided he wanted to be a coach some day. Apparently this triggered some weird bug in CM03/04 where it required him to go through the work permit process again--but it doesn't set a date for it. This means he sits there on the team, drawing a salary, and I can't play him at all. And this was at the beginning of a three year contract! Ouch. I swung it by using Vlijker, Robinson and Mark Noon there on occasion, but I didn't truly fix the problem until I brought in Danish midfielder John Jensen from Danish Second Division club Silkeborg for $18,000. Jensen was getting little playing time in his homeland and jump at the chance to go to England's Second Division. It might have ended up being my best move of the year, but more on that later. The Second Division proved to be a test from the very beginning, although the Lambs did fairly well early on. It was hit-and-miss through October, though, before we hit a truly horrid stretch from November through January. It became clear that the game had found some tactical combinations to counter my tactics, or at the very least, my players weren't good enough at this level to carry out the tactics against my opponents. I tried a couple different tactics I found, and I tried tinkering on my own. Nothing seemed to work. I plummeted to 19th in the division in January, just outside of relegation, and the team seemed stuck in reverse. I decided to go to desperation and downloaded the famous diablo tacic. It's a tactic that is considered by some to be cheating, which is why I wasn't comfortable using it. And to be honest, I'm still not sure how comfortable I am using it. But, then, I'm no longtime football fan, so I don't know a good tactic from a bad one anyway. Even the tactics I had been using before with success were downloaded. So I installed the diablo tactic, making just a few changes that were more toward my style of play. I found that the tactic relies on long runs and speed, which happens to be what I look for in my teams. In particular, it counted on strong and tall backline play, and multifaceted midfielders. Amaya certainly fit the ball at the attacking midfield spot, while recently acquired Jensen seemed to be a good fit at the defensive midfield spot. I had long put an emphasis on tall centrebacks, so I already some solid ones in place for that, with Taylor and Porter and youth defensive back Danny James. It also called for fast wingers with good dribbling and crossing skills. Touché. I installed the tactic and watched as my team struggled to learn it amidst bad form and and matches that mattered. It was gradual, but my team started to turn it around. From November to late January, I set a team-record for going 12 matches without a win. When things finally clicked with my new tactic, I put up my second best string ever, going 19 matches without a loss from February to June, 2006. And it set up an amazing comeback. As I said, halfway through the season, I was sitting at 19th in a 24-team division. In the Second Division, you need to be in the top two to get automatic promotion, with the third through sixth spots fighting it out for the third promotion spot. So to have a chance at promotion, I needed to finish sixth or higher--and that was a good long way away. It's amazing what seventeen straight matches in which I got at least a point can do. I steadily began climbing the table. In early March, I was probably playing at my highest form when I started winning and just kept on winning. In late April, I reached the promotion playoff levels, and when the Second Division wrapped up its season, I found myself sitting in fourth and a part of the playoff for that last spot to the First Division. We beat fifth-place Walsall, 6-3 on aggregate, in two late matches. And then we faced off third-place Tranmere in our first match at the vaunted stadium of Wembley for a winner take promotion match. In the 28th minute, we forced a corner. Mark Hicks sent the ball in, but it was sent back out to the touchline. Hicks retrieved it and ran back into the box under pressure. He ditched the ball off to Dave Robinson, set up inside as a heading target on the initial corner. Robinson punched the ball in amidst the traffic for our first score. Tranmere tied it up, though, in the 42nd minute, and we went into the half notched up at one apiece. We finally moved ahead for good in the 54th minute. Winger Steve Torpey sent a nice cross into the box after a good run to the goal line. Armand One collected the ball, and after some maneuvering, turned around and blasted the ball into the net for the go ahead score. We put it away three minutes later with a score by Jose Alexander Amaya, and completed an amazing comeback to earn promotion to the First Division. In the end, we did it with offense. Our final record was 24-8-14 for 80 points. We scored an amazing 112 goals! But we also allowed 63 goals, which was one of the higher totals in the league. Amaya led the way with 25 goals in his Tamworth debut. He also had 10 assists and a 7.46 rating. He was ably supported, once again, by Hicks, who scored 17 goals and a team and league-leading 24 assists. Hicks, amazing all year once again with a career-high 8.13 rating, once again earned the Supporters' Player of the Year. The Lambs got scoring from several different players besides Hicks and Amaya, as you would imagine when you put up 112 goals in a season. Adam Wilde chipped in 11 goals, with 13 assists. Che Stadhart put in 12 goals. Armand One had 13 goals and seven assist. And we got a big help from a three-month loan from Nottingham Forest's Darren Birchall, who put in 13 goals in 14 matches as a relief for Amaya in the midfield. Aside from the tremendous playmaking skills we got from Amaya and Hicks, we also got a great first effort from Andy Williams on the left wing. Williams had six goals and ten assists to go along with a second-highest 7.92 rating. Jensen, after his arrival, had a goal and ten assists from the defensive midfield position. I ended the season very happy with the offense, but not so with the defense. Taking care of the holes revealed back there was to be an offseason goal of mine. The good news is that most of the problems happened on Adam Harris' watch, as he allowed 24 goals in 15 matches. New Salvadoran goalie Gomez was much more solid, with 47 goals allowed in 38 matches. Our cup hopes were doomed by the bad start. We didn't get past the first round in either the FA Cup or the League Cup, and we only got to the Second Round in the Vans Trophy competition. CR __________________ . . I would rather be wrong...Than live in the shadows of your song...My mind is open wide...And now I'm ready to start...You're not sure...You open the door...And step out into the dark...Now I'm ready.

06-21-2004, 01:54 AM	#13
Chief Rum Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Where Hip Hop lives	2005/06 Season, Around The World Major League Results English Premier Division: Man Utd, Arsenal, Newcastle Primera Liga (Spain): Barcelona, Alavés, Real Madrid Serie A (Italy): Juventus, Milan, Parma Bundesliga (Germany): FC Bayern, Hertha BSC, Dortmund Ligue 1 (France): Nantes, Paris-SG, Lyon Casino Eridivisie (Holland): PSV, Feyenoord, NEC Portuguese Superleague: Sporting Lisbon, Benfica, Braga Supeligaen (Denmark): AaB, OB, FC Kobenhavn National A Division (Greece): AEK, PAOK, Olympiakos Belgian First Division: GBA, Standard, Anderlecht Scottish Premier League: Celtic, Rangers, Kilmarnock Turkish Premier Division: Fenerbahçe, G. Birligi, Samsunspor Ukrainian High League: Dinamo Kiev, Metalurg Donetsk, Shakhtar Other European Champions: Admira Wacker (Austria), Dinamo (Croatia), Banik Ostrava (Czech Republic), TPS* (Finland), Ferencváros (Hungary), St. Pat's Athletic* (Ireland), M. Tel-Aviv (Israel), Distillery (Northern Ireland), Sogndal* (Norway), Wisla (Poland), CSKA Moscow* (Russia), Zeleznik (Serbia & Montenegro), Inter Bratislava (Slovakia), Malmö FF* (Sweden), Basel (Switzerland), Caersws (Wales) -- season runs from winter to fall, instead of summer to spring; champion is from last complete campaign National Cups* English FA Cup: Man Utd over Chelsea English League Cup: Chelsea over Arsenal Spanish Cup: Alavés over Alcorcón Italian Cup: Roma over Parma German Cup: Leverkusen over Werder Bremen French Cup: Lens over Auxerre Dutch Cup: PSV over Heracles Portuguese Cup: Porto over Braga European Club Competitions Champions League: Barcelona over FC Bayern UEFA: Sporting Lisbon over Shakthar Comments: Barcelona and FC Bayern have brought in a lot of top stars of late. It's no surprise to see them win their respective leagues and then end up going head to head for the Champions League. Shakhtar in the UEFA final is another indicator of the continuing strength of the Ukrainian High League. Man Utd pulled off the double after last year's disappoiting season, and Chelsea made up for failing yet again to break the top three in the EPL, by winning the league cup and playing for the FA Cup. Italy and France continue to change out champions on a yearly basis. Real Madrid fans can breathe a little easier, as they got back up to third in the Primera Liga, but the real surprise is Alavés, which won the Spanish Cup and finished second in league. CR __________________ . . I would rather be wrong...Than live in the shadows of your song...My mind is open wide...And now I'm ready to start...You're not sure...You open the door...And step out into the dark...Now I'm ready.

06-21-2004, 04:08 AM	#14
Chief Rum Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Where Hip Hop lives	Top Transfers Of The 2005/06 Season SC Miroslav Klose (GER) from Kaiserslautern to Man Utd for $62 M on August 9, 2005. FB Luciano Zauri (ITA) from Lazio to Real Sociedad for $26 M on July 27, 2005. SC Emile Lokonda Mpenza (BEL) from Standard to Dortmund for $23.5 M on January 15, 2006. MF Mark Bresciano (AUS) from Parma to Juventus for $22.5 M on January 27, 2006. MF Juan Sebastián Veron (ARG) from Chelsea to Newcastle for $21.5 M on July 16, 2005. SC Javier Saviola (ARG) from Barcelona to Inter for $21.5 M on January 24, 2006. MF Stilian Petrov (BUL) from Celtic to Aston Villa for $20.5 M on January 20, 2006. SC Amoroso (BRA) from Dortmund to Barcelona for $19.25 M on August 2, 2005. LW Daniel Bierofka (GER) from Leverkusen to FC Bayern for $19.25 M on August 30, 2005. SC Raul Tamudo (SPA) from Espanyol to Valencia for $18.75 M on December 1, 2005. MF Marcelinho (BRA) from Hertha BSC to Schalke 04 for $18 M on January 22, 2006. SC Christian Vieri (ITA) from Inter to Valencia for $17.75 M on December 20, 2005. SC Alejandro Domínguez (ARG) from River to Dortmund for $17.75 M on January 19, 2006. SC Niko Kranjcar (CRO) from Dinamo to Atalanta for $17.75 M on January 30, 2006. MF Stephen Appiah (GHA) from Juventus to Inter for $16.75 M on January 14, 2006. SC Benjamin Lauth (GER) from 1860 Munchen to Napoli for $16 M on August 25, 2005. RW Luis González (ARG) from River to Valencia for $15 M on August 25, 2005. MF Fernando Sales (SPA) from Zaragoza to Villareal for $14.75 M on August 6, 2005. RW Dennis Rommedahl (DEN) from PSV to Chelsea for $14.25 M on July 11, 2005. MF Giampiero Pinzi (ITA) from Udinese to Chelsea for $14 M on January 25, 2006. MF Juan Román Riquelme (ARG) from Barcelona to Valladolid for $13 M on July 15, 2005. SC Jan Koller (CZE) from FC Bayern to Milan for $12.75 M on August 29, 2005. SC Alvaro Recoba (ARG) from Inter to Napoli for $12.5 M on August 4, 2005. MF David Dunn (ENG) from Birmingham to Fulham for $12 M on July 9, 2005. MF David Prutton (ENG) from Southampton to Newcastle for $12 M on August 5, 2005. LW Florent Malouda (FRA) from Lyon to Betis for $11.5 M on August 25, 2005. MF Fabian Ernst (GER) from Werder Bremen to Milan for $11.5 on August 10, 2005. FB Vincent Candela (FRA) from Roma to Barcelona for $11.5 M on August 27, 2005. SC Ilan (BRA) from Atlético Paranaense to Rennes for $11.25 M on June 21, 2005. SC Roy Makaay (NED) from FC Bayern to Valencia for $10.5 M on August 11, 2005. LW Ryan Giggs (WAL) from Man Utd to Barcelona for $10.5 M on December 6, 2005. MF Fabrício (BRA) from Corinthians to Real Madrid for $10.25 M on July 30, 2005. MF Adriano (BRA) from Atlético Paranaense to Leverkusen for $10.25 M on August 8, 2005. MF Jurica Vranjes (CRO) from VfB Stuttgart to Werder Bremen for $10 M on January 25, 2006. Comments: It's getting hard to follow these extensive transfers, with so many big names passing back and forth between four leagues, England, Spain, Italy and Germany. The obvious standout is the transfer of Klose to Man Utd, in what was otherwise a relatively quiet transfer year for the British superpower. As always, Man Utd specializes in getting a lot of strikers, adding Klose to a team that already had Nistlerooj and Anelka, among others. Chelsea remained very active as well, getting Belgian winger Rommedahl and Italian midfielder Pinzi to replace the departed Veron, who went to join Prutton in a new midfield for Newcastle. The only major English power to stay quiet was Arsenal, but that didn't stop them from finishing second in the league and winning the league cup. In Spain, Barcelona continued its buying ways, bringing in striker Amoroso and winger Giggs, among others, and they certainly both played a role in the Spanish club's dobule this season. Buying didn't help Valencia, though, which struck out all around, despite bringing in superstar striker Vieri, Dutchman Makaay, and homeland striker Tamudo, in addition to Argentinian winger González. CR __________________ . . I would rather be wrong...Than live in the shadows of your song...My mind is open wide...And now I'm ready to start...You're not sure...You open the door...And step out into the dark...Now I'm ready.

06-22-2004, 12:47 AM	#15
Chief Rum Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Where Hip Hop lives	Germany 2006 It's that time again. The biggest sporting event in the world takes place in this sport every four years, and here's the next one. A rundown of what happened: Qualifiers HOST: Germany EUROPE: Czech Republic, Finland, France, Holland, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Scotland, Serbia & Montenegro, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine. AFRICA: Angola, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Mali, Nigeria. SOUTH AMERICA: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Peru NORTH AMERICA: Honduras, Mexico, Trinidad & Tobago, United States ASIA: China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, South Korea OCEANIA: Australia Comments: Astute observers will pick out right away who is missing. Yes, two years after missing the quarters at Euro 2004, England failed to even make it to the World Cup tourney. It's a low time for the Brits on the international pitch. There are surprises here and there. Sweden, Denmark, Belgium and Greece all probably should have made it somewhere, but Europe is a very tough place to come out of and qualify. Africa had a lot of its top teams--Cameroon, Senegal, Egypt, South Africa--fail to make it, with Nigeria perhaps the only regular top African team to actually make the cut. South America was largely as you would expect it, with the possibility that Uruguay would have been more deserving of that fourth spot than Peru. In North America, the big two nations got in, but Honduras and Trinidad & Tobago are probably minor upsets over Canada and Costa Rica. Asia seems pretty close to what you would expect, although it's disappointing Japan didn't find a way in. The Groupings GROUP A: Czech Republic, Honduras, Romania, South Korea This should be an interesting grouping. South Korea is the best, but the other two teams are strong up-and-coming European squads. GROUP B: Angola, Argentina, Iran, Trinidad & Tobago Argentina is the clear favorite here, and should walk into the second round. Iran is probably the best of the rest, but it's close enough that you can dare to hope that the islanders from little Trinidad & Tobago could make it to the next round. GROUP C: Australia, Brazil, Peru, Saudi Arabia This looks like an easy group at first glance, at least for Brazil. And I'm not suggesting the powerful defending cup holders are going to have to sweat much here. But none of the other three teams are all that bad at all, and the fight for the second spot should be fierce. GROUP D: Italy, Mali, Nigeria, Spain This might be the best group in the tournament. Italy and Spain are top ten level competitors, with Italy the defending holders of the Golden Boot. Nigeria is the best team out of Africa. You have to feel for Mali, which is in over its head. GROUP E: Colombia, Finland, Ivory Coast, Portugal This is another very solid group. Colombia and Portugal will be the favorites, but there isn't an easy team in this group. Any of the four could make it to the second round. GROUP F: China, Germany, Holland, Scotland How do the Dutch and Germans always end up going head-to-head? That will be the pivotal matchup here, as they should be the favorites. Still, Scotland has the ability to stay with either team on a good day, and observers ahve been saying China is ready to break out for some time now. GROUP G: Mexico, Serbia & Montenegro, Turkey, United States Like Germany and Holland, the Rio Grande Border War seems to be a regular occurrence in international competitions. This is possibly the best overall group, though, with another up-and-coming European team in the Serbs, and steady Turkey to go with the traditional North American combatants. GROUP H: Burkina Faso, France, Norway, Ukraine France is obviously the class of this group, just eight years off of a World Cup win, and the runner up in Euro 2004. The battle for second should come between Norway and Ukraine, but figure the Vikings to get it, as the Ukrainian national team hasn't advanced nearly as far as its best league has in recent years. CR __________________ . . I would rather be wrong...Than live in the shadows of your song...My mind is open wide...And now I'm ready to start...You're not sure...You open the door...And step out into the dark...Now I'm ready.

06-22-2004, 02:00 AM	#16
Chief Rum Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Where Hip Hop lives	Germany 2006 Group Stage ROUND ONE Group A Romania 4, Czech Republic 2 South Korea 4, Honduras 1 Romania strikes first blood in the likely battle for the #2 spot between them and the Czechs. South Korea walks, as expected. Group B Argentina 2, Trinidad & Tobago 1 Iran 3, Angola 2 Argentina shouldn't have had as much problems as it did with T & T, but then Iran shouldn't have just edged out Angola either. This group remains wide open. Group C Brazil 2, Peru 0 Australia 3, Saudia Arabia 2 These were two very critical games. Brazil's toughest opponent might be the fellow South American Peruvians, and beating them gets the defending champs a leg up early on. Australia and Saudia Arabia are competitively close to each other, so Australia's win is a big step forward for the island-continent. Group D Spain 2, Italy 0 Nigeria 2, Mali 0 Despite outplaying the Spaniards, Italy managed to fall miserably to the best other team in the group. That puts the Euro champs in a difficult position the rest of the way. Nigeria, as expected, won easily over Mali. Group E Finland 3, Portugal 0 Colombia 2, Ivory Coast 0 Finland pulls off the stunning upset over Portugal. The loss likely means Portugal is going to have to beat Colombia to get in, and that's not going to be easy. Colombia handles Ivory Coast without difficulty. Group F Germany 2, China 1 Holland 1, Scotland 0 Host Germany probably should have won by more in front of its fans, but then, Germany never wins big. Holland escaped a tough match with Scotland with a win. Group G Mexico 2, Serbia & Montenegro 2 Turkey 1, United States 1 It's like they didn't even bother to play the first round, as everyone close to square one. And what's really funny is that you can't say that either result was unexpected. Group H France 3, Burkina Faso 0 Norway 2, Ukraine 0 France handles Burkina Faso without a worry, while Norway won an important game to establish itself as the second best team in the group. ROUND TWO Group A Romania 2, Honduras 0 South Korea 3, Czech Republic 1 Just two games in, and this group is already settled. Romania and South Korea clinched spots in the final round with their wins. Romania's was expected, and the Koreans were favorites to win as well, but the Czechs are a good team that could have made it interesting fi they had beaten the Koreans. Group B Argentina 2, Iran 0 Trinidad & Tobago 3, Angola 0 You could say Argentina should still eb winning these matches by more goals, but beating Iran, probably the next best team in the group, and having just Angola left should mean the South American power can rest its stars for the next round. The big game came from the gutsy islanders, though, whom have set up a huge match with Iran for that second spot. Group C Brazil 4, Saudi Arabia 0 Peru 4, Australia 3 Brazil pasted the Saudis as expected, adn their advance to the next round is all but assured. Peru's win over Australia is likely the key win for them to join Brazil in the next round. Group D Nigeria 2, Spain 0 Italy 1, Mali 1 As solid as Nigeria is, Spain should have won that game. This is a huge win for the African nation. Fortunately for the Spaniards, it appears that the Italians have mailed it in, as they put up a pathetic performance in drawing with Mali. Group E Ivory Coast 3, Finland 2 Colombia 2, Portugal 1 Portugal put itself in the position of needing an upset win over tough Colombia, and sure enough, it failed to do so. This tourney seems liekly to move on without the Portuguese. Ivory Coast muddies the situation, though, with its big win over Finland. It would be a favorite to take that second spot behind COlombia were it not having to deal with Colombia itself in the final match of the grouping. Group F Germany 0, Scotland 0 Holland 4, China 1 Courtesy of the underachieving Germans biding their time before waking up, the Dutch are through to the next round with the expected walk win over the Chinese. The Scots are clamoring for a spot in the next round with very beatable China coming up, while Germany meets up with a group leader who holds a grudge against them. Could the hosts be out of this one? Group G Mexico 0, United States 0 Serbia & Montenegro 2, Turkey 0 This was a veyr even group to begin with, but if I had to pickw ho would be on top after the second round of the group stage, it would not have been the Serbs. They have the inside track, but a tough match against the United States looming ahead. This group is still wide open. Group H France 3, Ukraine 1 Norway 4, Burkina Faso 0 France wraps up a spot in the next round, as expected. The surprise is that Norway did, too, although after the win over the Ukraine, it could have been considered a foregone conclusion. After losing to Norwegians, the Ukrainians would have needed to beat powerful France to have a chance at sneaking in. ROUND THREE Group A South Korea 2, Romania 1 Czech Republic 1, Honduras 0 With spots in the next round assured, the top two qualifiers were just playing for a match against a second place squad. The Koreans took that right. The Czechs did little but salvage a little pride in beating Honduras. Group B Argentina 2, Angola 0 Iran 3, Trinidad & Tobago 0 The Cinderella story ends here, as T & T dropped a big one to Iran. Argentina rolls to get the top spot it was expected to get from the very beginning. Group C Brazil 1, Australia 1 Saudi Arabia 1, Peru 1 This round was probably the most shocking of the group stage. The Aussies pulled off the huge upset in drawing the powerful Brazillians, while Peru lost to a weaker Saudi Arabia with a spot in the next round on the line. As a result, despite losing to Peru, Australia moves on to the second round while the Peruvians are going home. Group D Spain 5, Mali 0 Italy 1, Nigeria 1 Pathetically enough, Italy probably put up its best result of the tourney in drawing with a tough Nigeria squad, even if the Afrian nation had already clinched a spot. It mattered little, though, as Spain locked up the second spot with an easy win over Mali. Group E Colombia 2, Finland 1 Portugal 1, Ivory Coast 0 Colombia didn't have as easy a time as it should have had against the Finns, but it secured the grouping with its win. The more intriguing aspect came in that Portugal's win over Ivory Coast put the other three teams in a tie for the second spot with three points apiece. In the tightest group finish, Finland beat out Portugal and Ivory Coast on goal differential. Only two goals difference sseparated the three teams. Group F Germany 1, Holland 0 Scotland 3, China 1 Germany saved its spot in the next round by winning a tough defensive match over Holland. Its win made a good win by Scotland over China a moot point, as the Germans join the Dutch in the second round. Group G Mexico 3, Turkey 1 Serbia & Montenegro 1, United States 1 With the Americans continuing to pull draw after draw, Mexico was able to clinch a spot in the next round. The Serbs and Mexicans move on because they did what the United States couldn't--beat Turkey. Group H France 5, Norway 0 Ukraine 2, Burkina Faso 0 France finally really put it to someone, and it was probably the second best team in their group. You have to think they are the favorites in the next round right now. Otherwise, the match mattered little, as both the French and the Norwegians had already clinched their spots in the final. Final Qualifiers Group A: South Korea, Romania Group B: Argentina, Iran Group C: Brazil, Australia Group D: Nigeria, Spain Group E: Colombia, Finland Group F: Germany, Holland Group G: Mexico, Serbia & Montenegro Group H: France, Norway CR __________________ . . I would rather be wrong...Than live in the shadows of your song...My mind is open wide...And now I'm ready to start...You're not sure...You open the door...And step out into the dark...Now I'm ready.

06-22-2004, 08:29 AM	#17
SirFozzie Hall Of Famer Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: The State of Insanity	Argentina vs France in the final I think __________________ Check out Foz's New Video Game Site, An 8-bit Mind in an 8GB world! http://an8bitmind.com

06-22-2004, 10:14 AM	#18
PilotMan Head Coach Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Seven miles up	Yeah, but wouldn't Iran v. Serbia be funny. __________________ He's just like if Snow White was competitive, horny, and capable of beating the shit out of anyone that called her Pops. Like Steam? Join the FOFC Steam group here: http://steamcommunity.com/groups/FOFConSteam

06-23-2004, 12:37 AM	#19
Chief Rum Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Where Hip Hop lives	Germany 2006 Second Round Here are the matchups for the second round. South Korea --vs-- Iran Argentina --vs-- Romania Brazil --vs-- Spain Nigeria --vs-- Australia Colombia --vs-- Germany Mexico --vs-- Norway France --vs-- Serbia & Montenegro Holland --vs-- Finland Some interesting matchups here. The best games to me look like Brazil and Spain (which should be a lot of fun), Nigeria and Australia (because my impression is they are fairly even), and Colombia and Germany. Second Round Results SOUTH KOREA 3, IRAN 1 This isn't a surprise. Iran might have been the weakest team in the final round. South Korea remains an up-and-coming team that has now reached at least the quaretrs in two straight World Cups. ROMANIA 2, ARGENTINA 0 So much for Foz's prediction. Romania was an upset just to get to this round, so beating a worldclass power liek Argentina is quite a feat. Argentina held the edge in most of the match numbers (13 to 7 shots taken; 21% in its own end to 32% in Romania's), but the former Soviet bloc nation made their shots count. Both goals were scored by Marius Niculae, star striker for Portuguese champion Sporting Lisbon. BRAZIL 1, SPAIN 1 (Brazil on PK, 3-2) Wow, talk about a game! This one lived up to the press clippings prior to its start. Brazil, the winner of two of the last three World Cups, barely escaped the second round against one of the few teams in the world that can be considered to approach Brazil's talent. This one was a locked, tight defensive affair for most of the match. Superstar striker Ronaldo of Real Madrid put Brazil up in the 64th minute, but Arsenal's Jose Antonio Reyes tied it up for Spain in the 70th minute. The teams remained deadlocked throughe xtra time, and needed penalty kicks to figure this one out. It came down to the fifth kick, with the nations tied up at two apiece. Betis' Juanito missed his kick, though, giving Man Utd's Kléberson a chance to win it. And win it did--Brazil moves on. AUSTRALIA 2, NIGERIA 1 I said this one was wide open, and it was. Australia won a tight one and got into the quarters. Nigeria was Africa's last representative in Germnay. GERMANY 1, COLOMBIA 0 As usual, Germany became involved in a very defensive match. And as usual, Pliver Khan won it for them. He acted like a wall against what few Colombian shots got through (altogether, only 12 shots were taken, and just five went on goal). The only goal in the match didn't even come in gameplay. It was scored on a 33rd minute penalty kick by Greuther Furth's Sascha Rösler. MEXICO 3, NORWAY 2 This one was a real free-for-all. Mexico came in as the favorite, but barely escaped a wide open match. FRANCE 1, SERBIA & MONTENEGRO 0 France probably expected to roll in this one, but the Serbs had other ideas. They put the powerful French through a big test in this one. Like Germany-Colombia, this one was a tight defensive match with, once again, just 12 total shots (eight on goal). It remained locked up and scoreless until just near the very end. Finally, in the 86th minute, Auxerre's young Kapo scored the lone goal of the match to send France forward. Man Utd's goalkeeper Fabien Barthez was the man of the match in this one. FINLAND 1, HOLLAND 0 Traditionally, the Orangemen blow this one in the group stage. Having vaulted that obstacle, they, of course, lose one they should have won in the second round. Despite a wealth of offensive talent, they are unabl;e to solve the Finns' defense and fall in a close one. CR __________________ . . I would rather be wrong...Than live in the shadows of your song...My mind is open wide...And now I'm ready to start...You're not sure...You open the door...And step out into the dark...Now I'm ready. Last edited by Chief Rum : 06-23-2004 at 12:38 AM.

06-23-2004, 12:59 AM	#20
Chief Rum Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Where Hip Hop lives	Germany 2006 Quarterfinals It's getting tighter. Here are the matchups for the quarters. South Korea --vs-- Australia Brazil --vs-- Romania Germany --vs-- Mexico France --vs-- Finland Quarterfinal Results SOUTH KOREA 0, AUSTRALIA 0 (South Korea on PK, 4-3) Wow, this was a great match. I remember watching it, so it was disappointing to me to not have the game stats for this one (I thought they saved all of those? ). Anyway, as you can see, this one went all the way to penalty kicks after a brutal 120 minutes of tight defensive play. The only thing I remember about the match is that Australia would lose because Juventus' Mark Bresciano missed his penalty kick. Either he failed to kick it to tie, or he failed to kick it in when Australia needed it, win or lose. ROMANIA 1, BRAZIL 0 Wow. Upset of the century? So far at least. Romania may be changing the way people think about it as a football country. What's even odder about this is that Romania didn't just win, they outplayed the defensing World Cup holders, winning through with 13 shots against just four by Brazil. Chelsea's Adrian Mutu got the only goal, scoring in the 72nd minute and earning the Man of the Match. MEXICO 1, GERMANY 0 Germany lost the defensive tango this time. In front of a vocal crowd of hometown germans, the Mexicans pulled off the upset and won past Germany despite being outshot 8-5. Germany didn't help its cause by only putting one shot on goal. The one goal was scored by Leverkusen's Mora in the 76th minute. The man of the match was veteran Jesús Arellano of Mexico's Monterrey. FRANCE 2, FINLAND 0 Finland's surprising win over Holland basically handed France a gimme in the quarters. That proved to be the case when France outshot the Finns, 17-3. That's not the kind of domination you expect in a World Cup quarterfinal. Tehy also dominated possession, with 30% of the time spent in Finland's end, as opposed to just 15% in their own. The winning scores were by Arsenal's Thierry Henry in the 5th minute, and Man Utd's Nicolas Anelka in the 90th minute. Henry won the man of the match. Semifinal Matchups Here are the matchups for the semifinals of Germany 2006. South Korea --vs-- Mexico South Korea is back in the semifinals for the second straight World Cup and looking for the legitimacy that would come from winning through to the final. They are favored in this matchup with Mexico, a solid team in its own right, but probably shouldn't have gotten this far. Romania --vs-- France You would think this would be another gimme for France, but let's face it, any team that beats both Argentina and Brazil in the World Cup has proven itself to not be a gimme. It should be interesting to see if France can dominate this one, or if Romania can continue their run to an impressive Cinderella championship. CR __________________ . . I would rather be wrong...Than live in the shadows of your song...My mind is open wide...And now I'm ready to start...You're not sure...You open the door...And step out into the dark...Now I'm ready.

06-23-2004, 01:19 AM	#21
Chief Rum Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Where Hip Hop lives	Germany 2006 Semifinals Mexico 1, South Korea 0 Stupid game didn't save this one either. Gah. I did watch this one, too, although I don't remember too many details. What i remember is that it was a very tight match, with a lot of back-and-forth and close shots. It remained tied late, in fact, going into the final minutes. If I recall correctly, the winning goal was put in by Mora again, the guy who put in the winner against Germany. He is transforming himself into Mexico's signature player, as Mexico shocked the world and got to the final. France 1, Romania 0 Not wanting to be outdone by the Korenas and Mexicans, France and Romania staged their own close match. Like the other rmatch, these two sieds kept it even at zero throughout the match. Contrary to previous belief, Romania did indeed hold up well against Francem playing even with them the whole way. It looked like extra time would be needed for this one. Well, it did, except Juventus' star striker David Trezeguet had other ideas. He finally got in a goal in injury time, earning France a return to the final for the first time since 1998, and international reknown for himself. Adrian Mutu got the man of the match in a losing cause. Despite losing, no one can doubt that Romania has established itself as a rising power in football, much as South Korea did four years ago. THIRD PLACE MATCH ROMANIA 5, SOUTH KOREA 0 The Koreans were apparently frustrated at having lost to Mexico with a shot at the World Cup in sight. They didn't even show up for this one. Or the Romanians are just that good. CR __________________ . . I would rather be wrong...Than live in the shadows of your song...My mind is open wide...And now I'm ready to start...You're not sure...You open the door...And step out into the dark...Now I'm ready.

06-23-2004, 02:09 AM	#22
Chief Rum Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Where Hip Hop lives	Germany 2006 Final France Versus Mexico France has to be considered the favorite in this one. They may have the most talent in the world. Meanwhile, Mexico has made it this far playing well as a team, putting up a tight defense and allowing talents like Emilio Mora and Jesús Arellano to get them the one goal they will need. If it's a shootout, France wins hands-down, but if it's a tight defensive match--and this Cup has been filled with them--it's anyone's ballgame. In the final at the Olympiastadion in Berlin, France showed that it was the better team early on, dominating Mexico like it had against Finland. Despite that, they couldn't solve Mexico's defense early on, and the two sides went into halftime in an improbable scoreless tie. The second began much as the first, but France finally broke through in the 54th minute. Milan's Robert Pires sent in a corner, but it was headed back out to the touch. Pires, coming off of the corner spot, was first to the ball, and took it into the box, evading defenders. He found an opening across the box to Barcelona's Vincent Candela. Mexico's goalkeeper Cornejo Pérez was up the line to guard against the approach of Pires. The Cruz Azul keeper scrambled down to get in front of Candela, standing at the opposite corner of the six yard box. Candela blasted a high shot that hit the post above a leaping Pérez's head and sailed into the back of the net for the first score of the match and a 1-0 lead for France. Mexico would put on a good show after that, trying to get back into it. But France and Fabien Barthez proved to be too tough, coming through again and again to save possible scores, most often initiated by Arellano. The clock ticked up to 90, and France won its second World Cup in eight years, by a final score of 1-0. France dominated the action, with 16 shots to just five for Mexico. They also had a 23% to 31% possession advantage in their own end. Despite the limited offense and lack of a score, Mexico's Arellano got the man of the match. France's Thierry Henry received the Golden Boot as the best player of the tournament. Romania's Marius Niculae, who really broke out in this tournament, took the second spot, and Norway's Daniel Braathen of Rosenborg was third. Here is the World Cup's Dream team: SC Thierry Henry (FRA) --Arsenal SC David Trezeguet (FRA) --Juventus MC Patrick Vieira (FRA) --Arsenal MC Tomás Campos (MEX) --Cruz Azul ML Robert Pires (FRA) --Milan MR Belletti (BRA) --Real Sociedad DC William Gallas (FRA) --Chelsea DC Mikaël Silvestre (FRA) --Man Utd DL Dédé (BRA) --Dortmund DR Lilian Thuram (FRA) --Milan GK Fabien Barthez (FRA) --Man Utd Sub1 GK Oliver Kahn (GER) --FC Bayern Sub2 FB Jaap Stam (HOL) --Roma Sub3 MF Pablo Aimar (ARG) --Valencia Sub4 MF Esteban Cambissso (ARG) --Real Madrid Sub5 SC Miroslav Klose (GER) --Man Utd The 2010 World Cup will be held in China. CR __________________ . . I would rather be wrong...Than live in the shadows of your song...My mind is open wide...And now I'm ready to start...You're not sure...You open the door...And step out into the dark...Now I'm ready. Last edited by Chief Rum : 06-23-2004 at 02:27 AM.

06-23-2004, 02:32 AM	#23
Chief Rum Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Where Hip Hop lives	International Competitions As usual, there were other tournaments going on that season, not that anyone really paid attention with Germany 2006 coming up. African Nations Cup Senegal defeated Nigeria, with Ghana ending up third. Egypt served as the host. OFC Nations Cup Australia won its second straight OFC NAtions Cup, beating rival New Zealand. Samoa finished in third. Australia was also the host of the tournament. CR __________________ . . I would rather be wrong...Than live in the shadows of your song...My mind is open wide...And now I'm ready to start...You're not sure...You open the door...And step out into the dark...Now I'm ready.

06-23-2004, 04:13 AM	#24
Chief Rum Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Where Hip Hop lives	Tamworth 2006/07 Well, we had reached the First Division, and I knew we were at a whole new level now. We were finally at a level that was somewhat nationally recognized. This seemed to be backed up by our board, which finally agreed to improve our training grounds and gave us its highest transfer fund account yet, with about $450,000. Of course, I had already made significant improvements prior to the end of last season. In fact, I signed so many players to Bosman contracts, it was fortunate I made it to the First Division, because my wage bill would have severely handicapped me in the Second Division. The best three players I brought in were Darren Birchall, Casper Nelis and Orri Freyr Oskarsson. Birchall was with Nottingham Forest in the Premier Division last year, but he won us over with his loan period, when he scored 13 goals in 14 matches with us in three months late in the 2005/06 season. I wa surprised Forest was willing to let him go. The 28-year-old Birchall has the elite crossing and dribbling skills I like in midfielders, he's solid physically and speed-wise, and he is an excellent passer. He can play both in the middle and on either wing. Dutchman netminder Nelis comes from a lower division club in Holland named Omniworld. I needed a good sub for Gomez, and Nelis was the best I could afford. He was also the first goalkeeper I went for with an eye toward both aerial ability and handling. He sttod well in both respects, and is also more atheltic than Gomez, although he is older by five years. Oskarsson was a guy I was waiting for. The 26-year-old Icelandic forward is well-known in CM circles as a great player to get. In that respect, I almost didn't get him, as he was suppsoedly particularly effective in the diablo tactic I was using. Still, it seems his position in that tactic was as the central midfield position currently held by AMaya and soon to be joined by Birchall. I resolved not to use the speedy forward there, and instead put him up front as our best striker. Oskarsson came to us from Primera Liga's Second Division Terrassa. With all the defensive problems on the backline I had last year, I saw that area as one that needed to be addressed heavily. So although my highest profile Bosman gets were in the net and in the offense, my most important acquisitions were on the backline. To that end, I brought in four defenders via Bosman in centrebacks Barry Laker and Reinder Hendriks, and fullbacks Jamie Fularton and Brian Shelley. Laker was a 32-year-old vet from former fellow Second Division squad Stevenage. He was a fine man marker with good speed and smarts. Reinder Hendriks was a Dutch defender from lower division Holland club Babberich with excellent positioning, good tackoign and aggressive play, even if he wasn't as fast or tall as Laker. Fularton was a 32-year-old defensive midfielder from Southend who had some good ball skills in additiont o being a terrific man marker and a smart player. He could use a speed infusion, but he was fairly solid. Shelley was a 24--year-old Irish fullback with almost wing-level ball skills, but he wasn't so strong defensively. Once my Bosmans were settled, I went about bringing in further help, and managed to use my funds to bring in two very key parts, once again for the backline. Unlike the first four, though, these were guys I viewed to have a real future for us. And, yes, even in the next level, the EPL. The first was Mike Duff, a 28-year-old defender from the Wolves who already had 19 matches of EPL experience. Duff, from Northern Ireland, was fast and tall, quickly became the best man marker on the squad, was a hard worker and very determined and speed and height to make things happen. He also had enough ball skills and versatility to play at centreback, right fullback and in the midfield. He cost me much of my transfer account, a good $200K. The other, quieter acquisition was a 26-year-old centreback named Leon Cort. Cort was playing for Southend at the time, and it took $70K to bring him up to Tamworth. Physically, he was probably my most imposing player, with elite level jumping and heading skills and terrific pace and acceleration. As with most of my other defenders acquired this offseason, he was also blessed with strong defensive ability and was an excellent tackler. If he had weaknesses, it was that he didn't bring much into the offense technically, and he wasn't as mentally adept as most of my other defenders. So my new lineup had Gomez and Nelis switching off in goal. Laker and Cort (eventually) teamed up in the middle, with Duff on the right and Fularton on the left. Jensen returned to the defensive midfield, while Amaya remained at the attacking midfield spot. Hicks and Williams were back ont he wing, with Booth as a key backup. Birchall was there to play at any of the midfield positions. And Wilde and Oskarsson were the best up front, with Stadhart as the third striker. The season started off very well. We won seven in a row from the very beginning and quickly established ourselves as the class of the division? Was I surprised? You betcha. I really thought we would struggle to get along, but apaprently the division wasn't as far along from the Second Division as I thought. The offense was thrilling. Hicks and Williams were terrorizing offenses, Amaya was a dynamo in the middle, and Oskarsson and Wilde were perhaps one of the best striker combos I have ever seen. What's really funny is that we still hit a bit of a crisis point in the middle of the season, as is customary for us, it seems. We lost two games in early November (the only time all year we lost two matches in a row, if you can believe it), and we went four matches during that stretch without winning. We lost in the League Cup to a Second Division squad. It was embarrassing. It only partially soothed me that we were still among the best teams in the division. We were having problems defensively and that was the issue. I couldn't believe the compuetr has already figured out a counter for my tactic. I knew there had to be something I could do. So I started tinkering with diablo. It turns out I had the offside trap setting on. My defens ewas good, but not so good it could effectively pull that off, which requires worldclass level teamwork and anticipation along the backline to make work against this level of competition. I switched it off, went to a half-zonal, half-man-mark mix among my centrebacks, put my fullbacks on man-mark and close down on the ball, and other various little touches here and there. It turned out to be brilliant. The defense really turned around. We staretd winning strongly again, and we began to widen our lead in the First Division table. By the time our turn came up in the FA Cup in January, we were rolling. Why do I mention the FA Cup? Because this was probably the area of our greatest triumph this season. First Division squads don't win FA Cups. A First Division team hadn't even been to the final since 1996. But I wasn't thinking about that when I started it. I was trying to last long enough to get to face an EPL team with a big stadium, because I was running a huge wage bill again, and I really could use the moneyf rom splitting those gate receipts that I couldn't get at little ole Lamb Ground. While we were winning in the First Division, we were getting lucky in the FA Cup. We kept drawing Second and Third Division squads, often at home. We kept winning. We had won into the quarters in March before the luck of the draw finally brought us to a visit from Manchester City. I figured we were dust then, and I wasn't happy because it was a home match. If you can believe it, I didn't think we could beat Man City (which was in the top ten of the EPL at the time), and I was just praying we could draw them at our place, so we could get the replay at their place and get those gate receipts I was looking for. We welcomed City to the Lamb Ground pitch that Wednesday evening and proceeded to put in a prodigious pounding the likes of which I still have no idea where it came from. I wa shocked. We came to play...and we kicked some seriosu ass. We won, 8-1. Eight to one! OMFG! One moment I was thinking we would be lucky to score against Man City, the next I am realizing we have an FA Cup semifinal date with Newcastle! The semifinals take place at Wembley, so we were guaranteed our payday after all, win or lose. But after shellacking Man City and domianting the First Division, I finally began to believe we could win the damn thing. We met Newcastle at Wembley in April, and as you would expect from a worldclass side like the Magpies, we had our hands full. We were down 3-1 going into the final ten minute sof the match. Shola Ameobi had just scored his second goal of the game, and I thought we were dut. Shows you what I know. In the 82nd minute, Amaya worked his way intot he box and blasted a shot past Shay Given to make it 4-2. Then Williams made a ncie cross into the box a couple minutes later, and Oskarsson put the ball into the net for a tie game at 3-3. And then Wilde got open on the keeper in unjury time and put in the winning goal! AMAZING! I knew if this were to happen in real life, the British (and liekly the European) media market would eb going nuts. Cinderella and then some. Then we got our next gift of the season. Improbably, another First Division squad had won in the other semifinal, and for the first time, the FA Cup was certain to go to a First DIvision squad. Our opponent was Crystal Palace, the 13th-best team in the division at the time, and a team we had already beaten twice in league play, and handily. I entered that match confident and rightfully so. We were expected to win it. So it was no suyrprise that we did, although Palace made it close (I scored late to move it to a two-goal deficit after clinging to a one-goal lead for most of the match). I couldn't believe it, but I had just won the FA Cup and a ticket to European football next year. Meanwhile, in the First Division, I was really distancing myself from the competition. I didn't lose a match from early February to early April, a string of 15 matches, and by the time I did, I had practically clinched the division championship and promotion. I finished the season 32-7-7, for 103 points, my most in a season yet. I scored an amazing 118 goals, while allowing just 47 to my opponents. I won the division by 17 points over second place Leicester. Oskarsson was the story. He was amazing. He scored 31 goals and also collected 17 assists--both team highs--and 13 Men of the Match. He put up an incredible 8.55 rating, and he broke Mark Hicks' hold on the Supporters' Player of the Year award. Wilde was similarly amazing, with 27 goals and 15 assists, with a 7.50 rating. Amaya was probably the second best player on offense, with 29 goals, 16 assists and a 7.71 rating. On the wing, Williams really came into his own, with 10 goals and 13 assists, while Hicks had a bit of a down year (5 goals, 6 assists), but was still very solid. Birchall turned out to be a brilliant pickup, with 20 goals and 6 assists, mostly in relief of Amaya in the middle. Duff and Jensen did excellent work at defensive midfielder and also displayed fine skills setting up the offense (11 and 9 assists). Gomez allowed just 39 goals in 33 matches, while Nelis allowed 26 goals in 24 matches. Cort turned out to be a great get on the backline, and our defensive play was very solid. We were coming off of a great First Division season, winning promotion to the great English Premier League, and we had won the FA Cup and would be a part of the UEFA competition the following year. We also earned a bunch of money thanks to our FA Cup wins, and would soon add a hefty check for Premiership TV. Tamowrth was at its richest yet as we entered into one of the top leagues in the world. CR __________________ . . I would rather be wrong...Than live in the shadows of your song...My mind is open wide...And now I'm ready to start...You're not sure...You open the door...And step out into the dark...Now I'm ready.

06-23-2004, 10:45 PM	#25
Chief Rum Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Where Hip Hop lives	2006/07 Season, Around The World Major League Results English Premier Division: Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool Primera Liga (Spain): Barcelona, Real Madrid, Celta Serie A (Italy): Juventus, Inter, Parma Bundesliga (Germany): Dortmund, Schalke 04, FC Bayern Ligue 1 (France): Paris-SG, Montpelier, Nantes Casino Eridivisie (Holland): PSV, Ajax, Zwolle Portuguese Superleague: Benfica, Braga, Sporting Lisbon Supeligaen (Denmark): FC Kobenhavn, AaB, Esbjerg fB National A Division (Greece): Olympiakos, PAO, AEK Belgian First Division: Club Brugge, Genk, GBA Scottish Premier League: Celtic, Hearts, Kilmarnock Turkish Premier Division: Bursaspor, Fenerbahçe, Samsunspor Ukrainian High League: Shakhtar, Metalurg Donetsk, Dinamo Kiev Other European Champions: Austria Vienna (Austria), Dinamo (Croatia), Sparta Prague (Czech Republic), AC Allianssi* (Finland), Balaton FC (Hungary), St. Pat's Athletic* (Ireland), M. Haifa (Israel), Ballymena Utd (Northern Ireland), Brann* (Norway), Groclin (Poland), CSKA Moscow* (Russia), Rad (Serbia & Montenegro), Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia), Djurgården* (Sweden), Basel (Switzerland), Caersws (Wales) -- season runs from winter to fall, instead of summer to spring; champion is from last complete campaign National Cups* English FA Cup: Tamworth over Crystal Palace English League Cup: Liverpool over Arsenal Spanish Cup: Córdoba over Hércules Italian Cup: Juventus over Genoa German Cup: Hannover 96 over Kaiserslautern French Cup: Sedan over Lyon Dutch Cup: Ajax over MW Portuguese Cup: Braga over Académica European Club Competitions Champions League: Inter over Juventus UEFA: Iraklis over Olympiakos Comments: After a couple years of FC Bayern, Man Utd and Barcelona dominating the top clubs, Juventus surged to the forefront, falling just one Champions final loss away from the prestigious treble. Man Utd's is even more prodigious, as the superpower failed to break the top three in league or appear in the final of either domestic cup. Chelsea finally broke through the Man Utd-Arsenal hold on the EPL title, and Liverpool, once a reknowned superpower itself, finally returned to prominence with a third place finish and a league cup win. Jucentus wasn't the only Italian club to do well. Inter was runner up in the Serie A and won the Champions League. In Spain, Real Madrid had its best season in recent years by finishing second. Some long runs came to an end as Dortmund ended FC Bayern's four-season lock on the Bundesliga championship, and Benfica ended a three-year run by Sporting Lisbon in the Portuguese Superleague. In Scotland, the Rangers fell out of the top three for the first time this century. CR __________________ . . I would rather be wrong...Than live in the shadows of your song...My mind is open wide...And now I'm ready to start...You're not sure...You open the door...And step out into the dark...Now I'm ready.

06-24-2004, 12:33 AM	#26
Chief Rum Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Where Hip Hop lives	Top Transfers Of The 2006/07 Season MF Andrés D'Alessandro (ARG) from Wolfsburg to Milan for $68 M on August 30, 2006. MF Kléberson (BRA) from Man Utd to Milan for $46.5 M on August 25, 2006. RW Sidney Govou (FRA) from Lyon to Man Utd for $45.5 M on August 25, 2006. SC Zlatan Ibrahimovic (SWE) from Ajax to Schalke 04 for $42.5 M on January 23, 2007. MF Sebastian Deisler (GER) from FC Bayern to Dortmund for $41.5 M on January 4, 2007. MF Jerko Leko (CRO) from Dinamo Kiev to Schalke 04 for $35.5 M on August 16, 2006. SC Jairo Fernando Castillo (COL) from América de Cali to Fiorentina for $28 M on August 25, 2006. MF Patrick Vieira (FRA) from Arsenal to Milan for $28 M on January 26, 2007. SC Diogo Rincón (BRA) from Dinamo Kiev to Hertha BSC for $27 Mon January 11, 2007. MF Clarence Seedorf (NED) from Milan to Real Madrid for $24.5 M on August 25, 2006. MF Owen Hargreaves (ENG) from Real Madrid to Arsenal for 24 M on January 27, 2007. SC Mateja Kezman (SER) from PSV to Newcastle for $21 M on January 9, 2007. SC Giacomo Cipriani (ITA) from Lazio to Barcelona for $17.5 M on August 30, 2006. SC Andrea Gasbarroni (ITA) from Betis to Real Sociedad for $16.5 M on July 26, 2006. MF Torsten Frings (GER) from Dortmund to Real Madrid for $16.5 M on December 8, 2006. SC Marco Borriello (ITA) from Milan to Lazio for $16.25 M[/b] on January 1, 2007. LW Santiago Hernán Solari (ARG) from Real Madrid to Barcelona for $16 M on December 5, 2006. SC Mido (EGY) from Marseille to Chelsea for $15.75 M on January 27, 2007. SC Michael Chopra (ENG) from Newcastle to Chelsea for $15.5 M on January 30, 2007. SC Kléber (BRA) from Sao Paulo to Gladbach for $15.25 M on August 22, 2006. MF Ricardhino (BRA) from Santa Cruz to Internacional for $14.75 M on March 15, 2007. MF Igor Duljaj (SER) from Partizan to Lazio for $14.5 M on January 24, 2007. SC Alan Smith (ENG) from Leeds to Fulham for $14.25 M on July 31, 2006. RW Christian Tiffert (GER) from VfB Stuttgart to Chelsea for $14.25 M on August 13, 2006. SC Yakubu (NIG) from Everton to Fulham for $14.25 M on August 30, 2006. LW Thiago Motta (BRA) from Barcelona to Atlético Madrid for $14.25 M on December 28, 2006. SC Amoroso (BRA) from Barcelona to Real Madrid for $14 M on July 18, 2006. MF Christian Poulsen (DEN) from Schalke 04 to Real Madrid for $14 M on August 26, 2006. MF Dudu Cearense (BRA) from Parma to FC Bayern for $14 M on January 30, 2007. SC Lincoln (BRA) from Kaiserslautern toWerder Bremen for $13.75 M on August 20, 2006. SC Mike Hanke (GER) from Schalke 04 to Kaiserslautern for $13.5 M on July 22, 2006. MF Carlos Alberto (BRA) from Porto to Celta for $13.5 M on August 20, 2006. FB Paul Konchesky (ENG) from Charlton to Kaiserslautern for $13.25 M on August 24, 2006. SC Dimitar Berbatov (BUL) from Leverkusen to HSV for $12.75 M on January 26, 2007. MF Bernd Korzynietz (GER) from Gladbach to VfB Stuttgart for $12.5 M on January 26, 2007. MF Márcio (BTA) from Cruzeiro to Internacional for $12.5 M on May 27, 2007. SC Ismael Iñiguez (MEX) from Pumas to FC Kobenhavn for $12.25 M on August 19, 2006. LW Néstor Fabián Canobbio (URU) from Valencia to Málaga for $12 M on August 4, 2006. MF Darren Fletcher (SCO) from Man Utd to VfB Stuttgart for $12 M on August 29, 2006. LW Riccardo Montolivo (ITA) from Reggina to VfB Stuttgart for $11.75 M on August 28, 2006. DC Jong-Kook Song (KOR) from Feyenoord to Schalke 04 for $11.75 M on January 12, 2007. SC Ronaldo (BRA) from Real Madrid to Dortmund for $11.75 M on January 31, 2007. MF Morais (BRA) from Paysandu to Besiktas for $11.5 M on August 18, 2006. RW Cleiton Xavier (BRA) from Internacional to Schalke 04 for $11.5 M on August 27, 2006. LW Emanuel Centurión (ARG) from VfB Stuttgart to Leverkusen for $11.5 M on January 10, 2007. SC Landon Donovan (USA) from Leverkusen to Duisberg for $11.25 M on August 4, 2006. RW Oscar Rojas (MEX) from San Luis to Alavés for $11.25 M on December 22, 2006. MF Iván Helguera (SPA) from Real Madrid to Barcelona for $11.25 M on December 29, 2006. MF Jurica Vranjes (CRO) from Werder Bremen to Hertha BSC for $11.25 M on January 15, 2007. SC Portillo (SPA) from Real Madrid to Hertha BSC for $11 M on January 12, 2007. MF Leandro Gracián (ARG) from Vélez to Boca for $10.5 M on July 15, 2006. MF Cristian Ledesma (ARG) from Leverkusen to Inter for $10.5 M on August 8, 2006. SC Mikael Forssell (FIN) from Hertha BSC to Atlético Madrid for $10.5 M on December 15, 2006. SC Nelson Haedo-Valdez (PAR) from Werder Bremen to Gladbach for $10.25 M on January 27, 2007. FB Michel Salgado (SPA) from Real Madrid to Betis for $10 M on August 28, 2006. Comments How do I even begin to comment on this list of the transfers? It is by far the longest list of transfers with $10 M-plus pricetags since I took over at Tamworth. D'Alessando's move to Milan is the new high fee paid, topping past deals for Hargreaves and Martin Klose at $62 M. That $68 M was the big deal on August 30, which saw $99.75 M exchanged that day in three separate deals. Of course, that's nothing compared to the $116.5 M that was spent in three other deals on August 25, including the second and third biggest deals of the year involving Kléberson from Man Utd to Milan, and then Man Utd turning that around and spending it on Govou. There were a ton of little things to note about this year. The first ever $10 M-plus transfers entirely within South America made the list, with three of them in place here. The first American (Landon Donovan) reached a double digit transfer fee. Bundesliga squads in particular were spending like mavens. It must have been a banner year for football in Germany. And some big names exchanged teams, too, even beyond the above, including superstar striker Ronaldo, previous transfer fee record holder Hargeaves, star French midfielder Vieira, German defensive midfield star Deisler and Swedish star striker Ibrahimovich. CR __________________ . . I would rather be wrong...Than live in the shadows of your song...My mind is open wide...And now I'm ready to start...You're not sure...You open the door...And step out into the dark...Now I'm ready.

06-24-2004, 12:43 AM	#27
GoldenEagle Grizzled Veteran Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Little Rock, AR	Keep it coming Chief. This is outstanding. __________________ Xbox 360 Gamer Tag: GoldenEagle014

06-24-2004, 12:46 AM	#28
Chief Rum Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Where Hip Hop lives	International Competitions Just like 2005 and 2003, 2007 was a slow year for international competitions, as most fo the world prepares for several major continental tournaments in 2008, including the European Championships, Copa America, and the African Nations Cup. Gold Cup The United States rebounded from a poor Germany 2006 showing by winning the Gold Cup and beating Brazil along the way. Mexico finished second, and South Korea, the lone Asian nation invited to the New World tournament, finished third. Confederations Cup France backed up its Cup win in 2006 by taking the follow up Confederations Cup, held in Bolivia this year. France beat Italy to get a little revenge for falling to the Italians in Euro 2004. Colombia finished third in the only tournament other than the World Cup that includes full-age teams from all around the world. CR __________________ . . I would rather be wrong...Than live in the shadows of your song...My mind is open wide...And now I'm ready to start...You're not sure...You open the door...And step out into the dark...Now I'm ready.

06-24-2004, 03:53 AM	#30
Chief Rum Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Where Hip Hop lives	Tamworth 2007/08, Part I I am about to embark on my most exciting season yet. I had so much to look forward to going into this season that I hadn't before. I was in the EPL with Tamworth. I was actually the defending champion of the FA Cup. I was in the UEFA. My transfer account and wage bill cap were unbelievably huge. It was just a great time to play the game. And Euro 2008 in Switzerland and Austria was coming up, too, and that's the toughest tourney in the world. So there was a lot going on as I entered the new season in the Premiership for the first time. One frustration was the small size of my stadium. The board had refused to increase my 4,000-seat lamb Ground during my run in the First Division. It was already being dwarfed in the Second Division. And, now, here I was in the Premiership with a badbox for a stade. Fortunately, the board approved a 2500 or so seat expansion. Of course, that would only get to about a third of the next smallest stadium in the league, and until then, I would have to play in a smaller stadium. But at the time I was willing to accept that,simply because they had finally given me what I wanted in getting an expansion. There is much more to that story, though, and I will update you later on in this post. I had a lot of decisions to make, of course. This wasn't made more apparent to me than by the wage limit and transfer fees I was given. My tranfser fund in the First Division was just over $400,000. With the influx of $19 M in Premiership TV money and my winnings from a successful run at the FA Cup, I was given a shocking $14 M in transfer fees. That's so much money, I don't know what to think. And then there's the wage bill. It was just over $1 M in the First Division. It was $12 M in the EPL--and most of my players were still signed to bargain First Division salaries at best. Despite my domination last season, including cup wins over Man City and Newcastle, I had to assume my current roster would be somewhat outclassed by most of the sides in the Premiership, especially the top dogs like defending champ Chelsea or the rich bastards at Trafford and Ashburton Grove (yes, the Gunners are in their new place now). So I knew I had a lot of work to do in the transfer market. I got to work right away. Before I settle on who I bring in, though, I have to send some people out. Over the years, I have acquired a lot of parts at each stop that have stopped being useful or able to help as I climbed higher in the League. So I cleared off a lot of those players by simply allowing their contracts to run out after the First Division season ended. Some were fairly worthless, but there were a handful of decent players in the mix. Leon Cort's arrival bumped Barry Laker to a backup role, so it was an easy decision to let the veteran centre back go. Former starting fullback Dave Robinson was still an effective player, but he had way too many single digit ratings for a guy at this level, and I knew I could find better easy. Past key players like striker Armand One and midfielder Mark Noon were also deemed expendable. With some of the excess off of the staff, I went about with my transfer shopping. I did almost all of it in the first period of June-August, 2007. I'm not sure I know where to begin, because I just bought a ton of players. Altogether, I brought in 18 players. Some were just potential future players, guys my scouts had said could be excellent rospects for the future. These included strikers Ian Collins and Mark Hooper, midfielder Alan Elliot, defenders Kevin Gorman and Peter Castle and goalkeeper Thomas Heaton. These guys I stuck on my U-19 squad or my reserves squad with a bunch of my remaining rejects from my lower division squads, as well as what was left of my last round of youth academy prospects from the First Division year. But those kids only formed a small percentage of what I went after. I'll just go from area to area. In the net, I felt that Nelis was a solid option, but I remained worried about Gomez long term because of his athleticism issues. Nelis was also turnign 30 soon, and I knew I needed to get younger if Gomez wasn't the answer. So I brought in a 20-year-old Finnish goalkeeper named Jon Masalin from Aston Villa. Maslain has some teamwork and work ethic issues to deal with, but he is decent physically (not as good as nelis, but much better than Gomez), has the best combo of aerial ability and handling, and unlike my other keepers, he isn't eccentric. Plus, he's young. He cost me $230,000, and my plan was to throw Nelis, Masalin and Gomez to the wolves and see who came out the strongest. At centreback, I still had Cort in place, but Laker was gone. I was more comfortable with Duff at right fullback with his offensive abilities, and most of the rest of my depth here was just not good enough for this level. So I brought in three centrebacks. The best of the bunch was 2--yaer-old david Raven from Millwall. Raven wasn't the fastest player around, but he plays very tall, marks like a demon and works very well with others. He's also and engine room leader and blessed with a fullback's offensive ability. And he was just 22 years old. I boguht him for $1.1 M. The next two were Jon Otsemobor, a 24-year-old former youth product of Liverpool whom they released on a free, and Mark Warren, brought in on a free from Southend. Otsemobor was as good a marker as Raven, and he has the speed to keep up with Premiership strikers. Where he falters is in the mental areas of the game, where he isn't nearly as solid. Warren doesn't bring much except steadiness. He's clearly a backup type who is just good enough to stick to the first team of a low end Premiership squad for a while. At the fullback spots, I brought in some key players. I wanted to amke these positions more offensive, as I have found in my tactic that they are very heavily involved in initating the offense. This was why Duff interested me more on the right side. I still had Justin Skinner on the left, but he was getting odl and was borderlien anyway. So I went and signed 33-year-old veteran Icelandic internation Hermann Hreidarsson. Hreidarsson has just a step above average speed and at 33, he's certainly not a long term solution. But he was a very smart defender, he had centreback hops and was very technically skilled defensively and as a tackler. Also, his ball skills were just a shade below the wingers I was using in the First Division. I got him from Charlton for $1.1 M. To back both Duff and Hreidarsson up, along with Skinner, I signed Norwegian defensive midfielder Jarl Andre Starbæk away from a lower division Norwegian squad. The versatile 28-year-old defender and midfielder wasn't as blessed technically and his work ethic was poor, but he had better speed than my other fullbacks, and he was an elite crosser, even better than my wings, who rank among the best you can be. Plus, he could play both sides. I signed him from Ham Kam, the lower Norway side, for $120,000. I went into the offseason figuring I needed some big upgrades at the defensive midfield spot, as Jensen was clearly too slow for this level. He was struggling at times in the First Division actually. So I went after two players for this position, and several of my backline players (Duff, Hreidarsson, Gorman, Otsemobor, Starbæk) were also possibilities at the spot. I'm glad I didn't go for one of them, though, because otherwise I wouldn't have signed Scottish midfielder Michael Stewart from Sheffield United. Stewart, a 26-year-old who cost me $1.6 M, had a centreback's height, a brilliant tactical mind, solid defensive and physical skills, and terrific on-ball skills, including striker level finishing. He was just a well-rounded player and seemed to fit well for what I was looking for at the defensive midfield spot. I went back to Milwall for more help here and also nabbed Mark Phillips for $1.1 M. Phillips, who is actually a centreback, doesn't have terrific on-ball skills, but he had just enough to be able to function there as a more defensive option at the position. The 25-year-old Englishman had the explosive speed to stay with Premiership strikers and midfielders, and defensive skills as good as anyone's on the team besides perhaps Cort. He's also a terrific tackler. Where he faltered next to Stweart was in the mental abilities. While still very solid there, he was dwarfed in the mental game by Stewart, a tireless, aggressive midfielder with a captain's leadership abilities and the ability to work at top level with highly-cooridinated backlines. In these areas, Phillips was more of a pedestrian. He seemed like a good bet to backup both the defensive midfield and centreback spots. By now, you all must realize I have a love affair with wings. I love good, fast wings, with great crossing and dribblign. They just really make the offense work. So, despite the presence of several solid wings in Williams, Hicks, a fellow named John Corbett I never mentioned in the First Division part of this dynasty, and the youthful up-and-coming Chris Booth, I jumped at the chance to bring in some really exciting talent here. The notable name was Richie Partridge, an Irish winger who could play both sides of the pitch. He was just 26 when signed away from Liverpool, where he was stuck ont he reserve team and frustrated. His contract was coming up, so I signed him on a free. Partridge doesn't have the teamwork I like, and was slightly less explosive than my previous wings (we're talking a drop to 15 or so pace/acceleration, so not much), and he was also very passive (5 aggression). But he had the best combination of ball skills I saw available in my price range. He's a very good passer and had 20 Decisions. He was also a 20 Dribbler, and his crossing was very good as well. He could finish as well as most strikers. And he can play any midfield, wing or forward position. The other guy I got was Carl Motteram, a $1.4 M transfer from Birmingham. The 21-year-old winger could also play both sides of the pitch. He was an elite level crosser and also happened to have close to elite level finishing, and acceleration that put him up among the fastest individiuals to ever play for my team (albeit not as fast as Oskarsson). In fact, I actually tried him out at striker at first, but it soon became clear he was much more comfortable at his winger position. Motteram wasn't as smart with the ball, nor as good a dribbler as Partidge (he was merely very good, rather than elite there), but he was a more natural passer, a better tackler, more aggressive and slightly faster. Plus, he's just 21. I signed a third winger, a Frenchman named Yoann Bigné from Bordeauz for $90,000, but to be honest, had I known I would get Partridge and Motteram, I wouldn't have signed him. I won't go into too many details except to say that he is similar to Warren on the backline--good enough to occasionally spell the starters and do a passable job, but certainly not a long term keeper. Unbelievably, I made no changes in the middle. Amaya was coming off of a great season, and Birchall did well as a backup. I eventually wanted to get more "creative" types at that spot, instead of the striker types I was using, but I felt other areas needed addressing first, so I went for them instead. With Oskarsson coming off his great season, and Wilde also doing very well, I didn't get much up front. The fact of the matter is that prices of good strikers are severely inflated in football (and CM 03/04 as well), so there was little I could afford that were much better than what I had. So by the end of the first transfer window, I had only brought in one new striker, a Ukrainian kid named Andrei Pereplyotkin from Southampton. Thw 21-year-old, like Partirdge was Liverpool, was frustrated at his lack of first team experience and looking for an out. I was able to get him relatively cheap for $2 M, which was a good 50% less than his assessed value. And that's still more than I spent on any one other player in this transfer window. Perplyotkin, skillw-ise, matched up well with my ideal striker. Whereas Oskarsson and Wilde got results, you wouldn't say they really had the talent. Oskarsson made things happen with good technical and mental skills and explosive speed, but he wasn't a good dribbler or finisher, ironically. Wilde was a great finisher, near as good as you can be, and plenty smart, too, but he was at best average, speed wise, barely in doule digits. So Pereplytokin was an exciting player to get, with elite-level finishing and speed that was much closer to Oskarsson's than Wilde's. He was also a very good dribbler and crosser, which is nice to have when you're trying to make things happen on breakaways. He wasn' as mentally solid, and was a bit of a willow with the ball (could be blown off course with a slight wind), and those were his failings. He seemed to be a player with some good potential. Altogether, I spent about $10 M of my $14 M during the opening transfer season. My lineup had Nelis, Gomez and Masalin vying for the #1 netminder job. Cort had a new partner in Raven at centreback, with Duff on the right and Hreidarsson on the left. Stewart would start at defensive midfidler, with Phillips backing him and the centrebacks up. Amaya and Birchall returned to man the attacking midfield spot. Williams and Motteram were my left wingers, and Corbett and Partridge were on the right. And I moved Hicks, whom had long ago proven to have a nose for the goal, up front, where he could join Wilde, Oskarsson and Pereplyotkin to help rpovide us with our scorers. I was readyt o begin my first ever season in the Premiership. CR __________________ . . I would rather be wrong...Than live in the shadows of your song...My mind is open wide...And now I'm ready to start...You're not sure...You open the door...And step out into the dark...Now I'm ready.

06-24-2004, 03:50 PM	#31
John Galt Pro Starter Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: The Internets	Great reading so far. Can't wait for more. __________________ I do mind, the Dude minds. This will not stand, ya know, this aggression will not stand, man. - The Dude

06-25-2004, 12:00 AM	#33
Chief Rum Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Where Hip Hop lives	Tamworth 2007/08, The Early Season Fact is, enough happened this season, that it's worth it to split this one up into two posts (above and beyond the offseason post). So here goes... As one of the benefits to winning the FA Cup, we earned the right to play in the Community Shield, which symbolically opens the English football season. Our opponent was Premiership champ Chelsea. We itnroduced ourselves to the Premiership in style, beating Chelsea 4-2 at Wembley, the site of our FA Cup win in May. That certainly kicked us off right. The team quickly showerd it wasn't the relegation candidate the oddsmakers said it would be. Of course, they were saying that pretty much every season from the very beginning, and we always proved them wrong. Why should this year be different? We suffered an early home loss to Fulham in our second league match of the season, but it was a rare blemish on a record that was mostly wins from the get-go. We embarrassed three different teams in the first few weeks by identical 6-1 scores. We seemed game to at lesats lose or draw one match every month, but not much beyond that. The Fulham loss was our only one in August. We dropped a 3-1 match at my old haunts in Middlesbrough in late September. We drew with Sunderland early in November, 0-0, and later that month, lost 4-2 to Birmingham on the road. Really, we weren't out of any match in league until December, when we were embarassed by the powerful man Utd squad at Old Trafford on December 22, and then fell 5-1 to, again, Fulham, on New Year's Day. They seem to have our number. In the end, few teams had answers for our offense. We gave up our share of goals. In fact, based on the numbers, we weren't in the top half of the league in defense. But no one could touch us on offense. Oskarsson was amazing, both scoring and passing. Amaya was incredible from the midfield--I am talking a season for the ages from the vet Salvadoran. Wilde showed that his lack of apparent talent was as unimportant in the EPL as it had been at previous levels. Man Utd, though, proved to be very tough. After the first couple of matches, we were never lower than the top five in the league, through January. But that loss to the Red Devils in December was key, because they were with us the whole way, and used that win to vault themselves into a first place spot they would hold for a good deal longer. We seemed to settle into second place as the other powerful teams in the league worked out their own problems and started to put on runs. Strong wins at home over Liverpool and Arsenal showed we could definitely hang with them in the early going. The match of the first half of the season came the day after Christmas, when we won a wild shootout with Newcastle at the Lamb Ground, 5-4. Considering our amazing two-goal comeback to win through in the semifinals of the FA Cup the season before, I would imagine the Magpies are rather sick of me by this point. Despite the offensive success, we felt we could use more depth and quality up front, as Hicks was moved up to the front more because of that than because we felt he was really better there. I hate to play guys out of position--just something I don't like to do. So it bugged me having to run Hicks out there a lot when my top strikers were tired. So I was searching around trying to find someone to use that $3.7 or so M I had left in the transfer account. Eventually, I settled on 24-year-old Nigerian striker Yakubu, a player who hurt me in the first game I lost. I had a future transfer agreed to for more than what I had, hoping I could move some minor parts to cover the difference by the time the transfer could go through on January 1, 2008. Unfortunately, I was unable to get any interest in my available players and the deal fell through. Then the very same day the deal fell apart, I watched as Yakubu put up a hat trick against me in Fulham's second woin over us on New Year's. That just resolved me to land the player, who was listed by Fulham despite he's seeming quality as a player. In fact, he had apparently been listed so long, they had lowered their demands almost 50%, much like Pereplyotkin in Southampton. Frsutrated by having the deal fall through, I tried offering all of my remaining transfer budget, which in the past had been turned down. Perhaps doing the AI version of its own frustration, Fulham agreed to this offer and sent Yakubu to me later that week. Yakubu was really the first well-known player I had landed, I felt, and at 24, he had a long career ahead of him. Yakubu was stronger mentally than Perploytokin, the only other player with similar skill level at the position, and was a proven commodity in the past, having scored 57 goals for Portsmouth and Everton from 2003 to 2006. The league wasn't the only thing I was doing during this time, of course. I began my quest for success in the domestic cup that had proven to be very difficult for me to advance in: the League Cup. I had yet to go beyond a November match for this first prize of English competition, and as always, I stressed doing well in the cup competitions. I drew Liverpool in the third round to open that quest, but fortunately, it was at home. I beat the Reds, 5-1, in a Halloween match, behind an Amaya hat trick. In the fourth round, I drew a much tougher match in Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Fortunately, Chelsea seemed to have matchup problems with me that were apparent int he Community Shield, and they showed up again when we beat them, 5-2, on December 5, 2007. Oskarsson led the way with two goals. One of the benefits of being in the Premiership is you are introduced to the League Cup competition rather than late in the running. Just two wins and I was already in the quarterfinals. After two tough opening matchups, I got lucky when I drew First Division Derby at home for the quarterfinal on December 19. As expected, I smacked them hard, 6-1, with Amaya turning in an amazing four-goal performance. The semifinal of the League Cup, scheduled for late January-early February, is played in two home-and-home legs. As it turned out, I did not get a fortunate draw in Arsenal. The first match was to be played on January 23 at Ashburton Grove, with the follow up at the Lamb Ground on February 6. I expected a tough match on the road, but Arsenal seems to have problems with em the way Chelsea did. We beat them, 4-2, at their place, with another Amaya hat trick to go with it. Amaya had never played better than that December-January stretch. Having played so strong on the road, it was a simple matter at home in the second leg, as we won easily, 5-1, with the recently-arrived Yakubu scoring two goals. That game symbolized a potential issue, though. Amaya did not score in that one. In fact, he did not even play. The reason? He was sent off early with a personal foul in a horrible 4-1 loss the previous week at Blackburn, and was thus ineligible for the Arsenal match. He would in fact draw a further three-match domestic ban as a result of the harshness of his foul, an attack on Blackburn midfielder Barry Ferguson in which he kicked him after a hard tackle. This would have far reaching consequences, but since much of that lies in the second half of the season, I will leave it for then. As important as my runs in the Premiership and League Cup were, I was just as intrigued by the UEFAm the international tournament I had earned my way into by virtue of my FA Cup win. I was a first seed, which meant I didn't have to qualify for the tournament first, which, at its beginning has no less than 96 of the top teams in Europe (in fact, all of the best teams but the top 32, which have won their way to the more prestigious Champions Cup). Each round of the UEFA is played in two home-and-home leg matches, just like the semifinal of the League Cup. My draw in the first round was Finnish club Tampere United, which had finished as the runner up in the Finnish Premier Division in 2006 (like many Scandinavian divisions, the FPD is a spring to fall league, not a summer to spring leasgue as in elsewhere in Europe). My first UEFA match, at the Lamb Ground, didn't start off so well. The Finnish club jumped out to a 2-0 lead and held on for the 2-1 win. Now having to play them at their place, I did not like my chances. The second match, played in Tampere, Finland on October 17, didn't go so well either for the most part. Entering the last fifteen minutes, we were knotted up at one apiece, which put me down 3-2 in aggregate. After a match in slumber, though, MAaya finally woke up and broke through, tying the aggregate score with a goal in the 78th minute. It seemed set to go to extra time, when Amaya got a hold of another one in injury team and got past the Tampere Utd keeper for the series-winning goal. We had escaped with a tight 4-3 aggregate socre against Tampere Utd to advance to the next round. Our second round opponent was Bundesliga squad 1.FC Köln, which finished 5th in one of the world's top leagues the year before. having been tested by Tampere Utd, I figured this one would be very tough. Strangely, though, we had an easier time with the German club, beating them 4-1 at our place on November 8. Amaya, of course, scored the now traditional hat trick. On November 29, we finished them off at their place, although it was much closer, 4-3 Tamworth. On aggregate, we won, 8-4, to reach the 2008 stretch of the tournament. That stretch is tough both because the field has been whittled down in Darwinian fashion, and because losing teams from the Champions League group stage are now being introduced into the field. We drew Rosenborg, the longtime Norwegian power, for our third round opponent. It was right around now that I dscovered a seeming bug in the game's stadium expansion logic. The Lamb Ground had been undergoing construction of the 2500-seat expansion since June, and was scheduled to be finished on December 7. Well, that day came and went, and the ground remained unchanged. In fact, it was still listed as being under construction for the expansion, with the same already-past date listed. So I had no idea when my stadium would actually increase in size. Questioning here at FOFC suggested it might be years. That is very frustrating, considering that revenue from my park has to be considered a key thing here, and having a 3500-capacity stadium in the Premiership is just ridiculous. I decided that, if by the end of the year, the expansion hadn't happened, I would download aneditor and change it to a level more appropriate for my level. I was hoping I wouldn't have to do that, though. The second half of the season is coming up. CR __________________ . . I would rather be wrong...Than live in the shadows of your song...My mind is open wide...And now I'm ready to start...You're not sure...You open the door...And step out into the dark...Now I'm ready.

06-26-2004, 04:24 AM	#35
Chief Rum Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Where Hip Hop lives	2007/08 Season, Around The World Major League Results English Premier Division: Tamworth, Man Utd, Liverpool Primera Liga (Spain): Barcelona, Deportivo, Celta Serie A (Italy): Juventus, Genoa, Milan Bundesliga (Germany): FC Bayern, Leverkusen, Werder Bremen Ligue 1 (France): Guingamp, Lens, Cannes Casino Eridivisie (Holland): Ajax, NEC, PSV Portuguese Superleague: Sporting Lisbon, U. Lamas, Académica Supeligaen (Denmark): AaB, OB, FC Kobenhavn National A Division (Greece): Olympiakos, PAOK, AEK Belgian First Division: Anderlecht, Mouscron, Standard Scottish Premier League: Celtic, Dundee, Hibs Turkish Premier Division: Fenerbahçe, G. Birligi, Galatasaray Ukrainian High League: Dinamo Kiev, Arsenal Kiev, Shakhtar Other European Champions: GAK (Austria), Varteks (Croatia), Banik Ostrava (Czech Republic), FC Haka* (Finland), Debrecen (Hungary), Bohemians* (Ireland), M. Haifa (Israel), Linfield (Northern Ireland), Bodo/Glimt* (Norway), Wisla (Poland), CSKA Moscow* (Russia), Partizan (Serbia & Montenegro), Zilina (Slovakia), Elfsborg* (Sweden), Grasshopper (Switzerland), Caersws (Wales) -- season runs from winter to fall, instead of summer to spring; champion is from last complete campaign National Cups* English FA Cup: Tamworth over Wolverhampton English League Cup: Sunderland over Tamworth Spanish Cup: Real Madrid over Valencia Italian Cup: Parma over Perugia German Cup: Bielefeld over Schalke 04 French Cup: Nîmes over Montpelier Dutch Cup: Ajax over Willem II Portuguese Cup: Belenenses over P. Ferreira European Club Competitions Champions League: Milan over Dortmund UEFA: Tamworth over Parma Comments: I don't think I would be tooting my own horn to say that my club's success was the story of European football this season. I was the only team to win the treble, and I did it in the first year I ascended to the top league. In fact, I came a bad result against Sunderland away from pulling off not only the international treble, but the domestic one as well. After winning their respective leagues for the third year in a row, you have to consider Juventus and Barcelona to be two of the very best clubs in the world. FC Bayern regained its perch atop the Bundesliga after a drop to third. Bayern has won five of the last six Bundesliga championships. A long streak came to an end in Holland. Ajax finally broke through and defeated PSV, which had won five in a row since 2002. Incidentally, Ajax, which also took the domestic double, was the last Dutch team besides PSV to win that league. Dortmund made a big splash last season with a wealth of strong signings and a league championship, but a drop out of the Bundesliga top three has to be a considerable disappointment. Parma eased its pain of losing in the UEFA final by taking the Italian Cup. Overall, Italy was very strong this year, with powerful Juventus as champs, the Champions Cup winner in Milan, and UEFA runner up Parma. For the second year in a row, Rangers were nowhere to be found in Scotland's top three. CR __________________ . . I would rather be wrong...Than live in the shadows of your song...My mind is open wide...And now I'm ready to start...You're not sure...You open the door...And step out into the dark...Now I'm ready. Last edited by Chief Rum : 06-26-2004 at 04:24 AM.

06-27-2004, 03:50 AM	#36
Chief Rum Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Where Hip Hop lives	Top Transfers Of The 2007/08 Season RW Mancini (BRA) from Roma to Real Madrid for $63 M on December 7, 2007 LW Rafael van der Vaart (NED) from Ajax to Liverpool for $46.5 M on August 9, 2007 FB Wilfred Bouma (NED) from PSV to Schalke 04 for $29 M on August 27, 2007 RW Mauro Germán Camoranesi (ITA) from Juventus to Barcelona for $28 M on July 13, 2007 MF Gennaro Ivan Gattuso (ITA) from Milan to Arsenal for {b]$25 M[/b] on January 17, 2008 MF Gilberto Silva (BRA) from Arsenal to Man Utd for $24 M on January 15, 2008 SC Peter Levenkrands (DEN) from Rangers to Blackburn for $22 M on July 29, 2007 SC Javier Saviola (ARG) from Inter to Schalke 04 for $21.5 M on August 27, 2007 SC Fabrizio Miccoli (ITA) from Juventus to Real Madrid for $21 M on August 30, 2007 SC Jermain Defoe (ENG) from Tottenham to Roma for $20 M on August 31, 2007 MF Mark Bresciano (AUS) from Juventus to Liverpool for $19.5 M on August 3, 2007 MF Andrea Prilo (ITA) from Milan to Inter for $18 M on January 1, 2008 SC Ruud van Nistlerooy (NED) from Man Utd to Real Madrid for $17.75 M on July 18, 2007 SC Gil (BRA) from Corinthians to Sampdoria for $17.25 M on January 30, 2008 MF Stephen Appiah (GHA) from Inter to Fiorentina for $17 M on July 18, 2007 SC Guiseppe Sculli (ITA) from Marseille to Man Utd for $16 M on August 7, 2007 SC Djibril Cissé (FRA) from Zaragoza to Man Utd for $16 M on August 9, 2007 SC Dimitar Berbatov (BUL) from HSV to FC Bayern for $15.75 M on January 10, 2008 MF Michele Pazienza (ITA) from Udinese to Chelsea for $15.25 M on January 30, 2008 MF Paul Scholes (ENG) from Man Utd to Arsenal for $14.75 M on August 6, 2007 LW Gaetano D'Agostino (ITA) from Roma to Man Utd for $14.5 M on August 25, 2007 MF Juan Román Riquelme (ARG) from Valladolid to Barcelona for $14.5 M on August 24, 2007 MF Giampiero Pinzi (ITA) from Chelsea to Inter for $14 M on January 16, 2008 MF Emerson (BRA) from Roma to Milan for $13.25 M on July 19, 2007 FB Bernd Korzynietz (GER) from VfB Stuttgart to Man Utd for $13.25 M on August 22, 2007 SC Benjamin Lauth (GER) from Napoli to HSV for $12.75 M on July 17, 2007 SC Nenê (BRA) from PAO to Juventus for $12.25 M on January 6, 2008 SC Cacau (BRA) from VfB Stuttgart to Rostock for $12 M on January 7, 2008 SC Andrea Gasbarroni (ITA) from Real Sociedad to FC Bayern for $12 M on January 24, 2008 MF Torsten Frings (GER) from Real Madrid to Barcelona for $11.75 M on January 1, 2008 MF Roland Bonimeier (GER) from Basel to Leverkusen for $11.25 M on January 1, 2008 RW Lucas Martín Castromán (ARG) from Vélez to Real Madrid for $11 M on December 22, 2007 SC Milos Krstic (SER) from Basel to Sporting Lisbon for $10.75 M on January 30, 2008 DC Belletti (BRA) from Real Soceidad to Real Madrid for $10.5 M on August 30, 2007 MF Patricio Pérez (ARG) from Valencia to Parma for $10 M on January 25, 2008 SC Davide Matteini (ITA) from Piacenza to Parma for $10 M on January 26, 2008 SC Ricardinho (BRA) from Internacional to Cruzeiro for $10 M on February 16, 2008 Comments: Gotta hand it to Real Madrid. The world's richest club knows how to buy in style. This past season they brought in Mancini and Castroman on the wing, Belletti on the backline, and Nistlerooy and Miccoli up front. Their spending was almost matched by Man Utd, though, which brought in its own wealth of star players in Sculli and Cissé up front, D'Agostina on the wing, Silva in the midfield, and Korzynietz at fullback. Amazingly, both teams still managed to fall short in their leagues, with Real Madrid once again finishing behind three-time straight Primera Liga champ Barcelona, while Man Utd were shocked by surprise squad Tamworth. This transfer season also had one move that was just wrong: Scholes to Arsenal? Heaven forbid! Among the nationalities of players moved, it was a strong year for the Netherlands, Italy and Brazil. A ton of good players from these countries were moved in the past year. CR __________________ . . I would rather be wrong...Than live in the shadows of your song...My mind is open wide...And now I'm ready to start...You're not sure...You open the door...And step out into the dark...Now I'm ready.

06-27-2004, 05:34 AM	#37
Chief Rum Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Where Hip Hop lives	Euro 2008 Austria/Switzerland Qualifiers Tamworth may have come out of nowhere to win the international treble, but it's time to put aside club success and look at the most competitive international tournament in the world. Here are the four Groupings for Euro 2008: Group A Austria, Greece, Holland, Turkey Comments: This should be a very competitive group, as no one team will stand out here, judging from past reputation. Holland was the only team here to get to the World Cup final round, while Turkey embarassed itself with just one point in the group stage of Germany 2006. Still, they will likely be the two favorites here, as Greece didn't even make the World Cup and Austria is probably only here because it's hosting this thing. Group B France, Norway, Poland, Spain Comments: Obviously, the clear standout here is the World Cup champion French. Not only do they have that standout achievement on the docket, they should also be well-motivated by their runner up finish in this competition in Portugal in 2004. But they didn't get a friendly draw in two other teams that made the Germany 2006 final round in Spain and Norway. Poland, obviously, is in over its head in this group. Group C Belarus, England, Italy, Serbia & Montenegro Comments: Serbia & Montenegro, the favorite? You laugh, but it was the Serbs who reached the final round in Germany in 2006, while the defending Euro champ Italians embarassed themselves in the group stage, and England watch the tourney from the cozy confines of their living rooms. Still, this figures to be a very tough group. Belarus was quite a Cinderella in the qualifying, but the dream almost certainly ends here. Group D Croatia, Czech Republic, Portugal, Switzerland Comments: Portugal seems to be the favorite here, coming off of a run to the semis as hosts of Euro 2004, but they won't be in front of the home crowds here, and they didn't escape the group stage at Germany 2006. But then neither did the Czech Republic, and Croatia and Switzerland weren't even invited. The Portuguese have the talent to walk here. After that, it's a much more open group, although the Czechs probably have a clear edge for the second spot. WHO DIDN'T MAKE IT Well, one country in particular should stand out, since they were mentioned enough above: Germany. Embarassingly enough, the Germans--supposedly one of the top football countries in the world--did not make it to Euro 2008. But they have some pretty significant company. The other standout here is Romania, which may have ruined all the good it did in finishing third at Germany 2006 by not even qualifying for this tournament. With Finland also on the outs, that makes three World Cup 2006 quarterfinalists who didn't make it to Austria/Switzerland. Other notable countries to not make it were Sweden, Belgium, Scotland and the Ukraine. CR __________________ . . I would rather be wrong...Than live in the shadows of your song...My mind is open wide...And now I'm ready to start...You're not sure...You open the door...And step out into the dark...Now I'm ready.

06-27-2004, 06:23 AM	#38
Chief Rum Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Where Hip Hop lives	Euro 2008 Austria/Switzerland Group Stage ROUND ONE Group A Turkey 0, Austria 0 Holland 3, Greece 1 Buoyed by the home fans, the Austrians continued the Turks' recent bad run in the internationals but pulling off the upset scoreless draw. That allowed the Dutch to take the early upperhand int he group when the beat the Greeks handily, as expected. Group B Spain 1, France 1 Norway 3, Poland 1 This probably went as good as the Vikings could hope for. They beat Poland to give them the clear edge among the "also-rans", while the two favorites drew, putting the Norsemen on top of the group. For all as good as Spain is, France has to be disappointed to not start off strong here. Group C Serbia & Montenegro 2, Belarus 1 England 3, Italy 1 The English put in a statement in this match, as they took a commanding lead of the group with the toughest other team in their rear view mirror. Serbia & Montenegro probably should have beaten Belarus by more, but the win and three points is what counts. Italy is likely up in arms over this latest international debacle. They were barely competitive at Germany 2006, and they are the defending champs of this tournament. Group D Croatia 2, Portugal 0 Switzerland 1, Czech Republic 0 It's amazing how just one round can turn a whole group on its ear. The Swiss are here for show--or so it was said. They didn't get the memo, though, and surprised the stronger Czechs in front of the home crowd. And then Croatia pulled off the even bigger upset, continuing Portugal's recent string of poor success in international competitions. ROUND TWO Group A Turkey 2, Holland 2 Greece 3, Austria 1 Holland missed a brilliant chance by failing to beat Turkey. The Turks, meanwhile, would be looking a lot better at this point if the Greeks hadn't beaten the Austrians to move up to second. A draw in that game would have suited Turkey much better. Holland still has the edge, but at this point, this group is still wide open. Group B Spain 2, Poland 1 France 1, Norway 0 For Norway, they need to win one of these last two games to get in, and Spain figures to be slightly easier than the French. Still, Norway put up a good fight before falling to the World Cup holders. Poland becomes the first squad to be eliminated after falling to Spain. Group C Italy 1, Serbia & Montenegro 0 Belarus 4, England 2 Here we have the epitome of intestinal fortitude. On one hand, we have the Italians, downtrodden and looking for a wint o break them out of their malaise. And we have the English, with an easy opponent at hand and a spot in the quarters there for the taking. Italy finally came through and got a hard fought win over the Serbs. England fell on its keister and gave up one of the biggest upsets in recent football history. Group D Croatia 3, Switzerland 1 Portugal 2, Czech Republic 0 Croatia could be expected to beat the Swiss, or at the very least match them blow-for-blow, but it was their win over Portugal that made this a pivotal game. Although their spot is not clinched, the surprising Croatians are virtually assured of advancing now. Portugal puts themselves square with the Swiss for that second spot, while the Czechs are all but eliminated in a very disappointing performance. ROUND THREE Group A Turkey 2, Greece 0 Holland 2, Austria 0 The group's two spots were there for the taking, and the Dutch and Turks followed through. For Holland, it's just a completion of a foregone conclusion in this group, although there is some retribution for having drawn with Austria to start this group off. Turkey meanwhile earned itself some props for making up for a very poor showing at Germany 2006. Group B Spain 2, Norway 1 France 4, Poland 1 It came down to the Spain-Norway game, as no one realistically expected the eliminated Poles to compete with the French (and they didn't). It was a winner take all. Spain came in with more talent, and in the end, that was the difference in a tight contest. It wasn't quite the easy road projected, but France and Spain both left this group for the quarters. Group C Serbia & Montenegro 3, England 2 Italy 2, Belarus 0 England, perhaps disheartened by its shocking loss to Belarus, didn't have the gumption to come up with a needed win against the tough Serbs, and that proved to be their undoing. Italy, as expected, beat Belarus handily and won its way into the quarters after all. The surprising Serbs got the top spot on the basis of total goals scored. Of course, after reaching the World Cup final round in 2006, maybe it shouldn't be a surprise anymore that Serbia & Montenegro have gotten as far as they have. Group D Croatia 0, Czech Republic 0 Switzerland 2, Portugal 1 Who are the biggest losers in this Euro? England or Portugal? With a spot in the quarters on the line, the Portuguese choked away their chances and unbelievably fell to the homeland Swiss. Croatia wasn't as impressive in this round as previously, but it only needed a point to advance, and it got it. Shocking as it is, the two favorites are going home, and the Swiss and Croatians are moving on. Quarterfinal Matchups Holland --vs-- Spain France --vs-- Turkey Serbia & Montenegro --vs-- Switzerland Croatia --vs-- Italy CR __________________ . . I would rather be wrong...Than live in the shadows of your song...My mind is open wide...And now I'm ready to start...You're not sure...You open the door...And step out into the dark...Now I'm ready.

06-27-2004, 05:24 PM	#39
Chief Rum Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Where Hip Hop lives	Euro 2008 Austria/Switzerland Quarterfinals SPAIN 1, HOLLAND 1 (Spain win on PK, 3-1) What a way to start off the quarters! This is by far the best match yet of the tourney. The two teams evenly split up 38 total shots, with 22 on goal. Holland got a late exciting goal from midfielder Mark van Bommel of PSV in the 86th minute, to fight off the desperation of trying to solve Iker Casillas of Real Madrid in net for Spain. Spain had been holding onto a 1-0 lead since Raúl, also of Real Madrid, scored in the 24th minute. After equalizing, Holland and Spain battled it out through two extra time periods before reaching the penalty kicks. Xavi of Racing Santander opened up Spain's own end with a score, but Barcelona's Patrick Kluivert didn't get the Dutch started right by missing his. Fortunately for Holland, Deportivo's Diego Tristán gave them a gift and missed his, allowing PSV's Kevin Hofland to tie it up at 1-1. Fernando Navarro of Barcelona converted his turn to give Spain the 2-1 lead, setting up the shot of the day. Navarro's club teammate Denny Landzaat kicked his shot for Holland, but Casillas saved it, giving Spain the edge. Valencia's Miguel Angel Angulo put Spain up 3-1 on the next kick and putting the backs of Holland to the wall. When Inter's Andy van der Meyde missed his kick, it was all over, and Spain advanced to the semifinals. Despite losing, Dutch netminder Sander Westerweld of Real Sociedad got the man of the Match. TURKEY 1, FRANCE 0 Wow! France's "inevitable" march to the title ended shockingly today, as Turkey continued to play well. This one had a goat, though. Real Madrid centreback Phillip Mexès tripped Betis's striker Sanli Tuncay in the 43rd minute and earned himself a send off with a professional foul! France was already a goal down, courtesy of a 23rd strike from Fenerbahçe's Akin Serhat, and now they had to fight back from a man down, too. Showing how good they are, they still outshot Turkey for the match, 13-9, and the ball was in Turkey's end 32% of the match, as opposed to 21% in France's end. But they couldn't beat Turkish goalkeeper Reçber Rustu of Barcelona. Fullback Kahriman Memhmet of Fenerbahçe earned the Man of the Match for his defensive work. SERBIA & MONTENEGRO 2, SWITZERLAND 0 For all of the Swiss' relative reputation to Serbia & Montenegro, they held to past form and really tested the favored squad before falling. Switzerland put up six shots on goal to Serbia & Montenegro's three (although the Serbs took the overall shot count fight, 11-6), but they couldn't beat Vitesse netminder Dragoslav Jevric. The Serbs got to Swiss goalkeeper Diego Benaglio of Perugia early. Benaglio allowing two of the three shots on goal to get past him. They were scored by striker Andrija Kaludjerovic--ironically, Benaglio's teammate at Perugia--in just the 3rd minute, and midfielder Branko Boskovic of Paris-SG in the 27th minute. Jevric got the Man of the Match. CROATIA 2, ITALY 0 Apparently beating out England to get to the quarters took all of fight out of the Italians, who quailed in typical form in this one. This was a very tight, defensive match, with just 13 shots taken. The Italians only put two of their seven on goal, while stunning Croatia had five of its six shots on goal. Unfortunately for Italy, star goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon of Juventus had an off-day, and allowed two goals to go by. It was a scoreless draw for most of the match before Croatia finally tested Buffon midway throught he second half. Striker Tomislov Sokota of Benfica finally got Croatia up one in the 66th minute, and fellow striker Domagoj Abramovic of Kamen Ingrad put the Croations up 2-0 just four minutes later, before the Italians realized they had been scored on in the first place. In a tournament that is becoming reknowned for its huge upstes, this is just another one. Juventus fullback Igor Tudor got the Man of the Match for his help on the backline. SEMIFINAL MATCHUPS Croatia --vs-- Spain Serbia & Montenegro --vs-- Turkey CR __________________ . . I would rather be wrong...Than live in the shadows of your song...My mind is open wide...And now I'm ready to start...You're not sure...You open the door...And step out into the dark...Now I'm ready.