FM: Harrogate's (hopeful) ascendency

[Eaglesfan27]

See my struggle to survive my first season as an LLM manager in this thread: http://dynamic2.gamespy.com/%7Efof/f...ad.php?t=32963


In my second season, I will be more aggressive in trying to pursue some permeanant players who I feel can help the club. My goal is to ensure that we are promoted this year (and therefore able to support the slightly higher wage bill.) This could be a dangerous tactic if we fail to achieve promotion. I'm hopeful that Christopher Engles will be better known in the soccer world, and actually convince a few more good loan players to join us throughout the season.

[Eaglesfan27]

July 5th, 2005 -

On July 1st, I reviewed the local trade rags to find out which clubs released guys on free transfers. I noticed several names that my scout had turned me onto earlier in the year (and a few who were prior loan players!)

I decided to go after Stuart Wall, a young defender, who had come through Coventry's system. My scout thought he would be an excellent signing that would break into the first lineup immediately. I watched the videotape my scout shot, and I had to agree. So I offered this 17 year old centre defender, 300 dollars/week. He agreed and signed on July 5th, 2005.

Another name that I noticed had been released was Mark Smyth! Liverpool felt he wouldn't be of any help to him and he was available on a free transfer. I called Mark and immediately asked him how he would feel about playing for me again. He told me that he really enjoyed his time here, and he felt I was a good coach. He'd be glad to come back if we could work out the money.

I asked him how much he wanted. The 20 year old replied, 500 a week. I asked him if he could make do with 420/week. He agreed! I now had acquired two players who cost only slightly more than Turley. I'm convinced that Turley's inaccuracy makes him expendable. Hopefully, I'll be able to find a buyer.

The third player that I noticed was available who excited me was Greg Kelly who had been released on a free transfer by Huddersfield. I called Kelly up on the 1st too and asked him how he would feel about rejoining our group. He said that he really liked what we were doing and he would consider it. I asked him how much money he would want. He replied 700/week. I told him that I really wanted him to join us, but I could only afford 550/week. He thought about it for a few days and agreed to join us on the 5th as well!

Finally, I noticed that Jermaine Palmer was available. He is a young striker whom my scouts have repeatedly recommended. Watching the video tape, it was apparent that this kid was a real speedster who had great touch around the net. I offered him a modest deal hoping he would accept. He asked for 1200 dollars per week. I told him the most I could offer was 700/week. He agreed to the deal on the 5th as well.

Hmmmm.. I might be overspending..

[Eaglesfan27]

Realizing that I might be overspending, I start looking at what players are expendable. With Scarsella's great play, I decide that Pettinger is expendable. He is 29, and I might have a chance to move him. I transfer list him immediately, hoping to get rid of his 550 dollar/week salary.

I look at Wood who is a young 22 year old defender, and I review my notes on him. He played well at times, and he is quite talented. However, he lacks determination and is lazy on the pitch at times. He made too many bad plays last year, and I decide to list him to see if I can move his 460 dollar per week salary.

James Turley is an easy target for transfer. Yes, he has great speed. But, he doesn't finish plays. Also, due to an esclator clause in his old contract, he is guaranteed 800 dollars/week. I decide to transfer list him immediately.

I also transfer list Michael Ord, a 24 year old DC who spent the entire year on my reserve squad and has minimal talent.

Finally, I transfer list James McDaid, a 19 year old reserve striker who isn't showing any potential at this point.

[daedalus]

Nice. Love getting those guys back for free. Good start to the new season!

[Kevin]

Great dynasty report!

Not too many people double major in English Lit and Pre-Med.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Kevin

Great dynasty report!

Not too many people double major in English Lit and Pre-Med.

I certainly wasn't an English Lit major (and think my writing style leaves a lot to be desired) but thanks for the compliment.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by daedalus

Nice. Love getting those guys back for free. Good start to the new season!

I definitely agree. I was really shocked to see both Kelly and Smyth available. I just had to go over my wage bill to get those guys. Hopefully, we can move some of the chaff now

[SirFozzie]

Geez, with all these guys returning to Harrogate, it's deja vu all over again

[FrogMan]

Woot, go Harrogate!!!

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

Another name that I noticed had been released was Mark Smyth! Liverpool felt he wouldn't be of any help to him and he was available on a free transfer. I called Mark and immediately asked him how he would feel about playing for me again. He told me that he really enjoyed his time here, and he felt I was a good coach. He'd be glad to come back if we could work out the money.

You know what's funny. I have just realized that I have Mark Smyth signed for a season long loan. He's currently playing with the reserves and I don't pay one dime of his salary, and since the season is still kind of young, I had not paid too much attention to him

Just like in your game, I'd think that Liverpool doesn't see him as fitting their plans, since they are asking $200k for him while his value hovers around $900k. Hmmm, I'll have to give him some first team playing time and see if he could make it on our team, at least as a long time investment...

FM

[Eaglesfan27]

July 11th, 2005 -

I'm going to go into a little less detail for friendly matches as I have a better feel for my team. However, I'm playing mostly higher league foes, and it will be interesting to see how we do. The first match will be against Chester City in League 2 play. I'm using a lineup that could be very similar to our regular season starting lineup. I'm going to try using my 4-3-1-2 that I hope to use as my primary tactic during the regular season. Here is a pic of it:

[Eaglesfan27]

4 minute mark: Stuart Wall makes a great tackle to save a likely goal. Nice way to start off impressing the new boss.

10 minute mark: smyth receives a long pass from Wall.. Smyth burns his defender.. dribbles into the box.. to his left.. keeper comes out to close down the angle.. Smyth shoots.. it's past the keeper with the narrow angle shot.. it hits the left post and bounces out. Keeper collects the rebound.

18 minute mark: Smyth gets the ball inside the box.. centers to Palmer.. Palmer shoots.. past the keeper.. it hits the crossbar! Kelly gets the rebound.. shoots.. the keeper smothers the point blank shot.

44 minute mark: Wright dribbles up the left side of the pitch.. past midfield.. draws the defender to him.. flicks the ball ahead to Smyth.. Smyth dribbles into the box at the left corner.. dribbling towards the left post.. the keeper comes out.. Smyth goes for the sharp angled shot.. towards the far post... it's.. inside the post.. GOAL!!!! 1-0 The announcer calls it a sensational goal and it was!

1-0 at the half.

I'm just trying to get guys fit, and most of the guys are verging on being tired in this first friendly, so I yank the entire starting unit except for my keeper and Wall, the young DC (I only really have one backup DC except for Shepherd who started this game at MR.)

58 minute mark: Farrell gets the ball inside the right half of the box.. he dribbles towards the right post.. shoots for the far post.. just wide.

69 minute mark: Krief plays the ball into the left side of the box.. Turley takes it.. dribbles to his left.. has the keeper out of position.. shoots.. well over the bar.. (darn it, I want him to score and raise his trade value.)

76 minute mark: Krief plays a through pass to the edge of the box for Farrell.. Farrell dribbles one step forward.. shoots for the lower left corner.. GOAL!!!! 2-0

80 minute mark: Krief passes to Hunter at AMC... Hunter quickly plays it forward to Turley inside the left corner of the box.. Turley takes one step and shoots.. goes for the narrow angle.. into the left corner of the net.. GOAL!!!! 3-0 (that's more like it.. increase that trade value!)

Game over. 3-0 Win. I know it's just a friendly, but I really liked how my team played a presumably more talented team. Chester used most of their starters in this game.

We outshot them 17-12.

Mark Smyth wins MoM in 45 minutes of play with a 9 for form. He completed 6 of 9 passes, 0 of 0 tackles, 0 of 1 headers, 5 runs past his man(!), and a goal.

Stuart Wall also played exceptionally well, despite playing the 2nd half tired. He had a 9 form for the match, and I have a feeling that he will be a key component of my defense this year as well as a potentially dominant DC in the league despite being only 17 currently.

[Eaglesfan27]

Today we are playing Chesterfield (League 1) at home. We are using the same tactic and same lineup as last game.

Most of the game was relatively boring, but I like the pep our guys showed on the field. Adam Forry drove a powerful shot that rebounded off of Stuart Wall and into the goal for the only goal of the game.

Therefore, we lost 1-0

We were outshot 12-6, but many of our players played quite well. The most notable were Mark Smyth, Jermaine Palmer, and Richard Dunning who all had solid 8's. Dunning won MoM with 15 of 17 passes, 1 of 1 tackles, 1 of 1 headers, 1 pass intercepted, and 3 runs.

[RPI-Fan]

Is all your talk about extending your contract, stuff that is actually in the game?

[Eaglesfan27]

Yes and No. I have a contract, but there was no talk about it being extended. It just happened. The dialog is creative license (sorry if I misled anyone by this.)


Edited to add: I did base my uncertainly on the fluctuating level of confidence that my boss and the fans had in me. Those are in the game, and can be viewed at any time.

[RPI-Fan]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

Yes and No. I have a contract, but there was no talk about it being extended. It just happened. The dialog is creative license (sorry if I misled anyone by this.)


Edited to add: I did base my uncertainly on the fluctuating level of confidence that my boss and the fans had in me. Those are in the game, and can be viewed at any time.

Where do you view your contract info? I couldn't seem to find this... I wonder if it's part of DEBUG_MODE?

[Eaglesfan27]

July 24th, 2005 -

Today is my third friendly, and this is an important one in my mind. I'm using the same starting lineup and I'm playing Dorchester who is English Conference South. I expect to dominate them, and am hopeful that we play very well. Next game, I will start backups and play my starters much less as it will be our second to last friendly.

In the first 10 minutes, Mark Smyth had several good scoring opportunities, and he just couldn't get it by the keeper who managed to smother each shot. At the 15 minute mark, he sent a blistering shot past the keeper, but it hit the right post and bounced out.

At the 21 minute mark, Joseba Barandiaran hit a rebound right past Scarsella.

1-0 at halftime. I'm actually pleased with the team's play despite the score as we outshot our opponent 13-3 and generally dominated ball possession.

I bring in all of the subs except for Wood this time (I want to give Wall some breathers during this preseason.) I also decide to give Pettinger some game time this game.

We do little in the second half which I find somewhat disappointing. We end up losing 1-0.

We outshot the opposition 13-5. Craig Bradshaw the opposing keeper wins MoM.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by RPI-Fan

Where do you view your contract info? I couldn't seem to find this... I wonder if it's part of DEBUG_MODE?

I go to my teams Staff Screen. On there, it lists how much each staff is making and when the contract expires. My manager is on that list.

[Eaglesfan27]

The fourth friendly is where I'm going to experiment a bit, and also try to get my backups in a little more. We are playing Stockport who are in English League 1 this game.

My subs don't do bad in the first 45 minutes. It's not all subs as I don't have enough defenders. I'm playing the kid, Walls, with the backup team and he is clearly shining. I think I'm falling in love with this kid. I just hope he can perform when the games really matter.

0-0 at the half.

A really solid defensive second half. My starters and defenders are playing really good team ball at the moment. Hopefully, this will carry over to the regular season.

We end up with a 0-0 tie.

We outshot the opposition 10-7.

Neil Cutler, the opposition's keeper won MoM.

Smyth looked dominant in his 30 minutes on the pitch where he had 4 shots on goal.

[Eaglesfan27]

August 1st, 2005 -

Mr. Fotherby called me into his office today. He told me he is quite pleased with my current management of the club. He thinks my acquisitions will help boost us past the fans expectations of a midtable finish.

After my meeting with Mr. Fotherby, I decide to contact several premiere clubs and see if they will loan me a right winger. Also, I see one striker I really want, David Bellion, and I make a loan offer for him. All of these clubs will likely laugh in my face. Well, laugh in my face over the phone, but it is worth a shot.

Today is my final friendly against Southampton's reserves. This will be a final tune-up and I just want everyone to stay healthy.


Adam Lallana shocked us with a quick goal from 30 yards out at the 2 minute mark: Scarsella seemed to be shocked as it curved into the net.

Other than that breakdown we played a very disciplined first half in which our opposition outshot us 5-4. Smyth put tremendous pressure on the keeper 2 different drives down the field. I remove all of my starters at the half, determined to keep them healthy for the start of the regular season.

At the 58 minute mark, Morris my striker centered for Hunter who was in at AMC.. Hunter powered the shot into the left upper corner of the net.

1-1 final score.

We outshot them 11-10

Their keeper, Michael Poke, won MoM.

Time for the regular season to start!

A few thoughts. I like our depth much more at this point. There are more guys than last year that I feel comfortable playing on the pitch. This means I will have to rotate guys more and rotate subs more this year assuming that injuries don't hit us too hard. Also, Atkins should be back from his surgery in a few weeks. It will be interesting to see if he can be as effective as he was in the past. Finally, if any of these stud players who are listed for loan actually agree to come play for us our depth will be even more impressive.

[Eaglesfan27]

August 2nd, 2005 -

WOW!! I've really wanted to add a little depth at right wing (despite my rising wage bill) and today I received word that Manchester Utd's Benjamin Collette has been released on a free transfer. He doesn't have the classic great speed that I would like at the position, but he has acceptable speed. More importantly, he appears to have great skill at passing and he has played very well while on loan for teams that I played against. Hopefully, he will consider joining my team. It can't hurt to ask.

[Eaglesfan27]

WOW (part deux)!

When I first contacted Benjamin, he told me "There is no bloody way I'm coming to play for you."

I told him to talk to Mark Smyth and gave him the phone number.

2 days later, Benjamin called me back and said that he would agree to play for me for 500 dollars/week!

On the same day, I was informed that Manchester Utd accepted my loan offer for David Bellion. I just hope, he will agree to come play here (which seems unlikely.)

[duckman]

EF, I'm enjoying the dynasty. Took me a good part of the day to get to this point. I've never watched much "soccer", so I'm still trying to get all the terminology down. If I wasn't so freaking broke, I would invest in the game, so I could.

[Eaglesfan27]

Thanks Duckman.

As for this update, bad news! My computer crashed (through no fault of FM as far as I can tell) and I'm not usre how much time I've lost. I have it autosaving every week I think.

No matter how much time I have lost, there will be a tough decision. I think I made a mistake in signing Collett as my wage budget is getting too high. However, I don't really want to alter the "history" of my dynasty either.

[Eaglesfan27]

Darn it!!! My game wasn't saving every week, but every other week. I'm now back at July 27th, 2005.

This is very annoying (again through no fault of FM that I can see.)

[duckman]

Looks like it's time to hit the time machine.

[daedalus]

I would be tempted to go ahead and go over the wage limit a smidge since you are not using much of your transfer budget. Plus, y'know, winning cures many ails!

Oh, and perhaps someone else would be willing to renegotiate to bring down wages?

[CraigSca]

How much was Benjamin Collette making at MAN U? Is that realistic to accept $24k a year for a guy playing in the Premier League (at one point, anyway). Was he just extremely over valued playing for them of is the salary structure in the EPL vastly different than what I come to expect from American sports? Aren't some football players making millions of dollars a year?

[Tekneek]

I wouldn't think it is unusual for guys who come up through the systems of major clubs to end up unemployed and signing with small clubs. They see a chance to stay fit, play football, and without that they would have to get a real job. It's awfully hard to get back in the high life while working a non-footballing job.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by daedalus

I would be tempted to go ahead and go over the wage limit a smidge since you are not using much of your transfer budget. Plus, y'know, winning cures many ails!

Oh, and perhaps someone else would be willing to renegotiate to bring down wages?

Well, I'm going over more than just a smidge.. more like 20-30% over!

That being said, I wouldn't load a save game to try to reverse my mistakes, so I don't think I should try to undo them just because it crashed. I will offer Collett the same deal again, and hopefully he takes it again.

[Eaglesfan27]

Well, I'm back to the same point of where I was before the crash, and Collett just signed with us again. All is right with the timeline.

Edit: Even though saving seems to take painfully long on my computers sometimes, I'm changing the frequency of autosaves to every week.

[thealmighty]

When you say you found this or that player that you like, or offered a loan kinda thing, how much time and how many teams do you have to scour to find these players you want or are interested in? In other words, do you have to go through all the teams or is there a page with available players to look at?

[Eaglesfan27]

Basically, I have 1 scout (most teams have more, but I can't afford them) and I can tell him to scout a large variety of things. I generally have mine scout England. You can tell them to look for a certain type of player. You can also look at the more famous teams, but obscure players will have their ratings hidden (there is an option to turn this off if you don't want it.) I do very little scouring of teams. I generally watch big matches on TV, and I rely on my scouts. Also, if I hear about a player in the media who sounds interesting, I will check them out (if it is a player I could realistically get information on) Most of the players I have added, I either watched a match of theirs or heard about them in the media.

[Eaglesfan27]

Today, I decided on my starting lineup for our season opener. Let's take a look at it (as well as the tactic):



Of note, I had a hard time deciding to move Farrell to the bench, but Palmer played better in the friendlies and he appears to have more talent in practice.

However, if Palmer doesn't play well, I won't hesitate to give Farrell a chance to start alongside Smyth.

I picked Dunning as the 5 bench player over several possibilities because I think he is one of my most versatile defenders. He does well wherever I play him on the pitch.

Hunter made it on the sub list because he can play just about any midfield or striker position with at least some skill.

Wood made it on the bench because I want to get him some time and hopefully make him attractive to potential suitors. I really want to move his relatively high salary despite his young age, 22. He just makes a few too many stupid mistakes to trust him as my long term answer at DC.

[Eaglesfan27]

August 13th, 2005 -

Mark Atkins was cleared by the physio to resume playing today. It's the day of our game, so I have a tough choice as he lacks match practice. I decide he will replace Dunning as the 5th sub and if we get a sufficient lead we will work Atkins onto the pitch.

We host Gainsborough today. Gareth Grant appears to be their most dangerous striker. David Jervis reportedly looks much improved and appears to be their key in the midfield as he plays left wing. Ben Purkiss appears to be a talented right fullback. Jamie Holmshaw is in goal, and it will be interesting to see how he rises to the challenge of facing our potent strikers. Hopefully, it won't be pretty for him

We are 5:4 favorites. It's a beautiful sunny 73 degrees today.

[Eaglesfan27]

5 minute mark: Collett makes a nice interception of a pass on the right wing. He dribbles a few steps and crosses it to Smyth who quickly heads it to Palmer who is open inside the box.. Palmer shoots.. the Holmshaw reacts and tips it over the bar.

15 minute mark: Scarsella kicks the ball to Smyth who gets it on the left side of the pitch around midfield.. Smyth starts dribbling up the left sideline.. he draws two defenders to him.. he passes it perfectly between them to Kelly.. Kelly takes the pass dribbles inside the box.. shoots.. upper right corner... GOAL!!!! 1-0

32 minute mark: Wall makes a key tackle to prevent Gareth Grant from getting a point blank shot at the goal.

40 minute mark: Smyth gets a yellow card for a hard tackle on Ben Purkiss.

44 minute mark: David Jervis gets a yellow card for an illegal tackle on Grant Black.


1-0 at the half. We have outshot them 6-1 (3-0 for on target shots.)


48 minute mark: Collett picks up a significant knock. I'm going to sub him out as soon as we get a break in the action. With Collett writhing on the pitch, Gareth Grant gets a great pass from Purkiss. Grant takes the shot from 10 yards out.. towards the left corner.. Scarsella makes a fantastic dive to tip it over the bar. The announcer calls it brilliant.

49 minute mark: Black is hurt seriously too on a tough tackle by their midfielder, Chris Dickman (what an appropriate name), Surey receives the pass from the keeper and kicks it out of bounds so both Black and Collett can receive attention. I sub in Atkins for Collett (I'm worried about how effective Atkins will be, but he is one of the few subs that has some strong ability at right wing) and I sub in Wood for Black.

71 minute mark: I've noticed that Atkins is much slower than before (and he was never a speedster), I wonder if he can play right wing or midfield any longer. Despite this, he does manage to get in position to receive a great cross from Smyth. Atkins is by the right goal post.. he heads it.. just over the bar.

74 minute mark: Wall makes another excellent intervention inside my box to prevent a good shot on goal.

75 minute mark: Smyth gets the ball in the left corner.. he centers to kelly.. Kelly shoots a blistering shot on goal.. the keeper barely tips it over the bar.

80 minute mark: Lee Ellington (substitute striker) gets the ball inside the right half of the box.. my keeper comes out to challenge him.. he passes across the box to Grant who is by the left goal post.. my keeper is out of position.. Grant heads it in. GOAL. 1-1

I decide at this point, there is no need to save my 3rd sub. I bring in Farrell for Palmer who has played solid, but not spectacular and is now tired.

83 minute mark: Farrell gets a yellow card for an illegal tackle on Neil Allison.

Game over. 1-1 tie. Somewhat disappointing result, particularly as we controlled ball possession most of the game.

We outshot them 12-5.

Ben Purkiss won MoM, 18 of 31 passes, 12 of 13 tackles, 3 of 4 headers, 7 passes intercepted.

[Eaglesfan27]

August 17th, 2005 -

Atkins has looked horrible in practice the last 3 days. His skills seem to have severely declined as he is now 36 and trying to come back from this injury. However, he is very crafty. He was such a dominant player for us last year, that I decide I will give him his starting job back at least temporarily. I will be watching him very closely however.

Also, in our last match, Grant Black hurt his shoulder. He may miss our next match. Andy Farrell twisted his ankle in his limited action. He is expected to miss 2 weeks.

[Eaglesfan27]

Today we travel to play Hednesford Town. They won the English FA trophy last year, and they should be an interesting challenge. They are led by James Walshaw who is a striker on loan from Burton. Ashley Dodd is their most consistent midfielder. Richard Teesdale played very solid defense for them last game as one of their DC's. Adam Jenkins is an average keeper.

I'm mildly surprised to see they are 6:4 favorites.

Our starting lineup will be the same for this game except Atkins is in at the MC spot instead of Surey who will replace Atkins on the bench. As I've previously mentioned, I'm concerned if Atkins has the speed to play the game any longer, but we will see.

It's 45 degrees and muddy today.

Edit: Since Farrell is still hurt, Turley will be the sub on the bench in his place.

[jbmagic]

does weathers have an affect in fm 2005?


like if it too muddy, will they be more slips and slowness?

if its hot will they fatigue faster?

etc,etc

[Eaglesfan27]

Yes. Weather definitely has a realistic effect in my opinion.

Also, my laptop just froze up again. So, I'm going to take a break from FM for now as I have other games I want to play on my non-laptop and my laptop is annoying me. I'll replay this game again later today probably.

[tanglewood]

Originally Posted by CraigSca

How much was Benjamin Collette making at MAN U? Is that realistic to accept $24k a year for a guy playing in the Premier League (at one point, anyway). Was he just extremely over valued playing for them of is the salary structure in the EPL vastly different than what I come to expect from American sports? Aren't some football players making millions of dollars a year?

Collette was a youth player at Man Utd, so was making peanuts. He is proably earining about the same at Harrogate as he was then.

[Eaglesfan27]

I checked and I actually gave him a raise to come play for us.

[Eaglesfan27]

(In the interest of full disclosure, I was tied 1-1 at the 75 minute mark when my computer froze last time. My last save had been just before this match was scheduled to start)

6 minute mark: Palmer runs over their left wing Marlon Walters who tried a dirty tackle on him. Walters is hurt and out of the match.

23 minute mark: Palmer receives a pass from Scarsella at midfield. He sends a nice pass down the pitch to Smyth who receives it in th edge of the box.. he shoots.. the keeper smothers the shot.

42 minute mark: Atkins takes the corner.. he sends the ball curving towards the near post.. Shepherd meets the ball with a solid header.. past the keeper.. into the back of the net!!! GOAL!!! 1-0

46 minute mark: Black sends a long pass to Kelly.. Kelly dribbles into the box.. draws the 2 defenders.. passes to Palmer.. Palmer shoots.. over the bar.. he seems embarassed at that shot.

61 minute mark: Wright is injured. I sub in Hunter. I also sub Turley for the tired Palmer.

68 minute mark: Smyth receives the ball at midfield on the left side, he dribbles to his right.. he starts cutting across the field.. trying to find a hole in the defense while waiting for his compatriots to catch up.. he dribbles to the right wing.. he starts dribbling up the right wing.. to the right corner.. he crosses it for the near post.. Turley is there.. Turley heads it.. past the keeper.. GOAL!!!! 2-0! What a play by Smyth.

Game over. 2-0 win for us.

We were outshot 12-8.

Grant Black wins MoM, 13 of 20 passing, 8 of 9 tackles, 6 of 9 headers, 5 passes intercepted. Scarsella, Kelly, Atkins, and Smyth also received 8's for the match.

[Eaglesfan27]

Today my 6th ranked team hosts the 9th ranked Stafford Rangers. Stafford's defense is led by Craig McAughtrie. Robert Heath has been their most consistent midfielder early in the season. Neil Grayson is still playing at the ripe age of 40, and he still appears to be the most talented striker on the team. Stafford is a 6:4 favorite going into this game.

We are using our same starting lineup for one more match as well as the same bench. Edit: Forgot that Wright is still injured from cutting his leg last week. I'll play Hunter at left wing and Christian Fox onto the bench.

It's a dry cloudy 51 degree day.

[Eaglesfan27]

13 minute mark: Smyth has the ball on the left wing.. he takes it up the field.. great long cross to Kelly. Kelly takes a step.. shoots.. the keeper stops it.

34 minute mark: Atkins tracks down a ball in the right corner (man, he runs slow) and he centers to Palmer.. Palmer whiffs on the pass.. and it sails past him. Goal scoring opportunity missed. I suspect I'll bench Palmer after this game, unless he does something in the next 30 minutes to give Farrell a chance to show he is better.

39 minute mark: Grayson gets the ball on a long pass from McAughtrie. Grayson shoots from 15 yards.. Scarsella saves.. he sends a long kick to Smyth on the left wing.. Smyth dribbles between two defenders.. into the box.. he shoots.. the keeper blocks it but can't control the rebound.. kelly races against a defender to get to the rebound.. Kelly wins the race.. he taps it in.. GOAL!!! 1-0

44 minute mark: Hunter has picked up a knock. I put Fox in for him (out of position)

1-0 at the half.

64 minute mark: Atkins is tired and I sub in Surey for him.

79 minute mark: Benjamin Collett gets called for tripping Grayson.. inside the box.. darn it.. penalty awarded. Grayson takes the penalty himself.. he steps up.. unleashes a whale of a shot.. past Scarsella.. goal. 1-1

89 minute mark: Kelly is hurt. Hopefully it is not too bad. I sub Turley in for kelly at AMC.

Game Over. 1-1 tie.

We were outshot 12-11.

James Lindley, their keeper won MoM because he stopped 6 shots. Only 3 of their shots were on goal and had to be stopped by Scarsella.

[Eaglesfan27]

Post match report:

Greg Kelly suffered the ubiquitous groin strain. He will be out for about 2 weeks.

[SirFozzie]

sounds like Atkins is only good for 60 minutes a game now

[Eaglesfan27]

Not only that, but I'm not sure he is even really good for those 60 minutes. It's unclear to me if he is really better than Surey or the other options. His pace is slower than a snail's now. Despite this, he has played fairly well in the first few games.

[Barkeep49]

When you say that you watch games on TV what does this mean? I've really been enjoying this dynasty and it has really made me more interested in getting the game.

[Eaglesfan27]

You can essentially view any match that you want in the entire universe (if it is an active league.) So, I choose to actually watch some matches even if I'm not in them. I only pick high profile games that would actually be on TV (and are listed as being on TV within the game.) However, if I wanted to, I could watch thousands of games each season.

[jbmagic]

is there sound in the game when you watch a match?