Gannin alang the Scotswood Road, to see the Blaydon Races (A Newcastle United story)

[bill b]

This is my first story so please bear with me. The game has been started on 8.02. I will attempt to update this regularly but as I have exams coming up that may not always be possible. This first post is just to bring you up to date with the story. Any feedback would be gratefully received.

Saturday 5th May 2012

“Mr Bennett, how does it feel to win the title again?â€

“Well, I’m just happy for the lads. We’ve worked hard this year and I think that we are worthy winners.â€

“When you took over did you honestly believe that you could transform Newcastle into a side capable of winning the league title four years in a row?

"No, the squad I inherited was riddled with under performing slackers happy to pick up a weekly wage without putting too much effort in. We needed a major rebuild of the squad and I would like to thank the chairman for investing the money and allowing me to transform the squad."

Ten minutes later I was slumped in my chair watching replays of the goal that had given us the title. We had come such a long way, since that rainy early Febuary day when I had been given control of Newcastle United. Sam Allardyce had been driven out by a baying crowd eager for attractive football and with Newcastle in free fall Mike Ashley had turned to me to turn the club around.

My name is Bill Bennett. In my younger days I was a commanding centre half for Bury. However, my lack of pace had massively hampered my career. I could often see where the danger was but I did not have the pace to stop it. I realised that I could not progress further up the leagues, and so turned my attention to coaching. At the tender age of 28 I hung up my boots altogether. I quickly got a job as first team coach at Newcastle and was lucky to be kept on when Big Sam was brought on. He seemed to like my enthusiasm for the game and was impressed by my tactical knowledge.

We began the 07-08 very optimistically but quickly our dreams for the season turned sour. Newcastle were languishing in 16th place when Sam was let go. As potential candidates distanced themselves from the job the situation grew desperate whispers began to circulate around the training ground that a man from inside the club would be promoted. These rumours were proved correct when myself and Steve Round were called to London to meet the chairman. In one of those posh restaurants dotted throughout the capital, we were told that one of us would be the next manager of Newcastle. Steve instantly made it clear he didn't want the job saying he couldn't handle the pressure. Mike's eyes shifted to me and said "Congratulations Mr Bennett, you are the new manager of Newcastle United"

As we returned to Newcastle it was clear things had to change, the crowd had shown they would not tolerate silly formations or long ball tactics. I resolved to use the traditional 4-4-2 and impose our game on the other team. A lack of pace and athleticism was affecting the team and I began to ditch the likes of Mark Viduka and Stephen Carr. By the end of that season we had dragged ourselves up to 9th place and the city was regaining pride in their team.

That summer I began a major rebuild of the team, I had been given £120m to spend by the chairman who was desperate for success. I raised my budget to £157m with the sales of many former first team players. As Nicky Butt and Stephen Carr left on free transfers they were followed with the likes of Geremi (£2m to Middlesbrough), James Milner (£7.5m to Portsmouth), Jose Enrique (£4.3m to Portsmouth), Charles N'Zogbia (£17.5m to Lyon),Shola Ameobi (£2.2m to Watford) and Joey Barton (£3.5m to Blackburn).

They were quickly replaced with a host of big money signings as I looked to bring attacking footballers to St James Park.

Kuzmanovic (£7.5m)

Goitom (£5.5m)

Gyan (£10m)

Pasqual (£6.75m)

Aissati (£8.5m)

Quaresma (£18m)

Zaccardo (free)

Aurelio (£2m)

Foster (£3.1m)

Neves (£4.2m)

Kompany (£13m)

Gonzalez (£14m)

Guarin (£3.5m)

I had also signed many promising youngsters such as Sakho, Kraus and Wijnaldum who are now integral members of my first team squad. In January I followed my summer signings with the capture of James Vaughan and Dimitar Berbatov.

On the pitch that second season could not have gone better, we became Champions by a margin of three points beating of the challenge of Manchester United and Chelsea. After qualification to the Uefa Cup through the Intertoto we had reached the semi finals before being destroyed by Arsenal in the second leg at the Emirates. Seasonal highlights included a 5-0 thrashing of Chelsea, Portsmouth and Blackburn and a 95th minute winner against Arsenal at St James'.

However, these highlights were tempered by the knowledge that no longer were we the surprise package. Apart from the 5-0 thrashing of Chelsea we had struggled against the top seven teams and I knew that the squad wasn't complete yet.

09/10 began with another influx of youth with only Emiliano Insua (£5m), Luigi Bruins (£10m) and Phil Jagielka (£4.7m) being added to the first team squad. It also saw an end to the Newcastle careers of Mark Viduka (released), Steve Harper (released), Cacapa (released), Alan Smith (£1.7m to Blackburn), Obafemi Martins (£7.5m to West Ham), David Rozenhal (£2.1m to Deportivo), Zaccardo (£8m to Liverpool) and Ricardo Quaresma (£28m to Real Madrid)

09/10 was another fantastic season for us, Champions of England again and it was a special day for all Newcastle fans as we beat Barcelona 4-1 in Glasgow to become the Champions of Europe. We had gone unbeaten from the first of August until the last day of the season beating Manchester United at Old Trafford along the way.

10/11 saw much less transfer activity as my team began to take shape. Gareth Barry (£17m) and Michael Johnson (£12m) were added whilst Guarin (£5m to West Ham), Habib Beye (£525k to Fulham), Aurelio (£925k to Mallorca) and Abdoulaye Faye (released departed).

We were Champions again, as pundits began to debate if we were one of the greatest teams ever, rivalling the great Liverpool side of the 1980's and the Manchester United of the 1990's. We reached the Champions League final only to lose on penalties to Real Madrid. The League Cup was added to the trophy cabinet along with the Club World Championship and Super Cup.

In 11/12 only Danny Simpson (£2.1m) and Gai Assulin were added to the squad. Many players left Newcastle including Sokratis Papastathopoulos (£8m to Blackburn), Tony Williams (£20m Barcelona), Joe Ledley (£6m to Bolton), Ismail Aissati (£28m to Manchester United), Manual Pasqual (£13.5m Liverpool), Luigi Bruins (£8.5m to Portsmouth) and Shay Given, Emre and Peter Ramage left on free transfers.

Once again we charged to the title. I had the luxury of resting players for the last three games of the season allowing Manchester United to close the gap to one point. We had crashed out of the Champions League to Arsenal in the semi finals and progressed to the FA Cup final.

As this post was just to bring you up to date I have been quite brief. Next up I will start the proper story starting with the FA Cup final.

[bill b]

This is my first story so please bear with me. The game has been started on 8.02. I will attempt to update this regularly but as I have exams coming up that may not always be possible. This first post is just to bring you up to date with the story. Any feedback would be gratefully received.

Saturday 5th May 2012

“Mr Bennett, how does it feel to win the title again?â€

“Well, I’m just happy for the lads. We’ve worked hard this year and I think that we are worthy winners.â€

“When you took over did you honestly believe that you could transform Newcastle into a side capable of winning the league title four years in a row?

"No, the squad I inherited was riddled with under performing slackers happy to pick up a weekly wage without putting too much effort in. We needed a major rebuild of the squad and I would like to thank the chairman for investing the money and allowing me to transform the squad."

Ten minutes later I was slumped in my chair watching replays of the goal that had given us the title. We had come such a long way, since that rainy early Febuary day when I had been given control of Newcastle United. Sam Allardyce had been driven out by a baying crowd eager for attractive football and with Newcastle in free fall Mike Ashley had turned to me to turn the club around.

My name is Bill Bennett. In my younger days I was a commanding centre half for Bury. However, my lack of pace had massively hampered my career. I could often see where the danger was but I did not have the pace to stop it. I realised that I could not progress further up the leagues, and so turned my attention to coaching. At the tender age of 28 I hung up my boots altogether. I quickly got a job as first team coach at Newcastle and was lucky to be kept on when Big Sam was brought on. He seemed to like my enthusiasm for the game and was impressed by my tactical knowledge.

We began the 07-08 very optimistically but quickly our dreams for the season turned sour. Newcastle were languishing in 16th place when Sam was let go. As potential candidates distanced themselves from the job the situation grew desperate whispers began to circulate around the training ground that a man from inside the club would be promoted. These rumours were proved correct when myself and Steve Round were called to London to meet the chairman. In one of those posh restaurants dotted throughout the capital, we were told that one of us would be the next manager of Newcastle. Steve instantly made it clear he didn't want the job saying he couldn't handle the pressure. Mike's eyes shifted to me and said "Congratulations Mr Bennett, you are the new manager of Newcastle United"

As we returned to Newcastle it was clear things had to change, the crowd had shown they would not tolerate silly formations or long ball tactics. I resolved to use the traditional 4-4-2 and impose our game on the other team. A lack of pace and athleticism was affecting the team and I began to ditch the likes of Mark Viduka and Stephen Carr. By the end of that season we had dragged ourselves up to 9th place and the city was regaining pride in their team.

That summer I began a major rebuild of the team, I had been given £120m to spend by the chairman who was desperate for success. I raised my budget to £157m with the sales of many former first team players. As Nicky Butt and Stephen Carr left on free transfers they were followed with the likes of Geremi (£2m to Middlesbrough), James Milner (£7.5m to Portsmouth), Jose Enrique (£4.3m to Portsmouth), Charles N'Zogbia (£17.5m to Lyon),Shola Ameobi (£2.2m to Watford) and Joey Barton (£3.5m to Blackburn).

They were quickly replaced with a host of big money signings as I looked to bring attacking footballers to St James Park.

Kuzmanovic (£7.5m)

Goitom (£5.5m)

Gyan (£10m)

Pasqual (£6.75m)

Aissati (£8.5m)

Quaresma (£18m)

Zaccardo (free)

Aurelio (£2m)

Foster (£3.1m)

Neves (£4.2m)

Kompany (£13m)

Gonzalez (£14m)

Guarin (£3.5m)

I had also signed many promising youngsters such as Sakho, Kraus and Wijnaldum who are now integral members of my first team squad. In January I followed my summer signings with the capture of James Vaughan and Dimitar Berbatov.

On the pitch that second season could not have gone better, we became Champions by a margin of three points beating of the challenge of Manchester United and Chelsea. After qualification to the Uefa Cup through the Intertoto we had reached the semi finals before being destroyed by Arsenal in the second leg at the Emirates. Seasonal highlights included a 5-0 thrashing of Chelsea, Portsmouth and Blackburn and a 95th minute winner against Arsenal at St James'.

However, these highlights were tempered by the knowledge that no longer were we the surprise package. Apart from the 5-0 thrashing of Chelsea we had struggled against the top seven teams and I knew that the squad wasn't complete yet.

09/10 began with another influx of youth with only Emiliano Insua (£5m), Luigi Bruins (£10m) and Phil Jagielka (£4.7m) being added to the first team squad. It also saw an end to the Newcastle careers of Mark Viduka (released), Steve Harper (released), Cacapa (released), Alan Smith (£1.7m to Blackburn), Obafemi Martins (£7.5m to West Ham), David Rozenhal (£2.1m to Deportivo), Zaccardo (£8m to Liverpool) and Ricardo Quaresma (£28m to Real Madrid)

09/10 was another fantastic season for us, Champions of England again and it was a special day for all Newcastle fans as we beat Barcelona 4-1 in Glasgow to become the Champions of Europe. We had gone unbeaten from the first of August until the last day of the season beating Manchester United at Old Trafford along the way.

10/11 saw much less transfer activity as my team began to take shape. Gareth Barry (£17m) and Michael Johnson (£12m) were added whilst Guarin (£5m to West Ham), Habib Beye (£525k to Fulham), Aurelio (£925k to Mallorca) and Abdoulaye Faye (released departed).

We were Champions again, as pundits began to debate if we were one of the greatest teams ever, rivalling the great Liverpool side of the 1980's and the Manchester United of the 1990's. We reached the Champions League final only to lose on penalties to Real Madrid. The League Cup was added to the trophy cabinet along with the Club World Championship and Super Cup.

In 11/12 only Danny Simpson (£2.1m) and Gai Assulin were added to the squad. Many players left Newcastle including Sokratis Papastathopoulos (£8m to Blackburn), Tony Williams (£20m Barcelona), Joe Ledley (£6m to Bolton), Ismail Aissati (£28m to Manchester United), Manual Pasqual (£13.5m Liverpool), Luigi Bruins (£8.5m to Portsmouth) and Shay Given, Emre and Peter Ramage left on free transfers.

Once again we charged to the title. I had the luxury of resting players for the last three games of the season allowing Manchester United to close the gap to one point. We had crashed out of the Champions League to Arsenal in the semi finals and progressed to the FA Cup final.

As this post was just to bring you up to date I have been quite brief. Next up I will start the proper story starting with the FA Cup final.

[bill b]

I seem to have forgotten to mention that I was given the Russian manager's job. I have reached the 2012 European Championships so these will be included in the story. I may well have missed a few transfers as well and so I apologise.

Saturday 19th May 2012 - FA Cup Final - Wembley

To say I was desperate to win this trophy would be an understatement. It was the one trophy left to fully round off my collection. I had been brought up to see the FA Cup as a major honour and still believed this despite the recent devaluing of the competition by the big clubs. I finally had the chance to collect a winner's medal. However, it would not be easy. We would be playing Manchester United, second in the league, in the Champions League final and still regarded as the biggest club in the world. Historically I had struggled against their 4-3-2-1 formation and their squad possessed the devastating talents of Cristiano Ronaldo, Diego and Wayne Rooney.

The teams lined up as:

Newcastle United Foster, Rafinha, Taylor, Sakho, Insua, Gyan, Gonzalez, Barry, Neves, Vaughan, Goitom

Manchester United Akinfeev, Miguel, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Carrick, Raul Garcia, Anderson, Ronaldo, Diego, Rooney

As happens in most major finals the game began tentatively as both teams tried to overcome their nerves. However, the game exploded into life in the 13th minute when Henok Goitom won a corner. Gonzalez swung it in and Mamadou Sakho rose above Ferdinand to nod the ball past Akinfeev.

Newcastle 1-0 Manchester United Sakho 13

As they tried to get back into the game United began leaving gaps at the back which were exploited. A brilliant Akinfeev save resulted in another corner. Once again Gonzalez swung the ball into the box and once again Sakho headed the ball past Akinfeev.

Newcastle 2-0 Manchester United Sakho 26

Manchester United began to sttack driving the Newcastle players back towards their own box. Just as it was beginning to look as if their pressure wouldn't tell a delightful Garcia ball slipped Rooney in and he drilled the ball past Taylor to reduce Newcastle's lead to one.

Newcastle 2-1 Manchester United Rooney 34

Unfortunately, from kick off United switched off and Emiliano Insua was allowed to swing in a ball from 40 yards into the box where James Vaughan was waiting to restore Newcastle's two goal lead.

Newcastle 3-1 Manchester United Vaughan 36

The match then drifted as half time approached but a Ronaldo snapshot reminded Newcastle that the final wasn't over yet.

The game suddenly exploded to life in the 59th minute as during a goal mouth scramble the ball fell to the substitute Tevez who calmly finished.

Newcastle 3-2 Manchester United Tevez 59

United pushed desperately for the equaliser and on more than one occaison Foster had to make an excellent save and Taylor and Sakho repelled every long ball thrown at them.

It was game over in the 92nd minute as Rafinha picked the ball up on the edge of the Newcastle box, exchanged passes with Goitom before running 70 yards unchallenged to smash the ball past Akinfeev.

Newcastle 4-2 Manchester United Rafinha 90

Full Time - Newcastle 4-2 Manchester United - Newcatle have won the FA Cup

The final whistle blew seconds later followed by a pitch invasion from our dug out as jubilation took hold. For the first time since 1955 Newcastle United had won the FA Cup. The party continued long into the night as we celebrated with the fans and somehow ended up doing a massive conga around Trafalgar Square. On the plane back to Newcastle, as the players slept a discussion was going on between the staff. We had many promising players coming through and I was interested in finding out just who could go into the first team squad next season. I also knew that some deadwood needed clearing and the subject on which players should leave was already well underway.

[tenthreeleader]

A good start and it seems as though Newcastle has done a good bit of business through sales as well. Nicely done!

[bill b]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by tenthreeleader:

A good start and it seems as though Newcastle has done a good bit of business through sales as well. Nicely done! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Thanks very much. I'm particularly happy with the Aissati deal. He wasn't a first team regular and since he's been there he's managed to fall out with Ronaldo, break his arm and is now playing in the reserves.

[bill b]

As was customary at the end of the season I reviewed every player on the club's books. With the help of Steve Round I evaluated each players progress and decided on their futures.

Goalkeepers

Surprisingly there were only 3 goalkeepers on the clubs books. I had already signed the young Brazilian Fred to join in the summer so I was not too concerned.

Ben Foster 29 Newcastle's and England's number one. An excellent keeper who at 29 could play on for many years.

Tim Krul 24 Back up to Foster. Krul is a good keeper who is well capable of playing week in week out for a top side. Recently made his Holland debut and is content to stay at the club.

Ole Soderberg 22 Ole is still young but does not have the ability to play for Newcastle. Ole is only on the books still due to the lack of keepers at the club.

[bill b]

Defenders

I found that I had many defenders on the books at the club. Newcastle had been very weak defensively when I took over and giving strength to the defence had been my first priority. As such I have only included those who have a chance of making it at Newcastle.

Right Backs

Rafinha 26 First choice for Newcastle. An excellent player who surprisingly has made only three appearances for Brazil

Danny Simpson 25 Backup for Newcastle. A solid player who never quite made the grade at Manchester United. Will probably only get in the team due to injuries to Rafinha

Phil Jagielka 29 Versatile defender who is very capable backup. He would like more first team football and is expendable. A decent offer would be accepted.

Gerrit Weber 18 Decent prospect but might not make the grade here.

Roman Aigner 19 See Gerrit Weber. Can't see him ever getting ahead of Rafinha or Simpson

Centre Backs

Mamadou Sakho 22 Best defender on the books and quite probably in the league. Fantastic in all defensive areas and is a goal threat from corners having got 13 league goals in two seasons.

Vincent Kompany 26 Struggled to regain fitness after a broken arm but is still a class act. Great on the ball and should be a Newcastle player for many years.

Steven Taylor 26 A local lad who is a future captain of Newcastle. He has been the subject of continued interest from Manchester United but is indispensible.

Matias Kraus 18 Fantastic prospect who will definately make the grade. Future Germany captain having already made 28 under 21 appearences.

Robert Mas 18 Good prospect but will have to work hard.

Gerson 19 Good on the ball but needs to bulk up to make it.

Left Backs

Emiliano Insua 23 One of the best left backs in the division. He is establishing himself in the Spain squad and will hopefully be here for many years.

Andy Pearce 19 Will play for England as he is a great prospect. Will gradually get more first team football but will have to play well to get ahead of Insua.

Didier Toure 21 Good player but will have to play out of his skin to get in the team.

[bill b]

Midfielders

Right Midfield

Asamoah Gyan 26 Regular for club and country. Lightning pace and will be first choice

Georginio Wijnaldum 21 Has already played for Holland and is gradually asserting himself in the team at Newcastle.

Gabriel Torje 22 Incosistent but hugely talented

Greig Tait 19 Already made his first team debut and looks to be hugely talented.

Centre Midfield

Zdravko Kuzmanovic 24 Key player at Newcastle with an excellent range of passing.

Lucho Gonzalez 31 Fantastic midfielder but at 31 he is starting to lose his pace.

Michael Johnson 24 Should be a regular for club and country for years to come.

Gareth Barry 31 Regular for England and hopefully can play at the top level for a few more years.

Jean Janssen 18 The subject of repeated bids from other top clubs and should mature into a top class midfield destroyer.

Francois Adam 18 Already has an amazing range of passing and is attracting interest from AC Milan

Left Midfielders

Thiago Neves 27 Somehow uncapped by Brazil Thiago regularly destroys teams with his astounding dribbling skills.

Iago 22 Well capable of playing for his country.

[bill b]

Sorry about the above post. I should've spaced it better.

[bill b]

Strikers

James Vaughan 23 An England call-up is only a matter of time for James. He terrorises defences with his pace and has the finishing ability to guarentee twenty goals a season.

Henok Goitom 27 Regular goal scorer who is a fantastic target man.

Dimitar Berbatov 31 He oozes class but unfortunately his low work rate prevents him from being prolific.

Michael Owen 32 Sadly coming to the end of a glittering career. Still chips in with 15 goals a season however.

Andy Carroll 23 With the impending demise of Owen, Andy should get the chance to step up into the first team.

Aaron 23 Sadly for Aaron, his finishing is suspect so may never make it to the top.

[bill b]

June started with a £14m bid for Emiliano Insua from Manchester United. This was of course, rejected promptly. United also put in enquiries for Sakho and Kraus. Those too were rejected.

Apart from that, I was having to decide on the Russia squad I would take to the European Championships. We had been drawn in a group containing Denmark, France and Italy and so I was expecting to be knocked out quickly.

Provisionally my squad was:

Goalkeepers: Akinfeev, Malafeev and Shunin

Defenders: Anyukov,A.Berezutskiy, V.Berezutskiy, Ignashevich, Kolodin, Kombarov, Nakhushev, Starkov and Tumasyan

Midfielders: Arshavin, Bilyaletdinov, Boudianski, Bystrov, Izmailov, Lebedenko, Mamaev, Pershin, Shishkin and Zhirkov

Strikers: Dzubya, Kerzhakov, Pavluchenko and Pogrebnyak

[bill b]

As we got closer and closer to the start of the Championships I was getting more and more enquiries for my players. Inter Milan submitted a bid of £21m for Sakho. This was quickly rejected. Sakho is an integral part of future here and there is no way I will sell him.

It had got to the time when I had to submit my squad for the Championships. I had to tell three players that they wouldn't be coming with us to Poland and Ukraine.

Myself and Alexander Borodyuk sat down at the table to discuss who to leave out.

"Well Alexander, what do you think?

"I'm not sure we need that many midfielders boss. We have players who can cover there so maybe we should send one of them home."

Yes, I agree with you there. I was leaning towards leaving out Pershin and Tumasyan anyway. However I don't know who else I should leave out. Who do you think?

Well for me, I think it should be one of Lebedenko or Bystrov.

Right, I see what you mean. Yes I'm not sure we need three right wingers. Bystrov I think has more experience at this level though.

So it was decided, Artem Pershin, Igor Lebedenko and Denis Tumasyan would suffer the heartache of being left out at this late stage. While it was never easy to make a decision like that I felt we had made the right one.

I would be seeing many familiar faces during the Championships. England had called up Foster, Taylor, Barry, Johnson and James Vaughan was called up despite never having played for England. Wijnaldum and Krul were included in the Holland squad whilst Sakho, Kompany, Insua and Goitom had been called up by their respective nations.

In the Russian camp we were busy preparing for our first group game against Denmark. Whilst we were nearly ten places above them in the world rankings I was expecting a very difficult game. The key for us would be keeping Bendtner quiet.

With that in mind we headed to Donetsk for the game. Unfortunately disaster struck as Roman Shiskin suffered a twisted knee ruling him out certainly of the Denmark game and possibly the rest of the group games. Vladimir Bystrov then suffered a twisted knee ruling him out for two weeks.

Sunday 10th June 2012 - European Championship Group D - Denmark vs Russia

I hoped we could get points on the board in our first game and had put out a strong team despite the blow of losing Shiskin and Bystrov.

Denmark: Schmeichel, Jacobsen, Juelsgard, Kjaer, Agger, Andreasen, Poulsen, Laudrup, Christensen, Kahlenberg, Bendtner

Russia: Akinfeev, V.Berezutskiy, Starkov, Ignashevich, A.Berezutskiy, Arshavin, Zhirkov, Mamaev, Izmailov, Kerzhakov, Pavluchenko.

Chances were at a premium with neither side really looking to get the early goal. The half petered out at 0-0 in a poor game for the neutral. The scond half started much more brightly. Akinfeev made a fantastic save to deny Bendtner before Bendtner hit the post when clean through. In the 60th minute Denmark scored when Agger got on the end of a fantastic corner.

Denmark 1 0 Russia Agger 60

Despite Russia's valiant attempts they just could not take their chances and so it finished with Denmark winning. I was massively disappointed. I thought Denmark were the best chance we had of getting points and we had thrown it away.

Denmark 1 0 Russia

[bill b]

I did not have long to pick the squad up. We would be playing Italy in five short days and they were a class act in world football. As traditional their success was based on a solid defence but this Italy side was not short of attacking options with the talents of Giovinco, Gilardinho and Rossi at thier dispossal.

Despite my preparations for the match I was in constant contact with my new assistant manager Stefano Eranio back in Newcastle. Steve Round had decided to move up to Scotland to take the assitant manager's position at Celtic working with Vicente Del Bosque. While I was disappointed that Steve who had been a loyal assitant during his time at Newcastle had left I understood his reasoning. He had doubled his wages and he had a better chance of a manager's job in Scotland.

The period between the end of the season and pre-season training was normally quiet but not this time. Bids were flooding in for my players however I had no intention of selling the majority of the players being enquired about.

Due to his excellent season Andy Pearce was attracting considerable interest and Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool had all made a £5.7m bid for the young man. While it was an impressive sum for a youngster with only 5 league appearances under his belt I was not in the least bit inclined to sell. Andy had proved he could cope with the big occasions and I believed that he had massive potential.

Danny Simpson was also a target for both Leeds and Blackburn as they offered £3m for his services. After consultation with Stefano I decided to reject the offer. Danny was quality back up and it would be difficult to replace him for the sum offered.

One player who would be leaving however was young striker Francesco Piacentini who returned to his homeland to sign for Livorno on a free transfer. Francesco had been bought to the club three seasons ago but had failed to realise his potential and I had no qualms about letting him go.

I was sitting in my hotel room back at the camp when I received an unwanted visitor. The team physio Zurab Ordjonikidze had arrived to tell me another player had been injured adding to the lengthy list of players already on the sidelines.

Afternoon Zurab, who is it this time?

It's Kirill Kombarov boss. He's dislocated his shoulder. We've had to send him home. There's no way he could play again in the tournament.

Okay Zurab, thanks for coming to tell me.

As Zurab left the room I reclined back in my chair and cursed my bad luck. Whilst Kirill was not a first teamer he provided excellent backup for the right side. Unfortunately UEFA rules prevented calling up additional players to replace injured ones so I would be at least a man down for the rest of the tournament.

The tournament was progressing and it was pleasing for me to see that both Henok Goitom and Georginio Wijnaldum had scored for their countries in their game. Sadly for Henok, Georginio's Holland team smashed his Sweden team 6-1 to leave qualification in the balance for Sweden.

The day of our crucial game against Italy arrived. We would attempt to banish bad memories in the same stadium where we had lost to Denmark.

I had been disappointed in our failure to retain the ball in the opposition half during the Denamrk game so brought in Pogrebnyak for Pavlyuchenko to provide us with strength up front.

Friday 15th June 2012 - European Championship Group D - Russia vs Italy

Russia:Akinfeev, V.Berezutskiy, Starkov, Ignashevich, A.Berezutskiy, Arshavin, Zhirkov, Mamaev, Izmailov, Kerzhakov, Pogrebnyak.

Italy: Buffon, De Silvestri, Chiellini, Barzagli, Gamberini, Rosina, Giovinco, Aquilani, De Rossi, Gilardino, Rossi

On paper Italy should be able to comfortably able to beat us and they would be full of confidence having dispatched of France 2-1 in their first group game.

I set the team up to rattle a few Italian cages and keep the tempo high and it worked beautifully. Russia broke the deadlock on 11 minutes when Italy failed to clear a corner, Mamaev swung the ball back in, Kerzhakov headed against the bar and Pogrebnyak justified his selection by ramming the ball home.

Russia 1 0 ItalyPogrebnyak 11

After the joy of the early goal we stopped pressing and Italy began to come on to us. Akinfeev was forced to make a fantastic triple save from Gilardinho, Rossi and Gilardinho. Gilardinho then smashed against the bar when clean through as the pressure mounted.

We were still creating chances on the counter as Italy threw bodies forward and this paid dividends in the 69th as Kerzhakov skipped away from Barzagli and was scythed down in the area by Gamberini. Ignashevich took the responsibility as captain and he rolled it into the bottom right corner sending Buffon the wrong way.

Russia 2 0 ItalyIgnashevich 69

This looked to have made the game safe but Italy still looked for the goal to bring themselves back into the game. It took a fantastic block from V Berezutskiy to deny Aquilani and Rossi should have scored when presented with a free header from a corner. Although chances for us were few and far between the substitute Boudianski hit the post from thirty yards and Zhirkov tested Buffon with a stinging drive. As the game wore on it became clear that Italy would not get back into the game and so the game fizzled out to end 2-0.

Russia 2 0 Italy

The result was an unexpected bonus and a Sakho header had given France a win over Denmark to leave all four teams on three points after two games. The so-called "group of death" was living up to it's billing and the final two matches would decide everything.

Henok Goitom struck a hattrick for Sweden in their 6-0 demolishing of the hosts Poland but it was not enough as they crashed out at the group stage as Holland and Switzerland progressed in Group A.

Group B saw Portugal and Ukraine ease through as Croatia and Greece left the competition.

There was more news back in Newcastle as we learnt that planning permission to extend St James' had been denied due to "vehement local opposition" I was most disappointed as I believed that we would fill the larger stadium freeing up more money for players. Mamadou Sakho was named as the Fan's Player Of The Year which was just reward for his fantastic efforts last season. The new fixtures were announced and we would start with a home game against Fulham which would be a fantastic oppourtunity to start our season with a bang.

The Russian injury curse struck again as Alexey Berezutskiy suffered a stubbed toe ruling him out of the France game. This meant I would have to rejig the team to cover for his absence. Lady Luck was most definitely not on our side.

[bill b]

Our final group game was against France. As we topped the table on goal difference and all four teams were on three points a win or a draw would be enough to send us through to the quarter finals.

Wednesday 20th June 2012 - European Championship Group D - Russia vs France

My scout reports had told me that France played a 3-5-2 system. I felt I had to play five in midfield as well to make sure the technically superior French did not have a free man.

I decided to go with the 4-5-1 formation to try and stifle their midfield.

Russia: Akinfeev, Anyukov, Starkov, V Berezutskiy, Ignashevich, Arshavin, Mamaev, Boudianski, Izmailov, Zhirkov, Kerzhakov

France: Lloris, Mexes, Sakho, Bodmer, Faubert, Ribery, Toulalan, Diaby, Nasri, Benzema, Ben Arfa

The game started slowly with both teams nervous of conceding. Both teams were resorted to long-range efforts until the 30th minute when Kerzhakov was bundled over in the area by Mexes and the referee gave a penalty. Mamaev decided to take responsibility and dealt with the pressure expertly, slotting the ball in the top corner.

Russia 1 0 France Mamaev 30

France began to send more men forwards but it was Russia who should have scored next as Kolodin missed a golden chance from a corner.

France's pressure finally told in the 72nd minute when a Ben Arfa corner was stabbed in by Benzema from four yards.

Russia 1 1 France Benzema 72

In order to alleviate the pressure Pavlyuchenko was brought on to hold up the ball up front. However, this substitution back fired when Pavlyuchenko was carried off with a torn calf muscle five minutes after coming on. This left Russia having to defend for fifteen minutes with only ten men as France threw everyone forwards. Despite some nervy moments the Russian defence held firm to send Russia through and France out.

Italy's win against Denmark had sent them through at the top of the group meaning that we would face Spain in the quarter finals.

I returned to the hotel to find a message on the answer machine from Stefano.

Ciao Bill, just to let you know Tony Whitehead has agreed a deal and will join the club on the first day of the next window.

I smiled to myself. Tony was a highly rated 15 year old left winger who was rumoured to be the next Ryan Giggs. To sign such a player for a nominal fee was a great piece of business.

Some of the semi final line up was already confirmed as Holland and Portugal beat Ukraine and Switzerland to book their places respectively.

The Spain match loomed large in the consciousness of the Russian public. We had done better than expected but surely this would be the final hurdle.

Saturday 23rd June 2012 - European Championship Quarter Final - Russia vs Spain

Russia: Akinfeev, Anyukov, Nakhushev, V Berezutskiy, Ignashevich, Arshavin, Mamaev, Boudianski, Izmailov, Zhirkov, Kerzhakov

Spain: Casillas, Alexis, Insua, Ramos, Albiol, Navas, Silva, Iniesta, Alonso, Torres, Bojan

Unlike most high pressure games it was an open end to end affair. Chances were created at both ends but each side were wasteful. Spain were beginning to get on top and their pressure told when Sergio Ramos headed home from a corner in the 63rd minute.

Russia 0 1 Spain Ramos 63

Spain began to try and close out the game and in sheer desperation I switched to 4-2-4 in an attempt to equalise.

Luckily the gamble paid off in the 88th minute as a long diagonal ball was misjudged by Alexis who headed the ball across goal where it was thumped home by Arshavin.

Russia 1 1 Spain Arshavin 88

At this stage extra time looked a certainty however Spain lost the ball from a corner, Zhirkov played a long ball upfield where the substitute Pogrebnyak raced onto it then drove past Alexis and slotted past Casillas from twenty yards.

Russia 2 1 Spain Pogrebnyak 92

The reward for a heroic efforts was a semi final tie against Portugal, arguably the most difficult team left in the competition. We would play either Holland or Italy.

Georginio Wijnaldum was the latest player to be bidded on as Inter Milan and Arsenal made bids of £10.75m. For a international player with a bright future ahead of him the bid was a non-starter.

There was still a large amount of time for transfer dealings and it surprised me how early the other clubs had started with their dealings.

[bill b]

After our fantastic efforts in our previous games we faced Portugal in the semi-finals. We had upset the odds time and time again but the media seemed sure that we would not this time.

"Mr Bennett, I know your team has played excellently throughout the tournament but this is a step too far, surely?"

"I don't think so. My team has shown that we can beat the best and I believe we could do it again."

"But Mr Bennett, you cannot think your team can possibly withstand Portugal's attacking force."

Beneath the bravado for the cameras I was worried. Portugal were perhaps even better than the teams we had beaten so far and would hnot be lacking in motivation.

I had to make numerous changes from the previous game as players such as Mamaev had not regained fitness in time.

Thursday 28rd June 2012 - European Championship Semi Final - Portugal vs Russia

Portugal: D Fernandes, Bosingwa, Da Costa, Pepe, Ze Castro, M Fernandes, Veloso, Ronaldo, Moutinho, Nani, Almeida

Russia: Akinfeev, V. Berezutskiy, Nakhushev, Ignashevich, A Berezutskiy, Bystrov, Zhirkov, Bilyaletdinov, Boudianski, Kerzhakov, Dzyuba

Both teams started the game aggressively, hoping for an early goal to calm jangled nerves.

It was Portugal who had the better of the chances and it was they who broke the deadlock when Ronaldo found Moutinho who finished smartly past Akinfeev.

Portugal 1 0 Russia Moutinho 14

However, Russia came back strongly and after a sustained spell of possession around the Portugese box, Ze Castro failed to clear a cross and Bilyaletdinov justified his selection with a delightful curling effort past Fernandes.

Portugal 1 1 Russia Bilyaletdinov 30m

Once again the conceding team seized the iniative and when Moutinho tuned and lashed into the top corner it seemed a long way back for Russia.

Portugal 2 1 Russia Moutinho 53m

You can never write off Russia and once again we produced when our backs were against the wall. There was just thirty seconds of injury time remaining when Artem Dzyuba stole a march on Pepe and nodded the ball past Fernandes.

Portugal 2 2 Russia Dzyuba 93m

Extra time started with Portugal shell-shocked. They had been so close to the final and had it snatched away at the last minute.

They struggled to regain their composure and Russia capitalised as Zhirkov played a long ball to Kerzhakov. Kerzhakov beat Da Costa before floating the ball over Fernandes and into the back of the net.

Portugal 2 3 Russia Kerzhakov 109m

Despite their best efforts Portugal couldn't equalise and against all expectations we were in the final!

[bill b]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> The Times - Monday 2nd July 2012

Italy 2 3 Russia

It is on days like this that heroes are born and legends are created. For Greece 2004 read Russia 2012.

At the start of the tournament few would have expected Russia to qualify from the group and much less to win the trophy.

Yet that they did, built on the defensive bedrock of captain Sergey Ignashevich, the creative talents of Pavel Mamaev and the poachers instinct of Alexandr Kerzhakov.

However, that is not to say that the others did not play their part. Unlikely men stepped up when needed to play their part. This was a victory for team solidarity rather than disjointed teams relying on star players.

They were led by Englishman Bill Bennett, who in his first press conference upon taking control stated his belief that Russia could win a major tournament. Then there was laughter, but it is he who has had the last laugh.

It is not for nothing the Russians are calling him "рабочий чуда" the "miracle worker" What happens next reamins to be seen as it is now likely that the top countries in Europe will clamour for his services.

Nothing however can detract from the fact that this was Russia's triumph and this Russian team shall go down in history as a team who upset the odds time and time again. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

That was one of the articles dumped outside my hotel room in the early hours of the morning. All praising the Russian tenacity and all commenting on my future with Russia.

For once the reporters had got it right. I was thinking about my future. The sight of seeing Russia lift the cup had hurt deep inside, whilst a great sight professionally,it was painful for a proud Englishman to take. I couldn't shake the feeling that England had the team to win and should have delivered.

It had been hard to sit in that dressing room and listen to the patriotic Russians inside so filled with the elation of the joy they had brought to their homeland.

I endeavoured to join in the celebrations but inside I had steeled myself for what I thought needed to be done.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> The Times

Bennett Resigns!

Amongst all the fervour of the Russians celebrations last night has come an announcement that will shock them to their core.

National manager Bill Bennett who yesterday delivered their first international tournament win has resigned.

A Russian FA spokesmen read out this short statement from Bill Bennett at a press conference last night.

" It is with a heavy heart that I have decided to relinquish my position as manager of the Russian national team. I have achieved the aims I set out to do and have resigned in order to spend more time back in England.

I would like to thank all the staff and players at the Russian FA and the Russian people who have been very supportive throughout my tenure"

Sergey Ignashevich led the tributes to the departing manager stating that he was "the best manager I've ever had. I'm so proud of what we have achieved together" </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

[bill b]

I don't think I've shown enough of the life outside football so I'll try and include it a bit more starting now.

Summer Time. The most hated of times for football fans as we are subjected to the cricket and tennis with only transfer rumours breaking the monotony.

There are some advantages for a man involved with the game though. A chance to take a break, recharge your batteries and escape the day to day stresses of life in the world of football.

However there was no such luck for me. I only had a week from the end of the European Championships to the start of pre-season training. I did take my steady partner of nearly seven years to Spain though. Her name was Sophie and she was the one woman who I could envisage spending my rest of my life with and possibly raising children with.

We had met when I played for Bury. Almost instantaneously I had fallen in love with her, she was perfect for me with an outgoing personality. I have always been a bit of an introvert needing someone confident and bubbly around me and it may be a cliche but Sophie completes me. We were engaged to be married and the date had been set for around August 2013. We were determined to wait until we were married before having children. We lived together in one of the nicer areas of Newcastle and were happy with our lot.

My holiday had been disturbed by a phone call by the club secretary.

Mr Bennett, it's Alfred here. We've recieved a bid of £7.5m for Dimitar Berbatov from Everton. Mr Ashley was wondering what you want to do?

Accept it Alfred please.

Of course Mr Bennett, I'll see you in a couple of days.

I reclined in my chair reflecting on my decision. I believed that whilst Dimitar had masses of talent he did not have a good enough workrate and his tendency to surliness had a negative effect on the dressing room.

My newspaper had dropped to the floor and picking it up I resumed my reading of an article about the impending transfer of Gaby Mudingayi to Portsmouth to Milan.

Then my phone rang again.

Ciao is this Mr Bennett a man with an Italian accent enquired.

Yes it is

Ah, good. I'm Massimo Moratti and I have a proposition for you.

What was said in that phone call would give me a dilemma and an impossible choice to make.