FM: P'boro Utd. Year 2, Righting the Ship

Butter · 02-02-2005, 02:08 PM

That's right, it must be year 2 of everyone's favorite Peterborough United soccer dynasty!

Visit Year 1 here!

Or, if you prefer, continue on with year 2 right here, as I continue my struggles to take a perpetual bouncer between Leagues 1 & 2 to the promised land!

Butter · 02-02-2005, 02:28 PM

We hit the end of May with some nice messages for a change.

First off:
The board have announced that the planned expansion to the club's training facilities has been completed.

Apparently, this was completed at an expense of nearly $325k, which brings our budget surplus down to just under $600k.

Then:
Peterborough have announced a new sponsorship with a local company. The deal is estimated to be worth $52k per year over 3 years.

Which makes me wonder what our old sponsorship deal was for. I'll have to check that out.

And:
The Peterborough board have informed you that your transfer budget for this year will be in the region of $200k.

You will be allowed to retain the vast majority of any transfer income to supplement this budget.

Which is just grand, except I don't have any big ticket players to sell like I did last season. Unless I want to unload Callum Willock. Which is tempting considering that he played out his ass last year.

Notts County is the final winner of the League Two playoffs, so they'll be joining us in League One next year. And Sunderland win the Championship Playoffs to earn their way to the Premiership for '05-'06.

Finally, we find that Paul Shaw nabbed second place in the League One Goal of the Year honors for his effort against Wrexham on August 11. Which was a magical strike from about 40 yards and a well deserved award.

We start the offseason in June with a note that the board is still "very pleased" with my performance as manager. Yeah, just wait until we actually win a few games.

Butter · 02-03-2005, 11:30 AM

Apparently, the last sponsorship deal ran out after the 03-04 season and was for $200k per year. So we're not doing so hot with the sponsors now.

But that's ok.

The thing that kills me is that no one will sign our players that are going out of contract. Nor will anyone make any offers on our pricier folk. I don't know how to shrink the wage budget when these guys just won't get off the books.

We do manage to sign yet another young, foreign, talented keeper. 17 year old Marcus Eskilsson, a Sweden native, signs with us for $6k per year for 3 years. He is raw, but we'll stick him in the reserves and try to develop him. It doesn't cost us a transfer fee to his current Swedish club since his contract is up in December, and it may well pay dividends down the road with a transfer fee. He'll join us on December 1.

The complicating thing about attempting to sign Callum Willock to a long term contract is that his time is up at the end of the upcoming season. And right now he's worth $380k. And who knows how much money he'll want to stay with us if he has ANOTHER awesome season. Willock may well have to leave us if we can manage to loan anybody worth a crap.

More messages:

First:
Callum Willock has been voted Peterborough Fans' Player of the Year.
-Well deserved.

Then:
Peterborough have been given $550,000 for League One TV rights for the upcoming season.

-Yay, cash! My favorite!

And:
The Peterborough board are pleased at your performance as manager this season.

You are expected to invest in new players and start rebuilding the team during the coming season.

To help you achieve this the Peterborough board have given you a transfer budget of $200k.

-Well, der. I already knew this.

And in the spirit of investing in new players, I agree terms with a blast from the past... you know him, you love him, you remember him from his time at Newcastle in the late 90's when he used to blow past people then blast one into the seats, it's striker Faustino Asprilla! I found him aged 35 toiling away for some club in Italy called "Valle D'Aosta". I have to await a work permit for the guy, but surely he's a cinch. He played in England before, didn't he?

I think about arranging some friendlies, then just decide to let my assistant manager do it. Why waste that 20 minutes of my life? It really makes no difference to me who we play, as long as we get fit and don't die during a plane ride. I used to think it was cool setting up tours of various countries... but it really has no bearing on anything, so I just skip it.

Here's who we get scheduled:
v. Nott'm Forest (Champ.)
v. Leeds (EPL)
v. Borussia Dortmund (German Bundesliga)
@ Chesham (non-league)
@ Lincoln (League 2)
@ Cambridge City (Conf. South)

July 1st rolls around, and holy crap there's a lot of action.

First, we welcome 4 new faces to the club:
-Elvis Hammond, a 24 year old striker joins the club for for $48k per year for 3 seasons. He is very quick and a good finisher, but still needs to work on his off the ball skill. He joins us from Fulham, where he was on loan to Leyton Orient in league 2 last year, and scored 2 goals in 15 appearances.

-Kofi Dakinah, a 25 year old Danish fullback joins us for $44k per year for 3 seasons. Dakinah is a good right side defender, and is an extremely hard worker who does need some technical improvement. He joins us from league-mates Walsall, where he was largely a substitute and had an AvR (average rating) of 6.92 in 12 apps. last year.

-Jim Johansen, an 18 year old Norwegian striker joins us for $20k (+10% increase/yr.) per year for 4 years. He'll start in the reserves, but certainly has the ability to join the big club next year. I'll likely list him for loan this season. He joins us from Norwegian club team Harstad, for whom he scored 4 goals in just 5 apps. last year.

-And finally the big one, Jean-Louis Valois, a 31 year old left winger joins us for $180k per year for 3 seasons. He is a top class player who should help our offense immediately. He is very fit for his age, and should start most games for us on the left wing in our new 4-4-2 diamond attack. He played last year at Championship side Burnley, scoring 9 goals and tallying 2 assists in 47 apps. He started his career at Auxerre and Lille in France, so he comes with quite the pedigree.

Our fans immediately note the quality of the Valois signing:

The 31 year old left winger is a hugely popular figure with the supporters and there is a sense of anticipation at the club that Valois can really boost the team.

We look around and make several more offers and inquiries, including offering trials to several players who have just hit the market.

July 1st, gotta love it!

Butter · 02-03-2005, 01:53 PM

We sign another scout, giving $16k a year to 46 year old Dutch scout Romeo Zondervan. We plan to scour the globe a bit more in search of those special Posh players.

We sign another blast from the past, giving 38 year old striker Les Ferdinand $150k for 1 season. Ferdinand was earning nearly $1M last year for Bolton, but they decided not to re-sign him and we took the opportunity to sign a player of Premiership talents. His stamina is down, but he is instantly the best striker on our team. We put Leon Constantine up for transfer immediately.

We finally get a good offer of 0 from Thurrock, a Conference South side, for Peter Kennedy... but he refuses to sign with them! Son of a bitch! We just cannot get rid of this guy's $240k salary. I'm going to screw this guy over somehow.

In general news, US keeper Kasey Keller signs with Bournemouth, a fellow League One team. So, we'll be seeing him in goal at least twice this year.

Sadly for us (or maybe not considering the Ferdinand signing), the Asprilla permit is turned down. We appeal it, but I've never won an appeal and probably won't start now.

We sign several players who are out of contract to free trials, including a loaner player from last year, former Arsenal midfielder John Spicer. Of the 6 players we get in, 4 look decent enough to take a run at signing. If I get one of the 2 strikers, I'll likely transfer list Steve Basham.

The first trial signing is Phil Cave, an 18 year old central defender who spent the last 2 years in the Newcastle youth system. He has some good skill, but has lots of room for improvement on both sides of the ball. He'll pick up $44k a year for 3 years, and likely will spend this next year on loan.

The second trial signing is 17 year old striker James Faulkner. Faulkner has great finishing skill and is a terrific physical specimen, but is still very raw. He'll only run us $6k per year for 4 years as a "hot prospect". I'll also look to loan him out this season, as he's not anywhere near ready to play for us.

Finally, friendly #1 rolls around. Here is our lineup for this match in our new formation:
GK: Kruse
Def (L-R): Jones, Plummer, Yates, Chris Carr (a right sided defender on loan)
DM: Navarro
ML/MR: Valois, Jess
AM: Shaw
Str: Ferdinand, Hammond

If you don't know many of these names, scroll back up and read year 1 to familiarize yourself with our squad.

Friendly #1
v. Nott'm Forest (Champ.)

Our former midfielder, Curtis Woodhouse, starts in midfield in Forest's 4-4-2. Woodhouse averaged a 6.31 for Forest in the second half of last season, not exactly stellar.

Midway through the first half, Lukas Kruse decides to just give the ball away. I mean that literally, he just dribbled the ball too far away from himself, it was collected by a Forest attacker and struck home for an easy 1-0 lead. We control play throughout the first 45, but can't score. Elvis Hammond looked particularly dangerous, but mostly it was a ball possession first half with little to recommend it. A scrappy first pre-season outing for our first teamers (and Chris Carr, who was very impressive on the right).

The subs come on for half 2. And neither team can put one in, so it ends 1-0. Zlatan Azinovic is sort of arbitraily awarded the man of the match, making one good save in the 2nd half on a long range strike. But we don't manage much offense either, disappointingly. Chris Carr was our only 90 minute man, very impressive in defense, and fellow loaner Youssou Diop also played well on the left as a 2nd half sub. We did outshoot Forest 7-6, and possession was nearly even, so we actually played pretty well, aside from the one bonehead maneuvre by Kruse.

Loss, 0-1
A: 4,197

I tender Carr a contract, but the assistant manager doesn't believe signing Diop would be worthwhile, so we hold off on him.

We do sign our 3rd trial player to a contract, 19 year old striker Mika Aaritalo, a Finnish player. Aaritalo signs with us for $60k per year over 3 seasons, and necessitates the placing of Steve Basham on the transfer list.

John Spicer makes it 4 trial players signed to a contract, signing for $100k for just this season. I like the guy a lot, but I don't want to commit too much time to him.

And hey, guess what? The work permit for Asprilla has been approved! Well, that's good and stuff, but I was fully expecting him to not be with us this year, so now I've got WAY too many strikers. Asprilla will join us on August 1st, which gives us some time to work out our roster.

Chris Carr makes it 5 trialers signed now as he comes on for $20k per for 4 years. Carr is only 20 years old, and has a very promising future at right fullback. He may even play some this year if I can't loan him.

I decide to bite the bullet and offer Callum Willock around. He was a stud for me last year, but his technical abilities just don't justify him getting any playing time this year. Nor does his salary or the fact that he's due to leave the club at the end of this season. His value might never be higher, so I would be crazy to pass up the chance to cash in on him right now.

One thing that's painfully obvious looking over our player list for the next match is that we're desperately short of midfielders. I will HAVE to loan in some folks or sign somebody to shore up the depth.

Lineup for Friendly #2:
GK: Kruse
Def: Pritchard, Burton, Cave, Carr
DM: Penford
Mid: Valois, Jess
AM: Shaw
Str: Ferdinand, Hammond

Friendly #2
v. Leeds (Premiership)

A fairly even first half, as Shaw strikes first, getting a good nod on from Elvis Hammond and scoring in acres of space. But Leeds scored in the 30th off a good header, then Chris Carr yielded a penalty on the right side with a shirt tug on a striker who was set to blow past him. We trail at the break 2-1 and put the subs in, but we played Leeds very even in half #1. We switch out the entire 11 for half 2, and don't do much of anything. Spicer takes a small knock and has to be replaced. But we're not creating much in this formation with the backups. Azinovic again outshines Kruse in goal, with a couple of fine saves. Again, we play a higher up team close, but can't score in the second half to lose.

Loss, 1-2
A: 15,276

Good crowd for the Leeds visit.

We send out feelers to loan several midfielders and wait for replies. We get several rejections for Callum Willock and Leon Constantine, and now I figure we're just gonna be stuck with these guys for the season.

Friendly #3
v. Borussia Dortmund (Bundesliga)

An impressive home series continues as we run out the same lineup as last time, except starting Spicer on the left for Valois, who is out with a slight groin injury.

This is one hell of an entertaining first half, as Dortmund start fast with 2 goals in the first 20 minutes, but Paul Shaw gets one back with a magnificent 30 yard piledriver that beats the keeper to the far post. Dortmund just pile on attack after attack, but Kruse holds up his end in the final 25 minutes of half 1 to go to the break 2-1. Zlatan Azinovic makes another run to be our first-team keeper, rating a 9 in the second half of this one. He wins his 2nd MoM award in 3 matches as this one finishes 2-1. Not much going on in the 2nd half, but we're just getting everyone fit at this point anyway.

Loss, 1-2
A: 15,219

Butter · 02-03-2005, 03:12 PM

Joy of joys, Peter Kennedy has signed with Bristol Rovers! We don't get a fee for him, but finally we're rid of that monster $240,000 per year contract that was eating a giant hole in our salary budget! Kennedy signs for $220k per year for Rovers, but gets some regular football, and gets out of my way.

Another surprise, as Chelsea starlet Alexis Nicolas agrees to join us on loan. This should help our midfield depth greatly, as Nicolas is a very talented defensive midfielder who is just 22 years old. Chelsea will be paid 20% of his $100k salary for Nicolas to join us for the entire season. Nicolas is a Cyprus international with 5 caps, and actually turned down a loan offer to us last season.

Friendly #4
@ Chesham (non-league)

Nicolas gets the start at DM, while Valois returns to left wing. We start hopefully what will be our starting lineup this year, let's see what happens.

Steve Yates comes off injured in the 8th minute, which is not good. Shaw again scores for us, after Les Ferdinand had a ball taken off his feet, but Shaw was there to tap into an open net. Then Chesham score on an odd deflection, as St. Ledger tried to stick his leg out to clear a long range shot, but ended up sending it past Kruse. We have way more chances in the first half, but don't finish well which was our problem last season.

Subs on for the 2nd half. Nicolas rates our only 8, but we don't apply much pressure in the 2nd half, and we finish level. Not a good sign that we can't manufacture much pressure against the non-leaguers.

Chesham has football fever as 87 whole people turned out for this match!

Draw, 1-1

Somehow, we hit work permit issues for an Australian player who is already playing for Crystal Palace's reserve squad. Very odd. I can only assume that he won't be playing for Palace either this year.

We again start our starters (aside from the back 4) against League 2 Lincoln. Hopefully we can get forward a bit more against them.

Friendly #5
@ Lincoln (League 2)

Lincoln play an odd 3-3-2-1-1, with 9 players in their half of the field when not on the attack. I can't say this is going to help me figure out if my formation is working or not.

Lincoln just thoroughly dominate us in half 1. Kruse struggles again, allowing a goal on the only shot on target for Lincoln in the first half. But our attacking formation yields exactly ZERO shots. I leave the starters on, and they show me what's what by allowing Lincoln to score again in the very first minute of the half. What a wretched effort by my first-teamers this is! I leave the 1st team on until around the 65th minute, then bring on the subs. What a travesty this game was! We are dominated by Lincoln. Yuk.

Loss, 2-0
A: 310

Not sure what to do, becuase I was banking on this formation to help turn things around this year, along with a couple of key additions. That clearly hasn't been happening. Kruse, who was so good at the end of last year, has just been awful during the preseason. Ferdinand and Hammond haven't scored one goal in 5 starts here. In fact, Paul Shaw has been the only scorer, netting all 3 of our goals thus far. One more friendly to drill this formation home before we get set for the season.

Final friendly, and we start what will hopefully be our starting 11. Navarro and Nicolas will have to switch off at DM, but they can move around as needed.
Lineup:
GK: Kruse
Def: Pritchard, Plummer, Yates, Burton
DM: Nicolas
Mid: Valois, Jess
AM: Shaw
Str: Ferdinand, Holmes

Friendly #6
@ Cambridge City (Conf. South)

We actually control play for most of the first half, but still find ourselves behind 1-0 after 45. Valois looked dangerous finally on the left, and Derek Holmes had a couple of good chances, with Nicolas dominating the center. Sadly, it was the center of defense breaking down again and allowing a goal that left us behind. In the 60th, Elvis Hammond finally breaks through, thanks to a good ball forward by Derek Holmes. Navarro gets a goal on a deflection in the 85th minute to finally earn us a win! We looked like the classier team in the 2nd half for once, and finally get a victory. Hammond and Kruse both earn 8's, and Hammond ran riot in the Cambridge defense for the final half hour. Good way to finish up the pre-season, as Hammond solidifies his place in the starting XI.

Win, 1-2
A: 173

The board moves up to "very pleased" with my performance at the start of the season... I can only hope they're impressed by the signings I've put together. Asprilla also joins us on August 1.

Promotion Odds
Blackpool 7:4
Sheffield Utd., Watford, Swindon, Bristol City 2:1
Doncaster 3:1
.
.
.
Peterborough 40:1

The bookmakers reckon promotion is unlikely this season without significant changes to your first team squad and this is reflected by your odds. A mid-table finish is considered a far more realistic target.

The League Cup First Round draw is made, and we'll host Championship club Preston North End.

Butter · 02-03-2005, 03:41 PM

Opening lineup:
GK: Kruse
Def: Pritchard, Plummer, Yates, Burton
DM: Nicolas
Mid: Valois, Jess
AM: Shaw
Str: Ferdinand, Hammond
Subs: GK Azinovic, Str. Asprilla, DC Ireland, MC Spicer, DM Navarro

August 6, Match 1
@ Swansea
Fav: Swansea, Even

8'- Les Ferdinand with a good ball to Valois who tries to cross for Shaw, but it's gathered in by the keeper.

14'- Valois with another beautiful move finds Jess open on the right of the box. Jess attacks and lays it off for Shaw who hits the crossbar! A scramble finds the ball again at Valois' feet, but he can't cross in this time.

24'- Valois again slips a ball across the box to Shaw, who plays Ferdinand through... Les Ferdinand strikes it home with power! 1-0, Posh! Beautiful strike at 12 yards for Les Ferdinand to break the seal on the season for us!

33'- Another good combination of passes, but Valois tries to do a bit too much and is dispossessed in the box.

Nicolas is flagging at the half, so Navarro enters for him.

62'- Swans with a point blank shot that hits the crossbar and is cleared.

70'- Asprilla on for a tiring Ferdinand as we welcome the old age club to the sidelines. We also dial down the tempo to try and make our 1 goal lead last.

78'- Valois to Asprilla on the right of the box... Asprilla lays it back for Navarro at the arc, who shoots wide.

83'- Hammond is free, but is dispossessed... the ball falls to Valois, who lays it onto the run of Hammond... Hammond is free from 10 yards, but can't finish! Asprilla charges onto the rebound, but can't get there before it's cleared away.

85'- A defensive breakdown as a Swans midfielder attacks the right side of the box after Yates gets lost in midfield... he is free to cross to an open striker at the back post, who finishes. 1-1. Spicer in for a tired Jess.

We switch to an all-out attack to attempt to get it back. I want 3 points! We have numerous chances and are just killing Swansea in the middle!

91'- Shaw gets a throw from Yates, turns and tries his luck from 25 yards... the shot takes a deflection and goes in!!!!! Magical stuff at the end as we get our well-deserved 3 points!!

Jean-Louis Valois with a well deserved 10 in midfield, winning MoM honors. Plummer picks up a 9, Yates, Burton, Pritchard, and Shaw pick up 8's. Valois completed 28/35 passes and made 15 forward runs. 15 is quite a lot! No one else made more than 1. What a start to the season as we salvage max. points!

Win, 1-2, start in 5th place
Shots/on target: Swans 12/3, Posh 11/7
Poss: 51-49, Swans
A: 12,139

Even better is that the chairman of the board made a public comment declaring the board extremely pleased with the result! Wonderful start to the season!

Butter · 02-14-2005, 01:42 PM

We sign a good looking youngster for a trial. Warren Beattie told other clubs they can wait, as he joins us on a free transfer from Conference side Southport. Beattie is just 18 and would go well into our reserve club. I try and sign him to a simple contract, but he wants big money for a youngster, $36k per year for 3 seasons, and a ride on the first team. I try and lowball him at $20k for 4 years, and a modest signing bonus. He might well be good enough to play for us in a year or 2, but he would almost certainly get a loan out.

Community Shield from Cardiff
Arsenal 1:0 Manchester Utd.
-Thierry Henry struck in the 10th minute, and the Gunners were able to hold off Man U. for the remainder of the match to win the traditional lid-lifter.

The star of match 1, Jean-Louis Valois, suffers a minor head injury during practice in the run-up to our 2nd league fixture, and will be unavailable to start in it. Asprilla is also listed as "lacking match practice" despite coming on as a sub in our first match of the year.

Our lineup against Tranmere, a team that dominated us last season...
GK: Kruse
Def: Pritchard, Plummer, Yates, Burton
DM: Nicolas
Mid: Spicer, Jess
AM: Shaw
Str: Hammond, Ferdinand

The listed series results will be starting with '04-'05 season. I don't have the time or inclination to go look up the actual lifetime series records of our 2 squads.

Aug. 10, Match 2
1-0-0, 5th pl., 3 pts.
@ Tranmere (0-1-0, 11th pl., drew with promotion favorites Doncaster 1-1)
Series: Rovers, 2-0-0
Fav: Rovers, 6:4

Our 2nd trip to Birkenhead under my command, and hopefully we have a more competitive squad this time. Our former keeper, Mark Tyler, has been relegated to bench duty with the Rovers in favor of John Achterberg. We'll see if we have the horses to keep up with Tranmere this season. By the way, the official injury list shows Valois as doubtful with... wait for it... a bruised head.

6'- Off a Pritchard clearance, Shaw receives a pass and lays it right to Jess... Shaw then makes a long run, gets a pass back near the top of the area and fires it close, but wide.

14'- The commentary notes that Rovers' striker Aaron Butcher takes a dive, but Tranmere get a 25 yard free kick that is struck with force, but too much swerve.

18'- Butcher jinks past Pritchard to the left of the box, then fires a shot wide.

22'- Beresford turns and bends one in toward goal... 2 Rovers strikers and Kruse go up for it, and Lukas is able to punch it away... but Mark Rankine is there to return a half volley into the net. 1-0, Tranmere.

35'- Ferdinand plays a ball just a hair too far for Hammond, as Achterberg races out to 25 yards and blasts it upfield.

45'- In the 3rd minute of injury time, Tranmere with a free kick from 50 yards. It's played into the box to Jones, who swings it to the left post where Iain Hume is waiting to nod it in. Horrible marking by Nicolas to allow this goal in and put us 2 behind for the 2nd half.

51'- Burton with a good ball down the right for Jess, who tracks it down just right of the box. Jess lays it onto the run of Ferdinand, who shoots from distance, but with little power, and it's saved easily.

59'- Another good ball to Ferdinand by Burton. Ferdinand makes it all the way to the end line before swinging it back to Shaw at 10 yards, but good defending blocks the shot out for a corner. Navarro in for a struggling Yates in defense, as we switch to a 3 man backline. The corner is cleared.

66'- Asprilla in for Ferdinand. We ratchet up the attack. Haworth shoots from 30 yards and nearly catches Kruse by surprise, but the ball skims over the bar.

72'- Striker Simon Haworth beats Burton AND Kruse with one splendid move, and puts it out of reach, 3-0 Rovers.

89'- Haworth does it again, beating Burton and Kruse with a similar move, faking right, then cutting the ball back left and leaping over a mass of legs to tap it in. We look like the Keystone Kops out there.

That mercifully wraps it up.

Beresford and Haworth get well deserved 10's, with Haworth winning MoM honors in this debacle. Apparently, our attacking tactic is quite helpless against a team of some quality on the road. We were horrible on the road last year, and the pattern continues.

Loss, 4-0, drop to 16th place
Shots/on target: Rovers 18/8, Posh 4/1
Poss: Rovers 55-45
A: 9,092

So, again we start the year looking up at the table. That first game gave me hope, but this match just left me crying. We need more quality in midfield to withstand these injuries, but I just don't have the wage budget to do it.

European Champions League, 3rd Qual. Round
Some surprising results in Leg 1 of this round, including Tottenham losing at home to Polish squad Wisla, 2-1. Juventus also could only manage a 0-0 draw with fellow league mates from a year ago, Maccabi Haifa (Israel). Real Madrid also struggled with obscure Faroe Islands squad Havnar Boltfelag (HB), winning just 1-0. Celtic loses to Swiss side Young Boys, 1-0.

Butter · 02-15-2005, 01:18 PM

Unfortunately, I didn't save after the last game and had to replay it. We still lost, but it was merely 3-1 the 2nd time around. But now we're in 17th instead of 16th.

Valois is back for this match. Navarro also in for Nicolas, who is not playing particularly well.

Lineup:
GK: Kruse
Def: Pritchard, Plummer, Yates, Burton
DM: Navarro
Mid: Valois, Jess
AM: Shaw
Str: Ferdinand, Hammond

Aug. 13, Match 3
1-0-1, 17th pl., 3 pts.
v. AFC Bournemouth (1-0-1, 12th pl., 3 pts.)
Series: Split, 1 win each
Fav: Posh, 5:4

3'- Valois with a good ball to Navarro at the top of the box. Alan tries his luck, but it sails well high and wide of the mark.

5'- Burton with an interception near midfield, and plays one to Valois. Valois with a nod down to Shaw, who dribbles to the arc and draws 3 defenders. Shaw slips one to Ferdinand who is open from 15 yards, and scores! Kasey Keller never had a chance as we go up a goal in the very early going!

9'- Cherries line up a free kick inside the arc, and take it quickly, but the shot is not directed on target.

20'- A nice move leaves a AFCB striker free from 6 yards, but he can't finish at a sharp angle as Kruse is able to tip it onto the post and out.

23'- Another wide open shot from 15 yards goes skittering inches past the post as Bournemouth is determined to equalize. We ratchet down our attack and instruct our defenders to start pressuring the ball more before it enters our area.

That seems to do the trick as we go to the break with a 1 goal lead. We're playing well, but can we hold the lead?

48'- Valois with a speculative effort from 25 yards, and he forces Keller to save it, but nothing comes of the rebound.

63'- A nice Cherry move is ended when a 10 yard header goes harmlessly wide.

82'- Bournemouth put a dangerous cross into the 6, but Kruse confidently snatches it from the air. We ratchet way down, putting in Nicolas for Ferdinand and playing with 10 men in our half of the field.

87'- Bournemouth playing only a 2 man backline, and Valois and Hammond break out. Valois sends a ball to Jess at the back post, but Jess makes a mess of the finish driving it right at Keller.

92'- A cross is whipped in and Kruse and a Cherries' striker are equidistant from it... but Kruse makes the better play and falls on another ball and waits for the final whistle.

2 wins out of 3, I'll take it! Kruse is MoM with an 8 rating, weathering the Bournemouth storm quite well with 5 saves. All other starters pick up 7's.

Win, 1-0, up to 7th place
Shots/on target: Posh 10/5, Cherries 12/5
Poss: 53-47, Posh
A: 6,526

Alright, this is exactly what I wanted to see this year, an early score and then a good defensive effort to keep the win. Coming from behind is too difficult to do on a regular basis, and it seems that was what our defensive tactics were giving us.

Butter · 02-15-2005, 02:10 PM

That trial youngster, Beattie, refuses our low-ball contract and leaves the club. Oh well. Last thing I need is excess salary eating into my $900k surplus. I'm already nearly $600k over the yearly wage budget.

We stick with our standard lineup for this next match against struggling Luton.
GK: Kruse
Def: Pritchard, Plummer, Yates, Burton
DM: Nicolas
Mid: Valois, Jess
AM: Shaw
Str: Ferdinand, Hammond

Aug. 20, Match 4
2-0-1, 7th pl., 6 pts.
v. Luton Town (1-0-2, 19th pl., 3 pts.)
Series: Posh, 2-0-0 (we beat them 2-1 twice last year)
Fav: Posh, 5:4

1'- 35 seconds in, and Luton nearly score on a diving header from 8 yards. Kruse saves it, but it's never a good sign to yield such a good chance so early. Maybe the Hatters remember those 2 games from last year.

10'- Valois with a magnificent 50 yard diagonal right onto the run of Hammond into the box. Hammond's finishing is lacking, though, as he stubs an open shot wide.

17'- Valois again jinks past one defender and has nothing but green down the left. He fires a hard cross to Hammond at the far post who looks like he has a tap in, but a good save prevents the first goal of the match as it is tipped barely wide.

37'- After a couple of poor Luton chances, they manage a good one, swinging a cross into the middle that is met by a head, but it luckily caroms back off the crossbar and Sagi Burton hoofs it over the byline to prevent a goal.

We go into the half, as both teams managed many chances in the first half, but no one could put them away. Yates is struggling, netting a 5 for most of the first half, but rating a 6 by the interval. Still, I remove him for Ireland.

47'- A cross goes to a Hatters' midfielder at the top of the box, who shoots. Ireland deflects it, but it comes right to another midfielder at the end line, who just barely squeezes a pass back to a charging striker, who is left with a tap in. 1-0, Luton.

54'- Jess with a corner to Hammond at the near post. Hammond controls the ball and tries to sneak it inside the post, but it's clutched by the Luton keeper.

60'- Asprilla on for Elvis Hammond, who is not playing well.

77'- Holmes on for a slightly injured Ferdinand, and we crank the pressure way up and instruct our defenders to push up.

The remaining time comes and goes without so much as a shot. The Luton keeper played very well today, but we could've at least pressured him in the last quarter hour. No one rates above a 7, and we drop back to mid-table. We could've been up to 4th with a win.

Loss, 0-1, drop to 12th
Shots/on target: Posh 14/7, Hatters 12/4
Poss: 51-49, Posh
A: 6,906

Our attendance seems to be up this year, which is good. We would average about 4-5,000 for any given home league fixture last season.

In lower table action, Brentford and Stockport finish with a 5 all draw that saw all the scoring come before the 70th minute, THEN saw 2 red cards, 1 for each side, dished out in the final 15. Odd game.

Valois picks up a thigh strain that will keep him out about 5 days.

Butter · 02-15-2005, 02:45 PM

We finally get Rotherham to make a bid on Callum Willock, which is considerably less than his valued $360,000. They offer us $100k and $20k after 10 league appearances.

We also make a bid on a Swedish youngster, a 19 year old left sided midfielder who is quite talented. There are several rounds of negotiations, but still no deal before our next match. His value is listed at $36k, but the Swedish club constantly asks for over $160k.

A tough opener for the Carling Cup as we try our luck against Preston North End from the Championship. We start a somewhat altered lineup to see what these benchwarmers can do.
Lineup:
GK: Kruse
Def: St. Ledger, Plummer, Burton, Dakinah
DM: Nicolas
Mid: Boucaud, Jess
AM: Shaw
Str: Asprilla, Hammond

Aug. 24, Carling Cup, Round 1
v. Preston North End (4th in Championship)
Fav: Preston, Evens

9'- Preston with their 3rd chance finally break through as poor marking allows an open shot at the back post that is buried. 1-0, PNE.

15'- Shaw with a good ball for Hammond in space. Hammond crosses to the back post for Boucaud who drives a shot low, but it's deflected and cleared.

28'- Kruse with a terrific save of a ball that seemed marked for the top corner.

We're actually not playing all that badly despite the paucity of chances. We sub in Mika Aaritalo for Asprilla, and replace Eoin Jess with Tom Penford on the right.

51'- A great bit of defending, as Preston have 2 chances at point blank range, but our defense does well to get in the way and Kruse finally smothers it.

77'- Not much going on, as Preston is controlling the ball. We put in Holmes for Nicolas, and put Dakinah up to the right wing, playing a 3-3-1-3 now going on attack.

80'- Hammond takes a shot from 20 yards that sails over.

89'- Boucaud with a great cross from the right in to Shaw at the back post, but he can't keep his header down.

92'- Our last chance is a Plummer free kick down the middle of the pitch that just outpaces Holmes and is grabbed by the keeper.

We get beat, but not badly. Aaritalo played poorly early, but won some balls late in the half. Boucaud didn't do much aside from the one cross, and Penford was also a non-factor. Dakinah rates our only 6 in defense, but seemed to play OK.

Loss, 0-1, out of Carling Cup
Shots/on target: Posh 7/2, Preston 20/7
Poss: 54-46, Preston
A: 7,428

Butter · 02-17-2005, 09:32 AM

Willock agrees to a contract with Rotherham, and we bid farewell to last year's top goal and assist man. Rotherham sign him to a 3 year deal worth $300k per season, a figure we never would have bid. This move increases our transfer budget to $300k, and reduces our wage overage to $490k for this season.

European Super Cup
Porto 0:1 AC Milan
-Milan beat Porto in the annual meeting of the previous season's Champions League and EURO Cup. Porto dominated the game, but couldn't dent the scoresheet as Andriy Shevchenko's early goal holds up and gives Milan the win in front of a relatively small crowd of under 20,000 in Monaco.

Kofi Dakinah fractures his jaw in training, and will be out about a month which hurts our defensive depth.

Ferdinand is out with a minor injury for our next match as well. Jess is averaging a 6.40 in 5 games, so I'm switching him out for Alexis Nicolas on the right. Sheffield is using 3 strikers up front, so hopefully our defense will be able to keep them in check.
Lineup:
GK: Kruse
Def: Pritchard, Plummer, Yates, Burton
DM: Navarro
Mid: Valois, Nicolas
AM: Shaw
Str: Hammond, Asprilla

Aug. 29, Match 5
2-0-2, 12th pl., 6 pts.
@ Sheffield Utd. (1-0-3, 20th pl., 3 pts.)
Notes: United were demoted last year from the Championship.
Fav: Blades, 6:4

3'- Horrific defending as Plummer and Yates get beat on a move by a Blades striker, but Kruse saves them with a good save.

6'- Valois with a couple of good angles on a pass, but he decides to shoot from 25 yards and it bends wide.

10'- Shaw with a wicked bending shot, but the Sheffield keeper gets his hand on it and deflects it out. Great shot and save!

13'- A Blades header is denied by the crossbar.

Lots of up and down action, but few good chances in the first half. 8 total cards given out, 5 to Sheffield, and 3 to yours truly. Pritchard and Burton both took knocks and are hobbling about. Pritchard has the worst of it, so he'll sit in favor of Ireland. Otherwise, no changes.

54'- Bad giveaway as Navarro tries to pass it upfield, but it hits a leg and bounces straight to a Blades striker who is all alone with Kruse, and finishes. 1-0, Sheffield.

67'- Sheffield is dominating the 2nd half, so we sub in Jess for Burton, and move Navarro to the back row. We go with a 4-2-2-2 now, with 2 attacking midfielders.

73'- Spicer on for Nicolas and we move Navarro to midfield to apply more pressure. We're also now out of subs.

79'- Sheffield with a goal off a corner kick, and that about wraps it up.

We just got buried under a mountain of chances in the 2nd half. Sheffield have some extremely talented midfielders that controlled play in this one. Each team ends up with 7 yellows, all on different people so there were no red cards. Kruse and Plummer earn 8's, but Kruse had no choice but to protect himself in the 2nd half.

Loss, 2-0, down to 17th
Shots/on target: Blades 19/12, Posh 6/2
Poss: 55-45, Blades
A: 21,913

Butter · 02-17-2005, 09:33 AM

Our attacking formation has netted us 3 straight shutouts. So we hit the transfer wire and attempt to rectify the situation.

We make several signings at the end of August, using up over 3/4 of our transfer budget and shooting our wage budget back over the top... $1 million over budget in fact, necessitating the listing of some players.

-Paul Devlin, a 33 year old right sided attacking midfielder signs with us from Watford (L1). He'll get $220k per season from us for the next 3 years, and Watford will pick up just $6k from us. Devlin started his career with Stafford Rangers, and has also played for Notts County, Birmingham, and Sheffield United. He scored 12 goals for Watford last year in their relegation season, and has averaged a 7.40 in 5 starts for Watford so far this year. If he gets hot, he does have a minimum fee release clause of $500k, but I imagine his age will preclude most offers of that size.

-Andy Monkhouse, a 24 year old attacking midfielder who can play all sides signs from Rotherham (Champ.). He comes over for a $60k fee to Rotherham, a team with which he had spent his entite career. Monkhouse has scored once in 2 apps. this year, but has seen his playing time dwindle as he hasn't come along quite as well on the passing side. He is more of a crossing winger than a distributor of the ball, as his poor passing skill would suggest. Still, he gives us a lot of depth for his $120k/yr. contract over the next 2 years.

-We finally agree to a contract and transfer fee for that young Swedish midfielder I had talked about earlier. Tobias Eriksson is 20 years old, and a very skillful attacking midfielder who can play on the left or in the center. He comes over from GIF Sundsvall from Sweden for a total of $170k ($130k up front and $40k over 6 months). He gets a contract worth $120k per year for 4 seasons, and should play behind Valois on the left.

-Fourth, we sign Dean Edward Martin, another attacking midfielder who started out at West Ham long ago but has been playing in Iceland the last 5 years. Martin is 33, and will get $48k per season for 3 years. He comes over on a free transfer from his Icelandic club team, for whom he was averaging a 7.56 in 6 matches this year.

-Lastly, we sign GK Jon Masalin, a young Finnish player on a free transfer. Masalin is just 19, and has better skill than Azinovic, our current backup. He spent the last 2 years with Aston Villa's reserves, not playing much. Masalin becomes our backup, and we'll try to loan out Azinovic. Masalin will cost just $16k per over the next 3 years.

Hopefully, this will end our formation problems, and improve our performance overall.

We still have 10 days until our next match thanks to World Cup Qualifying, so we offer some players around, including John Spicer and Tom Penford, recent signees who are expensive but have no position with us now.

We can't get anyone to move yet, sadly, so we're stuck at nearly $1 million over our yearly wage budget. If we can get promotion, it'll be worth exhausting that surplus.

Our slightly new lineup against 1st place Bristol City looks like this:
GK: Kruse
Def: Pritchard, Plummer, St. Ledger, Burton
DM: Navarro
Mid: Valois, Devlin
AM: Shaw
Str: Hammond, Ferdinand

Sept. 10, Match 6
2-0-3, 17th pl., 6 pts.
v. Bristol City (4-0-1, 1st pl., 12 pts.)
Series: Bristol C., 2-0-0
Fav: City, 5:4

1'- City nearly scores 45 seconds in off a long free kick and a header, but it's mercifully wide.

3'- City doesn't make a mistake on their second chance, banking in a shot off the near post, beating Kruse. Quickly 1-0, and that's not the kind of start we were hoping for.

31'- The next significant action (besides the 5 cards during this card-fest), as Valois beats 2 defenders, then finds Ferdinand at 12 yards, who hits a good volley, but the City keeper makes the save.

37'- Valois gets the pass from Devlin, and powers one at goal from 20 yards, but it's way too high.

45'- A scramble in front as both Hammond and Ferdinand are tackled down with the ball at their feet, but there's no whistle.

Our defense has been out to lunch, but the attack seemed to liven up in the last quarter hour of the half. St. Ledger is rating a 5 in central defense, but he'll stay in.

Bristol continue to control play during the first 20 minutes of the second half, launching several unsuccessful attacks.

66'- Valois with a marvelous ball to the feet of Hammond, but his shot is wide of the mark.

70'- Eriksson in for St. Ledger as we go to a 3 man backline again.

75'- Plummer picks up a 2nd yellow card in defense, and our 7th of the match, vs. Bristol's 4. We go to a 2 man back... not much choice really.

77'- Valois is taken down, and a Bristol defender gets his 2nd yellow, and we're 10 on 10. Devlin shoots in the free kick from 25 yards, and it hits the post! Valois is there for the rebound, but it's tackled away for a corner! Navarro with the corner to Shaw, and he has an easy chance from 4 yards but puts it into the keeper's stomach! ARGH!!!!!!

Monkhouse in for Shaw, Holmes in for Hammond as we press on.

Our best chance comes when Ferdinand shoots from 15 yards, but he just misses.

What do I have to do to score a goal here? We can't even score with attacking tactics on. This is sad.

Devlin earns an 8 on his debut, and Burton and Valois also pick up 8's. Everyone else but St. Ledger gets 7's.

Loss, 0-1, drop to 18th
Shots/on target: Posh 11/7, City 23/7
Poss: 51-49, City
A: 7,026

Plummer gets the automatic one match ban for his red card. We haven't scored in 4 matches, and I don't know why.

The draw for the Vans Trophy is held, and we'll visit league foes Colchester about 12 days after we host them in a league clash.

Butter · 02-17-2005, 09:35 AM

It would seem I now have the personnel to run this diamond attack effectively. 2 quality DM's, several attacking midfielders on both sides and in the middle, and a few good strikers. So, if we continue to struggle, I'm not sure what the answer is except to attempt to improve the defense or possibly switch tactics yet again.

Champions League Group Play, Round 1
Group A
AC Milan 1:1 Real Madrid
Paris 1:0 Rosenborg (NOR)

Group B
Panathinaikos 2:1 Tottenham
Roma 1:4 Monaco

Group C
Arsenal 2:0 Valencia
Sparta Prague 0:1 PSV

Group D
Benfica 2:0 Anderlecht (BEL)
Red Star 0:0 Werder Bremen

Group E
Chelsea 2:2 Porto
Inter Milan 1:3 Shakhtar (UKR)

Group F
Celtic 3:0 Lyon
Fenerbahce 2:0 Juventus

Group G
Bayern Munich 3:0 Basel (SUI)
Man Utd. 4:2 Barcelona

Group H
Banik Ostrava (CZE) 2:2 Ajax
Deportivo 1:1 Leverkusen

Billy Jones leaves the club, and takes his modest $32k salary with him. Woking, a Conference side, signs him for a $6k fee, and up his salary to $56k. Jones was obtained last year in the deal that sent DM Steve Thomson to Leyton Orient. Jones made 5 appearances late last year for the club, averaging a 6.40.

Our lineup for this next match v. Colchester, a team that we had a decent time with last year:
GK: Kruse
Def: Pritchard, Ireland, Yates, Burton
DM: Nicolas
Mid: Valois, Devlin
AM: Shaw
Str: Hammond, Ferdinand

Sept. 17, Match 7
2-0-4, 18th pl., 6 pts.
v. Colchester (2-2-2, 13th pl., 8 pts.)
Series: Posh lead 1-1-0
Fav: Posh, 5:4

6'- An eventful series, as the U's have 2 shots at close range miss, 1 off the crossbar, then Les Ferdinand narrowly misses the top corner after a Valois cross on the counter.

13'- Devlin with a good cross to Ferdinand, whose header is saved by the keeper. The ensuing corner is stolen and taken the length of the field, but that chance is sent wide.

19'- Valois with a short cross into space, and Ferdinand's diving header strikes the post and is cleared. Good chance there!

38'- Colchester with a break, and the striker fakes Kruse out and scores. 1-0, U's.

We have gone over 400 minutes without a goal now. No changes for the 2nd half.

48'- Devlin's cross is deflected down to Hammond, but the shot is tipped over the bar.

57'- Devlin with another good cross to the head of Shaw, whose header is tipped over again. We just cannot finish!

66'- Shaw with a free kick from 30 yards... it comes down right to Hammond, who has it inside 3 yards... He shoots and scores! Finally a goal to tie the match!

72'- Colchester manage a break and the first shot is deflected wide, but right to another U's striker, 2-1.

Navarro in for Nicolas, Eriksson in for Valois, and Holmes in for Pritchard as we go to a 3 man front and back.

83'- Eriksson with a terrific ball for Hammond, who is free... he advances on the keeper and slots it inside the far post! Hammond's 2nd of the game, and we're all square again at 2!

We keep up the pressure and force several corners but are unable to get a third. But at least we get a point and stop the losing streak.

Ferdinand and Hammond both get 8's, and Kruse wins MoM with a 9 in goal. Now if we could just get a lead.

Draw, 2-2, up to 17th
Shots/on target: Posh 9/5, U's 18/6
Poss: 52-48, U's
A: 4,076

Butter · 02-17-2005, 10:55 AM

Well, I've decided to mess with the tactics a bit. We're still keeping the 4-4-2 diamond, but have slowed our pace of play and narrowed our defense. We're also keeping the defensive players back instead of roaming them forward too often. We are instructing our 2 wingers to cross the ball often, but that's it. We're also cutting back on the number of long shots, and trying to improve our set piece tactics, as it seems it's quite rare for us to score on a corner or free kick unless it goes straight in.

Carling Cup, Round 2
A couple of small upsets here, but nothing major.
Darlington (L2) 2:1 Fulham (EPL)
Stoke (Champ.) 2:1 Southampton (EPL)

Lineup:
GK: Kruse
Def: Pritchard, Plummer, Ireland, Burton
DM: Navarro
Mid: Valois, Devlin
AM: Shaw
Str: Hammond, Ferdinand

Sept. 17, Match 8
2-1-4, 17th pl., 7 pts.
@ Blackpool (1-0-6, 23rd pl., 3 pts.)
Series: Seasiders, 1-1-0
Fav: Seasiders, 6:4

Blackpool have the better of play for the first quarter hour.

18'- A terrific long ball down the center by the Seasider keeper finds a striker wide open, who scores past Kruse. But luckily for us, the flag is up and we remain scoreless.

We manage only one decent shot the whole half, and I say decent only because of the shooter. Shaw missed from 30 yards. But we did have more of the ball in the first half, and managed to keep Blackpool off the board. Considering our rough record on the road, I'd take a point from this, though I'd prefer 3. Shaw and Burton are both limping around the pitch, but will remain in for half 2.

46'- Both teams with a good chance in the opening minute, as Ferdinand puts a 20 yarder wide, while a close in Blackpool header skims over the bar.

61'- A Seasider midfielder gets one on one with Kruse, but the keeper does a good job of forcing the shot high.

69'- Valois also picks up a knock, and we use 2 subs to replace the limpers. Monkhouse in for Valois, and Martin in for Shaw. Burton seems to be ok, so we leave him out there.

72'- Devlin steals a throw in, then spots Monkhouse on the other side of the field. Monkhouse gets the pass, settles it, and shoots from 20 yards, and he hit it hard, but it caroms back off the crossbar and is cleared. Good shot!

84'- Devlin with another steal of a throw, and he spots Monkhouse again. This time Andy chips one into the 6, and right onto the head of Les Ferdinand, who nods it in! A late goal gives us a lead! We switch our tactics to defense to try and hold it, subbing in Nicolas for Ferdinand and putting 2 men in defense.

89'- Monkhouse with another great play, attacking from the left. He finds an unmarked Dean Edward Martin at the near post, but Martin slides it a foot wide! Great chance that ends with nothing there!

Blackpool has some possession in our third, but don't come up with any quality chances and we take the points!

Jean-Louis Valois wins MoM rating a 9 in his 69 minutes of play. He completed 20/25 passes, including 8 key passes. He also had shot on goal, and 2 key headers. Kruse, Burton, Ireland, and Devlin also picked up 8's. I'm surprised Monkhouse didn't get an 8, because even in 20 minutes he was everywhere.

Win, 0-1, up to 16th
Shots/on target: Seasiders 15/4, Posh 8/4
Poss: 53-47, Posh
A: 7,943

Sagi Burton stubbed a toe, and despite playing the 2nd half and getting a high rating, the physio recommends I rest him for 5 days. That's right, 5 days for a stubbed toe.

Butter · 02-17-2005, 11:33 AM

Now comes our visit to Colchester to face the U's in the first round of the Vans Trophy (South Draw).

Valois is picked in the League One Team of the Week.

We start a radically different lineup in this Cup match, just to see what people can do. I'd love to start Tobias Eriksson, but he's out with a nagging leg injury.
Lineup:
GK: Masalin
Def: Legg, St. Ledger, Yates, Hunt
DM: Navarro
Mid: Monkhouse, Martin
AM: Jess
Str: Asprilla, Holmes

Sept. 27, Vans Trophy South Draw, Round 1
@ Colchester (12th in League 1)
Series: Posh, 1-2-0
Fav: Posh, 6:4

2'- Monkhouse gets a throw, and slips a ball to Asprilla in the box. Asprilla crosses for Jess, who nods it to the foot of Holmes. Holmes blasts it off the keeper, but the rebound falls to a wide open Martin who slides it home! Great start, 1-0 Peterborough!

5'- Martin finds Jess in the arc, who beats one defender but flies his shot wide.

32'- Martin took a knock around the 15th minute, and is not shaking it off very well, so he comes out for Devlin.

39'- U's with a great chance, but Kruse makes a diving save of an open 12 yard shot... the rebound rolls to a Colchester striker, but Yates tackles it away!

42'- U's with another good chance off a corner, but the low shot hits the foot of the post and Yates hoofs it to safety.

A fairly even first half that we controlled early, then Colchester controlled late. We switch to more defensive tactics for the 2nd half to try and put it away.

53'- A Colchester striker with a wicked right foot strike from 20 yards, but Masalin reads it well and holds it.

61'- Legg with a good ball to Monkhouse, who slips it through to Asprilla. Asprilla is onside and one on one with the keeper, but sends his shot into orbit.

64'- A Colchester midfielder breaks loose and has Masalin one on one, but he also puts his shot into the seats.

67'- Ireland on for a tiring Navarro as we go to a 5 man back line.

70'- Hunt with a great 40 yard ball through the defense right to Asprilla, who has an open shot, but it's tipped over for a corner.

78'- Asprilla is free again, but has it tackled away.

89'- Holmes is free down the right, but he gets bodychecked down as he approaches the box and is injured.

We are able to hold on for the final minutes and keep Colchester off the scoreboard to advance.

Another great team effort, as Andy Monkhouse wins MoM from the left wing, completing 23/27 passes, including 7 key ones. Jess played well, completing over 70% of his 52 passes, including 6 key ones and playing a big part in our goal. Jess, Legg, Yates, Hunt, and Masalin all pick up 8's for their efforts, and Masalin was particularly impressive in net.

Win, 0-1, advance to 2nd Round of South Draw
Shots/on target: U's 16/4, Posh 12/5
Poss: 55-45, U's
A: 2,473

Champions League Group Play, Match Day 2
Group E
Porto 1:3 Inter
Shakhtar 1:3 Chelsea

Group F
Juventus 2:0 Celtic
Lyon 1:2 Fenerbahce

Group G
Barcelona 2:1 Bayern Munich
Basel 0:1 Man Utd.

Group H
Ajax 0:1 Deportivo
Leverkusen 2:0 Banik Ostrava

Group A
Real Madrid 1:0 Paris
Rosenborg 0:0 AC Milan

Group B
Monaco 1:0 Panathinaikos
Tottenham 0:0 Roma

Group C
PSV 0:0 Arsenal
Valencia 3:0 Sparta Prague

Group D
Anderlecht 2:2 Red Star
Werder Bremen 1:1 Benfica

Butter · 02-17-2005, 03:07 PM

Good news for me, as Tranmere right sided defender Tyrone Loran is out for 3 months or more with an injured knee. Loran has been named to all 3 League One Teams of the Week that I've seen, and is averaging a crazy 7.7 rating for the season. Tranmere whipped us badly and are currently near the top, so hopefully I can take advantage and use our momentum to rise to the top 6.

We get a very favorable draw for the Vans Trophy second round, going to Conference Nat'l side Aldershot.

October comes, and the board is still very pleased with my performance, as are the fans.

We get back to our standard lineup, with one change for our next match. Andy Monkhouse has been tearing it up, so he'll start at AMC for Paul Shaw.
Lineup:
GK: Kruse
Def: Pritchard, Plummer, Ireland, Burton
DM: Navarro
Mid: Valois, Devlin
AM: Monkhouse
Str: Hammond, Ferdinand

Oct. 1, Match 9
3-1-4, 16th pl., 10 pts.
v. Swindon (3-3-2, 10th pl., 12 pts.)
Series: Swindon, 2-0-0 (including our worst loss of the year, 6-1)
Fav: Posh, 6:4

12'- Swindon with the first good chance of the game... we take a corner and after a couple of attempted shots are stopped due to traffic in front, the ball comes out to a Swindon winger, who takes it to the endline, crosses to the back post for an easy finish. 1-0, Swindon. Poor defending there.

19'- Navarro with a free kick after a bump on Monkhouse. He plays it short to Valois, who shoots from 25 yards... the ball hits a Swindon leg and goes in! Valois' first goal in the Posh Blue, and we're level!

23'- Les Ferdinand is injured on a rough challenge in midfield and has to leave. Asprilla on for him.

29'- Asprilla open in the middle and he makes a mess of it. He has not impressed this year. At all.

33'- Burton hobbles off for some lengthy treatment. He has had a bad time this year.

38'- Valois feeds a ball low to Asprilla who cuts outside diagonally to get the ball. Asprilla crosses from the left to the back right of the box, where Devlin receives the pass, advances, and shoots it high.... GOAL! 2-1, Posh!

41'- A fierce strike is blocked by Kruse! Good save off an excellent set piece by Swindon.

45'- Burton is injured again right before the half, but I notice that he has much better stamina than the rest of the team. I'm going to have to get a physio report on him after the game. Something's going on here.

No changes at the break, except to ratchet down the attack a bit.

54'- First action of the 2nd half, and it's Monkhouse keying an attack. He slips a ball to Hammond, who spots Asprilla in the middle. Faustino lets loose with his left foot, and it takes a deflection and goes in! Asprilla with a goal, and we can do no wrong today! 3-1, Peterborough United!

66'- Well, maybe we can. An errant ball for Asprilla turns into a break for Swindon. A midfielder attacks up the right of the back, then plays a square ball for an onrushing striker who slots it inside the far post. Good attack, poor defending there. 3-2.

74'- Another attack up the left by Swindon and a ball is played back into the area and knocked in. So much for a safe 2 goal lead. 3-3.

81'- Navarro gets a throw in, and flights one to Monkhouse at the top of the box, who nods it down for Devlin... Devlin shoots, but it's just tipped wide and out for a corner.

83'- A Swindon free kick comes in and a shot is deflected to an open Swindon striker who shoots... off the post! And cleared by Devlin! WHEW!

86'- Martin in for Devlin, Shaw in for Valois... both of whom are quite exhausted. Monkhouse moves from AMC to the left wing.

Sadly, Swindon pretty much pack it in and take the point. No win for us, blowing a 2 goal lead in the final half hour. Oh well. At least we're scoring now.

Valois, Hammond, and Asprilla pick up 8's, but Swindon midfielder Stefani Miglioranzi picks up MoM with a rare 10, assisting on 1 goal, and making 8 key passes.

Draw, 3-3, remain in 16th
Shots/on target: Posh 9/6, Swindon 16/6
Poss: 52-48, Swindon
A: 6,178

Sadly, Les Ferdinand will be out a month with strained knee ligaments. Asprilla earned a shot at the starting job with his performance in this match, with a goal and an assist.

Butter · 02-18-2005, 10:49 AM

Midfielder Andre Boucaud is loaned out to Stevenage Borough. Boucaud will have his entire wage paid for the 3 months of the loan by Stevenage, who is in a promotion fight in league 2.

We get 2 weeks off now before a string of matches will have us playing 5 times in 16 days, including our 2nd round Vans Trophy match. Hopefully, our improved depth will help us through this stretch. I can certainly see this team making one of the top 6 spots if we can continue our goal scoring form.

Sheffield United insist that they're NOT selling striker Andy Gray. The Blades have struggled in the league this year after being demoted from the Championship after last season. They're in the relegation zone now, and probably could get upwards of $1.5 million for Gray, who tore us up in our first match of the year, but the Blades skipper insists on not selling right now. Then, days later, Gray expresses interest at moving to a bigger club... namely Cardiff.

This 2 week break is due to a couple of World Cup Qualifiers. England is having no trouble in their group, and there are no real surprises to be had.

Alan Navarro twists a knee on Oct. 10, and is due to be out about a week, which means he'll likely miss our next match, and possibly 2 of them.

Manchester City sack fabled boss Kevin Keegan, as Man C has been struggling at the bottom of the Premiership table all season, with just 6 points in the first 8 matches. Everton's David Moyes is the top candidate to take over.

No immediate physical concerns on Burton or Alexis Nicolas, who has been hovering around 80% fitness for quite a while. Burton is back to 100% for our next match, but Nicolas is at 70%, meaning that we have no healthy DMC's. David Hunt will get the start there, although I did consider just going with a 4-3-1-2. Also, Craig Ireland is slipping more and more into the lineup. Yates was having fitness problems at the end of last season, and just hasn't been performing as well this year as Ireland has.
Lineup:
GK: Kruse
Def: Pritchard, Plummer, Ireland, Burton
DM: Hunt
Mid: Valois, Devlin
AM: Monkhouse
Str: Hammond, Asprilla

Oct. 15, Match 10
3-2-4, 16th pl., 11 pts.
v. Doncaster (4-2-3, 11th pl., 14 pts.)
Series: Rovers, 1-1-0
Fav: Posh, Evens

14'- First significant action of the game, as Doncaster floats a cross in that is surrounded by 3 Posh defenders and Kruse. But naturally, it's headed in by the lone Rovers striker. 1-0, Doncaster.

17'- Plummer with a long ball to Valois down the left, who crosses for Asprilla at 10 yards... Faustino gets his head to it, but it's over the bar. The goal kick is stolen by Burton, who heads to Monkhouse. Andy brings it upfield, then runs diagonal to the left. He slips a ball through to Hammond at the arc, who turns and shoots... it's in! He slots it home inside the right post, and we're even! Great goal by Elvis.

39'- A Doncaster corner is stolen by Ireland. Ireland runs with it 20 yards, then hits it down the left to Valois, who is alone, played onside by a defender on the right. Valois charges at the keeper, and shoots it towards the far post... GOAL! 2-1, Peterborough! Great counter off the errant corner kick, and we surge ahead!

No changes at the break, as we're dominating Doncaster.

48'- A corner kick almost finds its way in off a head for Rovers, but it goes over the bar.

68'- Valois takes a pass from Pritchard on the left, and finds Asprilla near the area. Asprilla slips it to Hammond at 10 yards, who settles, turns, and shoots it high and wide. Yates in for Hammond, as we attempt to hold the ball for our win with a 5 man backline.

83'- A dangerous ball off a giveaway by Burton is sent into the open box... Kruse and the Rover striker go after it, and Kruse just wins it, tipping it to Pritchard. Pritchard to Hunt, who finds Monkhouse with space up the middle. Monkhouse to Valois, who sends it back to Monkhouse inside the box... Andy shoots it high... and scores! We sew up the win with a great counter-attack, and Monkhouse with a terrific finish to make it 3-1!

Doncaster manage one more chance in injury time, but a good header goes wide of the mark.

Terrific victory, our most dominating performance of the season! Andy Monkhouse is playing awesomely in the center of attack, and Valois is just as impressive on the left. Eriksson and Devlin have played well also, so I'm quite happy with all of the recent acquisitions. This leaves Shaw and Jess as the odd men out, a bit, but when we're playing this well I can't worry about feelings. Monkhouse wins MoM with a 10 from his AMC spot. He had a goal, an assist, and 7 key passes. Valois also picks up a 9 with his goal and assist, and 5 key passes. Everyone else rated a 7.

Win, 3-1, up to 14th
Shots/on target: Posh 19/8, Rovers 5/1
Poss: 50-50
A: 6,174

Both Monkhouse and Valois are picked for the League One Team of the Week. This is Valois' 4th time on the team already this year.

Butter · 02-18-2005, 11:45 AM

Champions League, Match Day 3
Group E
Chelsea 1:1 Inter
Porto 2:1 Shakhtar

Group F
Fenerbahce 0:2 Celtic
Juventus 1:1 Lyon

Group G
Barcelona 3:0 Basel
Man Utd. 1:0 Bayern Munich

Group H
Ajax 0:0 Leverkusen
Banik Ostrava 0:1 Deportivo

Group A
Paris 1:1 AC Milan
Rosenborg 1:3 Real Madrid

Group B
Monaco 2:2 Tottenham
Roma 3:0 Panathinaikos

Group C
PSV 0:3 Valencia
Sparta Prague 0:4 Arsenal

Group D
Red Star 1:1 Benfica
Werder Bremen 3:0 Anderlecht

Nicolas starts at DM today, and Holmes in for Asprilla up front. We'll see what happens, as the other 9 stay the same.

Oct. 19, Match 11
4-2-4, 14th pl., 14 pts.
@ Rushden (5-3-2, 4th pl., 18 pts.)
Series: This is Rushden's first year in League One after winning promotion from League Two last year.
Fav: Posh, 4:5

We're heavy favorites in this one against a team playing well above their head right now. Should be interesting.

3'- Diamonds with a great chance, but a point blank header is sent into orbit.

11'- Hammond with 2 good moves breaks free on the keeper, but the keeper stones him.

13'- Poor defending in the box, as a clearance is mishit off a Diamonds player, but Kruse still has a crack at it, but can't hold the bobbling ball, and it's poked into the net. 1-0, R&D.

28'- After a minute of passing it back and forth, Pritchard finds a streaking Valois in the box to the left of the spot. Valois has a bit of space, is able to settle the ball, and strike it into the upper right corner! 1-1!

32'- Kruse with a terrific save of an open long range shot deflects the ball wide, and Burton clears it.

38'- Pritchard and Valois hook up again, this time Pritchard sends Valois long down the left. Valois with lots of support in the middle, sends a hopeful ball to Hammond who is open at the edge of the six... Hammond looks the ball all the way in, and volleys it home! 2-1, Peterborough!

43'- Great cross by Rushden right inside the 6 to a striker who turns on it, but Burton is there to block it clear!

Kruse had a marvelous first half, rating a 10. Holmes is struggling at striker, with a 5. We leave him in, and keep the pressure on.

49'- Pritchard, who had been playing so well, makes a bad mistake, getting the wrong side of his head to a cross, and putting it in his own goal. 2-2.

52'- Excellent play by the Diamonds as they spot a man down the middle, he beats the last defender and slots it home past Kruse. We're coming apart early in the 2nd half, now down a goal, 3-2.

67'- Asprilla in for Holmes, and Eriksson on for Ireland, as we go to a 3 man backline, and 4 midfielders, moving Nicolas up to the middle.

80'- We move Eriksson up the field even more to apply more pressure.

85'- Burton takes a free kick near midfield and finds Asprilla, who beats one defender. His shot is deflected to Hammond, who also shoots, but it hits a leg and goes wide of the goal... Valois tracks it down right on the endline, and tries to shoot, but it hits the side netting. Shaw in for Pritchard, as we push even more people into the Diamonds end.

91'- Burton comes off injured, so we're down to 10 men for the last 2 minutes of stoppage time. Facing just one defender back, the Diamonds add one more to their tally in the waning moments, making the final margin two.

We played a horrible second half. Valois picks up another 8, but this is not the kind of showing we need to push for promotion.

Loss, 4-2, down to 15th
Shots/on target: Diamonds 11/9, Posh 8/3
Poss: 54-46, Diamonds
A: 5,910

Tough blow, as Sagi Burton is due to be out for 2 months with a dislocated shoulder. Not good for our defense. It's likely that Kofi Dakinah will start in his place.

Butter · 02-21-2005, 10:21 AM

We ink both Chris Plummer and Sagi Burton to longer deals, Plummer taking a $10k/yr. pay cut for a one year deal, making $70k for another season at London Road. Burton will pick up $100k for an additional 3 seasons for us. Bad timing on the deal for us, as he just got injured, but he has been playing well this year.

We switch up a bit, as both Navarro and Nicolas have been relatively ineffective this year, we put Tobias Eriksson in the lineup in central midfield, and run a 4-3-1-2. Here's the look:
GK: Kruse
Def: Pritchard, Plummer, Ireland, Dakinah
Mid: Valois, Eriksson, Devlin
AM: Monkhouse
Str: Hammond, Asprilla

Oct. 22, Match 12
4-2-5, 15th pl., 14 pts.
@ Torquay (7-0-4, 5th pl., 21 pts.)
Series: Gulls, 1-1-0
Fav: Posh, 4:6

Heavy favorites again against a team near the top of the table. Curious.

8'- Valois with a good through ball to Asprilla, who beats the trap. Sadly, his finishing is poor, as he sends it well wide of the mark after seemingly making a good angle for himself.

9'- One minute later, a nearly identical play, this time it's Valois playing Hammond onside. Hammond charges straight down the middle and fires a shot with power past the keeper! 1-0, Posh!

18'- A Torquay striker is free in the arc and tries his luck, but fires it right at Kruse.

23'- Asprilla is free again thanks to Devlin, but his shot is terrible.

31'- Plummer with a free kick to Hammond, who nods it down for Monkhouse. Monkhouse moves to his right and has a good angle, but the Gull defense recovers and is able to block the shot out for a corner.

42'- Eriksson finds Asprilla again down the middle. This time he does better with the shot, but it's still saved out for a corner.

We played a very good first half, but now we need to finish a road game here. No changes.

51'- A Valois corner finds Monkhouse in the area, but his shot is deflected by the mass of bodies in front.

59'- A Gull defender picks up his second yellow of the match, and we go up a man for the final half hour.

81'- After little action for 20 minutes, Torquay break a man free just outside the area. He attacks Kruse, and slots it home. 1-1. FUCK. Holmes in for Asprilla, Martin in for Monkhouse as we try to re-take the lead.

85'- Navarro in for Tobias Eriksson who picks up a minor injury.

The rest of the game goes by fairly harmlessly... I can't believe we've only won 4 of 12 this year.

Valois picks up another 9 and a MoM award. Ireland, Pritchard, and Kruse all get 8's... but I can't help but think Kruse should've stopped that goal.

Draw, 1-1, remain in 15th
Shots/on target: Gulls 13/5, Posh 10/2
Poss: 51-49, Gulls
A: 5,307

At least we're more competitive this year, scoring more goals, but we're still closer to the relegation zone (5 points) than we are to the playoff zone (7 points).

Butter · 02-21-2005, 11:16 AM

I think I'm going to start going with a more defensive technique on the road. I haven't had many problems at home with the new tactic, but our road record is troubling.

Valois gets picked for the team of the week yet again. 5 times in 2 months now, very impressive.

Carling Cup, Round 3
One major upset, League One Hartlepool beating Tottenham 3-2 in extra time. The only League Two squad left, Darlington, loses 4-0 at Nott'm Forest. And the only other League One side left, Plymouth Argyle, loses at home to West Brom. 4-2 on PK's after a scoreless two hours of play.

Just 2 days off after this next one before our 2nd round Vans Trophy match.
Lineup:
GK: Kruse
Def: Pritchard, Plummer, Ireland, Dakinah
Mid: Valois, Eriksson, Devlin
AM: Monkhouse
Str: Hammond, Asprilla

Oct. 29, Match 13
4-3-5, 15th pl., 15 pts.
v. Brentford (2-5-5, 21st pl., 11 pts.)
Series: Posh, 2-0-0
Fav: Posh, Evens

5'- Hammond with a cross to an open Valois at the back post, who shoots from 10 yards, but the keeper has a bead on it for the save.

9'- Valois to Asprilla at the near post, who settles and tries to pick out the upper corner from 15 yards, but it's too high.

12'- Monkhouse with a great ball to Hammond in the middle... and Hammond appears to have the keeper beat inside the right post, but a great diving save prevents the goal.

18'- First good buildup for the Bees, as they have 3 men lurking at the back post with no markers... poor defending but luckily the open shot from 10 yards is well high of the mark.

22'- A corner is taken by Brentford, and a player gets it at the near post and attempts to skip past Ireland... but Craig decides to chop him down and we've got a penalty. It's taken, and it's converted. 1-0, Brentford.

28'- Pritchard with a free kick just inside our own half... he shoots it to about 25 yards from goal, where Asprilla tries to flick it over the keeper with a cheeky header, and had him beat but it goes off the side netting.

34'- Eriksson with a steal at midfield, who passes right to Devlin, back to Eriksson, who plays Hammond just onside... Elvis is free and shoots far post.... it's in! 1-1! Great shot, and Hammond nets his 7th of the season!

Ireland is struggling with a 5 at the half, so we remove him and put in Steve Yates.

48'- Brentford handles the ball at 30 yards, so Valois steps up to take the free kick, pretty much right in the middle of the pitch. Jean-Louis strikes it with force, and it goes in! No chance for the keeper, as he bent it into the upper right corner for a 2-1 Posh lead!

58'- A wide open chance for Brentford, as the left winger crosses to an unmarked man at the back post. Kruse is dreadfully out of position, but luckily the shot caroms back off the post, and we keep our lead.

61'- Another Bee attack, and this time a shot from 20 yards goes off a leg, and right to a striker at the far post, who hits a tough angle shot past Kruse and in. 2-2.

65'- Valois plays Hammond through, and Elvis has another good shot, but the keeper gets a hand to it this time, and it's cleared away before it can roll over the line.

73'- Dakinah with a good steal, he knocks it back to Kruse. Lukas puts it forward 70 yards right to Asprilla. Asprilla knocks it down for Hammond on the right. Elvis advances, then finds Monkhouse in the middle. Andy beats one man, then holds off another into the box. Monkhouse tacks to the left, and fires a shot past the keeper and into the net! 3-2, Peterborough! Great individual effort by Monkhouse to put it in. We back off our tactics and try to hold the lead. Navarro in for Eriksson.

83'- Great play, as Hammond just reaches a ball for him before it crosses the end line, and hits it back for Monkhouse, who powers a header two inches wide of the far post.

91'- We seemingly have this one bagged, until a terrific one-two fools both central defenders, sending a Brentford striker in on goal, who doesn't miss. 3-3.

Kruse picks up a 5 in this one, he didn't keep anything out with any extra effort today. The backline can only hold them out so long. We didn't yield any chances in the final 20 minutes, save the one that tied us. Valois picks up another MoM award and a 9, as Eriksson, Hammond, Asprilla, and Monkhouse all pick up 8's. There must be some way to prevent these late chances from killing us.

Draw, 3-3, drop 1 spot to 16th
Shots/on target: Posh 18/9, Bees 12/5
Poss: 54-46, Posh
A: 5,369

Valois picks up his 6th Team of the Week notice.

Butter · 02-21-2005, 11:56 AM

The FA Cup First Round Draw is held, and we will travel to League Two side Boston United in about 2 weeks.

Fittingly, at the start of November, we get notice that Jean-Louis Valois has won the League One Player of the Month award for October. Valois has been awesome all year, averaging over an 8, and regularly bringing in 9's and 10's.

Also, Andy Monkhouse's goal v. Brentford is noted as the third best in the Goal of the Month voting.

We start a bit of a different lineup again for the Vans Trophy:
GK: Masalin
Def: Legg, St. Ledger, Yates, Dakinah
Mid: Eriksson, Nicolas, Martin
AM: Shaw, Jess
Str: Holmes

Nov. 1, Vans Trophy, South Draw Round 2
@ Aldershot (2nd in Conf. Nat'l)
Fav: Posh, 1:3

14'- Our defensive tactics don't get us anywhere, as the Shots put in a free kick from 25 yards to take a 1-0 lead. We ratchet up the attack.

18'- Apparently, Aldershot came to play. Another free kick, this time from midfield finds a man on the right, who crosses to the middle, and it's headed in. 2-0, Shots. Ugh.

20'- Our first chance, as Jess finds Shaw down the middle. Paul Shaw advances, but shoots well high from 20 yards.

28'- HOLY CRAP, a pass finds a striker in the middle who is wide open, and he puts it past Masalin for a 3-0 Aldershot lead.

37'- Jess has space, but sends a shot well wide of the mark from 12 yards.

We go to the break, and just would like to bury this one deep underground. We try to put a happy face on it, and push a bunch of people forward, but one more goal against and we'll just call it a day. Aaritalo in for Holmes, who is slightly injured.

49'- A cross comes in, and Dakinah shoves someone to the ground to give Aldershot a penalty kick. It comes in, and we're down 4-0. That was a PK, so we decide not to back off... maybe we can get a consolation goal.

53'- Asprilla in for Nicolas, who has a yellow card. We go to a 4-3-1-2, with Jess moving to midfield.

58'- Shaw with a great cross to Eriksson at the back post, but even with time and space he manages to put the shot 3 yards wide.

61'- Yates with a steal, and a flick to Aaritalo. Mika finds Asprilla free down the right. Faustino runs to the endline, then crosses it to Eriksson again at the back post, and this time with the keeper still adjusting, he knocks it in. 4-1.

68'- Martin takes it to the edge of the box on the right, then lofts one for Shaw. Paul gets his head to it, but the keeper blocks it out... right to Aaritalo who taps it in. And now it's 4-2 and things just got interesting.

79'- Navarro in for an injured Andy Legg and we move Navarro and Dakinah up the field a bit in attack.

90'- Aldershot add one more for good measure, and we lose this one 5-2.

Aldershot striker Roscoe D'Sane scored a hat trick and wins MoM. We lose a bit of face taking it on the chin so badly in this one.

Loss, 5-2, out of Vans Trophy
Shots/on target: Shots 19/7, Posh 11/3
Poss: 56-44, Shots
A: 1,225

We pick up a whopping $8,000 for our appearance in the 2nd round.

Champions League, Match Day 4
Group A
AC Milan 2:0 Paris
Real Madrid 3:0 Rosenborg

Group B
Panathinaikos 0:0 Roma
Tottenham 2:2 Monaco

Group C
Arsenal 6:1 Sparta Prague
Valencia 2:0 PSV

Group D
Anderlecht 1:2 Werder Bremen
Benfica 2:0 Red Star

Group E
Inter 3:0 Chelsea
Shakhtar 0:1 Porto

Group F
Celtic 3:3 Fenerbahce
Lyon 0:2 Juventus

Group G
Basel 0:2 Barcelona
Bayern Munich 0:2 Man Utd.

Group H
Deportivo 3:0 Banik Ostrava
Leverkusen 2:1 Ajax

Butter · 02-21-2005, 01:53 PM

Les Ferdinand returns to full training after being out for a while due to his knee injury. He'll be re-joining the lineup as soon as he is fit.

We get our first look at relegated side Watford today. They didn't play well early, but are back up near the top, where everyone expected them. Back to a defensive midfielder today, as the row of 3 in the middle doesn't really seem to help.
Lineup:
GK: Kruse
Def: Pritchard, Plummer, Yates, Dakinah
DM: Navarro
Mid: Valois, Devlin
AM: Monkhouse
Str: Hammond, Asprilla

Nov. 5, Match 14
4-4-5, 16th pl., 16 pts.
v. Watford (7-2-4, 6th pl., 23 pts.)
Series: This is the Hornets' first year back in League One since 1998.
Fav: Posh, 6:4

12'- First real chance is a Watford free kick from 20-25 yards. And it goes in. CHRIST. 1-0, Hornets.

Not much other action in the first half. In fact, that free kick was Watford's only shot of the half, and we only managed one on-target shot, which was a fluke bouncing ball that hit the post off a header from Asprilla. No changes for the 2nd half.

54'- A corner is taken short and flighted to the near post by Valois... and it goes in! An own goal for Watford, and we finally get the benefit of a fluke! 1-1. Asprilla out, Aaritalo in. Asprilla was pulling down a 4 until that goal, so he comes out.

61'- Valois centers the ball to Monkhouse, who lets go a bending ball from 20 yards that the keeper just gets a palm to. Hammond tries for the rebound, but he can't get there.

82'- Monkhouse gets slightly injured, and we sub in Eriksson for him.

84'- Yates with a throw to Navarro. Navarro near the byline, turns and beats one man, then gets his long cross in from the right. It comes at Aaritalo, a defender AND the keeper... and Aaritalo wins it and heads it in!!!! Great goal and Mika Aaritalo has provided the game winner (I hope)! Ireland on for Hammond, and we go to a 5 man backline.

87'- A scare cross into the six, and we almost gave up the leveler.

The final whistle goes, and we take the points! Boy, we looked like crap most of the game, but that own goal breathed some life into us. And Mika Aaritalo showed some impressive aerial ability by winning that headball to win the game.

Our only 8 goes to Jean-Louis Valois, who wins yet another MoM.

Win, 2-1, up 1 to 15th place
Shots/on target: Posh 9/4, Hornets 2/1
Poss: 50-50
A: 6,792

Both Pritchard and Monkhouse are expected to miss about a week with their minor injuries obtained during this match. The injuries are starting to pile up, as Sagi Burton continues to be out with his dislocated shoulder, and Ferdinand is just now getting back into match shape after his knee strain.

Butter · 02-21-2005, 02:28 PM

Mika Aaritalo gets some notice by getting called up to the Finnish squad. With Aaritalo's strength in the air, I'm thinking of starting him alongside Hammond, and calling for some long balls to Mika's head. We'll see what happens with Ferdinand's return.

Aaritalo will get the start, as Ferdinand could probably use one more day off. Bradford City is a curious squad, scoring just 10 goals (2nd to worst) and yielding only 11 (2nd best) in 14 fixtures. Lineup:
GK: Kruse
Def: Legg, Plummer, Yates, Dakinah
DM: Navarro
Mid: Valois, Devlin
AM: Eriksson
Str: Hammond, Aaritalo

Nov. 9, Match 15
5-4-5, 15th pl., 19 pts.
@ Bradford City (4-5-5, 17th pl., 17 pts.)
Series: Posh, 1-1-0
Fav: Bantams, 6:4

14'- Eriksson gets some space near the arc, and shoots. He nearly gets it in, but a nice save forces a corner.

31'- Another fluke goal, as a Bradford shot from near the spot is going wide, but it hits Kofi Dakinah in the back and goes in. 1-0, Bantams.

42'- Elvis Hammond with a great effort, as he holds off 2 men for 45 yards all the way into the box, but his shot is tipped just wide.

We switch Ferdinand in for Hammond at the half, who is turning in a rather pedestrian effort. We also up the attack for half number two.

56'- Dakinah with a great pass to Devlin down the right, and we somehow get a 2 on 1. Devlin attacks the keeper, and draws the defender, then lays it back to a wide open Ferdinand who applies the finish! 1-1!

70'- The Bantams with a prolonged series of pressure that finally ends when Kruse is out of position to try and take down a corner, but a Bantam striker gets there first... but Yates heads it off the line and Aaritalo cannons it away!

74'- Good buildup, as Devlin slips a ball to Aaritalo, who attacks the keeper, but can't beat him.

78'- Another good pass by Devlin, this time to Ferdinand who has a wonderful chance from 10 yards, but a good save keeps it from sneaking inside the near post.

81'- A manic scramble in front of our net, and a lot of bodies are there, and Kruse is able to get his body in front of a toe-poked shot and another shot is tackled away by Plummer... we keep the score at 1's.

86'- Navarro with a great switch of play to Valois, who has tons of space... he slides one to Ferdinand who picks out the corner, but shoots it high! Another great chance!

An amazing final 20 minutes here, as both sides have just gone back and forth trying to get the game winner.

90'- Eriksson finds Ferdinand, who was marginally offside, but it's not called... he beats a defender, then tries to left foot one inside the near post but just misses!

The final whistle goes, and we take a point. For once, our defense is highly rated. Lukas Kruse wins MoM with a 10, standing up well to some quality chances. Plummer picks up a 9, Dakinah, Yates, and of course Valois earn 8's. Can't help but wonder if Hammond might've finished one or two of those chances. Ferdinand got the easy one, but missed 4 or 5 of the tougher ones.

Draw, 1-1, remain in 15th
Shots/on target: Bantams 11/7, Posh 18/6
Poss: 55-45, Bradford City
A: 10,003

Tobias Eriksson is called up to the Swedish U-21 club, as our players are starting to get noticed.

Butter · 02-21-2005, 03:00 PM

The First Round of the FA Cup rolls around, and Eriksson and Aaritalo are gone on international duty. Monkhouse, Devlin, Burton, and Pritchard are still hurt. So, we're a bit thin, but try to start our best in hopes of another Cup run this year.

We've only lost 2 out of our last 11, but it still feels like we're not playing well.

Lineup:
GK: Kruse
Def: Ireland, Plummer, Yates, Dakinah
DM: Nicolas
Mid: Valois, Martin
AM: Shaw
Str: Ferdinand, Hammond

Nov. 12, FA Cup First Round
@ Boston United (10th in League Two)
Fav: Posh, 1:2

15'- First chance of the match, and Valois tries to slip a ball to Ferdinand in the box, but Ferdinand is run over and the referee points at the spot! Les Ferdinand strides up to the ball... and it's saved! Not hit very well by Ferdinand, who almost hit it straight down the middle.

28'- Valois gets in to nearly point blank range, but his angled shot is blocked back out by the keeper.

44'- Shaw with a terrific through ball to Valois, who is unable to get a good shot away.

We absolutely dominate the Pilgrims, but we're still scoreless at the break. No changes.

53'- Hammond is free in the middle, but can't get his shot past the keeper.

57'- Pilgrims with their first good chance of the game, but luckily the shot from the spot at the far post is high and wide.

61'- A great cross into the six for BU, but Kruse tips it over the bar, as Lukas picks up his first save of the match. We switch in Jess and Navarro for Valois and Martin... Valois is having his worst game with the Posh, rating just a 6.

75'- Eoin Jess lines up a 20 yard free kick, but the keeper just beats the ball to the far post and grabs it.

86'- Another Jess free kick is deflected by the wall and out for a corner. Jess' corner kick is cleared.

93'- Navarro is pulled down just a foot from the box, right at the endline. Jess with the free kick, but it's not a good one, and the whistle blows after the Pilgrim clearance.

A typically scrappy game against teams with 2 different talent levels, and Boston Utd. did what they had to to force the replay. Aboslutely magical game by their keeper, as he rates a 10 and wins the man of the match. Yates and Shaw pick up 8's for us. Ferdinand's missed penalty was absolutely huge.

Draw, 0-0, replay in 11 days at London Road
Shots/on target: Pilgrims 6/1, Posh 22/14
Poss: 54-46, Posh
A: 6,113

FA Cup First Round Upsets
Hartlepool (L1) 0:1 Histon (non-league)
Hyde (non-league) 2:1 Yeovil (L2)

Butter · 02-21-2005, 03:44 PM

Kruse, Plummer, and Valois all get picked to the League One Team of the Week. That's 7 of the last 9 weeks Valois has made this team.

If we can win the replay over Boston, we'll get a road trip to another League 2 side, this time Kidderminster.

Chris Plummer hurts his calf in training and will be out 2 weeks... so that's 3 defensive starters out now. We bring up good looking young defender Phil Cave from the reserves for our next match.

Lineup for our next match:
GK: Kruse
Def: Pritchard, Yates, Cave, Dakinah
DM: Navarro
Mid: Valois, Devlin
AM: Monkhouse
Str: Hammond, Ferdinand

Nov. 19, Match 16
5-5-5, 15th pl., 20 pts.
@ Grimsby (3-3-9, 22nd pl., 12 pts.)
Series: Mariners 1:0 Posh (2004 Carling Cup First Round)
Fav: Posh, 5:4

3'- Valois with all sorts of room advances to within 3 yards of the keeper, but puts it over.

Very few chances early, as we go to the half scoreless. Valois and Devlin are both struggling. No changes.

54'- Good throw from Yates to Hammond in the arc... Hammond leaves it for Phil Cave who has a go from 20 yards, but it's well over.

74'- Aaritalo in for Hammond, who is slightly injured, and Shaw in for a struggling Valois.

87'- Monkhouse is hauled down in the arc. Navarro bends in the free kick and hits the post! The rebound is cleared to Navarro, who sends another ball in to Aaritalo, who jinks around the keeper and scores... but I don't get too excited because it looked like he was offsides and indeed the flag goes up late and calls it back.

93'- Shaw attacks the goal and puts in a perfectly placed bending shot, but the Grimsby keeper is able to dive and keep it out.

Grimsby with one last shot off a corner, and it's a glorious chance from 5 yards but absolutely messed up by the striker who chunks it 5 yards wide.

Yates, Navarro, Dakinah, Kruse, and Pritchard all pick up 8's for their defensive effort, but our offense was silent today. Everyone else picks up 7's, except Valois who nets a 6. Youngster Phil Cave played very well, making at least 2 quality plays that I witnessed.

Draw, 0-0, remain in 15th
Shots/on target: Mariners 9/4, Posh 8/4
Poss: 51-49, Posh
A: 3,687

Man, we just cannot put together a run of victories and move to the top!

Butter · 02-22-2005, 11:53 AM

Champions League, Match Day 5
Group E
Porto 2:4 Chelsea
Shakhtar 0:4 Inter

Group F
Juventus 3:0 Fenerbahce
Lyon 5:3 Celtic

Group G
Barcelona 0:1 Man Utd.
Basel 1:1 Bayern Munich

Group H
Ajax 4:0 Banik Ostrava
Leverkusen 1:0 Deportivo

Group A
Real Madrid 0:0 AC Milan
Rosenborg 1:1 Paris

Group B
Monaco 0:4 Roma
Tottenham 3:0 Panathinaikos

Group C
PSV 2:0 Sparta Prague
Valencia 0:1 Arsenal

Group D
Anderlecht 2:1 Benfica
Werder Bremen 3:0 Red Star

So, now comes our replay against Boston Utd. Hopefully we can have a bit easier of a time of it at London Road.
Lineup:
GK: Kruse
Def: Pritchard, Yates, Cave, Dakinah
DM: Navarro
Mid: Valois, Devlin
AM: Monkhouse
Str: Hammond, Ferdinand

Nov. 23, FA Cup First Round Replay
v. Boston United
Fav: Posh, 2:5

7'- The Pilgrims with the first shot, but it's well high.

11'- Monkhouse with a steal, and he plays it back to Dakinah. Dakinah to Cave in the center circle. Cave plays it up to Hammond, who nods it down to Valois at the top of the box. Valois is open and advances... he shoots, but it's deflected wide... Elvis Hammond is there for the rebound and taps it in! 1-0, Posh.

17'- The Pilgrims with a decent chance, but a 15 yard shot is weak and wide.

21'- Hammond plays it wide to Valois, then runs into the box. Valois charges and takes the short cross... and Elvis is there to finish again! 2-0, Posh!

26'- BU with a corner kick, and Cave hoofs it away to Devlin, who is waiting down the right. Devlin charges forward and skips past a challenge... he storms to the endline and crosses to the near post... where Hammond is waiting. Elvis sticks his foot out and flicks it home! Elvis with a hat trick and we lead 3-0!

And of course, my plan being to sub out 3 players at the break... but Elvis Hammond has to go and pick up a knock 2 minutes before halftime. Dammit. Ireland in for Ferdinand, Aaritalo in for Hammond, and Eriksson replaces Valois. We kick things down to a very slow tempo and short passing to attempt to hold the ball and conserve our energy.

We hold the ball such that there are only 2 highlights of action in half 2... both Pilgrim buildups that end in long, hopeless shots. Unfortunately, both Aaritalo and Pritchard pick up knocks in the 2nd half and are forced to play through them.

Elvis Hammond picks up MoM honors with his hat trick, and a 10 rating. Valois picks up an 8, and everyone else rates a 7.

Win, 3-0, move on to round 2
Shots/on target: Posh 7/7, Pilgrims 7/1
Poss: 54-46, Posh
A: 6,163

Butter · 02-22-2005, 12:35 PM

Luckily, neither Hammond nor Pritchard have any ill effects of their knocks from the last match. Just Aaritalo, who will miss a week with a sprained wrist.

We pick up $24,000 for our 1st round win.

We pick up some extra defensive insurance as well, as Arsenal reserve defender Ryan Garry agrees to join us on a 3 month loan. Garry is 22, and we pick him up for just $8k for 3 months. Garry is very good in the air, and quite quick. Speed is lacking a bit in our back line. He can play on the left and in the center, and will likely move into our starting lineup.

As you may remember, Kevin Keegan was fired from Manchester City a month or two ago. Well, Fulham has decided to hire the well-traveled one. And Manchester City decided to poach from the Championship, hiring away Hull boss Peter Taylor.

The Boston Utd. win has done wonders for our morale, improving nearly everyone to superb.

This next match will show where we are, as we host 3rd place Barnsley. Barnsley was a mid-table club last year, finishing even with us at 52 points. I'm starting a young backline today, as Cave has been acquitting himself well, and Garry is quite talented.
Lineup:
GK: Kruse
Def: Pritchard, Garry, Cave, Dakinah
DM: Navarro
Mid: Valois, Devlin
AM: Monkhouse
Str: Hammond, Ferdinand

Nov. 26, Match 17
5-6-5, 15th pl., 21 pts.
v. Barnsley (9-5-2, 3rd pl., 32 pts.)
Series: Posh, 1-1-0
Fav: Posh, 6:4

12'- First chance of the game, Valois slides it to Monkhouse. Monkhouse with a strong cross to Devlin, who is charging into the right side of the box. Devlin switches feet, and fools one defender. Then he shoots with his left back into the near post, and beats the keeper! 1-0, Peterborough!

28'- Garry with a bad giveaway, that leads to a header from 8 yards, but Kruse is able to pounce on it.

33'- Cave is injured and leaves for treatment... but doesn't improve much beyond 50 for the next several minutes.

40'- Devlin is also injured.

Neither Cave nor Devlin improve at the break, so we sub them out. Yates for Cave, Eriksson for Devlin, and Monkhouse moves out to the right wing and Eriksson will play in the attack.

Barnsley with a good attack early, but they can't beat Kruse. One shot off the crossbar, and two more deflected by bodies in front.

61'- Eriksson keys a break, finding Monkhouse down the right. Andy crosses to Valois at the near post, and he heads it at the keeper... but the keeper misplays it and it's in! 2-0, Peterborough! Not sure what happened, but the keeper is credited with an own goal.

66'- Barnsley with a corner, and it is hammered goalward, and cleared off the line by Pritchard's boot! The rebound shot is defended by Kruse, and Garry clears it behind! Good defensive series there.

80'- The Reds with a breakaway down the middle, but Kruse gets good position and saves the shot!

Nicolas in for Monkhouse, who is hobbling a bit. We turn the tempo down and call for short passes, and get the win!

Andy Monkhouse is the MoM, with a 10! He assisted on both goals, and played well both in the middle and on the right. Kruse picks up a 9, and Valois, Garry, and Dakinah pick up 8's. Good defensive effort all around.

Win, 2-0, up 3 spots to 12th
Shots/on target: Posh 7/4, Reds 17/9
Poss: 54-46, Reds
A: 7,327

Sadly, Valois picks up his 5th yellow card in this match, and will miss our 2nd Round FA Cup tie in one week.

Butter · 02-23-2005, 09:09 AM

Well, we're on 4 straight shutouts now, but that does include 2 games against a League 2 opponent. But hopefully we can keep this momentum up and ride it to the top 6.

Lukas Kruse and Andy Monkhouse get selected to the Team of the Week. It seems Valois has cooled off a bit.

Dag & Red attempt to trade me a mediocre defender for Andre Boucaud. I reject the offer and counter-offer for $24k in cash and 25% of his next sale. They counter with a flat $24k, and I accept. Boucaud has promise, but with this formation he is a man without a spot.

As we begin December, the board have moved from "very pleased" to "delighted" with my management of the club. The supporters are delighted as well, which gives me even more wiggle room to have a bad patch, I hope.

Andy Monkhouse finishes 3rd in the Player of the Month voting.

We also bring in a young goalkeeper that we had signed last June. An 18 year old player named Markus Eskilsson, he is Swedish and signs on a free transfer for $6k per year over 3 seasons. He's a bit raw, but has impressive physical talent. He'll play in the reserves for now.

Our lineup for the 2nd round FA Cup tie with Kidderminster:
GK: Kruse
Def: Pritchard, Garry, Cave, Dakinah
DM: Nicolas
Mid: Monkhouse, Devlin
AM: Shaw
Str: Hammond, Asprilla

Dec. 3, FA Cup Second Round
@ Kidderminster (19th in League Two)
Fav: Posh, 1:2

6'- Shaw attempts to challenge a pass at the top of the box, but ends up deflecting it right into the path of a Harrier striker, who scores past a surprised Kruse. 1-0, Kidderminster. We switch from defensive tactics to attacking.

13'- Pritchard spots the run of Asprilla down the left, and finds him. Faustino attacks the keeper, and his shot is deflected... Shaw attacks the rebound, but the keeper recovers and smothers it.

17'- Monkhouse breaks loose, but his shot is skied.

22'- Pritchard clears again to Asprilla. Asprilla to Hammond, who finds Shaw on the left. Shaw with a through ball to Monkhouse, who attacks the goal from the left, and slides it past the keeper and just inside the near post! 1-1!

31'- Asprilla is free on the left after a nice ball from Shaw, but cannot finish.

34'- Shaw plays the give-and-go with Hammond, and gets the ball back right in the spot with only the keeper to beat... but the keeper is able to tip it away, and the Harriers put it behind for a corner. The corner is laid back for Asprilla who narrowly misses the upper corner.

36'- Dakinah with a steal and a long ball down the right to Hammond. Elvis attacks from the right, and shoots a cross to Monkhouse at the back post, but his volley is denied.

We go into the break knotted at 1. Kruse is rating just a 5 at the half, so we sub in Masalin.

49'- Devlin with a corner, and he finds Nicolas alone at the left of the six... Nicolas has time to turn and shoot, and it goes off the keeper's glove and in! 2-1, Posh as Nicolas tallies his first P'boro goal!

52'- Devlin with a corner from the other side. He plays it short to Monkhouse, who sets it up for Devlin. Devlin plays a square ball to Garry in the arc, then back to Devlin who is inside the box now. Devlin floats a ball into traffic, and Alexis Nicolas dives onto it and puts it in! 2 in 3 minutes for Nicolas as we take a big 2 goal lead!

Yates in for Hammond as we go with a 5 man back and 1 striker.

The Harriers control the next 20 minutes, but the 2 shots they are able to create are off target.

75'- Shaw with a free kick on the left from about 25 yards. He strikes a strong pass to Devlin, who heads it from 8 yards and beats the keeper! It's a rout at 4-1 for the Posh!

Eriksson enters for Monkhouse to finish out our subs and attempt to avoid injury.

The rest of the time ticks away harmlessly, and we move on to round 3!

Paul Shaw with his best game of the year, with a 9 and winning man of the match honors. Our entire backline picked up 8's, and Nicolas, Devlin, and Monkhouse also picked up 9's to go along with Shaw. Shaw is making a push for increased playing time here.

Win, 1-4, move on to round 3
Shots/on target: Harriers 6/1, Posh 16/9
Poss: 52-48, Harriers
A: 5,594

We pick up another $28k for our victory here. The draw for the 3rd round is held though... and you might as well stick a fork in us now, as we're slotted to travel to Goodison Park and face recently demoted Everton from the Championship.

Butter · 02-23-2005, 10:20 AM

Sagi Burton finally returns to full training to soften the loss of Monkhouse a bit. My defense has been playing so well, it'll be tough to put Burton back in for Dakinah, but we'll do it.

Another road game against a relegation battler up next. We go with normal tactics and a counter attacking style. Lineup:
GK: Kruse
Def: Garry, Plummer, Yates, Dakinah
DM: Nicolas
Mid: Valois, Devlin
AM: Eriksson
Str: Hammond, Ferdinand

Dec. 10, Match 19
7-6-5, 11th pl., 27 pts.
@ Huddersfield (6-3-9, 18th pl., 21 pts.)
Series: Tied, 0-2-0
Fav: Posh, 6:4

1'- Hammond gets a shot away from distance in just 11 seconds, but it's high and wide.

9'- Terriers take a corner short, and the ensuing cross to the near post is headed in. 1-0, Huddersfield.

19'- Garry with a throw in deep in our own end. He picks out Nicolas, who sends a 70 yard ball to Hammond, who is just onside. The Terrier keeper is indecisive in coming out to get it, and Hammond attacks and pokes it around the keeper, and is left with a tap in! 1-1!

36'- Nicolas again to Hammond, who is through... a tough angled shot just misses and is into the side netting.

No changes at the break, as we controlled the last half hour of that first half.

56'- 2nd good Terrier chance of the half, but another header is put wide of the post off a left side cross. Garry toe pokes the rebound away to Hammond, who holds off a defender, and finds Eriksson at the center circle. Eriksson has time to scan the field, and finds Devlin ahead of his man down the right. Devlin takes it into the box, and draws the keeper... then chips a short cross to Hammond, who is left with another easy finish! 2-1, Peterborough!

63'- A couple of scary chances for the Terriers, as a cross is chipped from the left onto a head, but it hits the crossbar and Yates clears... but a midfielder is there again for the Terriers and crosses into the six, but Kruse is there to grab it.

78'- A long distance shot is held by Kruse. Ireland on for Ferdinand, as we go to a 5-4-1 again.

87'- Garry with a steal on the left, and he finds Hammond who is played onside by a right sided defender who had dropped too far. Hammond is one on one with the keeper, but his shot is deflected wide... but Valois gets there first at a tough angle, and unselfishly plays it to a wide open Devlin who heads in the clincher!

Another great team effort! We are on fire right now. Paul Devlin wins MoM honors, and a 10 rating. Someone lit a fire under Alexis Nicolas, as he is playing great lately, picking up a 9 here. Kruse, Dakinah, Valois, Eriksson, and Hammond all pick up 8's and everyone else gets a 7.

We move up another 2 spots, and are now just 2 points out of the playoff zone, and 7 points off the league lead.

Win, 1-3, up 2 spots to 9th
Shots/on target: Terriers 8/4, Posh 14/8
Poss: 51-49, Terriers
A: 8,303

Andy Monkhouse makes the Team of the Week despite breaking his wrist.

Butter · 02-23-2005, 10:55 AM

Another road game at a team lower than us. We put youngster Cave back in for Yates, and Pritchard comes back from a rest to put Garry on the bench. Lineup:
GK: Kruse
Def: Pritchard, Cave, Plummer, Dakinah
DM: Nicolas
Mid: Valois, Devlin
AM: Eriksson
Str: Ferdinand, Hammond

Dec. 13, Match 20
8-6-5, 9th pl., 30 pts.
@ Notts County (7-6-6, 12th pl., 27 pts.)
Series: The Magpies were promoted from League Two through the playoffs last year.
Fav: Posh, Evens

7'- Ferdinand lines up a free kick on the edge of the area after Devlin was pushed down... He strikes it straight into the corner through a gap in the wall! 1-0, Posh! Ferdinand's 5th of the season gives us an early lead!

11'- Devlin with a foul that gives Notts Co a free kick from 45 yards away near the left sideline. It is taken straight to a winger down the left, who crosses into the six... Kruse attempts to play it, but a striker's head meets it first and we're tied at 1.

33'- Next significant chance falls to the Magpies, a fierce cross onto a head at 8 yards, but luckily Kruse watches it go over the bar.

45'- Another cross into the six for Notts County, and Kruse punches it away but also pushed over the Magpie striker, and they are awarded a penalty. The Magpie striker strides up to take it, and puts it inside the left post for a 2-1 lead.

The first half was fairly even, we just got a bit unlucky with that last goal. We up the attack for the second half.

49'- Devlin takes a corner... it's a beautifully struck ball floating just outside the six... Hammond comes back a bit to meet the ball with his head, and beats the keeper to the post! 2-2!

51'- A 30 yard free kick is driven innocuously in, right at Kruse... but Lukas somehow misplays it into a goal! Instant reply by Notts County, and we're behind again, 3-2.

66'- Devlin with a good cross into the six, but it's taken by the keeper. The keeper shoots it ahead a long way, and the defense falls asleep and allows a breakaway... but luckily the shot goes high and wide.

Aaritalo enters for Pritchard as we go to a 3 man backline, and we go to long balls to Aaritalo to try and equalize.

74'- Devlin with a good cross onto the head of Ferdinand, who strikes it with force, but the Magpie keeper tips it over.

79'- Shaw in for Nicolas, and Navarro on for Dakinah, as we push even more into the attack.

83'- A breakaway for Notts County, and our backline can't keep them out... a nice cross and a header finish things off, 4-2 Magpies.

We do a good job getting shots on target late, but the Magpie keeper is not letting any more in today. We finally drop one.

Fairly good effort by all except the defense. Plummer, Cave, and Kruse all turn in pedestrian efforts. Devlin picks up our only 8.

Loss, 4-2, drop 2 to 11th
Shots/on target: Magpies 13/7, Posh 17/10
Poss: 50-50
A: 7,207

Pritchard and Devlin both pick up their 5th yellow of the season and will miss our next match.

Navarro injures his ankle in training and will be out for 2 weeks.

Butter · 02-23-2005, 11:37 AM

Kruse has been mediocre of late, and I look around for some loaners to come in and possibly challenge him a bit.

Steve Yates sprains his wrist in training, and will be out about a week.

Injuries and suspensions warrant a bit of a different lineup today:
GK: Kruse
Def: Garry, Plummer, Cave, Dakinah
DM: Nicolas
Mid: Valois, Martin
AM: Eriksson
Str: Ferdinand, Hammond

Dec. 17, Match 21
8-6-6, 11th pl., 30 pts. (3 behind playoff zone)
v. Stockport (9-5-6, 8th pl., 32 pts.)
Series: Tied, 0-2-0
Fav: Posh, Evens

10'- Good attack by the Hatters, as a striker gets a shot off that looks like it's beaten Kruse to the post, but Lukas dives at it and turns it aside for the corner.

20'- Valois intercepts a pass and plays it back to Kruse, apparently off his head... but Kruse tries to play it upfield first time, but instead kicks it right to a Stockport striker, who has a wide open goal to shoot at, and he finishes. 1-0, Hatters.

A fairly pedestrian first half effort, as Stockport had the better of the chances.

47'- Valois with a bending free kick from 25 yards, but it's just a bit too high.

53'- Martin chases down a ball and fires a cross to Eriksson, who makes some space for himself, and strikes a fierce shot at net, but the keeper beats it away.

68'- Dakinah with a throw to Martin. Dean Edward Martin crosses into the center for Ferdinand... Sir Les flicks it effortlessly with his head, and it goes in off the near post! 1-1!

74'- Nicolas with an interception in midfield, and he fires one down the right to Hammond. Hammond runs onto it, then advances at the keeper... he bluffs a cross to the middle and shoots himself... and it squeezes inside the near post for Hammond's 15th goal of the year! 2-1, Posh! What a comeback!

Burton on for Ferdinand as we go to the 5-4-1 again.

88'- Stockport steal a throw in and march down the field... a ball is played through just past Burton, and the striker takes it first time and scores past Kruse. 2-2. Shaw on for Martin, and Aaritalo in for Dakinah as we go back to the 4-4-2.

92'- Burton with a steal, and he finds Hammond... Hammond plays Valois through down the left, and crosses into the six... and the keeper just snatches it away before Eriksson could run onto it.

A tough loss after coming back from 1 down to go 1 up and then blowing the lead. Nicolas and Plummer pick up our only 8's of the game.

Draw, 2-2, drop 1 to 12th
Shots/on target: Posh 10/6, Hatters 12/5
Poss: 51-49, Posh
A: 6,177

Butter · 02-23-2005, 12:15 PM

We go into the Christmas break we get from Dec. 17-26 in 12th place, pretty much exactly mid-table. A bit disappointing, but we're not too far off from breaking into the top 6, trailing Plymouth, Torquay, and Luton (4th-6th place) by just 4 points.

Valois and Monkhouse are 1-2 in the league in average rating, both just under an 8 for all games this season. Hammond leads the league with 12 league goals in 21 matches this year, and he has 15 in 25 starts for the season, quite impressive. We practically stole the guy away from Fulham, so I am quite impressed with his form this season. Ferdinand has 6 goals in his appearances, which is also quite good.

Another trip to a side in the relegation zone lingers for us on Boxing Day. Chesterfield are struggling after finishing 10th last year. Lineup:
GK: Kruse
Def: Pritchard, Garry, Plummer, Burton
DM: Nicolas
Mid: Valois, Devlin
AM: Shaw
Str: Ferdinand, Hammond

Dec. 26, Match 22
8-7-6, 12th pl., 31 pts.
@ Chesterfield (4-5-12, 22nd pl., 17 pts.)
Series: Spireites lead 1-1-0
Fav: Posh, Evens

9'- Valois is played through by Hammond, and he is wide open against the keeper, but the Spireite netminder turns it aside.

13'- Pritchard is challenged hard, and has to leave injured. Dakinah on for him... we move Garry to the left, Burton to the middle, and Dakinah to the right.

26'- Garry is yellow carded for a two-footed tackle... but he recovers to steal the free kick and loft it to Valois. Valois with a diagonal ball onto the run of Hammond, who has beaten the trap... Elvis is in free, and slots it home inside the right post! 1-0, Peterborough!

Frankly, we didn't play well in the first half, but we kept Chesterfield out of our end mostly, and have a 1 goal lead. No changes at the break.

62'- A long ball catches Plummer napping, but Garry is there to tackle the ball away before the striker can get one on one with Kruse.

67'- An odd series of events, as Garry plays a ball to Valois. Valois to Ferdinand in the middle, who plays it back to Valois down the left... who finds Ferdinand again running into the box. Les shoots it powerfully off the crossbar, but Paul Shaw is there to collect the rebound and finish! 2-0!

Eriksson in for a tiring Ferdinand, as we go to a 4-1-3-1-1.

79'- A good cross misses the target in the middle of the six for Chesterfield, but a striker is unmarked near the back post, and fires a volley across the goal mouth that sails just wide.

88'- Another good Spireite cross off a corner, and the ball is laid back for a 15 yard strike that hits the crossbar and bounces free... Garry heads it behind for another corner.

The whistle goes and we get a nice road win. Valois picks up another MoM award, with a 9 rating. Kruse, Garry, and Dakinah all get 8's in defense as well.

Win, 0-2, up 2 spots to 10th
Shots/on target: Spireites 9/2, Posh 13/6
Poss: 50-50
A: 2,753

Luke Pritchard is out for a month with strained knee ligaments. Thank goodness we picked up Garry, who will start for us on the left in his absence.

Another interesting note, as Middlesbrough, Fulham, and Liverpool all sack their managers within a week of each other. 'Tis the season.

Butter · 02-24-2005, 11:43 AM

We've now gone 8 straight matches of scoring 2 goals or more, which is a good way to win more often than not. Our defense has been shaky, but with Burton back in the lineup, I'm more confident than ever despite losing Pritchard since we picked up Garry to play on the left.

We're not done any favors by the schedule makers in having to play Tranmere just 2 days after our last game, with pretty much no training in between. Nearly the entire starting lineup is sub-90%, so we have to play nearly all backups...but, Rovers are in the same boat, so here's our lineup:
GK: Kruse
Def: Yates, Ireland, Cave, Dakinah
DM: Hunt
Mid: Eriksson, Martin
AM: Jess
Str: Aaritalo, Asprilla

We are fortunate enough to get this match at home, so we go with attacking tactics and set Aaritalo as the target man with long balls played to his head. Tranmere have dominated us in this series, so hopefully we can save face and avoid a 4th straight loss.

Dec. 28, Match 23
9-7-6, 10th pl., 34 pts.
v. Tranmere (10-6-6, 7th pl., 36 pts.)
Series: Rovers, 3-0-0
Fav: Posh, 5:4

11'- A cross to the near post for Tranmere, and the header is put about a foot wide... but Tranmere is controlling early play, as always.

14'- A long series of midfield possession for us ends when Eriksson plays a diagonal ball onto the cutting run of Asprilla into the arc... Asprilla with space, he turns, advances and shoots from about 15 yards... and scores! Asprilla with maybe his most impressive move of the year, and we take the early lead!

38'- The next significant chance comes, with a chip from a Rover midfielder right onto the head of a striker at 5 yards, but the angle of the pass causes the header to bounce over the bar... but still a good play.

Possession ends up even in the first half, but Rovers had the better of the chances, but we have the better of the scoreboard, leading 1-0. No changes for the 2nd half, although Hunt is struggling with a 5 rating in defensive midfield.

47'- Jess nods down an errant clearance to Aaritalo's foot, and he shoots from 18 yards but it goes over.

54'- Rovers send a pacey cross inside the six, but nobody can get a head to it.

57'- Jess takes a free kick from about 50 yards, and sends it to Eriksson down the left. Eriksson holds it, then plays it back onto Jess' diagonal run. Jess strikes a nice pass to Martin, who has a tiny window from 10 yards, and lets it rip... and it's in! Shot into the far corner, Dean Edward Martin with a terrific strike puts us up 2!

Legg on for Asprilla, as we go to 2 defensive midfielders. And Spicer in for Eriksson to preserve his legs.

60'- A cross finds a Tranmere striker at 8 yards... he's open and has space, but fires it right at Kruse, who pounds it away.

77'- Another Rovers header off a corner kick comes back off the crossbar, and the rebound attempt is stuffed by Kruse... Ireland eventually clears after several players fail to control it.

81'- Spicer chases down a long ball on the left, and feeds a good cross to Martin, who strikes it with power, but just misses the corner.

The final minutes tick away, and we take the win! An impressive outing by Lukas Kruse, who picks up a 9 and MoM honors. I'm quite excited that we were able to beat most of Tranmere's first squad with what is essentially our second team. Kruse had a big part of that, however. Dakinah, Eriksson, and Jess all picked up 8's, as Hunt finished with a 5. Quite rare I'll leave someone out there an entire match with a 5, but I really didn't have many options in this one.

Win, 2-0, up 2 spots to 8th
Shots/on target: Posh 6/2, Rovers 16/8
Poss: 51-49, Posh
A: 7,260

Butter · 02-25-2005, 10:24 AM

We pick up a surprise $20k off the old transfer deal for Callum Willock, our main striker from last year. Rotherham has started him in 10 league matches for us to pick up the bonus. He has scored 5 goals for them in 10 starts, and is in their starting lineup. Quite impressive. He is Rotherham's second leading scorer, and helped lead them to 5th place in the Championship right now.

We begin the new year with the board delighted at our performance.

Thierry Henry wins World Footballer of the Year. He also wins World Player of the Year (what's the difference?), and European Footballer of the Year. Valencia's Santiago Canizares wins Euro Keeper of the Year, Arsenal's Sol Campbell wins Euro Defender of the Year, and Valencia's Pablo Aimar wins Euro Midfielder of the Year. Guess who won Euro Striker of the Year? I'll give you a hint... he's French, and his team name starts with ARSE.

Jean-Louis Valois finishes 3rd in player of the month voting for League One.

We begin the new year with a road game at relegation contenders Bournemouth. And we go back to our more standard lineup, though still without Pritchard and Monkhouse.
GK: Kruse
Def: Garry, Plummer, Burton, Dakinah
DM: Nicolas
Mid: Valois, Devlin
AM: Shaw
Str: Ferdinand, Hammond

After this match, we have 6 days off to prepare for Everton in the FA Cup.

Jan. 1, 2006, Match 24
10-7-6, 8th pl., 37 pts.
@ AFC Bournemouth (5-4-14, 22nd pl., 19 pts.)
Series: Posh lead 2-0-1
Fav: Posh, 5:4

7'- Garry with a steal in our third, and he knocks a 60 yard ball to Hammond in stride, and Elvis is loose... he holds off a defender from his right, then tries to slot it past Kasey Keller... it looked good off his foot, but it hits the post dead on and bounces out. The ball is cleared out to Valois who tries to strike another cross, but a Cherry defender sticks his leg in and forces a corner. Off the corner, the ball comes to Nicolas on the near side of the box... he slips it back to Burton, who tries to pass in from 20 yards, but it's cleared back to midfield. Garry is there and gets it to Valois down the left again. Valois crosses short to Ferdinand, who is barged over and the penalty is given!! Ferdinand shoots and scores! 1-0, Peterborough after this 3 minute sequence of events!

We just dominate Bournemouth throughout the remainder of the half, with several decent possessions in and around the box... but it seems that when we get the ball near the goal, instead of letting loose, as per normal, we're deciding to hold the ball, and spin in circles and pass it back 20 yards to a winger who ends up getting dispossessed. Not the way to score, really.

45'- During the first and only minute of first half stoppage time, Hammond attacks the goal from the right and fires a shot that Keller deflects. A Cherry defender clears it to the right, but Devlin is there to send a ball right back in, where Shaw collects it, shoots it with power and scores! No mucking about there, Shaw rips it past Keller and we take a 2 goal advantage into the locker room!

No changes for the second half, as the defense is fresh as daisies, considering the ball has been in their end less than 25% of the half.

51'- Valois with a steal on the left, and he knocks it 70 yards for Hammond, who chases it down just before Keller can get to it... but tries to chip it over Keller and into the goal, and instead chips it into the seats.

66'- A large mass of Posh attackers at midfield advances like an angry amoeba into the Bournemouth half... Valois ends up with the ball out in front of the pack, turns on Keller, who leaves his jock and other personal items on the field as he watches Jean-Louis step around him and tap it in for a 3 goal lead!

72'- Navarro in for Hammond, Aaritalo in for Ferdinand, and Eriksson on for Valois as we try to pack it in and avoid injuries to key players.

81'- Aaritalo dispossesses a Cherry attacker about 25 yards from our goal... he then runs with the ball to the center circle and passes back to Eriksson. Eriksson then returns the favor, and Aaritalo runs with the ball another 10 yards, then unleashes a surprise shot on Keller, who can't get there in time! 4-0, Peterborough on a 35 yard strike by Mika Aaritalo!

A finer team effort I can't remember! Every single starter netted at least an 8, with Valois back to form winning another MoM and picking up a 10 making 9 key passes. Shaw also crying for more first-team football, picking up another 9, his second in his last 3 starts.

Win, 0-4, remain in 8th
Shots/on target: Cherries 4/2, Posh 16/9
Poss: 54-46, Posh
A: 5,092

Nicolas picked up a late yellow that gives him 5 for the season, so he'll miss our FA Cup tie with Everton.

And this nice note:
Peterborough United chairman Alf Hand could not hide his delight following his team's 4-0 win over AFC Bournemouth.

4 points now separate us and the league leaders, Rushden & Diamonds, who took over the lead following a Bristol City loss at Swansea over the weekend. Should be a crazy January, as it is a very tight race at the top, once which we are aspiring to join.

Butter · 02-25-2005, 11:20 AM

Valois and Shaw get picked in the Team of the Week squad.

Monkhouse resumes full training the day before the Everton match, which doesn't really help much right now, but it's good to know.

Lineup for Everton:
GK: Kruse
Def: Garry, Plummer, Burton, Dakinah
DM: Navarro
Mid: Valois, Devlin
AM: Shaw
Str: Ferdinand, Hammond

Jan. 7, FA Cup Third Round
@ Everton (9th in Championship)
Fav: Toffees, 4:5

My first ever trip to a big time English football ground as manager, and even though it is under bad circumstances for the Toffees, it'd be just as exhilirating for me to get a win against this club as if they were in the top 3 in the Premiership right now. How David Moyes has kept his job is beyond me, but Everton has cut a lot of players (read: salary) in order to try and fight their way back up, but they've been mediocre this season. They did beat Tranmere 4-0 in the League Cup a couple of months ago, so hopefully we can fare a bit better than Rovers did then.

3'- Leon Osman with a free kick from 25 yards, but it goes bending well past the post for a goal kick.

14'- A good attack as Robbie Fowler finds Kris Boyd down the center... Kruse is indecisive about whether or not to try and beat him to the ball, but luckily Boyd sends it well over the bar.

22'- Fowler just flat steals the ball from Hammond, then runs down the left and crosses to Boyd, who gets his head to it, but Kruse steps in front of it to deflect it, and Paul Shaw turns it behind for a corner.

32'- Boyd is played through again, this time by Thomas Gravesen (still with Everton in this parallel universe), and he has a wide open shot from 10 yards, but Kruse with another fine save to turn it aside. Gravesen gets the throw in, and crosses it to Fowler in the center, who flicks it at Kruse, but Lukas is having a fine game so far, turning that one aside as well as Plummer gets over to clear it into touch.

42'- Boyd is free again down the left, but takes a bit of a long shot at Kruse, who has no problems saving it.

45'- Kevin Kilbane with a cross from the left to a charging Gravesen, but the header is errant.

Boy, we sure sucked in that half. But I'll take a replay if I can get it. Possession was nearly 50-50, so I can't complain too much. Just one quick counter-attack could win it. Elvis Hammond is the only player struggling, rating a 5 at the interval. I'll leave him in for now, but may put in an extra defender if it becomes clear that we're fighting for a replay.

55'- Our first highlight of the match is a 25 yard shot by Ferdinand that has no chance.

58'- Burton with a bad tackle near midfield... he gets a card. Worse still, the free kick from 45 yards is dropped into the box, and Kruse should've attacked it, but instead let Kris Boyd find it, and he strikes it home. 1-0, Toffees.

59'- Off the kickoff, Navarro with a fine pass for Hammond, who has beaten the trap and is alone against keeper Richard Wright. Hammond tries to slot it home, but Wright deflects it out.

61'- We get a nice series of possession around the Everton box. Valois controls it out high, then attacks one player, and beats him. He slides it to Ferdinand cutting in from the left... Les looks to line up the shot, but it's tackled away from behind... but it's tackled toward the goal and it goes in!!! Ferdinand credited with the goal, but it clearly looked like an own goal on that one. Either way, I'll take it! 1-1!

63'- Sub James McFadden gets free down the left for Everton, and crosses for sub Marcus Bent, and the 2 subs combine for a second Everton goal. Yikes. 3 scores in 5 minutes. 2-1, Everton, and we up the attack now.

75'- Steve Watson with a short cross to the head of Marcus Bent, and now we're down 3-1 and it's likely all over.

We make some fancy switches, putting Navarro and Dakinah in the back, and pushing them forward... removing Garry for Eriksson and playing him in midfield, and replacing a tiring Ferdinand with Aaritalo, and making him the target man with balls to his head.

78'- We put together a nice attack, as Devlin crosses for Aaritalo at the far post, but Jagielka intervenes and saves a goal.

82'- Bent is played down the left, and Kruse deflects his shot, but right to James McFadden as we go down 4-1 now.

89'- Valois crosses into the six and no one's home... but Devlin chases it down on the right and sends a ball right back in to Eriksson, who heads it home from 12 yards. Nice play, at least we are looking alive even in the late stages. 4-2.

We try one more attack, but Aaritalo just doesn't have the speed or finesse to beat the back line all by himself.

I can't honestly say I'm disappointed in our performance, but I probably should've pulled back after our goal and tried to earn the replay. But considering how well Marcus Bent played, I seriously doubt we could've kept them out for another half hour of hunkering down. Only Lukas Kruse manages above a 7, picking up an 8... and even yielding 4 goals I'd have to say he deserves it. It easily could've been 6 or 7 with a mediocre effort.

I walk off the field at Goodison Park vowing to make my return there and win... sooner or later.

Loss, 4-2, out of FA Cup
Shots/on target: Toffees 22/14, Posh 10/5
Poss: 53-47, Toffees
A: 31,629

Butter · 02-25-2005, 12:09 PM

One major 3rd round FA Cup surprise, as non-league Harrow Boro forces a replay with Championship side Millwall, 1-1. Harrow Boro actually scored first off a free kick in the 14th minute, but Millwall scored just past the half hour to even it up, and the remainder of the match was spent by Millwall using the Boro keeper as a target.

Big game today, as we're home to a side just ahead of us, Plymouth Argyle. They're scratching to try to get back to the Championship, we just want to get there for the first time. Andy Monkhouse returns to our starting XI today to boost the lineup. Argyle play a rare 5-3-2, with 2 defensive fullbacks pushing up as needed. Lineup:
GK: Kruse
Def: Garry, Plummer, Burton, Dakinah
DM: Nicolas
Mid: Valois, Devlin
AM: Monkhouse
Str: Ferdinand, Hammond

Jan. 11, Match 25
11-7-6, 8th pl., 40 pts.
v. Plymouth Argyle (12-5-7, 5th pl., 41 pts.)
Series: This is Argyle's return to League One after just 1 year of Championship football.
Fav: Posh, 5:4

5'- Valois with a well-struck 25 yard free kick that skims the top of the bar.

30'- Argyle with a low-struck shot that skips off the turf from 20 yards, but Kruse handles it well.

40'- Not many highlights in the half, but here's one... Devlin advances it to Ferdinand, who lays it back for Valois. Valois runs with the ball about 40 yards, then plays it to the run of Devlin up the right of the box. Devlin attacks the keeper and has the option of Hammond in the middle, but instead shoots it himself toward the far post... and it's in! Well placed shot by Devlin to give us the lead.

That goal was our lone shot of the half. Argyle didn't fare much better, with just 2 shots challenging Kruse. Argyle have the advantage of morphing their formation into a 3-5-2 if need be, and I imagine that's what we'll see in the second half. No changes.

47'- Valois to Ferdinand down the left... Ferdinand cuts it back to Valois running to the middle. Valois plays it ahead to Monkhouse at 10 yards, and Andy with a short chip to Hammond... but it's headed by the Argyle defender... and headed in his own goal! 2-0, Peterborough on a fluke goal, and we're finally winning some of these odd chances.

Argyle are unable to make any of their chances count, crossing it right into Kruse, or having an attack end when our player makes an easy tackle.

80'- Kruse plays it to Nicolas near the top of our own box. After a couple of dribbles, he strikes it to Ferdinand at about 35 yards. Les takes one touch, then turns and lets loose from 30 yards... and it's in! What a run of form we're having, as Les Ferdinand scores one from 30 yards! 3-0, Posh! Yates, Eriksson, and Aaritalo on for Ferdinand, Monkhouse, and Valois.

The final 10 minutes-plus ticks away, and an impressive home win over a side battling for promotion! Alexis Nicolas continues his stellar form with an 8 and a MoM award. Kruse, Dakinah, and Valois also pick up 8's. Kofi Dakinah has been playing exceedingly well on the right side of defense, now with an average rating of over 7.5 for the season.

Win, 3-0, up to 6th place
Shots/on target: Posh 8/3, Argyle 5/2
Poss: 52-48, Posh
A: 8,346

The fans are starting to flock to London Road, as we crack the playoff zone for the first time since very early in the season. We have now won 4 straight games in the league by 2 goals or more, all shutouts. I feel I've finally got a handle on this club... which I guess is fairly apparent by our form of late. I can only hope that those 4 losses in a row early in the season won't be the difference between promotion and another season of League One football.

Butter · 03-02-2005, 01:09 PM

Our next match is a let-down game against Swansea. We start a few backups for fatigue reasons. Lineup:
GK: Kruse
Def: Garry, Plummer, Burton, Dakinah
DM: Navarro
Mid: Valois, Martin
AM: Shaw
Str: Aaritalo, Hammond

Swansea play an unorthodox 4-1-3-2, with all midfielders bunched in the middle of the field, so hopefully that'll give us some room down the wings. Lord only knows how Swansea were picked as favorites in this one. We elect to play direct balls to Aaritalo's head, in hopes that his superior heading ability can create some chances forward in this one. Not that we've had difficulty scoring, but it's just something I want to try with Mika starting today.

Jan. 14, Match 26
12-7-6, 6th pl., 43 pts.
v. Swansea (9-3-13, 17th pl., 30 pts.)
Series: Posh lead 1-0-0
Fav: Swans, 6:4

We control the early play, but can't break through.

18'- Navarro with a free kick from 50 yards, and he directs right into the box, to Elvis Hammond, who is promptly run over. And we get a penalty! Navarro is chosen to try to convert it, and he does! 1-0, Posh.

Swansea continue to struggle, not generating many chances during the 1st half.

45'- During the first minute of added on time, Paul Shaw with a run down the left, and he shoots a surprise cross in from the left to Aaritalo, who challenges the keeper at 3 yards and gets his head to it.... but it comes back off the crossbar... Hammond looks to collect it but the ball hits off a Swans leg before it can get to him and goes in! Unlucky for Aaritalo not to collect that goal, it's credited as an own goal, but we're still up 2 going to the break.

No changes at the break.

61'- Swans with their first highlight of the game, but it's a cross that Kruse easily collects.

75'- Dakinah with a free kick from our half, and he picks out Hammond 45 yards ahead. Hammond nods it right to Martin, who switches play to a wide open Valois on the left. Valois with a diagonal run with the ball, and he drops in a ball in front of Shaw at 8 yards... Shaw and the keeper get there simultaneously, but Shaw wins the play and pokes it in! 3-0, Peterborough!

And we take an easy victory. Good effort by all today, especially Navarro and Shaw. Alan Navarro wins MoM with an 8 rating winning all 5 tackles and 5 headers as well. Shaw picks up a 9, and Dakinah and Martin also rate 8's.

Win, 3-0, up 3 spots to 3rd
Shots/on target: Posh 16/6, Swans 9/1
Poss: 52-48, Posh
A: 12,983

The league race is quite interesting this year, as no teams are running away with it like Hull and Sheffield Wed. did last year. The 3 teams immediately in front of us either drew or lost their last match to allow us to leapfrog them into 3rd, and we're only 2 points back of the leader, Bristol City. Rushden & Diamonds is in 2nd by 1 point, and the top 10 teams are separated by just 6 points.

The replay of that Harrow Boro-Millwall FA Cup match occurs, and Millwall sweats it out, but gets an 81st minute goal to win 2-1.

Butter · 03-02-2005, 02:07 PM

We'll certainly have to come crashing back to Earth soon, considering our last 5 league matches have been multiple goal wins, and shutouts. Not a form I can imagine us holding all the way through May, although I wouldn't be opposed to it.

The advance scout mentions that Luton is weak in the air... sounds like Aaritalo needs another start! Hopefully, Les Ferdinand won't become unhappy with this stint on the bench as Asprilla and Derek Holmes have.

Lineup:
GK: Kruse
Def: Garry, Plummer, Burton, Dakinah
DM: Nicolas
Mid: Valois, Devlin
AM: Monkhouse
Str: Aaritalo, Hammond

Jan. 21, Match 27
13-7-6, 3rd pl., 46 pts.
@ Luton (12-3-11, 12th pl., 39 pts.)
Series: Posh lead 2-0-1
Fav: Posh, 5:4

1'- 30 seconds in, and Valois has found Hammond, who nutmegs a player and shoots at a seemingly open goal, but the Hatter keeper recovers and tips it aside.

9'- Aaritalo is through this time, but his shot is directly at the keeper.

13'- Again, Aaritalo and Hammond play a nice combo and Hammond beats another defender at the top of the box and has a go... the Luton keeper tips it wide, but Monkhouse is there to score the rebound from a tough angle. 1-0, Posh!

14'- Great chance for Luton off the kickoff, as a brilliant ball is sent in from 45 yards, right to a foot at the edge of the 6 yard box, but Plummer is just able to slide in and win the ball to avoid an easy chance.

20'- Monkhouse plays the one-two with Hammond, and Elvis winds up with the ball and smashes it at the far post, but it goes inches wide.

26'- A corner for Luton that Plummer intercepts, but he clears it right back to the corner taker, who swings a ball in to a striker near the penalty spot. KRuse has trouble following the ball, and doesn't react to the strike from 15 yards, and it goes in. 1-1.

Several more chances for either side are not converted, as both teams seem to be dialed in offensively.

45'+- Devlin with an innocuous pass to Monkhouse at 45 yards, but no one closes Andy down. Monkhouse just runs and runs all the way into the box, then angles away from the keeper, and strikes the shot clean past him! 2-1, Peterborough on a nice individual effort, but really it was poor defending that created that chance.

2-1 lead at the break, no changes.

46'- Hammond breaks loose on the left of the box, and fires a pass to Monkhouse who has a chance at the hat trick, but a good stop keeps the shot out.

55'- A free kick right on the edge of the box for Luton... it's deflected by the wall, and Aaritalo tries to clear it, but his touch is poor and a Hatter midfielder swings a cross back in... it doesn't seem dangerous, but a terrific 10 yard volley beats Kruse to the post and we're level again at 2.

74'- Still high action here, but no more scoring. We put Ferdinand in for Devlin, put Monkhouse on the right, and move Aaritalo out in front of the box.

83'- Ferdinand with a hopeful shot from 18 yards, but it's saved without too much problem.

88'- A good chance for us turns into a breakaway for Luton, but luckily the open 12 yard shot is sent over the bar.

90'- Monkhouse is brought down about 5 yards outside of the box on the right, giving us a good free kick chance. For some reason, Kofi Dakinah takes it, and it's cleared out by a leg... but Dakinah gets it back and switches play to the left with Les Ferdinand. Ferdinand lays it into the path of Nicolas, who tries a shot from the arc, but it hits a body in front and dribbles to the keeper, who is able to fall on it before Hammond can get there.

90'+- With mere seconds to go, a nice cross into the six for a charging Luton striker, who gets his head to it, but Kruse dives across brilliantly to tip it out for a corner and save the point! Burton intercepts the corner, and would've had Valois clean through on goal, but the referee blows for full time and we end drawn.

Not a bad match, as we do keep up our unbeaten streak. Andy Monkhouse is the easy choice for MoM here, with a brace and a 9 rating. Dakinah, Plummer, Burton, Nicolas, and Devlin all pick up 8's as well. Aaritalo was mostly a non-factor, as was Hammond. A closer check of the stats shows that Hammond was more effective in the air than Aaritalo, winning 7 of 9 headers compared to Mika's 3 of 8.

Draw, 2-2, up 1 spot to 2nd place
Shots/on target: Hatters 10/4, Posh 25/14
Poss: 52-48, Hatters
A: 8,927

2nd place Rushden lose to Tranmere, and drop a couple of spots, while Plymouth Argyle win at home and move up to 3rd. Thanks to our blistering form, we are now tops in goal differential in the league, at +17.

Not much excitement in the 4th round of the FA Cup, as all the usual suspects are still alive and winning.

Butter · 03-02-2005, 02:43 PM

Monkhouse is named to the Team of the Week.

Next up for us, a bit of a revenge game, as we got killed by Sheffield United last time out, early on in the season. The Blades showed us no mercy as we lost 2-0 in a game we could've easily lost 5-0. Devlin and Monkhouse were not yet with the team then, and Ferdinand was out with injury. The forecast calls for a strong wind, so we go with a shorter passing scheme to try and beat the Blades on the ground. This is another game we have little time to prepare for, as we are back on the pitch just 3 days after the Luton draw.
Lineup:
GK: Kruse
Def: Garry, Plummer, Yates, Burton
DM: Navarro
Mid: Valois, Monkhouse
AM: Eriksson
Str: Ferdinand, Hammond

Jan. 24, Match 28
13-8-6, 2nd pl., 47 pts.
v. Sheffield United (13-1-12, 11th pl., 40 pts.)
Series: Blades lead 1-0-0
Fav: Posh, 6:4

5'- Garry with a nice steal, and Plummer knocks it ahead to Eriksson. Tobias with a ball to Hammond, who plays it square to an onrushing Andy Monkhouse. Monkhouse shoots first-time from 20 yards, and curls it in! Fantastic strike by Andy Monkhouse to put us on the board early!

Andy Monkhouse is playing out of his mind, maybe a bit too much so, trying at least 3 more shots from 20 yards or more in the next 15 minutes.

22'- A Sheffield defender with a bad tackle on Ferdinand, and then he argues his point a bit too vigorously to earn 2 yellows inside of a minute, and put us up a man for the final 70 minutes.

We pretty much dominate ball possession for the remainder of the half, if not creating too many chances. No changes for the second half, as we try to keep the lead with our man advantage.

47'- Alan Navarro is forced out due to injury. Nicolas on for him.

58'- Valois with a shot from distance that the Blades keeper can't hold... Hammond has a glorious chance on the rebound, but shoots it wide from 8 yards.

76'- We are able to heap the pressure upon Sheffield, but can't put in a second. Hammond off for Asprilla, a tiring Monkhouse takes a seat in favor of Dean Edward Martin.

83'- Valois with a good run down the left, and a nearly uncontested cross to Asprilla, who rises from 6 yards, but his header is right into the keeper's chest.

85'- Finally Sheffield with a legitimate chance, as a long ball is bent by the wind right onto a striker's run... he is free on Kruse, and tries to hit it inside the near post, but just misses.

88'- Another Sheffield defender comes off due to an injury inflicted by Les Ferdinand, but the Blades are out of subs and we'll play the final 2 minutes (+4 of injury time) with an 11-9 advantage.

89'- Another close in Blades miss convinces me to dial it way back to just try and hold our 1 goal lead and keep the ball in front of us.

And we do, but they do manage 2 more shots from distance that put a lump in my throat each time. And with 1st place Bristol City's draw at mid-table Colchester, we move atop the table for the first time! Monkhouse and Valois pick up our only 8's, as MoM goes to Sheffield's keeper, Paddy Kenny.

Win, 1-0, up 1 spot to 1st place
Shots/on target: Posh 19/5, Blades 7/0
Poss: 54-46, Posh
A: 11,986

Navarro is ruled out for about a week with simply a "damaged heel".

Butter · 03-02-2005, 03:24 PM

Phil Cave is ruled out for 2 weeks with an injured knee, but Luke Pritchard is about ready to reappear along the back row for us.

Tobias Eriksson also earns a call up to the Swedish U-21 squad thanks to his recent form... which has been mediocre, but whatever.

We sign a very promising looking 16 year old from Helsingborg in Sweden, as central defender Andreas Landgren agrees to a youth contract worth $10k per year. We pay Helsingborg $6k for Landgren's rights, and agree to give them 10% of his next transfer fee... which I'm hoping will be quite hefty if Landgren can develop. He's just a bit of training away from being able to run with the big club now, frankly.

A big game forthcoming, as we take to the road and visit now 4th place Bristol City. They have a game in hand on us, but we can make that a moot point with a victory at Ashton Gate. We have not beaten Bristol City in the last 3 attempts, but this lineup gives me confidence. We go with a defensive stance, and play the counter-attack against what I am told is a weak City attack. They haven't looked weak to me... considering they've been whooping my tail.
Lineup:
GK: Kruse
Def: Garry, Plummer, Burton, Dakinah
DM: Nicolas
Mid: Valois, Devlin
AM: Monkhouse
Str: Ferdinand, Hammond

Jan. 28, Match 29
14-8-6, 1st pl., 50 pts.
@ Bristol City (14-7-6, 4th pl., 49 pts.)
Series: City lead 3-0-0
Fav: City, 6:4

8'- Devlin is dispossessed on the attack, but the ball slides to Hammond down the right side, who attacks the end line, and sends a swift cross in for Ferdinand, who heads it with power, but the City keeper tips it over the bar. The corner by Devlin falls well to Plummer, who strikes it from 10 yards, but it is cleared off the line!

14'- Andy Monkhouse picks up a pass from Ferdinand near midfield. The defense collapses on Hammond in anticipation of the through ball, but it never comes... Monkhouse just keeps coming and coming... and he lets it rip from 15 yards and scores! Another magical goal (don't take my word for it... the commentary called it "magical" as well) by Andy Monkhouse, and we take the early lead!

Bristol's lone chance comes when a 40th minute cross comes in and Plummer heads it out for a corner. The corner is hit to the near post, and the volleyed shot hits one of about 4 defenders between the ball and the goal.

No changes for the second half, as we're continuing our good form.

The second half just whips by... highlights show promising build ups that end in poor touches or throw-ins directly to the other team.

83'- Finally a chance for City, as a long ball falls well into a striker's run, but he panics and strikes it into the seats. Shaw in for a slightly injured Devlin, Eriksson comes on for Ferdinand, who is playing with a yellow. We move Shaw to the middle, and put Monkhouse on the right.

85'- Another good buildup by City, with lots of possession in the box, but in the end Valois sticks a leg in and steals the ball.

87'- Monkhouse with a ball into the box for Shaw, and he's tripped on his way to get it... and we're awarded a penalty! We take our time taking it, as Ryan Garry steps up to take it... and he drills it into the upper right corner! No chance for the keeper as Ryan Garry seals the deal!

90'- Valois with a good ball down the middle onto the run of Shaw, who is free against the pushed up City defense. Shaw with a vicious shot that is just tipped wide for a corner. Valois with the corner, and it falls again to Shaw who strikes it... it's blocked wide... Hammond is there, and centers it to Eriksson who has a good run at it but passes right to Valois who strikes it hard and low... blocked again... but right into Hammond who has a simple tap in! 3-0!!!

That pretty much sucks the life right out of City, as they take a full 2 minutes to kick off and the final whistle blows! What a victory! Possibly the highlight of the year! Valois earns MoM with his dominating midfield performance that earns him a 10, completing 40/51 passes and assisting a goal. Garry and Monkhouse pick up 9's, and nearly the entire rest of the team rates an 8.

Win, 0-3, remain in 1st
Shots/on target: City 6/3, Posh 16/13
Poss: 57-43, Posh
A: 12,746

Tranmere and Plymouth win in their matches to move up spots to 2nd and 3rd respectively, Tranmere just 1 point behind us. The table continues to bunch behind us, as there are just 10 points separating us and 12th place Luton. Hopefully, if we can keep it up, the field will continue to beat each other up and we can avoid the playoffs altogether and just earn promotion outright.

Peterborough United chairman Alf Hand could not hide his delight following his team's 3-0 win at Bristol City.

The Posh continue to confound critics who predicted that the club would soon fall into mid-table obscurity.

The team sit proudly atop the table at this stage of the season and fans remain absolutely ecstatic at the team's continuing good form.

Add to that one blown-away manager.

Butter · 03-03-2005, 10:17 AM

We make another Bosman signing, a relatively cheap transfer of a Southampton reserve defender named Michael Williamson. Williamson is just 22, and has some good numbers, but is not overwhelmingly great. He'll be a good backup, and hopefully stay with us for a while. He'll get just $36k over 3 years... he is currently loaned out to lower league Sutton Utd., and is not playing particularly well... hopefully he can improve once he comes over. I make the signing, and then check my "future transfer list", and a fee of $700k is listed for this transfer... I don't think that's right, but Williamson is not good enough to risk $700k on. I withdraw the offer.

Valois is again picked for the Team of the Week.

We field an $18k offer for John Spicer... which, since we signed him on a free transfer, will make us a little bit of money off the guy, while losing $100k in salary. Spicer leaves us having been terrific last season, but only playing in 4 matches this year, averaging a 6 rating in those 4 appearances. It is League Two Northampton who offer for him, but they cannot match his salary demands, so we're stuck with the guy a few more months.

We make a big defensive signing, penning 22 year old defenseman Sarr, a Senegalese international, to a 3 year contract worth $200k per season. Lots of clauses here, including a $20k signing bonus, a $500k minimum fee release clause, and a 10% per year wage rise. Sarr currently plays for lower Italian league side Vittoria, and is playing very well, averaging nearly an 8 for them. Our scout tells me he is very good tactically for a defensemen, and has terrific speed. His touch and passing ability are poor, but he can play both right fullback and centerback positions. He will join us (hopefully, barring work permit issues) on August 1st, right before the start of next season.

In case you're wondering, our finances now look like this... I am still about $850k over the allotted wage budget. But that doesn't seem to be concerning the board too much, because despite their mentioning it every time I check their confidence level, they are still delighted with my performance. Thanks to our rising attendance, we are raking in the dough right now, with a surplus of nearly $1.2 million. We have made over $650k for the season, and are due to shed about $875,000 in salary by the players I am not planning to re-sign at the end of the year. That leaves room for another big striker signing, which I am still working on, and possibly another defenseman to shore up the back, since both Yates and Ireland are gone after this season. We have a $6k/month loan obligation that will be fully re-paid at the end of September 2006, which will free up even more cash. And, if we can get promoted, we'll be seeing a higher portion of the TV revenue for next year, which would increase our transfer budget, which is currently a sad looking $77k.

As we hit February, Jean-Louis Valois wins Player of the Month of January. Paul Shaw, surprisingly, comes in third, as he makes a big push for a re-signing. Shaw only played in 3 of the 6 league matches, but had 2 goals and 1 assist, along with rating an 8 or higher in all 3 appearances. I decide to see what Shaw wants to re-sign, and he asks for $220k for the next 2 seasons. Probably a bit high, but we'll see how he works in the lineup the rest of the season before making a decision... unless someone signs him out from under us first.

I also win my first Manager of the Month award, being recognized for our 16 of a possible 18 point month. And finally, Andy Monkhouse picks up the third best goal of the month, for his scorching 20 yard strike against Sheffield United on the 24th of January.

4 of the top 5 squads play on the road at lower table competition today, including our match at 13th position Colchester. The advance scout mentions their potent attack, but the stats say otherwise, as they've scored 36 times in 29 matches. Despite the fact that Paul Devlin has been terrific on the right wing, I feel compelled to give some more run to Paul Shaw, just to see if he can pick up his game a bit. We go with a standard defensive stance on the road here.
Lineup:
GK: Kruse
Def: Garry, Plummer, Burton, Dakinah
DM: Nicolas
Mid: Valois, Monkhouse
AM: Shaw
Str: Ferdinand, Hammond

Feb. 4, Match 30
15-8-6, 1st pl., 53 pts.
@ Colchester (10-11-8, 13th pl., 41 pts.)
Series: Posh lead 2-2-0
Fav: Posh, Evens

8'- Les Ferdinand is played through by Hammond, but the ball runs to a difficult angle, and he can't squeeze it inside the post.

9'- Shaw keys another attack, finding Les Ferdinand, who plays a square ball onto the overlapping run of Valois... Valois gets inside the box, and fires a shot that goes in off the post! We're in our familiar early lead position!

11'- It doesn't take long for the U's to get a nice chance... they steal a Ryan Garry throw in, then cut a cross toward the spot, at which point Sagi Burton chops the attacker down, and the penalty is given. It's easily converted, and we're tied at 1.

14'- Things are going quite bad, as a 30 yard Colchester free kick from the right is curled around the wall and inside the post. Not much Kruse could do about a strike of that quality. We go down 2-1 now, as this is quite the barnburner.

Each side pick up 1 chance during the next half hour, but nothing heart-stopping.

40'- Hammond with a good through ball to Shaw, who appears to have jinked around the keeper, but his windup takes a bit too long as the ball is tackled out for a corner. Valois' corner falls to Nicolas at 8 yards, but his shot is right into the keeper's hands.

We move up to attacking tactics at the break, trying to get the equalizer.

About 20 minutes go by, and we're unable to make much happen. Devlin comes on for Nicolas, and we go to a 4-3-1-2, increasing our attack even more.

In the 81st minute, Eriksson comes in for Dakinah, and we're desperate for a point. We play Eriksson up front, and switch to long balls to Ferdinand's head to try and expedite the scoring process.

Nothing happens for us, but the U's do manage to get a cross and header past Kruse in the 90th minute to close it out. Our first league loss in over a month.

Kruse and Monkhouse pick up 8's, but everyone else hit a 7, which indicates a decent effort, but no one helping to really decide the game.

Loss, 3-1, remain in 1st
Shots/on target: U's 13/7, Posh 10/3
Poss: 53-47, U's
A: 5,465

Luckily for us, none of the squads able to pass us were able to manage a result, but Rushden did pull level with us on points, but still behind on goal difference, so we hold the lead. The table squeezes ever tighter, as now just 7 points separate the top 11 clubs.

Butter · 03-03-2005, 11:05 AM

Sadly for us, Watford make up their game-in-hand, and pass us with a 1-0 victory at relegation battler Hartlepool. Watford now lead us by 1 point.

Watford have a tough road test at 6th place Plymouth Argyle, while we hopefully get a breather game against near-bottom Blackpool. Burton is a bit more fatigued than I would expect after a week off, so I give him a game to rest since he wasn't exactly sharp in that last match anyway.
Lineup:
GK: Kruse
Def: Garry, Plummer, Yates, Dakinah
DM: Nicolas
Mid: Valois, Devlin
AM: Monkhouse
Str: Ferdinand, Hammond

Feb. 11, Match 31
15-8-7, 2nd pl., 53 pts.
v. Blackpool (10-4-16, 18th pl., 34 pts.)
Series: Even, 1-1-1
Fav: Posh, 6:4

6'- Blackpool squeeze a ball between our 2 central defenders, and the striker gets a good shot off but it whizzes by the post.

15'- Monkhouse slides a ball to Hammond's right, and he chases it down... Hammond then crosses near the end line to Valois in the middle, but a good intervention heads the ball away.

We control most of play for the remainder of the half, but we're 0-0 at the interval. All 9 of our 1st half shots were off target. We keep the same 11 for the 2nd half, and hope to just improve our touches.

60'- Nicolas gets a throw in from Yates near the end line, and crosses it to Ferdinand at the right of the box... Ferdinand can't reach it, and chases it down, then swings his own cross toward the spot, where Valois is able to settle the ball, turn, and shoot... and it's in! Valois a nice shot from 12 yards to put us up a goal!

74'- A good chance for the Seasiders, as a cross is swung in right to a diving head, but it's sent a good 3 yards wide.

Both Monkhouse and Hammond are keeping below-par 6's, so we bring in Navarro for Monkhouse and Eriksson for Hammond, switching to a 4-5-1.

79'- A good through ball for Blackpool finds a streaking striker down the right, and he nestles a perfect shot just inside the left post for an equalizing tally. Garry was down injured on the play, and they attacked right where he would've been had he been able to get back on defense.

Aaritalo on for Garry, who has to come off. We switch to a 3-4-3 now, playing long balls to Aaritalo.

89'- An interesting development, as the Blackpool keeper is forced off with an undisclosed injury... but the Seasiders have already used all 3 of their subs, and are forced to play a man down with a makeshift keeper.

We throw everybody forward, but Blackpool do a good job of defending in numbers. They keep clearing the ball out of play, and we can't get a shot off. Finally, with mere seconds left, Alexis Nicolas takes a desperation 25 yard shot that takes a deflection and rolls in! Certainly it was our final chance, but it works and we luck out to take all 3 points!

Valois picks up another MoM honor, rating a 9. Nicolas and Ferdinand pick up 8's. Sir Les picks up both assists on the afternoon.

Win, 2-1, up 1 spot to 1st
Shots/on target: Posh 21/4, Seasiders 12/3
Poss: 52-48, Posh
A: 10,381

Watford lose to Plymouth, and the other 3 teams directly behind us draw, giving us now a 2 point cushion.

Butter · 03-03-2005, 11:43 AM

Luke Pritchard is slowly making his way back to the pitch, but is not quite match fit yet as we prepare for mid-table Doncaster. Doncaster have a patient 4-2-4 formation. Elvis Hammond had a blistering run of form a while back, scoring 9 goals in 8 matches, but currently he has in a run of just 1 goal in his last 9 appearances.
Lineup:
GK: Kruse
Def: Garry, Plummer, Burton, Dakinah
DM: Nicolas
Mid: Valois, Devlin
AM: Monkhouse
Str: Ferdinand, Hammond

Feb. 14, Match 32
16-8-7, 1st pl., 56 pts.
@ Doncaster (12-7-12, 14th pl., 43 pts.)
Series: Even, 1-1-1
Fav: Posh, Evens

2'- Good early movement by Rovers, as they drop a nice pass into the 18 yard box, and a striker attempts to chip Kruse but just misses.

8'- Hammond and Valois play a nice series of back and forth, and Hammond makes his way around the keeper, but sends his shot completely across the goalmouth and out.

I watch as Hammond blows chance after chance. By the 38th minute, I've had enough and he takes a seat. Aaritalo on for him. That's how we start the second half, scoreless.

46'- Ferdinand is played through by Devlin. Les lines up a shot, and it's deflected by the keeper onto the post, then back past the keeper and is cleared away by a Rovers defender.

62'- Valois has to come off with an injury. Not good news. Eriksson on for him.

70'- Good steal by Dakinah, and he gets it to Aaritalo. Mika lays it to Eriksson. Tobias advances into the Doncaster half, then switches play to the right to Devlin. Paul advances a bit, then puts a ball into Monkhouse's path. Andy shoots from 30 yards, and it's a wicked swerving shot that beats the keeper to the corner and goes in! 1-0, Posh, on another marvelous long range shot by Andy Monkhouse.

74'- Sagi Burton picks up his second yellow card of the match, and we have to go the last quarter hour a man down. Ireland on for Les Ferdinand as we go to a 4-4-1.

77'- It takes them about 2 minutes to equalize, as they drop a nice ball in from distance, and an open volley from 10 yards goes in past Kruse.

We suffer an exciting final several minutes, with Doncaster pushing forward a lot... but our defenders play very well, often heading balls to safety.

88'- Monkhouse with a superb through ball to Aaritalo, who winds up and shoots, but it's deflected wide and no support is there to corral the rebound.

91'- A 25 yard free kick comes in for Rovers, and they score... CRAP! We push everyone forward for the final minute-plus of injury time.

That's it. Tough loss, as I figured we had the point in the bag until that final sequence. No one played particularly well yet again as we drop a spot again as Rushden beat a struggling Bristol City club, who drop now to 8th. We got pretty well hosed in the refereeing department, earning 7 yellow cards to Doncaster's none. Earning 8's were Monkhouse and Valois.

Loss, 2-1, drop 1 spot to 2nd
Shots/on target: Rovers 13/2, Posh 15/6
Poss: 55-45, Rovers
A: 7,835

Burton picks up the automatic one match ban for his red card, while Valois will miss 2 weeks with a groin strain. Not a good day at all.

Butter · 03-03-2005, 01:30 PM

It must be about time for Hammond to break out of his scoring slump. One of our strikers has to score sometime. We take on Torquay today, a team that has been doing well this year, but we're a better than even money favorite, which I find strange. Luke Pritchard returns to action today, which is nice since Sagi Burton is suspended for this match. Valois is also out with injury. League leaders Rushden will travel to Doncaster, where we just lost.
Lineup:
GK: Kruse
Def: Garry, Pritchard, Plummer, Dakinah
DM: Nicolas
Mid: Monkhouse, Devlin
AM: Shaw
Str: Ferdinand, Hammond

Feb. 18, Match 33
16-8-8, 2nd pl., 56 pts.
v. Torquay (16-2-14, 9th pl., 50 pts.)
Series: Gulls lead 1-2-0
Fav: Posh, 4:6

3'- A short corner is taken, Devlin to Monkhouse... Andy crosses in to Nicolas at the near post, and he gets the header away, but it's into the side netting.

Our touch is just lacking of late, Hammond, Shaw, and Monkhouse all miss good chances in the first half hour.

30'- Ferdinand gets a pass from Monkhouse, and attacks down the left... Les crosses it into the box, and it falls on the far side to Devlin, who takes a dribble and shoots from 10 yards... it's in! Devlin shoots it across the goal and inside the far post for a 1-0 lead.

That seems to jump start us, because:

34'- Devlin just runs in front of a man, and passes back to Dakinah. Kofi to Pritchard, who sends a 55 yard ball to Elvis Hammond. Hammond chases it down, then dribbles around one defender and shoots at a tough angle, but it's in! About the same angle Devlin had, and he placed it in the same spot, far post. 2-0, Posh!

No changes at the break.

Torquay just aren't playing very well, they can't manage much on goal.

65'- Devlin with another nice play as a pass to him by Shaw is errant, but Devlin just fights to the ball and takes it, then makes his way to the end line and flights a cross into the general vicinity of Hammond and Shaw... and Shaw is upended and a penalty is given! It's Ryan Garry's 2nd PK chance of the year... and his second conversion! A 3-0 lead with about 25 minutes left.

76'- Aaritalo in for Ferdinand, and Eriksson in for Monkhouse as we try to avoid injury.

78'- Devlin with a ball in to Nicolas... Nicolas has it tackled away, but it falls right to Eriksson, who turns and shoots, and rattles it in off the post! 4-0 now.

82'- Hammond with a glorious chance for his second, as Shaw plays him onside... No one is near Hammond, but his shot into the near post bounces out off the post.

84'- Plummer with a steal, and he flights it ahead to Aaritalo... Mika nods it to Eriksson on the left... Tobias with lots of room, and he shoots a cross back to Aaritalo who volleys it off the post... but it comes off the post and off the back of the keeper and goes in! An own goal is the call, but it is rightly Aaritalo's goal. 5-0, wow!

The Torquay keeper rates a 4 in this travesty for them. Paul Shaw picks up another MoM honor, with a 10 rating. Shaw completed 8 key passes, and had an assist. But hey, who didn't? Hammond picks up a 9, and finally gets another goal. Nearly everyone else picked up an 8.

Win, 5-0, remain in 2nd
Shots/on target: Posh 17/6, Gulls 3/1
Poss: 56-44, Posh
A: 5,863

Not a good crowd for this one for some reason. It was rainy. Sadly for us, Rushden manage a late PK to win at Doncaster 3-2. Plymouth also beat Hartlepool at home 2-0, and remain level with us on 59 points. All 3 of us are now at least 3 points clear of 4th.

We get notice that Ryan Garry is coming to the end of his loan deal, and we plead Arsenal to extend his contract through the end of the year. They agree.

I also get notice that our starting keeper at the beginning of last year, Mark Tyler, has signed with League Two leaders Southend for just a $6k transfer fee. Tranmere gave us $140k for him last year, but he made just 18 appearances during 2 abbreviated seasons before being tossed aside.

Valois and Shaw get picked for the Team of the Week.

Butter · 03-03-2005, 02:06 PM

We are offered 37 year old right and center back Craig Short by Gillingham for $2k. The Gills must've noticed a scout at one of their recent games. Short is currently making $220k for a year, but we try and bring that down a bit to $120k to sign him for the end of this year and next season. Short is a quality player, if a bit slow in his age. Short has rated just a 6.4 in 11 apps. for Gillingham this year, who are currently 4th in the Championship. I can't decide whether I want this guy or not, even after he agrees to our terms. I decide to decline him... but I imagine the interest will be there later on if needed.

HUGE game today, as we host 1st place Rushden & Diamonds. Lineup:
GK: Kruse
Def: Garry, Plummer, Burton, Dakinah
DM: Nicolas
Mid: Monkhouse, Devlin
AM: Shaw
Str: Ferdinand, Hammond

Feb. 22, Match 34
17-8-8, 2nd pl., 59 pts.
v. Rushden & Diamonds (17-9-7, 1st pl., 60 pts.)
Series: R&D won the first matchup this year, 4-2.
Fav: Posh, Evens

Both teams seem tight early on. Diamonds get 2 free kicks within 30 yards in the first 15 minutes, but aren't close with either. Our only early chances are long shots by Ferdinand and Monkhouse that sail high.

26'- Nicolas heads a Rushden goal kick to Hammond... great play as Hammond is free behind the defense. Elvis lines up a shot, fires it at the far corner, and scores! 1-0, Peterborough United!

That goal was the only on target shot of the entire first half. We stick with our lineup and tactics for half 2.

54'- Ferdinand is free with only the keeper to beat, but-- you guessed it-- his shot is way high.

61'- Hammond is played through by Plummer, Elvis with a nice chip over the keeper, but it just misses the far post.

63'- Devlin is dispossessed, but fights back for the ball and plays it to Hammond. Hammond is free down the right, and crosses back to the spot, where Ferdinand nods it down for Paul Shaw.... PAUL SHAWWWWWWW... YESSSSS!!!!! 2-0, Posh on a fierce shot from 5 yards!

82'- 80 yard ball down the left is chased down by Diamonds... the cross is swung toward the spot, and the header is powerful but just a smidgen off target.

84'- Devlin again flicks it to Hammond down the left. Elvis gets to the end line and swings a cross back to Ferdinand at the spot. Les with the extra pass to Andy Monkhouse... Andy shoots it toward the far post, and it's in! Monkhouse's 10th of the year puts it well out of reach, and gives us 1st place!

As the final whistle goes, one thing's for sure... we're back to form after those 2 road losses earlier in the month. Les Ferdinand with a well-deserved MoM award, picking up a 9 with 2 assists. Plummer, Burton, and Shaw were the only players to NOT get 8's, all picking up 7's. Hard to believe Shaw picked up only a 7 while scoring a goal. Shaw is making his release VERY HARD on me.

Win, 3-0, up 1 spot to 1st place
Shots/on target: Posh 12/3, Diamonds 9/2
Poss: 52-48, Posh
A: 6,595

Another rainy day suppresses turnout, but they'll be back soon enough as we're back into first.

Champions League, First Knockout Round, Leg 1
4 Italian teams, 3 English teams, and 4 Spanish teams still in it.
Arsenal 4:1 Monaco
Benfica 1:0 AC Milan
Chelsea 3:0 Bayer Leverkusen
Inter 1:0 Deportivo
Juventus 2:0 Barcelona
Man Utd. 4:1 Fenerbahce
Real Madrid 2:0 Werder Bremen
Roma 2:0 Valencia

Butter · 03-03-2005, 02:42 PM

Our next match is a short turnaround against Swindon. We have to shift the lineup a tad to try and keep people fresh. But we do get an entire week off after this one.
Lineup:
GK: Kruse
Def: Garry, Plummer, Burton, Dakinah
DM: Navarro
Mid: Eriksson, Martin
AM: Monkhouse
Str: Asprilla, Aaritalo

Feb. 25, Match 35
18-8-8, 1st pl., 62 pts.
@ Swindon (12-11-11, 13th pl., 47 pts.)
Series: Swindon lead 2-1-0
Fav: Posh, 5:4

7'- Eriksson comes off injured. Monkhouse switches out to the left, and Paul Shaw is on in attack.

15'- Navarro with a 20 yard free kick that nearly bends in.

30'- Burton with a nice long pass to Martin, who dribbles all the way to the end line, and swings it in for Aaritalo, but Mika is off target.

32'- A rarity then occurs... Swindon are able to get a man free down the left, and he swings a cross for an unmarked man at the near post, who half-volleys it home. Those are the kinds of goals we gave up dozens of last year, but have been limited well this year. 1-0, Swindon.

39'- Monkhouse tries a cross from the left, but it's headed clear... back to Andy, who tries again, this time Martin is there to put his head to it, and it goes off the crossbar, and right to Asprilla who is pulled to the ground.... Penalty! Ryan Garry is elected for a 3rd time this year... but this time, he hits it poorly and it's saved quite easily.

We up our attack at the break.

60'- A cross in from the right for Swindon finds a man covered at 10 yards, he is able to get a shot off though... Monkhouse tries to block it, but he ends up deflecting it into his own goal. 2-0, Swindon.

We bring Hammond on for Dakinah, and play a 3-4-3.

65'- Swindon add a 3rd on some poor defending where a striker was left pretty much by himself and scored in between Kruse and the near post.

86'- And a 4th for Swindon, as all of our good work from mid-week is undone.

The final whistle mercifully blows, and you wouldn't know it from the stats, but we got killed. No one rated above a 6 except Ryan Garry.

Loss, 4-0, drop 1 spot to 2nd
Shots/on target: Swindon 8/6, Posh 20/9
Poss: 52-48, Swindon
A: 4,804

Rushden beat Blackpool 3-0 to take back first place.

Tobias Eriksson will miss just 5 days with a chest contusion.

Carling Cup Final
Chelsea 2:1 Man Utd.
-Tomas Rosicky scores the winner in the 69th minute, thanks to a nice through ball from Didier Drogba.

Butter · 03-07-2005, 10:28 AM

Les Ferdinand is picked in the Team of the Week.

We make another signing, this time it's defensive midfielder David Fox agreeing to join us from Manchester United. He never fit in with the Red Devils, and he's coming to us for... well, I forget and it is impossible for me to look back at our offer now that it's been accepted. But I'm sure it's not something totally crazy. Fox is just 22 years old, and possesses a wealth of mental and physical ability... just needs a bit more polish on the technique to be a dominant player. He will join us on July 1.

Valois is named third choice for player of the month, and I'm sadly nowhere to be found on the manager of the month list. I guess 3 road losses will do that. Back to strictly attacking tactics for us, as the road defensive tactics have let us down badly of late... losing to the poor quality opponents we need to beat if we want to earn promotion. A couple more bad weeks, and we'll be out of the top 6 the way this table is shaking out.

I notice now that both Bournemouth and Luton have interest in Paul Shaw. I don't think I can re-sign the guy for $200k. I can't seem to dump Eoin Jess, so I'll probably have to go with him as my attacking midfielder backup when necessary next season. Jess is making $220k a year, and no one wants to take on that salary... and rightly so. Not my finest signing, though he did have a good year last year.

Watford make up their game in hand again during the mid-week, beating 5th place Tranmere 1-0, and pass both us and Rushden into first, dropping us to 3rd. Our next match is at relegated Brentford. Brentford will have to start getting some wins now to avoid the drop. Lineup:
GK: Kruse
Def: Garry, Pritchard, Plummer, Dakinah
DM: Nicolas
Mid: Valois, Devlin
AM: Monkhouse
Str: Ferdinand, Hammond

March 4, Match 36
18-8-9, 3rd pl., 62 pts. (2 pts. behind leader)
@ Brentford (6-14-15, 23rd pl., 32 pts.)
Series: Posh lead 2-1-0
Fav: Posh, 5:4

4'- Good buildup, as Monkhouse passes forward to Valois. Valois advances unmarked to about 15 yards, then tries to lay it back to Monkhouse, but the Bees get a toe in... but the clearance falls to Hammond who advances 5 yards and shoots... and it's in! The keeper out of position to stop that scorcher from Elvis Hammond, and we take the early lead. Hammond's 20th of the year.

We get several more chances during the next 20 minutes, but no really great ones. Brentford with one good buildup, but a weak shot is gathered in by Kruse.

26'- Nicolas tries a couple of balls into the box from about 30 yards, the first one is deflected to Valois, who gets it back to Nicolas... the second one is to Ferdinand, who turns and shoots from 15 yards, and scores! Ferdinand's 10th of the year puts us up 2!

37'- Devlin with a corner right to Ferdinand's head, but it goes off the keeper, then off the upright and is cleared away.

We're dominating Brentford at the break... glad I didn't go with the defensive tactics for this road game. No personnel changes at the break.

54'- Ferdinand is pretty well exhausted, so he comes out for Aaritalo.

65'- The Brentford keeper sends a ball 70 yards that hops, and then bounces to Kruse... but the Bee striker almost beats him to it for an easy goal.

69'- Monkhouse with a bending shot from 20 yards, but it's too high.

79'- Eriksson on for Valois, Navarro in for Monkhouse, and Alan shifts back to central midfield.

The rest of the time ticks pretty harmlessly away, and we get a ho-hum 2-0 road win. Valois with another dazzler, earning a 10 and a MoM award. Valois completed 34/38 passes, and had an assist. Nearly every other starter rated an 8.

Win, 2-0, up 1 spot to 2nd
Shots/on target: Bees 7/2, Posh 13/6
Poss: 51-49, Posh
A: 4,229

Watford manage only a home draw with Sheffield United to drop all the way back to 3rd. Rushden beat Colchester 2-1 on the road to move back on top, 1 point ahead of us.

Devlin and Valois are picked for the Team of the Week.

Butter · 03-07-2005, 10:29 AM

10 games left, 5 at home and 5 on the road. After this mid-week game, we have about a week off before each and every game remaining... except for our next one at Watford. Which will be a huge game, considering that Watford are still alive in the Vans Trophy and will have at least one game in hand on us, if not more. We will need at least a point out of that game.

But for now, we host mid-table Bradford City. And with Watford coming up in 4 days, we start a few second-teamers and hope for the London Road faithful to help us through this one. Lineup:
GK: Kruse
Def: Garry, Ireland, Yates, Burton
DM: Navarro
Mid: Eriksson, Martin
AM: Shaw
Str: Asprilla, Aaritalo

March 7, Match 37
19-8-9, 2nd pl., 65 pts.
v. Bradford City (12-13-11, 14th pl., 49 pts.)
Series: Posh lead 1-2-0
Fav: Posh, 5:4

Not much action early.

19'- Eriksson with a good ball across, finds Martin, whose shot is blocked wide by a defender. The ball is cleared downfield to Burton, who played it square to Shaw. Shaw with a couple dribbles to his right, then a 30 yard shot... which twinkles the twine! A terrific 30 yard goal by Paul Shaw to put us on the board.

That's pretty much it for the first half. Ours was the only on-target shot of the half, and there were only 4 attempts at goal the entire 45 minutes. Eriksson is struggling with a 5 at the break, but we stick with him.

Again, very little action.

75'- Martin with a cross into a crowded box, and Aaritalo gets his head to it, but a good save by the Bantam keeper keeps it 1-0.

83'- Aaritalo with a 20 yard strike that skips off the ground, then hits the post.

We sub in Nicolas for an ineffective Eriksson, Pritchard for Asprilla as we go to a 5-4-1.

91'- The Bantams are throwing everyone forward, and a cross to about 10 yards almost turns up a goal, but the directional header is just wide of the far post.

Martin with a foul about 2 yards outside of the box provides us with another scary moment, but Pritchard hoofs the cross away, and we run out the clock.

Ryan Garry picks up our only 8, as curiously a Bantam striker is named man of the match.

Big win for us to be able to rest our first team, mostly, and still pick up 3 points.

Win, 1-0, up 1 spot to 1st
Shots/on target: Posh 9/3, Bantams 4/0
Poss: 51-49, Posh
A: 9,607

Rushden manage only a 0-0 home draw with Swindon to drop a spot behind us. Watford beat MK Dons in the South Final, and will face Barnsley for the Vans Trophy later this year.

Butter · 03-07-2005, 11:25 AM

Champions League, First Knockout Round, Leg 2
Barcelona 3:1 Juventus (Aggregate final 3:3, Juventus advance on away goals)
Deportivo 1:2 Inter (Inter advance on 3-1 agg.)
Fenerbahce 1:1 Man Utd. (Man U. advance on 5-2 agg.)
Leverkusen 1:3 Chelsea (Chelsea advance on 6-1 agg.)
AC Milan 3:0 Benfica (Milan advance on 3-1 agg.)
Monaco 0:1 Arsenal (Arsenal advance on 5-1 agg.)
Valencia 1:2 Roma (Roma advance on 4-1 agg.)
Werder Bremen 1:1 Real Madrid (R. Madrid advance on 3-1 agg.)

Arsenal, Inter, Manchester United, Juventus, and Milan are all repeat visitors to the Quarterfinals from last year. PSV, Benfica, and Ajax are replaced this year by Roma, Real Madrid, and Chelsea... this could very well be the richest 8 teams in the world all fighting it out this season.

Next up is our big road match at Watford. We finish up the year with a road game at Plymouth Argyle, but between the Watford game and the finale, we have several games against teams that aren't performing well. So, a win here would hopefully mean we're looking pretty good to finish in the top six... hopefully the top two as well. Watford play a similar style to ours, a 4-1-2-1-2... but their formation is bunched through the middle, and has the strikers attacking from the wings. Watford are in 3rd with 65 points, just 3 behind us, but do have a game in hand. Paul Devlin was a signing from Watford early in the season, so hopefully he'll be fired up to face his old club.
Lineup:
GK: Kruse
Def: Garry, Pritchard, Plummer, Dakinah
DM: Nicolas
Mid: Valois, Devlin
AM: Monkhouse
Str: Ferdinand, Hammond

March 11, Match 38
20-8-9, 1st pl., 68 pts.
@ Watford (19-8-9, 3rd. pl., 65 pts.)
Series: We beat Watford at London Road earlier this year, 2-1.
Fav: Hornets, 6:4

9'- Kruse delivers a ball to Valois at the midfield stripe. Jean-Louis plays with his defender for a while, then cuts inside of him, and spots Hammond at the arc. Hammond advances, and tries to cut around the keeper, but he gets back to save the attempt that Hammond tried to slip inside the post.

19'- Kruse with a great long ball to Monkhouse, who slips a ball through to Hammond. Hammond looks like he has the angle this time, but another great diving save keeps the ball out. Devlin chases down the rebound and feeds Hammond again who has an open goal to shoot at, but a nice tackle prevents the shot, and the danger is cleared.

28'- This time, it's Valois with a shot from 20 yards... it skips low and the keeper with another great diving save to tip it wide, and he is able to smother it before Ferdinand can get there.

We get one more chance at the stroke of halftime, as Ferdinand is wide open with a good angle at goal, but Monkhouse is called for offside to prevent the chance. We dominate Watford in the first half, allowing them just one long range shot that wasn't dangerous. Watford's keeper played brilliantly throughout the first half to keep a clean sheet, and we keep things the same for the second half and just hope for a breakthrough.

49'- And the breakthrough comes... Dakinah with an interception, he passes forward to Devlin... Devlin to Ferdinand at 35 yards, who plays Monkhouse through... Andy holds off a defender and shoots to the far post from 12 yards, and it's in! Monkhouse with another great effort to score, and we take a 1-0 lead!

52'- I get notice that Watford have switched to a more attacking style, and no sooner do I hear it than they've got a man free on Kruse, but luckily his shot skips past the far post.

74'- Navarro in for Les Ferdinand as we try to make our goal stand up.

76'- Great entry pass by Devlin, right onto Hammond's head, but his flick to the far post is just over.

83'- We appear to get a second, as Nicolas plays one long to Hammond's feet, and Elvis is able to run into the box and put it in... but he was offside.

85'- Devlin plays a square ball to Hammond, who turns and lofts it to Valois charging in from the left. Valois attacks the keeper, and shoots from 10 yards... and we lead 2-0! The Watford keeper finally buckles, as that one probably should've been saved, but it goes off the glove and in, and we seal up a huge victory! Burton on for Valois and Shaw in for Hammond, as we just play back and try to work off the remainder of the clock.

A dominant performance turned in today! Valois with yet another 10 and MoM honors, made even more impressive by his 7 key passes, and 9 runs past an opponent. Devlin with a terrific 9, and nearly everyone else turned in 8's, including the entire back row of defense.

Watford fall to 6th in the table, but Rushden keep pace with us, winning 2-0 at faltering Torquay.

Win, 0-2, remain in 1st
Shots/on target: Watford 3/0, Posh 20/14
Poss: 53-47, Posh
A: 11,780

Chris Plummer twisted his knee early in this game, but I left him out there... but the physio recommends 2 weeks off for him, which would equal probably 2-3 fixtures.

Butter · 03-07-2005, 12:22 PM

Devlin and Valois both are unsurprisingly picked in the Team of the Week. That's 14 times now for Valois, and 2 weeks in a row for Devlin.

Watford make up their game in hand, as do Plymouth, and neither gains ground, as Plymouth only manage a draw with mid-table Stockport, and Watford loses on the road to Bristol City. Here are the standings in the top 10 right now:
League Standings
1. Peterborough - 71 pts., +28 GD
2. Rushden - 70, +17
---------
3. Plymouth - 68, +22
4. Tranmere - 66, +21
5. Sheff. Utd. - 66, +16
6. Barnsley - 65, +21
---------
7. Watford - 65, +19
8. Colchester - 62, +7
9. Bristol City - 60, +7
10.Torquay - 59, +3

Now here come the vultures. Sheffield United are interested in Andy Monkhouse, who has a minimum fee release clause of $750k. His current listed value is $550k. For all I know, his agent is already on the phone with the Blades. I quickly try to re-negotiate Monkhouse's deal, as he is only 25 but only signed through next year. My assistant manager tells me that Andy is currently undervalued. Monkhouse says he wants $320k per year... my board won't let me offer more than $240k for ANYONE. I offer Andy a large raise, from $120k per year to $200k per year, and a $20k bonus to tack on 2 more years to his contract. I also raise that minimum clasue to $1.7 million.

Cardiff are interested in my reserve striker, Jim Johansen, who has been tearing up the reserves with 14 goals and 10 assists in 33 appearances. Cardiff ask what I would take for Johansen, and I say $500k. His current value is $240k. I was kind of hoping he would join my bench next year, but considering I signed him for nearly nothing, I'd take that for him surely even though he is only 19.

Cardiff take a few days, but agree to the price of $500k. No negotiation allowed. Hmmm... that's a tough one... They give me a week to consider it, and I decide to spend a few days thinking about it. I really would like to see this kid in some friendlies before I decide to sell him. Hell, if I can seal up promotion, he may get some run with the big club in the last couple of matches.

Next up, we host relegation battlers Grimsby. They normally play a 3-4-3, and Hammond has a nagging injury and needs a rest... could it be? Yes, it could. Jim Johansen will get the start alongside Les Ferdinand up front. Valois also needs a rest, and Plummer is out injured. Lineup:
GK: Kruse
Def: Garry, Pritchard, Burton, Dakinah
DM: Nicolas
Mid: Eriksson, Devlin
AM: Monkhouse
Str: Ferdinand, Johansen

March 18, Match 39
21-8-9, 1st pl., 71 pts.
v. Grimsby (10-7-21, 21st pl., 37 pts.)
Series: Mariners lead 1-1-0
Fav: Posh, 5:4

7'- Devlin with a throw in. Nicolas charges at the ball from 20 yards and unleashes a shot that bends horribly wide.

23'- Garry with a great steal in midfield. He flicks it ahead to Monkhouse, who plays it to Johansen... Johansen with a man on his back sends it back to Monkhouse. Monkhouse sends it back to Johansen who has turned on his man... Jim Johansen with a free chance from 12 yards... he left foots it low to the near post... and slots it home! Jim Johansen scores on his first big club chance! Screw you, Cardiff, this kid's staying!

26'- Nicolas with a through ball to Ferdinand, who takes it first time with the defense closing him down... and a good save by the keeper's leg to poke the ball out.

28'- Great chance for the Mariners, as a corner kick falls at 10 yards to a striker's foot after a mis-touch by Pritchard, but the shot is skied well over.

Johansen picks up a minor knock late in the half, but he'll stay on. Aaritalo enters for Ferdinand, who is tiring.

48'- Johansen is played onside down the left... he lays it back to Eriksson, who has a go from 20 yards, and it hits the post! Cleared out for a corner, which amounts to nothing.

51'- Nicolas intercepts a free kick, and gets it to Johansen. Johansen to Devlin, who spots Eriksson free down the left. Eriksson with lots of support, and he crosses back to Devlin, who hits a half-volley past the keeper and in! 2-0, Posh!

72'- Shaw on for Monkhouse, Navarro comes in for Devlin.

The rest of the time ticks away harmlessly, and we get a pretty easy win. Maybe not the best test of Johansen's ability, but I can't let a kid go who scores on practically his first touch at the senior level. Ryan Garry wins MoM, with an 8. Burton and Devlin also pick up 8's. Johansen completed a terrific 21/22 passes in earning a 7. But he only won 2/11 headers, which isn't great.

Win, 2-0, remain in 1st
Shots/on target: Posh 11/8, Mariners 7/1
Poss: 55-45, Posh
A: 8,075

Rushden had a similar game to us, playing bottom of the table Brentford, and winning 2-0 at home to keep pace, just 1 point behind us.

Following the game, Monkhouse agrees to a new contract with us... so we'll be getting paid quite well if anyone wishes to pry him from us. And I contact Cardiff and tell them thanks... but, no thanks for $500k for Johansen. We're still $900k+ in the black, so I don't need the cash that badly right now. I may need it to get out of relegation from the Championship next year... but I have to start planning ahead as if we're going up, and Johansen will probably play some next season. But for now, back to the reserves he goes.

02-14-2005, 01:42 PM	#7
Butter Coordinator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Dayton, OH	We sign a good looking youngster for a trial. Warren Beattie told other clubs they can wait, as he joins us on a free transfer from Conference side Southport. Beattie is just 18 and would go well into our reserve club. I try and sign him to a simple contract, but he wants big money for a youngster, $36k per year for 3 seasons, and a ride on the first team. I try and lowball him at $20k for 4 years, and a modest signing bonus. He might well be good enough to play for us in a year or 2, but he would almost certainly get a loan out. Community Shield from Cardiff Arsenal 1:0 Manchester Utd. -Thierry Henry struck in the 10th minute, and the Gunners were able to hold off Man U. for the remainder of the match to win the traditional lid-lifter. The star of match 1, Jean-Louis Valois, suffers a minor head injury during practice in the run-up to our 2nd league fixture, and will be unavailable to start in it. Asprilla is also listed as "lacking match practice" despite coming on as a sub in our first match of the year. Our lineup against Tranmere, a team that dominated us last season... GK: Kruse Def: Pritchard, Plummer, Yates, Burton DM: Nicolas Mid: Spicer, Jess AM: Shaw Str: Hammond, Ferdinand The listed series results will be starting with '04-'05 season. I don't have the time or inclination to go look up the actual lifetime series records of our 2 squads. Aug. 10, Match 2 1-0-0, 5th pl., 3 pts. @ Tranmere (0-1-0, 11th pl., drew with promotion favorites Doncaster 1-1) Series: Rovers, 2-0-0 Fav: Rovers, 6:4 Our 2nd trip to Birkenhead under my command, and hopefully we have a more competitive squad this time. Our former keeper, Mark Tyler, has been relegated to bench duty with the Rovers in favor of John Achterberg. We'll see if we have the horses to keep up with Tranmere this season. By the way, the official injury list shows Valois as doubtful with... wait for it... a bruised head. 6'- Off a Pritchard clearance, Shaw receives a pass and lays it right to Jess... Shaw then makes a long run, gets a pass back near the top of the area and fires it close, but wide. 14'- The commentary notes that Rovers' striker Aaron Butcher takes a dive, but Tranmere get a 25 yard free kick that is struck with force, but too much swerve. 18'- Butcher jinks past Pritchard to the left of the box, then fires a shot wide. 22'- Beresford turns and bends one in toward goal... 2 Rovers strikers and Kruse go up for it, and Lukas is able to punch it away... but Mark Rankine is there to return a half volley into the net. 1-0, Tranmere. 35'- Ferdinand plays a ball just a hair too far for Hammond, as Achterberg races out to 25 yards and blasts it upfield. 45'- In the 3rd minute of injury time, Tranmere with a free kick from 50 yards. It's played into the box to Jones, who swings it to the left post where Iain Hume is waiting to nod it in. Horrible marking by Nicolas to allow this goal in and put us 2 behind for the 2nd half. 51'- Burton with a good ball down the right for Jess, who tracks it down just right of the box. Jess lays it onto the run of Ferdinand, who shoots from distance, but with little power, and it's saved easily. 59'- Another good ball to Ferdinand by Burton. Ferdinand makes it all the way to the end line before swinging it back to Shaw at 10 yards, but good defending blocks the shot out for a corner. Navarro in for a struggling Yates in defense, as we switch to a 3 man backline. The corner is cleared. 66'- Asprilla in for Ferdinand. We ratchet up the attack. Haworth shoots from 30 yards and nearly catches Kruse by surprise, but the ball skims over the bar. 72'- Striker Simon Haworth beats Burton AND Kruse with one splendid move, and puts it out of reach, 3-0 Rovers. 89'- Haworth does it again, beating Burton and Kruse with a similar move, faking right, then cutting the ball back left and leaping over a mass of legs to tap it in. We look like the Keystone Kops out there. That mercifully wraps it up. Beresford and Haworth get well deserved 10's, with Haworth winning MoM honors in this debacle. Apparently, our attacking tactic is quite helpless against a team of some quality on the road. We were horrible on the road last year, and the pattern continues. Loss, 4-0, drop to 16th place Shots/on target: Rovers 18/8, Posh 4/1 Poss: Rovers 55-45 A: 9,092 So, again we start the year looking up at the table. That first game gave me hope, but this match just left me crying. We need more quality in midfield to withstand these injuries, but I just don't have the wage budget to do it. European Champions League, 3rd Qual. Round Some surprising results in Leg 1 of this round, including Tottenham losing at home to Polish squad Wisla, 2-1. Juventus also could only manage a 0-0 draw with fellow league mates from a year ago, Maccabi Haifa (Israel). Real Madrid also struggled with obscure Faroe Islands squad Havnar Boltfelag (HB), winning just 1-0. Celtic loses to Swiss side Young Boys, 1-0. __________________ My listening habits

02-15-2005, 01:18 PM	#8
Butter Coordinator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Dayton, OH	Unfortunately, I didn't save after the last game and had to replay it. We still lost, but it was merely 3-1 the 2nd time around. But now we're in 17th instead of 16th. Valois is back for this match. Navarro also in for Nicolas, who is not playing particularly well. Lineup: GK: Kruse Def: Pritchard, Plummer, Yates, Burton DM: Navarro Mid: Valois, Jess AM: Shaw Str: Ferdinand, Hammond Aug. 13, Match 3 1-0-1, 17th pl., 3 pts. v. AFC Bournemouth (1-0-1, 12th pl., 3 pts.) Series: Split, 1 win each Fav: Posh, 5:4 3'- Valois with a good ball to Navarro at the top of the box. Alan tries his luck, but it sails well high and wide of the mark. 5'- Burton with an interception near midfield, and plays one to Valois. Valois with a nod down to Shaw, who dribbles to the arc and draws 3 defenders. Shaw slips one to Ferdinand who is open from 15 yards, and scores! Kasey Keller never had a chance as we go up a goal in the very early going! 9'- Cherries line up a free kick inside the arc, and take it quickly, but the shot is not directed on target. 20'- A nice move leaves a AFCB striker free from 6 yards, but he can't finish at a sharp angle as Kruse is able to tip it onto the post and out. 23'- Another wide open shot from 15 yards goes skittering inches past the post as Bournemouth is determined to equalize. We ratchet down our attack and instruct our defenders to start pressuring the ball more before it enters our area. That seems to do the trick as we go to the break with a 1 goal lead. We're playing well, but can we hold the lead? 48'- Valois with a speculative effort from 25 yards, and he forces Keller to save it, but nothing comes of the rebound. 63'- A nice Cherry move is ended when a 10 yard header goes harmlessly wide. 82'- Bournemouth put a dangerous cross into the 6, but Kruse confidently snatches it from the air. We ratchet way down, putting in Nicolas for Ferdinand and playing with 10 men in our half of the field. 87'- Bournemouth playing only a 2 man backline, and Valois and Hammond break out. Valois sends a ball to Jess at the back post, but Jess makes a mess of the finish driving it right at Keller. 92'- A cross is whipped in and Kruse and a Cherries' striker are equidistant from it... but Kruse makes the better play and falls on another ball and waits for the final whistle. 2 wins out of 3, I'll take it! Kruse is MoM with an 8 rating, weathering the Bournemouth storm quite well with 5 saves. All other starters pick up 7's. Win, 1-0, up to 7th place Shots/on target: Posh 10/5, Cherries 12/5 Poss: 53-47, Posh A: 6,526 Alright, this is exactly what I wanted to see this year, an early score and then a good defensive effort to keep the win. Coming from behind is too difficult to do on a regular basis, and it seems that was what our defensive tactics were giving us. __________________ My listening habits

02-15-2005, 02:10 PM	#9
Butter Coordinator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Dayton, OH	That trial youngster, Beattie, refuses our low-ball contract and leaves the club. Oh well. Last thing I need is excess salary eating into my $900k surplus. I'm already nearly $600k over the yearly wage budget. We stick with our standard lineup for this next match against struggling Luton. GK: Kruse Def: Pritchard, Plummer, Yates, Burton DM: Nicolas Mid: Valois, Jess AM: Shaw Str: Ferdinand, Hammond Aug. 20, Match 4 2-0-1, 7th pl., 6 pts. v. Luton Town (1-0-2, 19th pl., 3 pts.) Series: Posh, 2-0-0 (we beat them 2-1 twice last year) Fav: Posh, 5:4 1'- 35 seconds in, and Luton nearly score on a diving header from 8 yards. Kruse saves it, but it's never a good sign to yield such a good chance so early. Maybe the Hatters remember those 2 games from last year. 10'- Valois with a magnificent 50 yard diagonal right onto the run of Hammond into the box. Hammond's finishing is lacking, though, as he stubs an open shot wide. 17'- Valois again jinks past one defender and has nothing but green down the left. He fires a hard cross to Hammond at the far post who looks like he has a tap in, but a good save prevents the first goal of the match as it is tipped barely wide. 37'- After a couple of poor Luton chances, they manage a good one, swinging a cross into the middle that is met by a head, but it luckily caroms back off the crossbar and Sagi Burton hoofs it over the byline to prevent a goal. We go into the half, as both teams managed many chances in the first half, but no one could put them away. Yates is struggling, netting a 5 for most of the first half, but rating a 6 by the interval. Still, I remove him for Ireland. 47'- A cross goes to a Hatters' midfielder at the top of the box, who shoots. Ireland deflects it, but it comes right to another midfielder at the end line, who just barely squeezes a pass back to a charging striker, who is left with a tap in. 1-0, Luton. 54'- Jess with a corner to Hammond at the near post. Hammond controls the ball and tries to sneak it inside the post, but it's clutched by the Luton keeper. 60'- Asprilla on for Elvis Hammond, who is not playing well. 77'- Holmes on for a slightly injured Ferdinand, and we crank the pressure way up and instruct our defenders to push up. The remaining time comes and goes without so much as a shot. The Luton keeper played very well today, but we could've at least pressured him in the last quarter hour. No one rates above a 7, and we drop back to mid-table. We could've been up to 4th with a win. Loss, 0-1, drop to 12th Shots/on target: Posh 14/7, Hatters 12/4 Poss: 51-49, Posh A: 6,906 Our attendance seems to be up this year, which is good. We would average about 4-5,000 for any given home league fixture last season. In lower table action, Brentford and Stockport finish with a 5 all draw that saw all the scoring come before the 70th minute, THEN saw 2 red cards, 1 for each side, dished out in the final 15. Odd game. Valois picks up a thigh strain that will keep him out about 5 days. __________________ My listening habits

02-15-2005, 02:45 PM	#10
Butter Coordinator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Dayton, OH	We finally get Rotherham to make a bid on Callum Willock, which is considerably less than his valued $360,000. They offer us $100k and $20k after 10 league appearances. We also make a bid on a Swedish youngster, a 19 year old left sided midfielder who is quite talented. There are several rounds of negotiations, but still no deal before our next match. His value is listed at $36k, but the Swedish club constantly asks for over $160k. A tough opener for the Carling Cup as we try our luck against Preston North End from the Championship. We start a somewhat altered lineup to see what these benchwarmers can do. Lineup: GK: Kruse Def: St. Ledger, Plummer, Burton, Dakinah DM: Nicolas Mid: Boucaud, Jess AM: Shaw Str: Asprilla, Hammond Aug. 24, Carling Cup, Round 1 v. Preston North End (4th in Championship) Fav: Preston, Evens 9'- Preston with their 3rd chance finally break through as poor marking allows an open shot at the back post that is buried. 1-0, PNE. 15'- Shaw with a good ball for Hammond in space. Hammond crosses to the back post for Boucaud who drives a shot low, but it's deflected and cleared. 28'- Kruse with a terrific save of a ball that seemed marked for the top corner. We're actually not playing all that badly despite the paucity of chances. We sub in Mika Aaritalo for Asprilla, and replace Eoin Jess with Tom Penford on the right. 51'- A great bit of defending, as Preston have 2 chances at point blank range, but our defense does well to get in the way and Kruse finally smothers it. 77'- Not much going on, as Preston is controlling the ball. We put in Holmes for Nicolas, and put Dakinah up to the right wing, playing a 3-3-1-3 now going on attack. 80'- Hammond takes a shot from 20 yards that sails over. 89'- Boucaud with a great cross from the right in to Shaw at the back post, but he can't keep his header down. 92'- Our last chance is a Plummer free kick down the middle of the pitch that just outpaces Holmes and is grabbed by the keeper. We get beat, but not badly. Aaritalo played poorly early, but won some balls late in the half. Boucaud didn't do much aside from the one cross, and Penford was also a non-factor. Dakinah rates our only 6 in defense, but seemed to play OK. Loss, 0-1, out of Carling Cup Shots/on target: Posh 7/2, Preston 20/7 Poss: 54-46, Preston A: 7,428 __________________ My listening habits

02-17-2005, 09:32 AM	#11
Butter Coordinator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Dayton, OH	Willock agrees to a contract with Rotherham, and we bid farewell to last year's top goal and assist man. Rotherham sign him to a 3 year deal worth $300k per season, a figure we never would have bid. This move increases our transfer budget to $300k, and reduces our wage overage to $490k for this season. European Super Cup Porto 0:1 AC Milan -Milan beat Porto in the annual meeting of the previous season's Champions League and EURO Cup. Porto dominated the game, but couldn't dent the scoresheet as Andriy Shevchenko's early goal holds up and gives Milan the win in front of a relatively small crowd of under 20,000 in Monaco. Kofi Dakinah fractures his jaw in training, and will be out about a month which hurts our defensive depth. Ferdinand is out with a minor injury for our next match as well. Jess is averaging a 6.40 in 5 games, so I'm switching him out for Alexis Nicolas on the right. Sheffield is using 3 strikers up front, so hopefully our defense will be able to keep them in check. Lineup: GK: Kruse Def: Pritchard, Plummer, Yates, Burton DM: Navarro Mid: Valois, Nicolas AM: Shaw Str: Hammond, Asprilla Aug. 29, Match 5 2-0-2, 12th pl., 6 pts. @ Sheffield Utd. (1-0-3, 20th pl., 3 pts.) Notes: United were demoted last year from the Championship. Fav: Blades, 6:4 3'- Horrific defending as Plummer and Yates get beat on a move by a Blades striker, but Kruse saves them with a good save. 6'- Valois with a couple of good angles on a pass, but he decides to shoot from 25 yards and it bends wide. 10'- Shaw with a wicked bending shot, but the Sheffield keeper gets his hand on it and deflects it out. Great shot and save! 13'- A Blades header is denied by the crossbar. Lots of up and down action, but few good chances in the first half. 8 total cards given out, 5 to Sheffield, and 3 to yours truly. Pritchard and Burton both took knocks and are hobbling about. Pritchard has the worst of it, so he'll sit in favor of Ireland. Otherwise, no changes. 54'- Bad giveaway as Navarro tries to pass it upfield, but it hits a leg and bounces straight to a Blades striker who is all alone with Kruse, and finishes. 1-0, Sheffield. 67'- Sheffield is dominating the 2nd half, so we sub in Jess for Burton, and move Navarro to the back row. We go with a 4-2-2-2 now, with 2 attacking midfielders. 73'- Spicer on for Nicolas and we move Navarro to midfield to apply more pressure. We're also now out of subs. 79'- Sheffield with a goal off a corner kick, and that about wraps it up. We just got buried under a mountain of chances in the 2nd half. Sheffield have some extremely talented midfielders that controlled play in this one. Each team ends up with 7 yellows, all on different people so there were no red cards. Kruse and Plummer earn 8's, but Kruse had no choice but to protect himself in the 2nd half. Loss, 2-0, down to 17th Shots/on target: Blades 19/12, Posh 6/2 Poss: 55-45, Blades A: 21,913 __________________ My listening habits

02-02-2005, 02:28 PM	#2
Butter Coordinator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Dayton, OH	We hit the end of May with some nice messages for a change. First off: The board have announced that the planned expansion to the club's training facilities has been completed. Apparently, this was completed at an expense of nearly $325k, which brings our budget surplus down to just under $600k. Then: Peterborough have announced a new sponsorship with a local company. The deal is estimated to be worth $52k per year over 3 years. Which makes me wonder what our old sponsorship deal was for. I'll have to check that out. And: The Peterborough board have informed you that your transfer budget for this year will be in the region of $200k. You will be allowed to retain the vast majority of any transfer income to supplement this budget. Which is just grand, except I don't have any big ticket players to sell like I did last season. Unless I want to unload Callum Willock. Which is tempting considering that he played out his ass last year. Notts County is the final winner of the League Two playoffs, so they'll be joining us in League One next year. And Sunderland win the Championship Playoffs to earn their way to the Premiership for '05-'06. Finally, we find that Paul Shaw nabbed second place in the League One Goal of the Year honors for his effort against Wrexham on August 11. Which was a magical strike from about 40 yards and a well deserved award. We start the offseason in June with a note that the board is still "very pleased" with my performance as manager. Yeah, just wait until we actually win a few games. __________________ My listening habits

02-03-2005, 11:30 AM	#3
Butter Coordinator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Dayton, OH	Apparently, the last sponsorship deal ran out after the 03-04 season and was for $200k per year. So we're not doing so hot with the sponsors now. But that's ok. The thing that kills me is that no one will sign our players that are going out of contract. Nor will anyone make any offers on our pricier folk. I don't know how to shrink the wage budget when these guys just won't get off the books. We do manage to sign yet another young, foreign, talented keeper. 17 year old Marcus Eskilsson, a Sweden native, signs with us for $6k per year for 3 years. He is raw, but we'll stick him in the reserves and try to develop him. It doesn't cost us a transfer fee to his current Swedish club since his contract is up in December, and it may well pay dividends down the road with a transfer fee. He'll join us on December 1. The complicating thing about attempting to sign Callum Willock to a long term contract is that his time is up at the end of the upcoming season. And right now he's worth $380k. And who knows how much money he'll want to stay with us if he has ANOTHER awesome season. Willock may well have to leave us if we can manage to loan anybody worth a crap. More messages: First: Callum Willock has been voted Peterborough Fans' Player of the Year. -Well deserved. Then: Peterborough have been given $550,000 for League One TV rights for the upcoming season. -Yay, cash! My favorite! And: The Peterborough board are pleased at your performance as manager this season. You are expected to invest in new players and start rebuilding the team during the coming season. To help you achieve this the Peterborough board have given you a transfer budget of $200k. -Well, der. I already knew this. And in the spirit of investing in new players, I agree terms with a blast from the past... you know him, you love him, you remember him from his time at Newcastle in the late 90's when he used to blow past people then blast one into the seats, it's striker Faustino Asprilla! I found him aged 35 toiling away for some club in Italy called "Valle D'Aosta". I have to await a work permit for the guy, but surely he's a cinch. He played in England before, didn't he? I think about arranging some friendlies, then just decide to let my assistant manager do it. Why waste that 20 minutes of my life? It really makes no difference to me who we play, as long as we get fit and don't die during a plane ride. I used to think it was cool setting up tours of various countries... but it really has no bearing on anything, so I just skip it. Here's who we get scheduled: v. Nott'm Forest (Champ.) v. Leeds (EPL) v. Borussia Dortmund (German Bundesliga) @ Chesham (non-league) @ Lincoln (League 2) @ Cambridge City (Conf. South) July 1st rolls around, and holy crap there's a lot of action. First, we welcome 4 new faces to the club: -Elvis Hammond, a 24 year old striker joins the club for for $48k per year for 3 seasons. He is very quick and a good finisher, but still needs to work on his off the ball skill. He joins us from Fulham, where he was on loan to Leyton Orient in league 2 last year, and scored 2 goals in 15 appearances. -Kofi Dakinah, a 25 year old Danish fullback joins us for $44k per year for 3 seasons. Dakinah is a good right side defender, and is an extremely hard worker who does need some technical improvement. He joins us from league-mates Walsall, where he was largely a substitute and had an AvR (average rating) of 6.92 in 12 apps. last year. -Jim Johansen, an 18 year old Norwegian striker joins us for $20k (+10% increase/yr.) per year for 4 years. He'll start in the reserves, but certainly has the ability to join the big club next year. I'll likely list him for loan this season. He joins us from Norwegian club team Harstad, for whom he scored 4 goals in just 5 apps. last year. -And finally the big one, Jean-Louis Valois, a 31 year old left winger joins us for $180k per year for 3 seasons. He is a top class player who should help our offense immediately. He is very fit for his age, and should start most games for us on the left wing in our new 4-4-2 diamond attack. He played last year at Championship side Burnley, scoring 9 goals and tallying 2 assists in 47 apps. He started his career at Auxerre and Lille in France, so he comes with quite the pedigree. Our fans immediately note the quality of the Valois signing: The 31 year old left winger is a hugely popular figure with the supporters and there is a sense of anticipation at the club that Valois can really boost the team. We look around and make several more offers and inquiries, including offering trials to several players who have just hit the market. July 1st, gotta love it! __________________ My listening habits

02-03-2005, 01:53 PM	#4
Butter Coordinator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Dayton, OH	We sign another scout, giving $16k a year to 46 year old Dutch scout Romeo Zondervan. We plan to scour the globe a bit more in search of those special Posh players. We sign another blast from the past, giving 38 year old striker Les Ferdinand $150k for 1 season. Ferdinand was earning nearly $1M last year for Bolton, but they decided not to re-sign him and we took the opportunity to sign a player of Premiership talents. His stamina is down, but he is instantly the best striker on our team. We put Leon Constantine up for transfer immediately. We finally get a good offer of 0 from Thurrock, a Conference South side, for Peter Kennedy... but he refuses to sign with them! Son of a bitch! We just cannot get rid of this guy's $240k salary. I'm going to screw this guy over somehow. In general news, US keeper Kasey Keller signs with Bournemouth, a fellow League One team. So, we'll be seeing him in goal at least twice this year. Sadly for us (or maybe not considering the Ferdinand signing), the Asprilla permit is turned down. We appeal it, but I've never won an appeal and probably won't start now. We sign several players who are out of contract to free trials, including a loaner player from last year, former Arsenal midfielder John Spicer. Of the 6 players we get in, 4 look decent enough to take a run at signing. If I get one of the 2 strikers, I'll likely transfer list Steve Basham. The first trial signing is Phil Cave, an 18 year old central defender who spent the last 2 years in the Newcastle youth system. He has some good skill, but has lots of room for improvement on both sides of the ball. He'll pick up $44k a year for 3 years, and likely will spend this next year on loan. The second trial signing is 17 year old striker James Faulkner. Faulkner has great finishing skill and is a terrific physical specimen, but is still very raw. He'll only run us $6k per year for 4 years as a "hot prospect". I'll also look to loan him out this season, as he's not anywhere near ready to play for us. Finally, friendly #1 rolls around. Here is our lineup for this match in our new formation: GK: Kruse Def (L-R): Jones, Plummer, Yates, Chris Carr (a right sided defender on loan) DM: Navarro ML/MR: Valois, Jess AM: Shaw Str: Ferdinand, Hammond If you don't know many of these names, scroll back up and read year 1 to familiarize yourself with our squad. Friendly #1 v. Nott'm Forest (Champ.) Our former midfielder, Curtis Woodhouse, starts in midfield in Forest's 4-4-2. Woodhouse averaged a 6.31 for Forest in the second half of last season, not exactly stellar. Midway through the first half, Lukas Kruse decides to just give the ball away. I mean that literally, he just dribbled the ball too far away from himself, it was collected by a Forest attacker and struck home for an easy 1-0 lead. We control play throughout the first 45, but can't score. Elvis Hammond looked particularly dangerous, but mostly it was a ball possession first half with little to recommend it. A scrappy first pre-season outing for our first teamers (and Chris Carr, who was very impressive on the right). The subs come on for half 2. And neither team can put one in, so it ends 1-0. Zlatan Azinovic is sort of arbitraily awarded the man of the match, making one good save in the 2nd half on a long range strike. But we don't manage much offense either, disappointingly. Chris Carr was our only 90 minute man, very impressive in defense, and fellow loaner Youssou Diop also played well on the left as a 2nd half sub. We did outshoot Forest 7-6, and possession was nearly even, so we actually played pretty well, aside from the one bonehead maneuvre by Kruse. Loss, 0-1 A: 4,197 I tender Carr a contract, but the assistant manager doesn't believe signing Diop would be worthwhile, so we hold off on him. We do sign our 3rd trial player to a contract, 19 year old striker Mika Aaritalo, a Finnish player. Aaritalo signs with us for $60k per year over 3 seasons, and necessitates the placing of Steve Basham on the transfer list. John Spicer makes it 4 trial players signed to a contract, signing for $100k for just this season. I like the guy a lot, but I don't want to commit too much time to him. And hey, guess what? The work permit for Asprilla has been approved! Well, that's good and stuff, but I was fully expecting him to not be with us this year, so now I've got WAY too many strikers. Asprilla will join us on August 1st, which gives us some time to work out our roster. Chris Carr makes it 5 trialers signed now as he comes on for $20k per for 4 years. Carr is only 20 years old, and has a very promising future at right fullback. He may even play some this year if I can't loan him. I decide to bite the bullet and offer Callum Willock around. He was a stud for me last year, but his technical abilities just don't justify him getting any playing time this year. Nor does his salary or the fact that he's due to leave the club at the end of this season. His value might never be higher, so I would be crazy to pass up the chance to cash in on him right now. One thing that's painfully obvious looking over our player list for the next match is that we're desperately short of midfielders. I will HAVE to loan in some folks or sign somebody to shore up the depth. Lineup for Friendly #2: GK: Kruse Def: Pritchard, Burton, Cave, Carr DM: Penford Mid: Valois, Jess AM: Shaw Str: Ferdinand, Hammond Friendly #2 v. Leeds (Premiership) A fairly even first half, as Shaw strikes first, getting a good nod on from Elvis Hammond and scoring in acres of space. But Leeds scored in the 30th off a good header, then Chris Carr yielded a penalty on the right side with a shirt tug on a striker who was set to blow past him. We trail at the break 2-1 and put the subs in, but we played Leeds very even in half #1. We switch out the entire 11 for half 2, and don't do much of anything. Spicer takes a small knock and has to be replaced. But we're not creating much in this formation with the backups. Azinovic again outshines Kruse in goal, with a couple of fine saves. Again, we play a higher up team close, but can't score in the second half to lose. Loss, 1-2 A: 15,276 Good crowd for the Leeds visit. We send out feelers to loan several midfielders and wait for replies. We get several rejections for Callum Willock and Leon Constantine, and now I figure we're just gonna be stuck with these guys for the season. Friendly #3 v. Borussia Dortmund (Bundesliga) An impressive home series continues as we run out the same lineup as last time, except starting Spicer on the left for Valois, who is out with a slight groin injury. This is one hell of an entertaining first half, as Dortmund start fast with 2 goals in the first 20 minutes, but Paul Shaw gets one back with a magnificent 30 yard piledriver that beats the keeper to the far post. Dortmund just pile on attack after attack, but Kruse holds up his end in the final 25 minutes of half 1 to go to the break 2-1. Zlatan Azinovic makes another run to be our first-team keeper, rating a 9 in the second half of this one. He wins his 2nd MoM award in 3 matches as this one finishes 2-1. Not much going on in the 2nd half, but we're just getting everyone fit at this point anyway. Loss, 1-2 A: 15,219 __________________ My listening habits

02-03-2005, 03:12 PM	#5
Butter Coordinator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Dayton, OH	Joy of joys, Peter Kennedy has signed with Bristol Rovers! We don't get a fee for him, but finally we're rid of that monster $240,000 per year contract that was eating a giant hole in our salary budget! Kennedy signs for $220k per year for Rovers, but gets some regular football, and gets out of my way. Another surprise, as Chelsea starlet Alexis Nicolas agrees to join us on loan. This should help our midfield depth greatly, as Nicolas is a very talented defensive midfielder who is just 22 years old. Chelsea will be paid 20% of his $100k salary for Nicolas to join us for the entire season. Nicolas is a Cyprus international with 5 caps, and actually turned down a loan offer to us last season. Friendly #4 @ Chesham (non-league) Nicolas gets the start at DM, while Valois returns to left wing. We start hopefully what will be our starting lineup this year, let's see what happens. Steve Yates comes off injured in the 8th minute, which is not good. Shaw again scores for us, after Les Ferdinand had a ball taken off his feet, but Shaw was there to tap into an open net. Then Chesham score on an odd deflection, as St. Ledger tried to stick his leg out to clear a long range shot, but ended up sending it past Kruse. We have way more chances in the first half, but don't finish well which was our problem last season. Subs on for the 2nd half. Nicolas rates our only 8, but we don't apply much pressure in the 2nd half, and we finish level. Not a good sign that we can't manufacture much pressure against the non-leaguers. Chesham has football fever as 87 whole people turned out for this match! Draw, 1-1 Somehow, we hit work permit issues for an Australian player who is already playing for Crystal Palace's reserve squad. Very odd. I can only assume that he won't be playing for Palace either this year. We again start our starters (aside from the back 4) against League 2 Lincoln. Hopefully we can get forward a bit more against them. Friendly #5 @ Lincoln (League 2) Lincoln play an odd 3-3-2-1-1, with 9 players in their half of the field when not on the attack. I can't say this is going to help me figure out if my formation is working or not. Lincoln just thoroughly dominate us in half 1. Kruse struggles again, allowing a goal on the only shot on target for Lincoln in the first half. But our attacking formation yields exactly ZERO shots. I leave the starters on, and they show me what's what by allowing Lincoln to score again in the very first minute of the half. What a wretched effort by my first-teamers this is! I leave the 1st team on until around the 65th minute, then bring on the subs. What a travesty this game was! We are dominated by Lincoln. Yuk. Loss, 2-0 A: 310 Not sure what to do, becuase I was banking on this formation to help turn things around this year, along with a couple of key additions. That clearly hasn't been happening. Kruse, who was so good at the end of last year, has just been awful during the preseason. Ferdinand and Hammond haven't scored one goal in 5 starts here. In fact, Paul Shaw has been the only scorer, netting all 3 of our goals thus far. One more friendly to drill this formation home before we get set for the season. Final friendly, and we start what will hopefully be our starting 11. Navarro and Nicolas will have to switch off at DM, but they can move around as needed. Lineup: GK: Kruse Def: Pritchard, Plummer, Yates, Burton DM: Nicolas Mid: Valois, Jess AM: Shaw Str: Ferdinand, Holmes Friendly #6 @ Cambridge City (Conf. South) We actually control play for most of the first half, but still find ourselves behind 1-0 after 45. Valois looked dangerous finally on the left, and Derek Holmes had a couple of good chances, with Nicolas dominating the center. Sadly, it was the center of defense breaking down again and allowing a goal that left us behind. In the 60th, Elvis Hammond finally breaks through, thanks to a good ball forward by Derek Holmes. Navarro gets a goal on a deflection in the 85th minute to finally earn us a win! We looked like the classier team in the 2nd half for once, and finally get a victory. Hammond and Kruse both earn 8's, and Hammond ran riot in the Cambridge defense for the final half hour. Good way to finish up the pre-season, as Hammond solidifies his place in the starting XI. Win, 1-2 A: 173 The board moves up to "very pleased" with my performance at the start of the season... I can only hope they're impressed by the signings I've put together. Asprilla also joins us on August 1. Promotion Odds Blackpool 7:4 Sheffield Utd., Watford, Swindon, Bristol City 2:1 Doncaster 3:1 . . . Peterborough 40:1 The bookmakers reckon promotion is unlikely this season without significant changes to your first team squad and this is reflected by your odds. A mid-table finish is considered a far more realistic target. The League Cup First Round draw is made, and we'll host Championship club Preston North End. __________________ My listening habits

02-03-2005, 03:41 PM	#6
Butter Coordinator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Dayton, OH	Opening lineup: GK: Kruse Def: Pritchard, Plummer, Yates, Burton DM: Nicolas Mid: Valois, Jess AM: Shaw Str: Ferdinand, Hammond Subs: GK Azinovic, Str. Asprilla, DC Ireland, MC Spicer, DM Navarro August 6, Match 1 @ Swansea Fav: Swansea, Even 8'- Les Ferdinand with a good ball to Valois who tries to cross for Shaw, but it's gathered in by the keeper. 14'- Valois with another beautiful move finds Jess open on the right of the box. Jess attacks and lays it off for Shaw who hits the crossbar! A scramble finds the ball again at Valois' feet, but he can't cross in this time. 24'- Valois again slips a ball across the box to Shaw, who plays Ferdinand through... Les Ferdinand strikes it home with power! 1-0, Posh! Beautiful strike at 12 yards for Les Ferdinand to break the seal on the season for us! 33'- Another good combination of passes, but Valois tries to do a bit too much and is dispossessed in the box. Nicolas is flagging at the half, so Navarro enters for him. 62'- Swans with a point blank shot that hits the crossbar and is cleared. 70'- Asprilla on for a tiring Ferdinand as we welcome the old age club to the sidelines. We also dial down the tempo to try and make our 1 goal lead last. 78'- Valois to Asprilla on the right of the box... Asprilla lays it back for Navarro at the arc, who shoots wide. 83'- Hammond is free, but is dispossessed... the ball falls to Valois, who lays it onto the run of Hammond... Hammond is free from 10 yards, but can't finish! Asprilla charges onto the rebound, but can't get there before it's cleared away. 85'- A defensive breakdown as a Swans midfielder attacks the right side of the box after Yates gets lost in midfield... he is free to cross to an open striker at the back post, who finishes. 1-1. Spicer in for a tired Jess. We switch to an all-out attack to attempt to get it back. I want 3 points! We have numerous chances and are just killing Swansea in the middle! 91'- Shaw gets a throw from Yates, turns and tries his luck from 25 yards... the shot takes a deflection and goes in!!!!! Magical stuff at the end as we get our well-deserved 3 points!! Jean-Louis Valois with a well deserved 10 in midfield, winning MoM honors. Plummer picks up a 9, Yates, Burton, Pritchard, and Shaw pick up 8's. Valois completed 28/35 passes and made 15 forward runs. 15 is quite a lot! No one else made more than 1. What a start to the season as we salvage max. points! Win, 1-2, start in 5th place Shots/on target: Swans 12/3, Posh 11/7 Poss: 51-49, Swans A: 12,139 Even better is that the chairman of the board made a public comment declaring the board extremely pleased with the result! Wonderful start to the season! __________________ My listening habits

02-17-2005, 09:33 AM	#12
Butter Coordinator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Dayton, OH	Our attacking formation has netted us 3 straight shutouts. So we hit the transfer wire and attempt to rectify the situation. We make several signings at the end of August, using up over 3/4 of our transfer budget and shooting our wage budget back over the top... $1 million over budget in fact, necessitating the listing of some players. -Paul Devlin, a 33 year old right sided attacking midfielder signs with us from Watford (L1). He'll get $220k per season from us for the next 3 years, and Watford will pick up just $6k from us. Devlin started his career with Stafford Rangers, and has also played for Notts County, Birmingham, and Sheffield United. He scored 12 goals for Watford last year in their relegation season, and has averaged a 7.40 in 5 starts for Watford so far this year. If he gets hot, he does have a minimum fee release clause of $500k, but I imagine his age will preclude most offers of that size. -Andy Monkhouse, a 24 year old attacking midfielder who can play all sides signs from Rotherham (Champ.). He comes over for a $60k fee to Rotherham, a team with which he had spent his entite career. Monkhouse has scored once in 2 apps. this year, but has seen his playing time dwindle as he hasn't come along quite as well on the passing side. He is more of a crossing winger than a distributor of the ball, as his poor passing skill would suggest. Still, he gives us a lot of depth for his $120k/yr. contract over the next 2 years. -We finally agree to a contract and transfer fee for that young Swedish midfielder I had talked about earlier. Tobias Eriksson is 20 years old, and a very skillful attacking midfielder who can play on the left or in the center. He comes over from GIF Sundsvall from Sweden for a total of $170k ($130k up front and $40k over 6 months). He gets a contract worth $120k per year for 4 seasons, and should play behind Valois on the left. -Fourth, we sign Dean Edward Martin, another attacking midfielder who started out at West Ham long ago but has been playing in Iceland the last 5 years. Martin is 33, and will get $48k per season for 3 years. He comes over on a free transfer from his Icelandic club team, for whom he was averaging a 7.56 in 6 matches this year. -Lastly, we sign GK Jon Masalin, a young Finnish player on a free transfer. Masalin is just 19, and has better skill than Azinovic, our current backup. He spent the last 2 years with Aston Villa's reserves, not playing much. Masalin becomes our backup, and we'll try to loan out Azinovic. Masalin will cost just $16k per over the next 3 years. Hopefully, this will end our formation problems, and improve our performance overall. We still have 10 days until our next match thanks to World Cup Qualifying, so we offer some players around, including John Spicer and Tom Penford, recent signees who are expensive but have no position with us now. We can't get anyone to move yet, sadly, so we're stuck at nearly $1 million over our yearly wage budget. If we can get promotion, it'll be worth exhausting that surplus. Our slightly new lineup against 1st place Bristol City looks like this: GK: Kruse Def: Pritchard, Plummer, St. Ledger, Burton DM: Navarro Mid: Valois, Devlin AM: Shaw Str: Hammond, Ferdinand Sept. 10, Match 6 2-0-3, 17th pl., 6 pts. v. Bristol City (4-0-1, 1st pl., 12 pts.) Series: Bristol C., 2-0-0 Fav: City, 5:4 1'- City nearly scores 45 seconds in off a long free kick and a header, but it's mercifully wide. 3'- City doesn't make a mistake on their second chance, banking in a shot off the near post, beating Kruse. Quickly 1-0, and that's not the kind of start we were hoping for. 31'- The next significant action (besides the 5 cards during this card-fest), as Valois beats 2 defenders, then finds Ferdinand at 12 yards, who hits a good volley, but the City keeper makes the save. 37'- Valois gets the pass from Devlin, and powers one at goal from 20 yards, but it's way too high. 45'- A scramble in front as both Hammond and Ferdinand are tackled down with the ball at their feet, but there's no whistle. Our defense has been out to lunch, but the attack seemed to liven up in the last quarter hour of the half. St. Ledger is rating a 5 in central defense, but he'll stay in. Bristol continue to control play during the first 20 minutes of the second half, launching several unsuccessful attacks. 66'- Valois with a marvelous ball to the feet of Hammond, but his shot is wide of the mark. 70'- Eriksson in for St. Ledger as we go to a 3 man backline again. 75'- Plummer picks up a 2nd yellow card in defense, and our 7th of the match, vs. Bristol's 4. We go to a 2 man back... not much choice really. 77'- Valois is taken down, and a Bristol defender gets his 2nd yellow, and we're 10 on 10. Devlin shoots in the free kick from 25 yards, and it hits the post! Valois is there for the rebound, but it's tackled away for a corner! Navarro with the corner to Shaw, and he has an easy chance from 4 yards but puts it into the keeper's stomach! ARGH!!!!!! Monkhouse in for Shaw, Holmes in for Hammond as we press on. Our best chance comes when Ferdinand shoots from 15 yards, but he just misses. What do I have to do to score a goal here? We can't even score with attacking tactics on. This is sad. Devlin earns an 8 on his debut, and Burton and Valois also pick up 8's. Everyone else but St. Ledger gets 7's. Loss, 0-1, drop to 18th Shots/on target: Posh 11/7, City 23/7 Poss: 51-49, City A: 7,026 Plummer gets the automatic one match ban for his red card. We haven't scored in 4 matches, and I don't know why. The draw for the Vans Trophy is held, and we'll visit league foes Colchester about 12 days after we host them in a league clash. __________________ My listening habits

02-17-2005, 09:35 AM	#13
Butter Coordinator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Dayton, OH	It would seem I now have the personnel to run this diamond attack effectively. 2 quality DM's, several attacking midfielders on both sides and in the middle, and a few good strikers. So, if we continue to struggle, I'm not sure what the answer is except to attempt to improve the defense or possibly switch tactics yet again. Champions League Group Play, Round 1 Group A AC Milan 1:1 Real Madrid Paris 1:0 Rosenborg (NOR) Group B Panathinaikos 2:1 Tottenham Roma 1:4 Monaco Group C Arsenal 2:0 Valencia Sparta Prague 0:1 PSV Group D Benfica 2:0 Anderlecht (BEL) Red Star 0:0 Werder Bremen Group E Chelsea 2:2 Porto Inter Milan 1:3 Shakhtar (UKR) Group F Celtic 3:0 Lyon Fenerbahce 2:0 Juventus Group G Bayern Munich 3:0 Basel (SUI) Man Utd. 4:2 Barcelona Group H Banik Ostrava (CZE) 2:2 Ajax Deportivo 1:1 Leverkusen Billy Jones leaves the club, and takes his modest $32k salary with him. Woking, a Conference side, signs him for a $6k fee, and up his salary to $56k. Jones was obtained last year in the deal that sent DM Steve Thomson to Leyton Orient. Jones made 5 appearances late last year for the club, averaging a 6.40. Our lineup for this next match v. Colchester, a team that we had a decent time with last year: GK: Kruse Def: Pritchard, Ireland, Yates, Burton DM: Nicolas Mid: Valois, Devlin AM: Shaw Str: Hammond, Ferdinand Sept. 17, Match 7 2-0-4, 18th pl., 6 pts. v. Colchester (2-2-2, 13th pl., 8 pts.) Series: Posh lead 1-1-0 Fav: Posh, 5:4 6'- An eventful series, as the U's have 2 shots at close range miss, 1 off the crossbar, then Les Ferdinand narrowly misses the top corner after a Valois cross on the counter. 13'- Devlin with a good cross to Ferdinand, whose header is saved by the keeper. The ensuing corner is stolen and taken the length of the field, but that chance is sent wide. 19'- Valois with a short cross into space, and Ferdinand's diving header strikes the post and is cleared. Good chance there! 38'- Colchester with a break, and the striker fakes Kruse out and scores. 1-0, U's. We have gone over 400 minutes without a goal now. No changes for the 2nd half. 48'- Devlin's cross is deflected down to Hammond, but the shot is tipped over the bar. 57'- Devlin with another good cross to the head of Shaw, whose header is tipped over again. We just cannot finish! 66'- Shaw with a free kick from 30 yards... it comes down right to Hammond, who has it inside 3 yards... He shoots and scores! Finally a goal to tie the match! 72'- Colchester manage a break and the first shot is deflected wide, but right to another U's striker, 2-1. Navarro in for Nicolas, Eriksson in for Valois, and Holmes in for Pritchard as we go to a 3 man front and back. 83'- Eriksson with a terrific ball for Hammond, who is free... he advances on the keeper and slots it inside the far post! Hammond's 2nd of the game, and we're all square again at 2! We keep up the pressure and force several corners but are unable to get a third. But at least we get a point and stop the losing streak. Ferdinand and Hammond both get 8's, and Kruse wins MoM with a 9 in goal. Now if we could just get a lead. Draw, 2-2, up to 17th Shots/on target: Posh 9/5, U's 18/6 Poss: 52-48, U's A: 4,076 __________________ My listening habits

02-17-2005, 10:55 AM	#14
Butter Coordinator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Dayton, OH	Well, I've decided to mess with the tactics a bit. We're still keeping the 4-4-2 diamond, but have slowed our pace of play and narrowed our defense. We're also keeping the defensive players back instead of roaming them forward too often. We are instructing our 2 wingers to cross the ball often, but that's it. We're also cutting back on the number of long shots, and trying to improve our set piece tactics, as it seems it's quite rare for us to score on a corner or free kick unless it goes straight in. Carling Cup, Round 2 A couple of small upsets here, but nothing major. Darlington (L2) 2:1 Fulham (EPL) Stoke (Champ.) 2:1 Southampton (EPL) Lineup: GK: Kruse Def: Pritchard, Plummer, Ireland, Burton DM: Navarro Mid: Valois, Devlin AM: Shaw Str: Hammond, Ferdinand Sept. 17, Match 8 2-1-4, 17th pl., 7 pts. @ Blackpool (1-0-6, 23rd pl., 3 pts.) Series: Seasiders, 1-1-0 Fav: Seasiders, 6:4 Blackpool have the better of play for the first quarter hour. 18'- A terrific long ball down the center by the Seasider keeper finds a striker wide open, who scores past Kruse. But luckily for us, the flag is up and we remain scoreless. We manage only one decent shot the whole half, and I say decent only because of the shooter. Shaw missed from 30 yards. But we did have more of the ball in the first half, and managed to keep Blackpool off the board. Considering our rough record on the road, I'd take a point from this, though I'd prefer 3. Shaw and Burton are both limping around the pitch, but will remain in for half 2. 46'- Both teams with a good chance in the opening minute, as Ferdinand puts a 20 yarder wide, while a close in Blackpool header skims over the bar. 61'- A Seasider midfielder gets one on one with Kruse, but the keeper does a good job of forcing the shot high. 69'- Valois also picks up a knock, and we use 2 subs to replace the limpers. Monkhouse in for Valois, and Martin in for Shaw. Burton seems to be ok, so we leave him out there. 72'- Devlin steals a throw in, then spots Monkhouse on the other side of the field. Monkhouse gets the pass, settles it, and shoots from 20 yards, and he hit it hard, but it caroms back off the crossbar and is cleared. Good shot! 84'- Devlin with another steal of a throw, and he spots Monkhouse again. This time Andy chips one into the 6, and right onto the head of Les Ferdinand, who nods it in! A late goal gives us a lead! We switch our tactics to defense to try and hold it, subbing in Nicolas for Ferdinand and putting 2 men in defense. 89'- Monkhouse with another great play, attacking from the left. He finds an unmarked Dean Edward Martin at the near post, but Martin slides it a foot wide! Great chance that ends with nothing there! Blackpool has some possession in our third, but don't come up with any quality chances and we take the points! Jean-Louis Valois wins MoM rating a 9 in his 69 minutes of play. He completed 20/25 passes, including 8 key passes. He also had shot on goal, and 2 key headers. Kruse, Burton, Ireland, and Devlin also picked up 8's. I'm surprised Monkhouse didn't get an 8, because even in 20 minutes he was everywhere. Win, 0-1, up to 16th Shots/on target: Seasiders 15/4, Posh 8/4 Poss: 53-47, Posh A: 7,943 Sagi Burton stubbed a toe, and despite playing the 2nd half and getting a high rating, the physio recommends I rest him for 5 days. That's right, 5 days for a stubbed toe. __________________ My listening habits

02-17-2005, 11:33 AM	#15
Butter Coordinator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Dayton, OH	Now comes our visit to Colchester to face the U's in the first round of the Vans Trophy (South Draw). Valois is picked in the League One Team of the Week. We start a radically different lineup in this Cup match, just to see what people can do. I'd love to start Tobias Eriksson, but he's out with a nagging leg injury. Lineup: GK: Masalin Def: Legg, St. Ledger, Yates, Hunt DM: Navarro Mid: Monkhouse, Martin AM: Jess Str: Asprilla, Holmes Sept. 27, Vans Trophy South Draw, Round 1 @ Colchester (12th in League 1) Series: Posh, 1-2-0 Fav: Posh, 6:4 2'- Monkhouse gets a throw, and slips a ball to Asprilla in the box. Asprilla crosses for Jess, who nods it to the foot of Holmes. Holmes blasts it off the keeper, but the rebound falls to a wide open Martin who slides it home! Great start, 1-0 Peterborough! 5'- Martin finds Jess in the arc, who beats one defender but flies his shot wide. 32'- Martin took a knock around the 15th minute, and is not shaking it off very well, so he comes out for Devlin. 39'- U's with a great chance, but Kruse makes a diving save of an open 12 yard shot... the rebound rolls to a Colchester striker, but Yates tackles it away! 42'- U's with another good chance off a corner, but the low shot hits the foot of the post and Yates hoofs it to safety. A fairly even first half that we controlled early, then Colchester controlled late. We switch to more defensive tactics for the 2nd half to try and put it away. 53'- A Colchester striker with a wicked right foot strike from 20 yards, but Masalin reads it well and holds it. 61'- Legg with a good ball to Monkhouse, who slips it through to Asprilla. Asprilla is onside and one on one with the keeper, but sends his shot into orbit. 64'- A Colchester midfielder breaks loose and has Masalin one on one, but he also puts his shot into the seats. 67'- Ireland on for a tiring Navarro as we go to a 5 man back line. 70'- Hunt with a great 40 yard ball through the defense right to Asprilla, who has an open shot, but it's tipped over for a corner. 78'- Asprilla is free again, but has it tackled away. 89'- Holmes is free down the right, but he gets bodychecked down as he approaches the box and is injured. We are able to hold on for the final minutes and keep Colchester off the scoreboard to advance. Another great team effort, as Andy Monkhouse wins MoM from the left wing, completing 23/27 passes, including 7 key ones. Jess played well, completing over 70% of his 52 passes, including 6 key ones and playing a big part in our goal. Jess, Legg, Yates, Hunt, and Masalin all pick up 8's for their efforts, and Masalin was particularly impressive in net. Win, 0-1, advance to 2nd Round of South Draw Shots/on target: U's 16/4, Posh 12/5 Poss: 55-45, U's A: 2,473 Champions League Group Play, Match Day 2 Group E Porto 1:3 Inter Shakhtar 1:3 Chelsea Group F Juventus 2:0 Celtic Lyon 1:2 Fenerbahce Group G Barcelona 2:1 Bayern Munich Basel 0:1 Man Utd. Group H Ajax 0:1 Deportivo Leverkusen 2:0 Banik Ostrava Group A Real Madrid 1:0 Paris Rosenborg 0:0 AC Milan Group B Monaco 1:0 Panathinaikos Tottenham 0:0 Roma Group C PSV 0:0 Arsenal Valencia 3:0 Sparta Prague Group D Anderlecht 2:2 Red Star Werder Bremen 1:1 Benfica __________________ My listening habits

02-17-2005, 03:07 PM	#16
Butter Coordinator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Dayton, OH	Good news for me, as Tranmere right sided defender Tyrone Loran is out for 3 months or more with an injured knee. Loran has been named to all 3 League One Teams of the Week that I've seen, and is averaging a crazy 7.7 rating for the season. Tranmere whipped us badly and are currently near the top, so hopefully I can take advantage and use our momentum to rise to the top 6. We get a very favorable draw for the Vans Trophy second round, going to Conference Nat'l side Aldershot. October comes, and the board is still very pleased with my performance, as are the fans. We get back to our standard lineup, with one change for our next match. Andy Monkhouse has been tearing it up, so he'll start at AMC for Paul Shaw. Lineup: GK: Kruse Def: Pritchard, Plummer, Ireland, Burton DM: Navarro Mid: Valois, Devlin AM: Monkhouse Str: Hammond, Ferdinand Oct. 1, Match 9 3-1-4, 16th pl., 10 pts. v. Swindon (3-3-2, 10th pl., 12 pts.) Series: Swindon, 2-0-0 (including our worst loss of the year, 6-1) Fav: Posh, 6:4 12'- Swindon with the first good chance of the game... we take a corner and after a couple of attempted shots are stopped due to traffic in front, the ball comes out to a Swindon winger, who takes it to the endline, crosses to the back post for an easy finish. 1-0, Swindon. Poor defending there. 19'- Navarro with a free kick after a bump on Monkhouse. He plays it short to Valois, who shoots from 25 yards... the ball hits a Swindon leg and goes in! Valois' first goal in the Posh Blue, and we're level! 23'- Les Ferdinand is injured on a rough challenge in midfield and has to leave. Asprilla on for him. 29'- Asprilla open in the middle and he makes a mess of it. He has not impressed this year. At all. 33'- Burton hobbles off for some lengthy treatment. He has had a bad time this year. 38'- Valois feeds a ball low to Asprilla who cuts outside diagonally to get the ball. Asprilla crosses from the left to the back right of the box, where Devlin receives the pass, advances, and shoots it high.... GOAL! 2-1, Posh! 41'- A fierce strike is blocked by Kruse! Good save off an excellent set piece by Swindon. 45'- Burton is injured again right before the half, but I notice that he has much better stamina than the rest of the team. I'm going to have to get a physio report on him after the game. Something's going on here. No changes at the break, except to ratchet down the attack a bit. 54'- First action of the 2nd half, and it's Monkhouse keying an attack. He slips a ball to Hammond, who spots Asprilla in the middle. Faustino lets loose with his left foot, and it takes a deflection and goes in! Asprilla with a goal, and we can do no wrong today! 3-1, Peterborough United! 66'- Well, maybe we can. An errant ball for Asprilla turns into a break for Swindon. A midfielder attacks up the right of the back, then plays a square ball for an onrushing striker who slots it inside the far post. Good attack, poor defending there. 3-2. 74'- Another attack up the left by Swindon and a ball is played back into the area and knocked in. So much for a safe 2 goal lead. 3-3. 81'- Navarro gets a throw in, and flights one to Monkhouse at the top of the box, who nods it down for Devlin... Devlin shoots, but it's just tipped wide and out for a corner. 83'- A Swindon free kick comes in and a shot is deflected to an open Swindon striker who shoots... off the post! And cleared by Devlin! WHEW! 86'- Martin in for Devlin, Shaw in for Valois... both of whom are quite exhausted. Monkhouse moves from AMC to the left wing. Sadly, Swindon pretty much pack it in and take the point. No win for us, blowing a 2 goal lead in the final half hour. Oh well. At least we're scoring now. Valois, Hammond, and Asprilla pick up 8's, but Swindon midfielder Stefani Miglioranzi picks up MoM with a rare 10, assisting on 1 goal, and making 8 key passes. Draw, 3-3, remain in 16th Shots/on target: Posh 9/6, Swindon 16/6 Poss: 52-48, Swindon A: 6,178 Sadly, Les Ferdinand will be out a month with strained knee ligaments. Asprilla earned a shot at the starting job with his performance in this match, with a goal and an assist. __________________ My listening habits

02-18-2005, 10:49 AM	#17
Butter Coordinator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Dayton, OH	Midfielder Andre Boucaud is loaned out to Stevenage Borough. Boucaud will have his entire wage paid for the 3 months of the loan by Stevenage, who is in a promotion fight in league 2. We get 2 weeks off now before a string of matches will have us playing 5 times in 16 days, including our 2nd round Vans Trophy match. Hopefully, our improved depth will help us through this stretch. I can certainly see this team making one of the top 6 spots if we can continue our goal scoring form. Sheffield United insist that they're NOT selling striker Andy Gray. The Blades have struggled in the league this year after being demoted from the Championship after last season. They're in the relegation zone now, and probably could get upwards of $1.5 million for Gray, who tore us up in our first match of the year, but the Blades skipper insists on not selling right now. Then, days later, Gray expresses interest at moving to a bigger club... namely Cardiff. This 2 week break is due to a couple of World Cup Qualifiers. England is having no trouble in their group, and there are no real surprises to be had. Alan Navarro twists a knee on Oct. 10, and is due to be out about a week, which means he'll likely miss our next match, and possibly 2 of them. Manchester City sack fabled boss Kevin Keegan, as Man C has been struggling at the bottom of the Premiership table all season, with just 6 points in the first 8 matches. Everton's David Moyes is the top candidate to take over. No immediate physical concerns on Burton or Alexis Nicolas, who has been hovering around 80% fitness for quite a while. Burton is back to 100% for our next match, but Nicolas is at 70%, meaning that we have no healthy DMC's. David Hunt will get the start there, although I did consider just going with a 4-3-1-2. Also, Craig Ireland is slipping more and more into the lineup. Yates was having fitness problems at the end of last season, and just hasn't been performing as well this year as Ireland has. Lineup: GK: Kruse Def: Pritchard, Plummer, Ireland, Burton DM: Hunt Mid: Valois, Devlin AM: Monkhouse Str: Hammond, Asprilla Oct. 15, Match 10 3-2-4, 16th pl., 11 pts. v. Doncaster (4-2-3, 11th pl., 14 pts.) Series: Rovers, 1-1-0 Fav: Posh, Evens 14'- First significant action of the game, as Doncaster floats a cross in that is surrounded by 3 Posh defenders and Kruse. But naturally, it's headed in by the lone Rovers striker. 1-0, Doncaster. 17'- Plummer with a long ball to Valois down the left, who crosses for Asprilla at 10 yards... Faustino gets his head to it, but it's over the bar. The goal kick is stolen by Burton, who heads to Monkhouse. Andy brings it upfield, then runs diagonal to the left. He slips a ball through to Hammond at the arc, who turns and shoots... it's in! He slots it home inside the right post, and we're even! Great goal by Elvis. 39'- A Doncaster corner is stolen by Ireland. Ireland runs with it 20 yards, then hits it down the left to Valois, who is alone, played onside by a defender on the right. Valois charges at the keeper, and shoots it towards the far post... GOAL! 2-1, Peterborough! Great counter off the errant corner kick, and we surge ahead! No changes at the break, as we're dominating Doncaster. 48'- A corner kick almost finds its way in off a head for Rovers, but it goes over the bar. 68'- Valois takes a pass from Pritchard on the left, and finds Asprilla near the area. Asprilla slips it to Hammond at 10 yards, who settles, turns, and shoots it high and wide. Yates in for Hammond, as we attempt to hold the ball for our win with a 5 man backline. 83'- A dangerous ball off a giveaway by Burton is sent into the open box... Kruse and the Rover striker go after it, and Kruse just wins it, tipping it to Pritchard. Pritchard to Hunt, who finds Monkhouse with space up the middle. Monkhouse to Valois, who sends it back to Monkhouse inside the box... Andy shoots it high... and scores! We sew up the win with a great counter-attack, and Monkhouse with a terrific finish to make it 3-1! Doncaster manage one more chance in injury time, but a good header goes wide of the mark. Terrific victory, our most dominating performance of the season! Andy Monkhouse is playing awesomely in the center of attack, and Valois is just as impressive on the left. Eriksson and Devlin have played well also, so I'm quite happy with all of the recent acquisitions. This leaves Shaw and Jess as the odd men out, a bit, but when we're playing this well I can't worry about feelings. Monkhouse wins MoM with a 10 from his AMC spot. He had a goal, an assist, and 7 key passes. Valois also picks up a 9 with his goal and assist, and 5 key passes. Everyone else rated a 7. Win, 3-1, up to 14th Shots/on target: Posh 19/8, Rovers 5/1 Poss: 50-50 A: 6,174 Both Monkhouse and Valois are picked for the League One Team of the Week. This is Valois' 4th time on the team already this year. __________________ My listening habits

02-18-2005, 11:45 AM	#18
Butter Coordinator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Dayton, OH	Champions League, Match Day 3 Group E Chelsea 1:1 Inter Porto 2:1 Shakhtar Group F Fenerbahce 0:2 Celtic Juventus 1:1 Lyon Group G Barcelona 3:0 Basel Man Utd. 1:0 Bayern Munich Group H Ajax 0:0 Leverkusen Banik Ostrava 0:1 Deportivo Group A Paris 1:1 AC Milan Rosenborg 1:3 Real Madrid Group B Monaco 2:2 Tottenham Roma 3:0 Panathinaikos Group C PSV 0:3 Valencia Sparta Prague 0:4 Arsenal Group D Red Star 1:1 Benfica Werder Bremen 3:0 Anderlecht Nicolas starts at DM today, and Holmes in for Asprilla up front. We'll see what happens, as the other 9 stay the same. Oct. 19, Match 11 4-2-4, 14th pl., 14 pts. @ Rushden (5-3-2, 4th pl., 18 pts.) Series: This is Rushden's first year in League One after winning promotion from League Two last year. Fav: Posh, 4:5 We're heavy favorites in this one against a team playing well above their head right now. Should be interesting. 3'- Diamonds with a great chance, but a point blank header is sent into orbit. 11'- Hammond with 2 good moves breaks free on the keeper, but the keeper stones him. 13'- Poor defending in the box, as a clearance is mishit off a Diamonds player, but Kruse still has a crack at it, but can't hold the bobbling ball, and it's poked into the net. 1-0, R&D. 28'- After a minute of passing it back and forth, Pritchard finds a streaking Valois in the box to the left of the spot. Valois has a bit of space, is able to settle the ball, and strike it into the upper right corner! 1-1! 32'- Kruse with a terrific save of an open long range shot deflects the ball wide, and Burton clears it. 38'- Pritchard and Valois hook up again, this time Pritchard sends Valois long down the left. Valois with lots of support in the middle, sends a hopeful ball to Hammond who is open at the edge of the six... Hammond looks the ball all the way in, and volleys it home! 2-1, Peterborough! 43'- Great cross by Rushden right inside the 6 to a striker who turns on it, but Burton is there to block it clear! Kruse had a marvelous first half, rating a 10. Holmes is struggling at striker, with a 5. We leave him in, and keep the pressure on. 49'- Pritchard, who had been playing so well, makes a bad mistake, getting the wrong side of his head to a cross, and putting it in his own goal. 2-2. 52'- Excellent play by the Diamonds as they spot a man down the middle, he beats the last defender and slots it home past Kruse. We're coming apart early in the 2nd half, now down a goal, 3-2. 67'- Asprilla in for Holmes, and Eriksson on for Ireland, as we go to a 3 man backline, and 4 midfielders, moving Nicolas up to the middle. 80'- We move Eriksson up the field even more to apply more pressure. 85'- Burton takes a free kick near midfield and finds Asprilla, who beats one defender. His shot is deflected to Hammond, who also shoots, but it hits a leg and goes wide of the goal... Valois tracks it down right on the endline, and tries to shoot, but it hits the side netting. Shaw in for Pritchard, as we push even more people into the Diamonds end. 91'- Burton comes off injured, so we're down to 10 men for the last 2 minutes of stoppage time. Facing just one defender back, the Diamonds add one more to their tally in the waning moments, making the final margin two. We played a horrible second half. Valois picks up another 8, but this is not the kind of showing we need to push for promotion. Loss, 4-2, down to 15th Shots/on target: Diamonds 11/9, Posh 8/3 Poss: 54-46, Diamonds A: 5,910 Tough blow, as Sagi Burton is due to be out for 2 months with a dislocated shoulder. Not good for our defense. It's likely that Kofi Dakinah will start in his place. __________________ My listening habits

02-21-2005, 10:21 AM	#19
Butter Coordinator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Dayton, OH	We ink both Chris Plummer and Sagi Burton to longer deals, Plummer taking a $10k/yr. pay cut for a one year deal, making $70k for another season at London Road. Burton will pick up $100k for an additional 3 seasons for us. Bad timing on the deal for us, as he just got injured, but he has been playing well this year. We switch up a bit, as both Navarro and Nicolas have been relatively ineffective this year, we put Tobias Eriksson in the lineup in central midfield, and run a 4-3-1-2. Here's the look: GK: Kruse Def: Pritchard, Plummer, Ireland, Dakinah Mid: Valois, Eriksson, Devlin AM: Monkhouse Str: Hammond, Asprilla Oct. 22, Match 12 4-2-5, 15th pl., 14 pts. @ Torquay (7-0-4, 5th pl., 21 pts.) Series: Gulls, 1-1-0 Fav: Posh, 4:6 Heavy favorites again against a team near the top of the table. Curious. 8'- Valois with a good through ball to Asprilla, who beats the trap. Sadly, his finishing is poor, as he sends it well wide of the mark after seemingly making a good angle for himself. 9'- One minute later, a nearly identical play, this time it's Valois playing Hammond onside. Hammond charges straight down the middle and fires a shot with power past the keeper! 1-0, Posh! 18'- A Torquay striker is free in the arc and tries his luck, but fires it right at Kruse. 23'- Asprilla is free again thanks to Devlin, but his shot is terrible. 31'- Plummer with a free kick to Hammond, who nods it down for Monkhouse. Monkhouse moves to his right and has a good angle, but the Gull defense recovers and is able to block the shot out for a corner. 42'- Eriksson finds Asprilla again down the middle. This time he does better with the shot, but it's still saved out for a corner. We played a very good first half, but now we need to finish a road game here. No changes. 51'- A Valois corner finds Monkhouse in the area, but his shot is deflected by the mass of bodies in front. 59'- A Gull defender picks up his second yellow of the match, and we go up a man for the final half hour. 81'- After little action for 20 minutes, Torquay break a man free just outside the area. He attacks Kruse, and slots it home. 1-1. FUCK. Holmes in for Asprilla, Martin in for Monkhouse as we try to re-take the lead. 85'- Navarro in for Tobias Eriksson who picks up a minor injury. The rest of the game goes by fairly harmlessly... I can't believe we've only won 4 of 12 this year. Valois picks up another 9 and a MoM award. Ireland, Pritchard, and Kruse all get 8's... but I can't help but think Kruse should've stopped that goal. Draw, 1-1, remain in 15th Shots/on target: Gulls 13/5, Posh 10/2 Poss: 51-49, Gulls A: 5,307 At least we're more competitive this year, scoring more goals, but we're still closer to the relegation zone (5 points) than we are to the playoff zone (7 points). __________________ My listening habits

02-21-2005, 11:16 AM	#20
Butter Coordinator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Dayton, OH	I think I'm going to start going with a more defensive technique on the road. I haven't had many problems at home with the new tactic, but our road record is troubling. Valois gets picked for the team of the week yet again. 5 times in 2 months now, very impressive. Carling Cup, Round 3 One major upset, League One Hartlepool beating Tottenham 3-2 in extra time. The only League Two squad left, Darlington, loses 4-0 at Nott'm Forest. And the only other League One side left, Plymouth Argyle, loses at home to West Brom. 4-2 on PK's after a scoreless two hours of play. Just 2 days off after this next one before our 2nd round Vans Trophy match. Lineup: GK: Kruse Def: Pritchard, Plummer, Ireland, Dakinah Mid: Valois, Eriksson, Devlin AM: Monkhouse Str: Hammond, Asprilla Oct. 29, Match 13 4-3-5, 15th pl., 15 pts. v. Brentford (2-5-5, 21st pl., 11 pts.) Series: Posh, 2-0-0 Fav: Posh, Evens 5'- Hammond with a cross to an open Valois at the back post, who shoots from 10 yards, but the keeper has a bead on it for the save. 9'- Valois to Asprilla at the near post, who settles and tries to pick out the upper corner from 15 yards, but it's too high. 12'- Monkhouse with a great ball to Hammond in the middle... and Hammond appears to have the keeper beat inside the right post, but a great diving save prevents the goal. 18'- First good buildup for the Bees, as they have 3 men lurking at the back post with no markers... poor defending but luckily the open shot from 10 yards is well high of the mark. 22'- A corner is taken by Brentford, and a player gets it at the near post and attempts to skip past Ireland... but Craig decides to chop him down and we've got a penalty. It's taken, and it's converted. 1-0, Brentford. 28'- Pritchard with a free kick just inside our own half... he shoots it to about 25 yards from goal, where Asprilla tries to flick it over the keeper with a cheeky header, and had him beat but it goes off the side netting. 34'- Eriksson with a steal at midfield, who passes right to Devlin, back to Eriksson, who plays Hammond just onside... Elvis is free and shoots far post.... it's in! 1-1! Great shot, and Hammond nets his 7th of the season! Ireland is struggling with a 5 at the half, so we remove him and put in Steve Yates. 48'- Brentford handles the ball at 30 yards, so Valois steps up to take the free kick, pretty much right in the middle of the pitch. Jean-Louis strikes it with force, and it goes in! No chance for the keeper, as he bent it into the upper right corner for a 2-1 Posh lead! 58'- A wide open chance for Brentford, as the left winger crosses to an unmarked man at the back post. Kruse is dreadfully out of position, but luckily the shot caroms back off the post, and we keep our lead. 61'- Another Bee attack, and this time a shot from 20 yards goes off a leg, and right to a striker at the far post, who hits a tough angle shot past Kruse and in. 2-2. 65'- Valois plays Hammond through, and Elvis has another good shot, but the keeper gets a hand to it this time, and it's cleared away before it can roll over the line. 73'- Dakinah with a good steal, he knocks it back to Kruse. Lukas puts it forward 70 yards right to Asprilla. Asprilla knocks it down for Hammond on the right. Elvis advances, then finds Monkhouse in the middle. Andy beats one man, then holds off another into the box. Monkhouse tacks to the left, and fires a shot past the keeper and into the net! 3-2, Peterborough! Great individual effort by Monkhouse to put it in. We back off our tactics and try to hold the lead. Navarro in for Eriksson. 83'- Great play, as Hammond just reaches a ball for him before it crosses the end line, and hits it back for Monkhouse, who powers a header two inches wide of the far post. 91'- We seemingly have this one bagged, until a terrific one-two fools both central defenders, sending a Brentford striker in on goal, who doesn't miss. 3-3. Kruse picks up a 5 in this one, he didn't keep anything out with any extra effort today. The backline can only hold them out so long. We didn't yield any chances in the final 20 minutes, save the one that tied us. Valois picks up another MoM award and a 9, as Eriksson, Hammond, Asprilla, and Monkhouse all pick up 8's. There must be some way to prevent these late chances from killing us. Draw, 3-3, drop 1 spot to 16th Shots/on target: Posh 18/9, Bees 12/5 Poss: 54-46, Posh A: 5,369 Valois picks up his 6th Team of the Week notice. __________________ My listening habits

02-21-2005, 11:56 AM	#21
Butter Coordinator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Dayton, OH	The FA Cup First Round Draw is held, and we will travel to League Two side Boston United in about 2 weeks. Fittingly, at the start of November, we get notice that Jean-Louis Valois has won the League One Player of the Month award for October. Valois has been awesome all year, averaging over an 8, and regularly bringing in 9's and 10's. Also, Andy Monkhouse's goal v. Brentford is noted as the third best in the Goal of the Month voting. We start a bit of a different lineup again for the Vans Trophy: GK: Masalin Def: Legg, St. Ledger, Yates, Dakinah Mid: Eriksson, Nicolas, Martin AM: Shaw, Jess Str: Holmes Nov. 1, Vans Trophy, South Draw Round 2 @ Aldershot (2nd in Conf. Nat'l) Fav: Posh, 1:3 14'- Our defensive tactics don't get us anywhere, as the Shots put in a free kick from 25 yards to take a 1-0 lead. We ratchet up the attack. 18'- Apparently, Aldershot came to play. Another free kick, this time from midfield finds a man on the right, who crosses to the middle, and it's headed in. 2-0, Shots. Ugh. 20'- Our first chance, as Jess finds Shaw down the middle. Paul Shaw advances, but shoots well high from 20 yards. 28'- HOLY CRAP, a pass finds a striker in the middle who is wide open, and he puts it past Masalin for a 3-0 Aldershot lead. 37'- Jess has space, but sends a shot well wide of the mark from 12 yards. We go to the break, and just would like to bury this one deep underground. We try to put a happy face on it, and push a bunch of people forward, but one more goal against and we'll just call it a day. Aaritalo in for Holmes, who is slightly injured. 49'- A cross comes in, and Dakinah shoves someone to the ground to give Aldershot a penalty kick. It comes in, and we're down 4-0. That was a PK, so we decide not to back off... maybe we can get a consolation goal. 53'- Asprilla in for Nicolas, who has a yellow card. We go to a 4-3-1-2, with Jess moving to midfield. 58'- Shaw with a great cross to Eriksson at the back post, but even with time and space he manages to put the shot 3 yards wide. 61'- Yates with a steal, and a flick to Aaritalo. Mika finds Asprilla free down the right. Faustino runs to the endline, then crosses it to Eriksson again at the back post, and this time with the keeper still adjusting, he knocks it in. 4-1. 68'- Martin takes it to the edge of the box on the right, then lofts one for Shaw. Paul gets his head to it, but the keeper blocks it out... right to Aaritalo who taps it in. And now it's 4-2 and things just got interesting. 79'- Navarro in for an injured Andy Legg and we move Navarro and Dakinah up the field a bit in attack. 90'- Aldershot add one more for good measure, and we lose this one 5-2. Aldershot striker Roscoe D'Sane scored a hat trick and wins MoM. We lose a bit of face taking it on the chin so badly in this one. Loss, 5-2, out of Vans Trophy Shots/on target: Shots 19/7, Posh 11/3 Poss: 56-44, Shots A: 1,225 We pick up a whopping $8,000 for our appearance in the 2nd round. Champions League, Match Day 4 Group A AC Milan 2:0 Paris Real Madrid 3:0 Rosenborg Group B Panathinaikos 0:0 Roma Tottenham 2:2 Monaco Group C Arsenal 6:1 Sparta Prague Valencia 2:0 PSV Group D Anderlecht 1:2 Werder Bremen Benfica 2:0 Red Star Group E Inter 3:0 Chelsea Shakhtar 0:1 Porto Group F Celtic 3:3 Fenerbahce Lyon 0:2 Juventus Group G Basel 0:2 Barcelona Bayern Munich 0:2 Man Utd. Group H Deportivo 3:0 Banik Ostrava Leverkusen 2:1 Ajax __________________ My listening habits

02-21-2005, 01:53 PM	#22
Butter Coordinator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Dayton, OH	Les Ferdinand returns to full training after being out for a while due to his knee injury. He'll be re-joining the lineup as soon as he is fit. We get our first look at relegated side Watford today. They didn't play well early, but are back up near the top, where everyone expected them. Back to a defensive midfielder today, as the row of 3 in the middle doesn't really seem to help. Lineup: GK: Kruse Def: Pritchard, Plummer, Yates, Dakinah DM: Navarro Mid: Valois, Devlin AM: Monkhouse Str: Hammond, Asprilla Nov. 5, Match 14 4-4-5, 16th pl., 16 pts. v. Watford (7-2-4, 6th pl., 23 pts.) Series: This is the Hornets' first year back in League One since 1998. Fav: Posh, 6:4 12'- First real chance is a Watford free kick from 20-25 yards. And it goes in. CHRIST. 1-0, Hornets. Not much other action in the first half. In fact, that free kick was Watford's only shot of the half, and we only managed one on-target shot, which was a fluke bouncing ball that hit the post off a header from Asprilla. No changes for the 2nd half. 54'- A corner is taken short and flighted to the near post by Valois... and it goes in! An own goal for Watford, and we finally get the benefit of a fluke! 1-1. Asprilla out, Aaritalo in. Asprilla was pulling down a 4 until that goal, so he comes out. 61'- Valois centers the ball to Monkhouse, who lets go a bending ball from 20 yards that the keeper just gets a palm to. Hammond tries for the rebound, but he can't get there. 82'- Monkhouse gets slightly injured, and we sub in Eriksson for him. 84'- Yates with a throw to Navarro. Navarro near the byline, turns and beats one man, then gets his long cross in from the right. It comes at Aaritalo, a defender AND the keeper... and Aaritalo wins it and heads it in!!!! Great goal and Mika Aaritalo has provided the game winner (I hope)! Ireland on for Hammond, and we go to a 5 man backline. 87'- A scare cross into the six, and we almost gave up the leveler. The final whistle goes, and we take the points! Boy, we looked like crap most of the game, but that own goal breathed some life into us. And Mika Aaritalo showed some impressive aerial ability by winning that headball to win the game. Our only 8 goes to Jean-Louis Valois, who wins yet another MoM. Win, 2-1, up 1 to 15th place Shots/on target: Posh 9/4, Hornets 2/1 Poss: 50-50 A: 6,792 Both Pritchard and Monkhouse are expected to miss about a week with their minor injuries obtained during this match. The injuries are starting to pile up, as Sagi Burton continues to be out with his dislocated shoulder, and Ferdinand is just now getting back into match shape after his knee strain. __________________ My listening habits

02-21-2005, 02:28 PM	#23
Butter Coordinator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Dayton, OH	Mika Aaritalo gets some notice by getting called up to the Finnish squad. With Aaritalo's strength in the air, I'm thinking of starting him alongside Hammond, and calling for some long balls to Mika's head. We'll see what happens with Ferdinand's return. Aaritalo will get the start, as Ferdinand could probably use one more day off. Bradford City is a curious squad, scoring just 10 goals (2nd to worst) and yielding only 11 (2nd best) in 14 fixtures. Lineup: GK: Kruse Def: Legg, Plummer, Yates, Dakinah DM: Navarro Mid: Valois, Devlin AM: Eriksson Str: Hammond, Aaritalo Nov. 9, Match 15 5-4-5, 15th pl., 19 pts. @ Bradford City (4-5-5, 17th pl., 17 pts.) Series: Posh, 1-1-0 Fav: Bantams, 6:4 14'- Eriksson gets some space near the arc, and shoots. He nearly gets it in, but a nice save forces a corner. 31'- Another fluke goal, as a Bradford shot from near the spot is going wide, but it hits Kofi Dakinah in the back and goes in. 1-0, Bantams. 42'- Elvis Hammond with a great effort, as he holds off 2 men for 45 yards all the way into the box, but his shot is tipped just wide. We switch Ferdinand in for Hammond at the half, who is turning in a rather pedestrian effort. We also up the attack for half number two. 56'- Dakinah with a great pass to Devlin down the right, and we somehow get a 2 on 1. Devlin attacks the keeper, and draws the defender, then lays it back to a wide open Ferdinand who applies the finish! 1-1! 70'- The Bantams with a prolonged series of pressure that finally ends when Kruse is out of position to try and take down a corner, but a Bantam striker gets there first... but Yates heads it off the line and Aaritalo cannons it away! 74'- Good buildup, as Devlin slips a ball to Aaritalo, who attacks the keeper, but can't beat him. 78'- Another good pass by Devlin, this time to Ferdinand who has a wonderful chance from 10 yards, but a good save keeps it from sneaking inside the near post. 81'- A manic scramble in front of our net, and a lot of bodies are there, and Kruse is able to get his body in front of a toe-poked shot and another shot is tackled away by Plummer... we keep the score at 1's. 86'- Navarro with a great switch of play to Valois, who has tons of space... he slides one to Ferdinand who picks out the corner, but shoots it high! Another great chance! An amazing final 20 minutes here, as both sides have just gone back and forth trying to get the game winner. 90'- Eriksson finds Ferdinand, who was marginally offside, but it's not called... he beats a defender, then tries to left foot one inside the near post but just misses! The final whistle goes, and we take a point. For once, our defense is highly rated. Lukas Kruse wins MoM with a 10, standing up well to some quality chances. Plummer picks up a 9, Dakinah, Yates, and of course Valois earn 8's. Can't help but wonder if Hammond might've finished one or two of those chances. Ferdinand got the easy one, but missed 4 or 5 of the tougher ones. Draw, 1-1, remain in 15th Shots/on target: Bantams 11/7, Posh 18/6 Poss: 55-45, Bradford City A: 10,003 Tobias Eriksson is called up to the Swedish U-21 club, as our players are starting to get noticed. __________________ My listening habits

02-21-2005, 03:00 PM	#24
Butter Coordinator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Dayton, OH	The First Round of the FA Cup rolls around, and Eriksson and Aaritalo are gone on international duty. Monkhouse, Devlin, Burton, and Pritchard are still hurt. So, we're a bit thin, but try to start our best in hopes of another Cup run this year. We've only lost 2 out of our last 11, but it still feels like we're not playing well. Lineup: GK: Kruse Def: Ireland, Plummer, Yates, Dakinah DM: Nicolas Mid: Valois, Martin AM: Shaw Str: Ferdinand, Hammond Nov. 12, FA Cup First Round @ Boston United (10th in League Two) Fav: Posh, 1:2 15'- First chance of the match, and Valois tries to slip a ball to Ferdinand in the box, but Ferdinand is run over and the referee points at the spot! Les Ferdinand strides up to the ball... and it's saved! Not hit very well by Ferdinand, who almost hit it straight down the middle. 28'- Valois gets in to nearly point blank range, but his angled shot is blocked back out by the keeper. 44'- Shaw with a terrific through ball to Valois, who is unable to get a good shot away. We absolutely dominate the Pilgrims, but we're still scoreless at the break. No changes. 53'- Hammond is free in the middle, but can't get his shot past the keeper. 57'- Pilgrims with their first good chance of the game, but luckily the shot from the spot at the far post is high and wide. 61'- A great cross into the six for BU, but Kruse tips it over the bar, as Lukas picks up his first save of the match. We switch in Jess and Navarro for Valois and Martin... Valois is having his worst game with the Posh, rating just a 6. 75'- Eoin Jess lines up a 20 yard free kick, but the keeper just beats the ball to the far post and grabs it. 86'- Another Jess free kick is deflected by the wall and out for a corner. Jess' corner kick is cleared. 93'- Navarro is pulled down just a foot from the box, right at the endline. Jess with the free kick, but it's not a good one, and the whistle blows after the Pilgrim clearance. A typically scrappy game against teams with 2 different talent levels, and Boston Utd. did what they had to to force the replay. Aboslutely magical game by their keeper, as he rates a 10 and wins the man of the match. Yates and Shaw pick up 8's for us. Ferdinand's missed penalty was absolutely huge. Draw, 0-0, replay in 11 days at London Road Shots/on target: Pilgrims 6/1, Posh 22/14 Poss: 54-46, Posh A: 6,113 FA Cup First Round Upsets Hartlepool (L1) 0:1 Histon (non-league) Hyde (non-league) 2:1 Yeovil (L2) __________________ My listening habits

02-21-2005, 03:44 PM	#25
Butter Coordinator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Dayton, OH	Kruse, Plummer, and Valois all get picked to the League One Team of the Week. That's 7 of the last 9 weeks Valois has made this team. If we can win the replay over Boston, we'll get a road trip to another League 2 side, this time Kidderminster. Chris Plummer hurts his calf in training and will be out 2 weeks... so that's 3 defensive starters out now. We bring up good looking young defender Phil Cave from the reserves for our next match. Lineup for our next match: GK: Kruse Def: Pritchard, Yates, Cave, Dakinah DM: Navarro Mid: Valois, Devlin AM: Monkhouse Str: Hammond, Ferdinand Nov. 19, Match 16 5-5-5, 15th pl., 20 pts. @ Grimsby (3-3-9, 22nd pl., 12 pts.) Series: Mariners 1:0 Posh (2004 Carling Cup First Round) Fav: Posh, 5:4 3'- Valois with all sorts of room advances to within 3 yards of the keeper, but puts it over. Very few chances early, as we go to the half scoreless. Valois and Devlin are both struggling. No changes. 54'- Good throw from Yates to Hammond in the arc... Hammond leaves it for Phil Cave who has a go from 20 yards, but it's well over. 74'- Aaritalo in for Hammond, who is slightly injured, and Shaw in for a struggling Valois. 87'- Monkhouse is hauled down in the arc. Navarro bends in the free kick and hits the post! The rebound is cleared to Navarro, who sends another ball in to Aaritalo, who jinks around the keeper and scores... but I don't get too excited because it looked like he was offsides and indeed the flag goes up late and calls it back. 93'- Shaw attacks the goal and puts in a perfectly placed bending shot, but the Grimsby keeper is able to dive and keep it out. Grimsby with one last shot off a corner, and it's a glorious chance from 5 yards but absolutely messed up by the striker who chunks it 5 yards wide. Yates, Navarro, Dakinah, Kruse, and Pritchard all pick up 8's for their defensive effort, but our offense was silent today. Everyone else picks up 7's, except Valois who nets a 6. Youngster Phil Cave played very well, making at least 2 quality plays that I witnessed. Draw, 0-0, remain in 15th Shots/on target: Mariners 9/4, Posh 8/4 Poss: 51-49, Posh A: 3,687 Man, we just cannot put together a run of victories and move to the top! __________________ My listening habits

02-22-2005, 11:53 AM	#26
Butter Coordinator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Dayton, OH	Champions League, Match Day 5 Group E Porto 2:4 Chelsea Shakhtar 0:4 Inter Group F Juventus 3:0 Fenerbahce Lyon 5:3 Celtic Group G Barcelona 0:1 Man Utd. Basel 1:1 Bayern Munich Group H Ajax 4:0 Banik Ostrava Leverkusen 1:0 Deportivo Group A Real Madrid 0:0 AC Milan Rosenborg 1:1 Paris Group B Monaco 0:4 Roma Tottenham 3:0 Panathinaikos Group C PSV 2:0 Sparta Prague Valencia 0:1 Arsenal Group D Anderlecht 2:1 Benfica Werder Bremen 3:0 Red Star So, now comes our replay against Boston Utd. Hopefully we can have a bit easier of a time of it at London Road. Lineup: GK: Kruse Def: Pritchard, Yates, Cave, Dakinah DM: Navarro Mid: Valois, Devlin AM: Monkhouse Str: Hammond, Ferdinand Nov. 23, FA Cup First Round Replay v. Boston United Fav: Posh, 2:5 7'- The Pilgrims with the first shot, but it's well high. 11'- Monkhouse with a steal, and he plays it back to Dakinah. Dakinah to Cave in the center circle. Cave plays it up to Hammond, who nods it down to Valois at the top of the box. Valois is open and advances... he shoots, but it's deflected wide... Elvis Hammond is there for the rebound and taps it in! 1-0, Posh. 17'- The Pilgrims with a decent chance, but a 15 yard shot is weak and wide. 21'- Hammond plays it wide to Valois, then runs into the box. Valois charges and takes the short cross... and Elvis is there to finish again! 2-0, Posh! 26'- BU with a corner kick, and Cave hoofs it away to Devlin, who is waiting down the right. Devlin charges forward and skips past a challenge... he storms to the endline and crosses to the near post... where Hammond is waiting. Elvis sticks his foot out and flicks it home! Elvis with a hat trick and we lead 3-0! And of course, my plan being to sub out 3 players at the break... but Elvis Hammond has to go and pick up a knock 2 minutes before halftime. Dammit. Ireland in for Ferdinand, Aaritalo in for Hammond, and Eriksson replaces Valois. We kick things down to a very slow tempo and short passing to attempt to hold the ball and conserve our energy. We hold the ball such that there are only 2 highlights of action in half 2... both Pilgrim buildups that end in long, hopeless shots. Unfortunately, both Aaritalo and Pritchard pick up knocks in the 2nd half and are forced to play through them. Elvis Hammond picks up MoM honors with his hat trick, and a 10 rating. Valois picks up an 8, and everyone else rates a 7. Win, 3-0, move on to round 2 Shots/on target: Posh 7/7, Pilgrims 7/1 Poss: 54-46, Posh A: 6,163 __________________ My listening habits

02-22-2005, 12:35 PM	#27
Butter Coordinator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Dayton, OH	Luckily, neither Hammond nor Pritchard have any ill effects of their knocks from the last match. Just Aaritalo, who will miss a week with a sprained wrist. We pick up $24,000 for our 1st round win. We pick up some extra defensive insurance as well, as Arsenal reserve defender Ryan Garry agrees to join us on a 3 month loan. Garry is 22, and we pick him up for just $8k for 3 months. Garry is very good in the air, and quite quick. Speed is lacking a bit in our back line. He can play on the left and in the center, and will likely move into our starting lineup. As you may remember, Kevin Keegan was fired from Manchester City a month or two ago. Well, Fulham has decided to hire the well-traveled one. And Manchester City decided to poach from the Championship, hiring away Hull boss Peter Taylor. The Boston Utd. win has done wonders for our morale, improving nearly everyone to superb. This next match will show where we are, as we host 3rd place Barnsley. Barnsley was a mid-table club last year, finishing even with us at 52 points. I'm starting a young backline today, as Cave has been acquitting himself well, and Garry is quite talented. Lineup: GK: Kruse Def: Pritchard, Garry, Cave, Dakinah DM: Navarro Mid: Valois, Devlin AM: Monkhouse Str: Hammond, Ferdinand Nov. 26, Match 17 5-6-5, 15th pl., 21 pts. v. Barnsley (9-5-2, 3rd pl., 32 pts.) Series: Posh, 1-1-0 Fav: Posh, 6:4 12'- First chance of the game, Valois slides it to Monkhouse. Monkhouse with a strong cross to Devlin, who is charging into the right side of the box. Devlin switches feet, and fools one defender. Then he shoots with his left back into the near post, and beats the keeper! 1-0, Peterborough! 28'- Garry with a bad giveaway, that leads to a header from 8 yards, but Kruse is able to pounce on it. 33'- Cave is injured and leaves for treatment... but doesn't improve much beyond 50 for the next several minutes. 40'- Devlin is also injured. Neither Cave nor Devlin improve at the break, so we sub them out. Yates for Cave, Eriksson for Devlin, and Monkhouse moves out to the right wing and Eriksson will play in the attack. Barnsley with a good attack early, but they can't beat Kruse. One shot off the crossbar, and two more deflected by bodies in front. 61'- Eriksson keys a break, finding Monkhouse down the right. Andy crosses to Valois at the near post, and he heads it at the keeper... but the keeper misplays it and it's in! 2-0, Peterborough! Not sure what happened, but the keeper is credited with an own goal. 66'- Barnsley with a corner, and it is hammered goalward, and cleared off the line by Pritchard's boot! The rebound shot is defended by Kruse, and Garry clears it behind! Good defensive series there. 80'- The Reds with a breakaway down the middle, but Kruse gets good position and saves the shot! Nicolas in for Monkhouse, who is hobbling a bit. We turn the tempo down and call for short passes, and get the win! Andy Monkhouse is the MoM, with a 10! He assisted on both goals, and played well both in the middle and on the right. Kruse picks up a 9, and Valois, Garry, and Dakinah pick up 8's. Good defensive effort all around. Win, 2-0, up 3 spots to 12th Shots/on target: Posh 7/4, Reds 17/9 Poss: 54-46, Reds A: 7,327 Sadly, Valois picks up his 5th yellow card in this match, and will miss our 2nd Round FA Cup tie in one week. __________________ My listening habits

02-23-2005, 09:09 AM	#28
Butter Coordinator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Dayton, OH	Well, we're on 4 straight shutouts now, but that does include 2 games against a League 2 opponent. But hopefully we can keep this momentum up and ride it to the top 6. Lukas Kruse and Andy Monkhouse get selected to the Team of the Week. It seems Valois has cooled off a bit. Dag & Red attempt to trade me a mediocre defender for Andre Boucaud. I reject the offer and counter-offer for $24k in cash and 25% of his next sale. They counter with a flat $24k, and I accept. Boucaud has promise, but with this formation he is a man without a spot. As we begin December, the board have moved from "very pleased" to "delighted" with my management of the club. The supporters are delighted as well, which gives me even more wiggle room to have a bad patch, I hope. Andy Monkhouse finishes 3rd in the Player of the Month voting. We also bring in a young goalkeeper that we had signed last June. An 18 year old player named Markus Eskilsson, he is Swedish and signs on a free transfer for $6k per year over 3 seasons. He's a bit raw, but has impressive physical talent. He'll play in the reserves for now. Our lineup for the 2nd round FA Cup tie with Kidderminster: GK: Kruse Def: Pritchard, Garry, Cave, Dakinah DM: Nicolas Mid: Monkhouse, Devlin AM: Shaw Str: Hammond, Asprilla Dec. 3, FA Cup Second Round @ Kidderminster (19th in League Two) Fav: Posh, 1:2 6'- Shaw attempts to challenge a pass at the top of the box, but ends up deflecting it right into the path of a Harrier striker, who scores past a surprised Kruse. 1-0, Kidderminster. We switch from defensive tactics to attacking. 13'- Pritchard spots the run of Asprilla down the left, and finds him. Faustino attacks the keeper, and his shot is deflected... Shaw attacks the rebound, but the keeper recovers and smothers it. 17'- Monkhouse breaks loose, but his shot is skied. 22'- Pritchard clears again to Asprilla. Asprilla to Hammond, who finds Shaw on the left. Shaw with a through ball to Monkhouse, who attacks the goal from the left, and slides it past the keeper and just inside the near post! 1-1! 31'- Asprilla is free on the left after a nice ball from Shaw, but cannot finish. 34'- Shaw plays the give-and-go with Hammond, and gets the ball back right in the spot with only the keeper to beat... but the keeper is able to tip it away, and the Harriers put it behind for a corner. The corner is laid back for Asprilla who narrowly misses the upper corner. 36'- Dakinah with a steal and a long ball down the right to Hammond. Elvis attacks from the right, and shoots a cross to Monkhouse at the back post, but his volley is denied. We go into the break knotted at 1. Kruse is rating just a 5 at the half, so we sub in Masalin. 49'- Devlin with a corner, and he finds Nicolas alone at the left of the six... Nicolas has time to turn and shoot, and it goes off the keeper's glove and in! 2-1, Posh as Nicolas tallies his first P'boro goal! 52'- Devlin with a corner from the other side. He plays it short to Monkhouse, who sets it up for Devlin. Devlin plays a square ball to Garry in the arc, then back to Devlin who is inside the box now. Devlin floats a ball into traffic, and Alexis Nicolas dives onto it and puts it in! 2 in 3 minutes for Nicolas as we take a big 2 goal lead! Yates in for Hammond as we go with a 5 man back and 1 striker. The Harriers control the next 20 minutes, but the 2 shots they are able to create are off target. 75'- Shaw with a free kick on the left from about 25 yards. He strikes a strong pass to Devlin, who heads it from 8 yards and beats the keeper! It's a rout at 4-1 for the Posh! Eriksson enters for Monkhouse to finish out our subs and attempt to avoid injury. The rest of the time ticks away harmlessly, and we move on to round 3! Paul Shaw with his best game of the year, with a 9 and winning man of the match honors. Our entire backline picked up 8's, and Nicolas, Devlin, and Monkhouse also picked up 9's to go along with Shaw. Shaw is making a push for increased playing time here. Win, 1-4, move on to round 3 Shots/on target: Harriers 6/1, Posh 16/9 Poss: 52-48, Harriers A: 5,594 We pick up another $28k for our victory here. The draw for the 3rd round is held though... and you might as well stick a fork in us now, as we're slotted to travel to Goodison Park and face recently demoted Everton from the Championship. __________________ My listening habits

02-23-2005, 10:20 AM	#29
Butter Coordinator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Dayton, OH	Sagi Burton finally returns to full training to soften the loss of Monkhouse a bit. My defense has been playing so well, it'll be tough to put Burton back in for Dakinah, but we'll do it. Another road game against a relegation battler up next. We go with normal tactics and a counter attacking style. Lineup: GK: Kruse Def: Garry, Plummer, Yates, Dakinah DM: Nicolas Mid: Valois, Devlin AM: Eriksson Str: Hammond, Ferdinand Dec. 10, Match 19 7-6-5, 11th pl., 27 pts. @ Huddersfield (6-3-9, 18th pl., 21 pts.) Series: Tied, 0-2-0 Fav: Posh, 6:4 1'- Hammond gets a shot away from distance in just 11 seconds, but it's high and wide. 9'- Terriers take a corner short, and the ensuing cross to the near post is headed in. 1-0, Huddersfield. 19'- Garry with a throw in deep in our own end. He picks out Nicolas, who sends a 70 yard ball to Hammond, who is just onside. The Terrier keeper is indecisive in coming out to get it, and Hammond attacks and pokes it around the keeper, and is left with a tap in! 1-1! 36'- Nicolas again to Hammond, who is through... a tough angled shot just misses and is into the side netting. No changes at the break, as we controlled the last half hour of that first half. 56'- 2nd good Terrier chance of the half, but another header is put wide of the post off a left side cross. Garry toe pokes the rebound away to Hammond, who holds off a defender, and finds Eriksson at the center circle. Eriksson has time to scan the field, and finds Devlin ahead of his man down the right. Devlin takes it into the box, and draws the keeper... then chips a short cross to Hammond, who is left with another easy finish! 2-1, Peterborough! 63'- A couple of scary chances for the Terriers, as a cross is chipped from the left onto a head, but it hits the crossbar and Yates clears... but a midfielder is there again for the Terriers and crosses into the six, but Kruse is there to grab it. 78'- A long distance shot is held by Kruse. Ireland on for Ferdinand, as we go to a 5-4-1 again. 87'- Garry with a steal on the left, and he finds Hammond who is played onside by a right sided defender who had dropped too far. Hammond is one on one with the keeper, but his shot is deflected wide... but Valois gets there first at a tough angle, and unselfishly plays it to a wide open Devlin who heads in the clincher! Another great team effort! We are on fire right now. Paul Devlin wins MoM honors, and a 10 rating. Someone lit a fire under Alexis Nicolas, as he is playing great lately, picking up a 9 here. Kruse, Dakinah, Valois, Eriksson, and Hammond all pick up 8's and everyone else gets a 7. We move up another 2 spots, and are now just 2 points out of the playoff zone, and 7 points off the league lead. Win, 1-3, up 2 spots to 9th Shots/on target: Terriers 8/4, Posh 14/8 Poss: 51-49, Terriers A: 8,303 Andy Monkhouse makes the Team of the Week despite breaking his wrist. __________________ My listening habits

02-23-2005, 10:55 AM	#30
Butter Coordinator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Dayton, OH	Another road game at a team lower than us. We put youngster Cave back in for Yates, and Pritchard comes back from a rest to put Garry on the bench. Lineup: GK: Kruse Def: Pritchard, Cave, Plummer, Dakinah DM: Nicolas Mid: Valois, Devlin AM: Eriksson Str: Ferdinand, Hammond Dec. 13, Match 20 8-6-5, 9th pl., 30 pts. @ Notts County (7-6-6, 12th pl., 27 pts.) Series: The Magpies were promoted from League Two through the playoffs last year. Fav: Posh, Evens 7'- Ferdinand lines up a free kick on the edge of the area after Devlin was pushed down... He strikes it straight into the corner through a gap in the wall! 1-0, Posh! Ferdinand's 5th of the season gives us an early lead! 11'- Devlin with a foul that gives Notts Co a free kick from 45 yards away near the left sideline. It is taken straight to a winger down the left, who crosses into the six... Kruse attempts to play it, but a striker's head meets it first and we're tied at 1. 33'- Next significant chance falls to the Magpies, a fierce cross onto a head at 8 yards, but luckily Kruse watches it go over the bar. 45'- Another cross into the six for Notts County, and Kruse punches it away but also pushed over the Magpie striker, and they are awarded a penalty. The Magpie striker strides up to take it, and puts it inside the left post for a 2-1 lead. The first half was fairly even, we just got a bit unlucky with that last goal. We up the attack for the second half. 49'- Devlin takes a corner... it's a beautifully struck ball floating just outside the six... Hammond comes back a bit to meet the ball with his head, and beats the keeper to the post! 2-2! 51'- A 30 yard free kick is driven innocuously in, right at Kruse... but Lukas somehow misplays it into a goal! Instant reply by Notts County, and we're behind again, 3-2. 66'- Devlin with a good cross into the six, but it's taken by the keeper. The keeper shoots it ahead a long way, and the defense falls asleep and allows a breakaway... but luckily the shot goes high and wide. Aaritalo enters for Pritchard as we go to a 3 man backline, and we go to long balls to Aaritalo to try and equalize. 74'- Devlin with a good cross onto the head of Ferdinand, who strikes it with force, but the Magpie keeper tips it over. 79'- Shaw in for Nicolas, and Navarro on for Dakinah, as we push even more into the attack. 83'- A breakaway for Notts County, and our backline can't keep them out... a nice cross and a header finish things off, 4-2 Magpies. We do a good job getting shots on target late, but the Magpie keeper is not letting any more in today. We finally drop one. Fairly good effort by all except the defense. Plummer, Cave, and Kruse all turn in pedestrian efforts. Devlin picks up our only 8. Loss, 4-2, drop 2 to 11th Shots/on target: Magpies 13/7, Posh 17/10 Poss: 50-50 A: 7,207 Pritchard and Devlin both pick up their 5th yellow of the season and will miss our next match. Navarro injures his ankle in training and will be out for 2 weeks. __________________ My listening habits

02-23-2005, 11:37 AM	#31
Butter Coordinator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Dayton, OH	Kruse has been mediocre of late, and I look around for some loaners to come in and possibly challenge him a bit. Steve Yates sprains his wrist in training, and will be out about a week. Injuries and suspensions warrant a bit of a different lineup today: GK: Kruse Def: Garry, Plummer, Cave, Dakinah DM: Nicolas Mid: Valois, Martin AM: Eriksson Str: Ferdinand, Hammond Dec. 17, Match 21 8-6-6, 11th pl., 30 pts. (3 behind playoff zone) v. Stockport (9-5-6, 8th pl., 32 pts.) Series: Tied, 0-2-0 Fav: Posh, Evens 10'- Good attack by the Hatters, as a striker gets a shot off that looks like it's beaten Kruse to the post, but Lukas dives at it and turns it aside for the corner. 20'- Valois intercepts a pass and plays it back to Kruse, apparently off his head... but Kruse tries to play it upfield first time, but instead kicks it right to a Stockport striker, who has a wide open goal to shoot at, and he finishes. 1-0, Hatters. A fairly pedestrian first half effort, as Stockport had the better of the chances. 47'- Valois with a bending free kick from 25 yards, but it's just a bit too high. 53'- Martin chases down a ball and fires a cross to Eriksson, who makes some space for himself, and strikes a fierce shot at net, but the keeper beats it away. 68'- Dakinah with a throw to Martin. Dean Edward Martin crosses into the center for Ferdinand... Sir Les flicks it effortlessly with his head, and it goes in off the near post! 1-1! 74'- Nicolas with an interception in midfield, and he fires one down the right to Hammond. Hammond runs onto it, then advances at the keeper... he bluffs a cross to the middle and shoots himself... and it squeezes inside the near post for Hammond's 15th goal of the year! 2-1, Posh! What a comeback! Burton on for Ferdinand as we go to the 5-4-1 again. 88'- Stockport steal a throw in and march down the field... a ball is played through just past Burton, and the striker takes it first time and scores past Kruse. 2-2. Shaw on for Martin, and Aaritalo in for Dakinah as we go back to the 4-4-2. 92'- Burton with a steal, and he finds Hammond... Hammond plays Valois through down the left, and crosses into the six... and the keeper just snatches it away before Eriksson could run onto it. A tough loss after coming back from 1 down to go 1 up and then blowing the lead. Nicolas and Plummer pick up our only 8's of the game. Draw, 2-2, drop 1 to 12th Shots/on target: Posh 10/6, Hatters 12/5 Poss: 51-49, Posh A: 6,177 __________________ My listening habits

02-23-2005, 12:15 PM	#32
Butter Coordinator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Dayton, OH	We go into the Christmas break we get from Dec. 17-26 in 12th place, pretty much exactly mid-table. A bit disappointing, but we're not too far off from breaking into the top 6, trailing Plymouth, Torquay, and Luton (4th-6th place) by just 4 points. Valois and Monkhouse are 1-2 in the league in average rating, both just under an 8 for all games this season. Hammond leads the league with 12 league goals in 21 matches this year, and he has 15 in 25 starts for the season, quite impressive. We practically stole the guy away from Fulham, so I am quite impressed with his form this season. Ferdinand has 6 goals in his appearances, which is also quite good. Another trip to a side in the relegation zone lingers for us on Boxing Day. Chesterfield are struggling after finishing 10th last year. Lineup: GK: Kruse Def: Pritchard, Garry, Plummer, Burton DM: Nicolas Mid: Valois, Devlin AM: Shaw Str: Ferdinand, Hammond Dec. 26, Match 22 8-7-6, 12th pl., 31 pts. @ Chesterfield (4-5-12, 22nd pl., 17 pts.) Series: Spireites lead 1-1-0 Fav: Posh, Evens 9'- Valois is played through by Hammond, and he is wide open against the keeper, but the Spireite netminder turns it aside. 13'- Pritchard is challenged hard, and has to leave injured. Dakinah on for him... we move Garry to the left, Burton to the middle, and Dakinah to the right. 26'- Garry is yellow carded for a two-footed tackle... but he recovers to steal the free kick and loft it to Valois. Valois with a diagonal ball onto the run of Hammond, who has beaten the trap... Elvis is in free, and slots it home inside the right post! 1-0, Peterborough! Frankly, we didn't play well in the first half, but we kept Chesterfield out of our end mostly, and have a 1 goal lead. No changes at the break. 62'- A long ball catches Plummer napping, but Garry is there to tackle the ball away before the striker can get one on one with Kruse. 67'- An odd series of events, as Garry plays a ball to Valois. Valois to Ferdinand in the middle, who plays it back to Valois down the left... who finds Ferdinand again running into the box. Les shoots it powerfully off the crossbar, but Paul Shaw is there to collect the rebound and finish! 2-0! Eriksson in for a tiring Ferdinand, as we go to a 4-1-3-1-1. 79'- A good cross misses the target in the middle of the six for Chesterfield, but a striker is unmarked near the back post, and fires a volley across the goal mouth that sails just wide. 88'- Another good Spireite cross off a corner, and the ball is laid back for a 15 yard strike that hits the crossbar and bounces free... Garry heads it behind for another corner. The whistle goes and we get a nice road win. Valois picks up another MoM award, with a 9 rating. Kruse, Garry, and Dakinah all get 8's in defense as well. Win, 0-2, up 2 spots to 10th Shots/on target: Spireites 9/2, Posh 13/6 Poss: 50-50 A: 2,753 Luke Pritchard is out for a month with strained knee ligaments. Thank goodness we picked up Garry, who will start for us on the left in his absence. Another interesting note, as Middlesbrough, Fulham, and Liverpool all sack their managers within a week of each other. 'Tis the season. __________________ My listening habits

02-24-2005, 11:43 AM	#33
Butter Coordinator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Dayton, OH	We've now gone 8 straight matches of scoring 2 goals or more, which is a good way to win more often than not. Our defense has been shaky, but with Burton back in the lineup, I'm more confident than ever despite losing Pritchard since we picked up Garry to play on the left. We're not done any favors by the schedule makers in having to play Tranmere just 2 days after our last game, with pretty much no training in between. Nearly the entire starting lineup is sub-90%, so we have to play nearly all backups...but, Rovers are in the same boat, so here's our lineup: GK: Kruse Def: Yates, Ireland, Cave, Dakinah DM: Hunt Mid: Eriksson, Martin AM: Jess Str: Aaritalo, Asprilla We are fortunate enough to get this match at home, so we go with attacking tactics and set Aaritalo as the target man with long balls played to his head. Tranmere have dominated us in this series, so hopefully we can save face and avoid a 4th straight loss. Dec. 28, Match 23 9-7-6, 10th pl., 34 pts. v. Tranmere (10-6-6, 7th pl., 36 pts.) Series: Rovers, 3-0-0 Fav: Posh, 5:4 11'- A cross to the near post for Tranmere, and the header is put about a foot wide... but Tranmere is controlling early play, as always. 14'- A long series of midfield possession for us ends when Eriksson plays a diagonal ball onto the cutting run of Asprilla into the arc... Asprilla with space, he turns, advances and shoots from about 15 yards... and scores! Asprilla with maybe his most impressive move of the year, and we take the early lead! 38'- The next significant chance comes, with a chip from a Rover midfielder right onto the head of a striker at 5 yards, but the angle of the pass causes the header to bounce over the bar... but still a good play. Possession ends up even in the first half, but Rovers had the better of the chances, but we have the better of the scoreboard, leading 1-0. No changes for the 2nd half, although Hunt is struggling with a 5 rating in defensive midfield. 47'- Jess nods down an errant clearance to Aaritalo's foot, and he shoots from 18 yards but it goes over. 54'- Rovers send a pacey cross inside the six, but nobody can get a head to it. 57'- Jess takes a free kick from about 50 yards, and sends it to Eriksson down the left. Eriksson holds it, then plays it back onto Jess' diagonal run. Jess strikes a nice pass to Martin, who has a tiny window from 10 yards, and lets it rip... and it's in! Shot into the far corner, Dean Edward Martin with a terrific strike puts us up 2! Legg on for Asprilla, as we go to 2 defensive midfielders. And Spicer in for Eriksson to preserve his legs. 60'- A cross finds a Tranmere striker at 8 yards... he's open and has space, but fires it right at Kruse, who pounds it away. 77'- Another Rovers header off a corner kick comes back off the crossbar, and the rebound attempt is stuffed by Kruse... Ireland eventually clears after several players fail to control it. 81'- Spicer chases down a long ball on the left, and feeds a good cross to Martin, who strikes it with power, but just misses the corner. The final minutes tick away, and we take the win! An impressive outing by Lukas Kruse, who picks up a 9 and MoM honors. I'm quite excited that we were able to beat most of Tranmere's first squad with what is essentially our second team. Kruse had a big part of that, however. Dakinah, Eriksson, and Jess all picked up 8's, as Hunt finished with a 5. Quite rare I'll leave someone out there an entire match with a 5, but I really didn't have many options in this one. Win, 2-0, up 2 spots to 8th Shots/on target: Posh 6/2, Rovers 16/8 Poss: 51-49, Posh A: 7,260 __________________ My listening habits Last edited by Butter : 02-24-2005 at 11:47 AM.

02-25-2005, 10:24 AM	#34
Butter Coordinator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Dayton, OH	We pick up a surprise $20k off the old transfer deal for Callum Willock, our main striker from last year. Rotherham has started him in 10 league matches for us to pick up the bonus. He has scored 5 goals for them in 10 starts, and is in their starting lineup. Quite impressive. He is Rotherham's second leading scorer, and helped lead them to 5th place in the Championship right now. We begin the new year with the board delighted at our performance. Thierry Henry wins World Footballer of the Year. He also wins World Player of the Year (what's the difference?), and European Footballer of the Year. Valencia's Santiago Canizares wins Euro Keeper of the Year, Arsenal's Sol Campbell wins Euro Defender of the Year, and Valencia's Pablo Aimar wins Euro Midfielder of the Year. Guess who won Euro Striker of the Year? I'll give you a hint... he's French, and his team name starts with ARSE. Jean-Louis Valois finishes 3rd in player of the month voting for League One. We begin the new year with a road game at relegation contenders Bournemouth. And we go back to our more standard lineup, though still without Pritchard and Monkhouse. GK: Kruse Def: Garry, Plummer, Burton, Dakinah DM: Nicolas Mid: Valois, Devlin AM: Shaw Str: Ferdinand, Hammond After this match, we have 6 days off to prepare for Everton in the FA Cup. Jan. 1, 2006, Match 24 10-7-6, 8th pl., 37 pts. @ AFC Bournemouth (5-4-14, 22nd pl., 19 pts.) Series: Posh lead 2-0-1 Fav: Posh, 5:4 7'- Garry with a steal in our third, and he knocks a 60 yard ball to Hammond in stride, and Elvis is loose... he holds off a defender from his right, then tries to slot it past Kasey Keller... it looked good off his foot, but it hits the post dead on and bounces out. The ball is cleared out to Valois who tries to strike another cross, but a Cherry defender sticks his leg in and forces a corner. Off the corner, the ball comes to Nicolas on the near side of the box... he slips it back to Burton, who tries to pass in from 20 yards, but it's cleared back to midfield. Garry is there and gets it to Valois down the left again. Valois crosses short to Ferdinand, who is barged over and the penalty is given!! Ferdinand shoots and scores! 1-0, Peterborough after this 3 minute sequence of events! We just dominate Bournemouth throughout the remainder of the half, with several decent possessions in and around the box... but it seems that when we get the ball near the goal, instead of letting loose, as per normal, we're deciding to hold the ball, and spin in circles and pass it back 20 yards to a winger who ends up getting dispossessed. Not the way to score, really. 45'- During the first and only minute of first half stoppage time, Hammond attacks the goal from the right and fires a shot that Keller deflects. A Cherry defender clears it to the right, but Devlin is there to send a ball right back in, where Shaw collects it, shoots it with power and scores! No mucking about there, Shaw rips it past Keller and we take a 2 goal advantage into the locker room! No changes for the second half, as the defense is fresh as daisies, considering the ball has been in their end less than 25% of the half. 51'- Valois with a steal on the left, and he knocks it 70 yards for Hammond, who chases it down just before Keller can get to it... but tries to chip it over Keller and into the goal, and instead chips it into the seats. 66'- A large mass of Posh attackers at midfield advances like an angry amoeba into the Bournemouth half... Valois ends up with the ball out in front of the pack, turns on Keller, who leaves his jock and other personal items on the field as he watches Jean-Louis step around him and tap it in for a 3 goal lead! 72'- Navarro in for Hammond, Aaritalo in for Ferdinand, and Eriksson on for Valois as we try to pack it in and avoid injuries to key players. 81'- Aaritalo dispossesses a Cherry attacker about 25 yards from our goal... he then runs with the ball to the center circle and passes back to Eriksson. Eriksson then returns the favor, and Aaritalo runs with the ball another 10 yards, then unleashes a surprise shot on Keller, who can't get there in time! 4-0, Peterborough on a 35 yard strike by Mika Aaritalo! A finer team effort I can't remember! Every single starter netted at least an 8, with Valois back to form winning another MoM and picking up a 10 making 9 key passes. Shaw also crying for more first-team football, picking up another 9, his second in his last 3 starts. Win, 0-4, remain in 8th Shots/on target: Cherries 4/2, Posh 16/9 Poss: 54-46, Posh A: 5,092 Nicolas picked up a late yellow that gives him 5 for the season, so he'll miss our FA Cup tie with Everton. And this nice note: Peterborough United chairman Alf Hand could not hide his delight following his team's 4-0 win over AFC Bournemouth. 4 points now separate us and the league leaders, Rushden & Diamonds, who took over the lead following a Bristol City loss at Swansea over the weekend. Should be a crazy January, as it is a very tight race at the top, once which we are aspiring to join. __________________ My listening habits

02-25-2005, 11:20 AM	#35
Butter Coordinator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Dayton, OH	Valois and Shaw get picked in the Team of the Week squad. Monkhouse resumes full training the day before the Everton match, which doesn't really help much right now, but it's good to know. Lineup for Everton: GK: Kruse Def: Garry, Plummer, Burton, Dakinah DM: Navarro Mid: Valois, Devlin AM: Shaw Str: Ferdinand, Hammond Jan. 7, FA Cup Third Round @ Everton (9th in Championship) Fav: Toffees, 4:5 My first ever trip to a big time English football ground as manager, and even though it is under bad circumstances for the Toffees, it'd be just as exhilirating for me to get a win against this club as if they were in the top 3 in the Premiership right now. How David Moyes has kept his job is beyond me, but Everton has cut a lot of players (read: salary) in order to try and fight their way back up, but they've been mediocre this season. They did beat Tranmere 4-0 in the League Cup a couple of months ago, so hopefully we can fare a bit better than Rovers did then. 3'- Leon Osman with a free kick from 25 yards, but it goes bending well past the post for a goal kick. 14'- A good attack as Robbie Fowler finds Kris Boyd down the center... Kruse is indecisive about whether or not to try and beat him to the ball, but luckily Boyd sends it well over the bar. 22'- Fowler just flat steals the ball from Hammond, then runs down the left and crosses to Boyd, who gets his head to it, but Kruse steps in front of it to deflect it, and Paul Shaw turns it behind for a corner. 32'- Boyd is played through again, this time by Thomas Gravesen (still with Everton in this parallel universe), and he has a wide open shot from 10 yards, but Kruse with another fine save to turn it aside. Gravesen gets the throw in, and crosses it to Fowler in the center, who flicks it at Kruse, but Lukas is having a fine game so far, turning that one aside as well as Plummer gets over to clear it into touch. 42'- Boyd is free again down the left, but takes a bit of a long shot at Kruse, who has no problems saving it. 45'- Kevin Kilbane with a cross from the left to a charging Gravesen, but the header is errant. Boy, we sure sucked in that half. But I'll take a replay if I can get it. Possession was nearly 50-50, so I can't complain too much. Just one quick counter-attack could win it. Elvis Hammond is the only player struggling, rating a 5 at the interval. I'll leave him in for now, but may put in an extra defender if it becomes clear that we're fighting for a replay. 55'- Our first highlight of the match is a 25 yard shot by Ferdinand that has no chance. 58'- Burton with a bad tackle near midfield... he gets a card. Worse still, the free kick from 45 yards is dropped into the box, and Kruse should've attacked it, but instead let Kris Boyd find it, and he strikes it home. 1-0, Toffees. 59'- Off the kickoff, Navarro with a fine pass for Hammond, who has beaten the trap and is alone against keeper Richard Wright. Hammond tries to slot it home, but Wright deflects it out. 61'- We get a nice series of possession around the Everton box. Valois controls it out high, then attacks one player, and beats him. He slides it to Ferdinand cutting in from the left... Les looks to line up the shot, but it's tackled away from behind... but it's tackled toward the goal and it goes in!!! Ferdinand credited with the goal, but it clearly looked like an own goal on that one. Either way, I'll take it! 1-1! 63'- Sub James McFadden gets free down the left for Everton, and crosses for sub Marcus Bent, and the 2 subs combine for a second Everton goal. Yikes. 3 scores in 5 minutes. 2-1, Everton, and we up the attack now. 75'- Steve Watson with a short cross to the head of Marcus Bent, and now we're down 3-1 and it's likely all over. We make some fancy switches, putting Navarro and Dakinah in the back, and pushing them forward... removing Garry for Eriksson and playing him in midfield, and replacing a tiring Ferdinand with Aaritalo, and making him the target man with balls to his head. 78'- We put together a nice attack, as Devlin crosses for Aaritalo at the far post, but Jagielka intervenes and saves a goal. 82'- Bent is played down the left, and Kruse deflects his shot, but right to James McFadden as we go down 4-1 now. 89'- Valois crosses into the six and no one's home... but Devlin chases it down on the right and sends a ball right back in to Eriksson, who heads it home from 12 yards. Nice play, at least we are looking alive even in the late stages. 4-2. We try one more attack, but Aaritalo just doesn't have the speed or finesse to beat the back line all by himself. I can't honestly say I'm disappointed in our performance, but I probably should've pulled back after our goal and tried to earn the replay. But considering how well Marcus Bent played, I seriously doubt we could've kept them out for another half hour of hunkering down. Only Lukas Kruse manages above a 7, picking up an 8... and even yielding 4 goals I'd have to say he deserves it. It easily could've been 6 or 7 with a mediocre effort. I walk off the field at Goodison Park vowing to make my return there and win... sooner or later. Loss, 4-2, out of FA Cup Shots/on target: Toffees 22/14, Posh 10/5 Poss: 53-47, Toffees A: 31,629 __________________ My listening habits

02-25-2005, 12:09 PM	#36
Butter Coordinator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Dayton, OH	One major 3rd round FA Cup surprise, as non-league Harrow Boro forces a replay with Championship side Millwall, 1-1. Harrow Boro actually scored first off a free kick in the 14th minute, but Millwall scored just past the half hour to even it up, and the remainder of the match was spent by Millwall using the Boro keeper as a target. Big game today, as we're home to a side just ahead of us, Plymouth Argyle. They're scratching to try to get back to the Championship, we just want to get there for the first time. Andy Monkhouse returns to our starting XI today to boost the lineup. Argyle play a rare 5-3-2, with 2 defensive fullbacks pushing up as needed. Lineup: GK: Kruse Def: Garry, Plummer, Burton, Dakinah DM: Nicolas Mid: Valois, Devlin AM: Monkhouse Str: Ferdinand, Hammond Jan. 11, Match 25 11-7-6, 8th pl., 40 pts. v. Plymouth Argyle (12-5-7, 5th pl., 41 pts.) Series: This is Argyle's return to League One after just 1 year of Championship football. Fav: Posh, 5:4 5'- Valois with a well-struck 25 yard free kick that skims the top of the bar. 30'- Argyle with a low-struck shot that skips off the turf from 20 yards, but Kruse handles it well. 40'- Not many highlights in the half, but here's one... Devlin advances it to Ferdinand, who lays it back for Valois. Valois runs with the ball about 40 yards, then plays it to the run of Devlin up the right of the box. Devlin attacks the keeper and has the option of Hammond in the middle, but instead shoots it himself toward the far post... and it's in! Well placed shot by Devlin to give us the lead. That goal was our lone shot of the half. Argyle didn't fare much better, with just 2 shots challenging Kruse. Argyle have the advantage of morphing their formation into a 3-5-2 if need be, and I imagine that's what we'll see in the second half. No changes. 47'- Valois to Ferdinand down the left... Ferdinand cuts it back to Valois running to the middle. Valois plays it ahead to Monkhouse at 10 yards, and Andy with a short chip to Hammond... but it's headed by the Argyle defender... and headed in his own goal! 2-0, Peterborough on a fluke goal, and we're finally winning some of these odd chances. Argyle are unable to make any of their chances count, crossing it right into Kruse, or having an attack end when our player makes an easy tackle. 80'- Kruse plays it to Nicolas near the top of our own box. After a couple of dribbles, he strikes it to Ferdinand at about 35 yards. Les takes one touch, then turns and lets loose from 30 yards... and it's in! What a run of form we're having, as Les Ferdinand scores one from 30 yards! 3-0, Posh! Yates, Eriksson, and Aaritalo on for Ferdinand, Monkhouse, and Valois. The final 10 minutes-plus ticks away, and an impressive home win over a side battling for promotion! Alexis Nicolas continues his stellar form with an 8 and a MoM award. Kruse, Dakinah, and Valois also pick up 8's. Kofi Dakinah has been playing exceedingly well on the right side of defense, now with an average rating of over 7.5 for the season. Win, 3-0, up to 6th place Shots/on target: Posh 8/3, Argyle 5/2 Poss: 52-48, Posh A: 8,346 The fans are starting to flock to London Road, as we crack the playoff zone for the first time since very early in the season. We have now won 4 straight games in the league by 2 goals or more, all shutouts. I feel I've finally got a handle on this club... which I guess is fairly apparent by our form of late. I can only hope that those 4 losses in a row early in the season won't be the difference between promotion and another season of League One football. __________________ My listening habits