Dixie Flatline Posted April 2, 2008 Author Share Posted April 2, 2008 12th of February 2008 Cameroon international Thomas Job to join Coventry Cameroon international winger Thomas Job has agreed to join Coventry on a Bosman free transfer at the end of the season after rejecting an improved contract from current club, Sampdoria. Job, 23, is equally adept at playing on either wing and has shown his talent at the recently concluded African Cup of Nations. 16th of February 2008 I agree to sell goalkeeper Rob Beckwith to Oldham Athletic for the princely sum of £375,000, 25% of which is due to Luton due to a sell-on clause my predecessor had agreed when signing the 23 year old keeper. Beckwith had complained in the media about a lack of game-time. He’s nowhere near the standard of Taylor or even Rhys Evans, so I had no compunctions about selling him. 19th of February 2008 Scottish defender to join Coventry In a short statement released by Coventry via its official website, the Sky Blues have announced that they have agreed to purchase Scottish international defender Stephen Crainey from Wolverhampton at the end of the season for £325,000. 20th of February 2008 Cheyrou damages cruciate ligaments; requires knee reconstruction French midfielder Bruno Cheyrou has been forced out of the remainder of the season after damaging his anterior cruciate ligaments during a routine training session at Coventry this afternoon. Cheyrou, signed on loan from Liverpool by Senor Flatline, has been released by Coventry back to the Mersey-side club for an immediate knee reconstruction which will see the Frenchman miss at least eight months of competitive football. In a short statement released via the Coventry website this afternoon, Senor Flatline thanked Cheyrou for his efforts on behalf of the Sky Blues and wished him a speedy recovery. Cheyrou is out of contract at the end of the season and it remains to be seen whether a club will take a chance on the midfielder. That’s shocking news, not only for Bruno himself, but also our chances of avoiding relegation, as he was our only true creative midfielder and had been signed on loan from Liverpool for precisely that purpose. It puts a real dent in our possibility of surviving this season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixie Flatline Posted April 2, 2008 Author Share Posted April 2, 2008 1st of March 2008 After a quick meeting with the board of directors in the morning where, to a man, they reassure me that they still believe they chose the right man for the job, I disappear to my office to plan our forthcoming match against fellow relegation battler, Crystal Palace. Anything less than three points would just about condemn us to relegation, notwithstanding that there are still two months of the season left to run. With Cheyrou gone, it’s a relatively simple exercise to slot Diouf in for the Frenchman in midfield. Premier League – Game 29: Coventry v Crystal Palace A win at last! The Sky Blues are tonight celebrating their first win under new manager Senor Flatline since the Spaniard was appointed in January 2008. Goals from Graham Barrett and Jaime Alberto Castrillon in each half secured the victory as Palace ended the game with ten men after Fitz Hall was sent off for a professional foul on 54 minutes. Just on 6 minutes, Andrew Whing picked off a foray forward and sent the ball inside to El-Hadji Diouf who fired the ball forward to the advantage of Barrett. Using his pace, the Irish international reached the ball before the Palace defenders and he powered his drive past the Palace keeper, Mark Howard to give Coventry the dream start. On 66 minutes, Caldwell and Dawson combined to cut out a desperate Palace attack, and Dawson launched the ball wide left to Michael Doyle, hugging the left-wing. The Irishman looked up and whipped in a cross for Castrillon to head home past the static Howard to make it 2-0 and game over. With only ten men, Palace looked incapable of fighting back, and Coventry were deserved winners. After the game, Senor Flatline was enthused: “I’m happy to see the boys celebrating an important win. When you’re playing a fellow relegation battler, sometimes you’re too nervous to take a risk and attack the game, but in our position, we needed to make the running if we are to escape relegation. So I was pleased to see us come out and attack Palace from the first whistle, and Barrett’s goal settled our nerves very well. When Palace went down to ten men, that made our job easier, and I’m pleased that we scored the second goal and kept a clean sheet. Our goal difference needs improvement and today’s result definitely helps. Our challenge is to build upon the momentum we’re accumulating with our next game.†Palace manager, Mr Roy Hodgson said: “All credit to Coventry, they set out their stall to attack and they managed it very well. We needed to be more intelligent in how we played the game, and we weren’t good enough to take anything away from the match. I didn’t see the foul for which [Fitz] Hall was sent off, so I can’t comment, but I will be speaking with him because a player of his experience shouldn’t be having himself sent off. We have to regroup and fight back next time.†A smashing result, and I’m very pleased for the boys to claim the big win. A very important result and the way we played is the way I’m used to seeing my teams play. Hopefully we can carry the momentum to the next game and beyond. Coventry (4-1-4-1): Taylor; Giddings, Dawson, Caldwell, Whing ©; Berson; Doyle, Castrillon, Diouf (Harding 63), Ishizaki; Barrett (Helguson 63). Crystal Palace (4-4-2): Howard (Wilkinson 67); Dorsin, Higginbotham, Hall (s/o 54), Conroy; Kolkka (McCann 54), Riihilahti ©, James (Boyce 55), Routledge; Johnson, Bent. Final score: Coventry 2:0 Crystal Palace MoM – Jaime Alberto Castrillon The victory closes the gap between ourselves and Palace, who sit one place above the relegation zone, to just four points. I pin a copy of the table on the notice board in the changerooms to give more motivation to the players. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixie Flatline Posted April 2, 2008 Author Share Posted April 2, 2008 15th of March 2008 <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> Pos Club Pld Won Drn Lst GF GA GD Pts ------------------------------------------------------------- 1st Chelsea 29 19 8 2 68 30 +38 65 ------------------------------------------------------------- 16th Fulham 29 4 13 12 28 43 -15 25 17th Palace 29 6 7 16 28 52 -24 25 ------------------------------------------------------------- 18th Sheff Wed 29 4 11 14 22 42 -20 23 19th S'hampton 29 4 11 14 28 51 -23 23 20th Coventry 29 5 6 18 20 49 -29 21 </pre> Things are becoming tight at the pointy end of the season. Our next match is huge. Premier League – Game 30: Portsmouth v Coventry I hope that our good work from the previous games continues today and, as I take my seat in the dug-out, I reflect on the team-talk I gave to my players, emphasising that with the momentum we’ve been building, we can defeat Portsmouth this afternoon. Reflecting this is the new formation I unveil this afternoon, pushing El-Hadji Diouf forward to partner Graham Barrett and leaving three in midfield, with Berson in the anchor role in front of the defence. My smile broadens when Andrew Whing’s ferocious tackle forces Richie Partridge from the field on 3 minutes with an injury. Partridge is replaced by David Prutton. However, my smile is wiped from my face on 19 minutes when Mezague launches the ball long down the right flank for Solli to nod down to Johan Elmander. The Swedish international hits his shot first-time and watches it blocked by Taylor. However, Elmander’s reflexes enable him to reach the loose ball first and he prods it home to open the scoring in Portsmouth’s favour. Portsmouth’s players are quite capable of handling our attacking forays and we reach half-time still trailing Portsmouth by that single goal. On the hour, I take off Diouf and Doyle off, replacing them with Helguson and Harding respectively. The substitutions turn out to be a critical point in the match, as Helguson earns our equalising goal on 72 minutes. Dawson clears the ball with a lovely cushioned header from our defence in favour of Helguson. The Icelandic international knocks the ball inside for Barrett, who flicks it side-ways to Mathieu Berson. The French midfielder spots Helguson’s run from the right channel and passes it superbly for his favour. Holding off the Portsmouth’s defenders, Helguson slides the ball through the legs of Bogdan Lobont to tie the scores at 1-1 apiece. Despite our opportunities to find a winning goal, we don’t find the second goal and we have to be satisfied with the 1-1 draw. Portsmouth (4-4-2): Lobont; Taylor, Stefanovic, Duffy, Primus; Partridge (Prutton 3), Mezague (Tillen 72), O’Neil ©, Solli; LuaLua (Rungratsemee 72), Elmander. Coventry (4-1-3-2): Taylor; Giddings, Dawson, Caldwell, Whing ©; Berson; Doyle (Harding 61), Castrillon, Ishizaki (Spector 81); Barrett, Diouf (Helguson 61). Final score: Portsmouth 1:1 Coventry MoM – Michael Dawson Both Southampton and Sheffield Wednesday also drew 1-1 apiece, so it’s effectively “as you were†amongst the relegation battlers. 17th of March 2008 Gary Caldwell and Michael Dawson are both named in the Premier League Team of the Week. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixie Flatline Posted April 2, 2008 Author Share Posted April 2, 2008 22nd of March 2008 <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> Pos Club Pld Won Drn Lst GF GA GD Pts ------------------------------------------------------------- 1st Chelsea 30 20 8 2 69 30 +39 68 ------------------------------------------------------------- 16th Fulham 30 4 14 12 29 44 -15 26 17th Palace 30 6 7 17 30 56 -26 25 ------------------------------------------------------------- 18th Sheff Wed 30 4 12 14 23 43 -20 24 19th S'hampton 30 4 12 14 29 52 -23 24 20th Coventry 30 5 7 18 21 50 -29 22 </pre> Premier League – Game 31: Coventry v Leicester City Leicester City, under the management of favourite son, Mr Martin O’Neill, are riding high in the league at the moment, sitting seventh on the ladder after 30 games and eyeing off a potential spot in Europe for next season. Although I’m publicly bullish about our prospects, privately I consider that taking a point from this game would be a good result for the club. I name the same starting eleven for this game that took to the field at Fratton Park in our game against Portsmouth, but Ben Mackey comes in for the injured Heider Helguson on the bench. The game starts promisingly when on 20 minutes, we are awarded a penalty by the referee for a foul by Aaron Butcher on Graham Barrett inside the penalty box. Subsequent replays showed that we are perhaps fortunate to have been given the opportunity to score, but Diouf isn’t complaining and sends the ball into the corner of the net, beyond the reach of the Leicester keeper. However, our lead only lasts four minutes as Aaron Butcher, keen to atone for his mistake which led to the opening goal, is played through by Jordan Stewart as Butcher finds sufficient space to get goal-side of Michael Dawson. Notwithstanding the onrushing Stuart Taylor, Butcher coolly fires home to tie the scores at 1-1 apiece after 24 minutes. Six minutes later, we’re trailing 2-1 when Jordan Stewart’s cross is headed past Taylor by Bangoura from point-blank range with Taylor flapping at thin air. But we trail the Foxes for only three minutes as Michael Doyle launches the perfect through-ball for Diouf to run onto. The Senegalese international is not the best in front of goal, but with the Leicester City defenders trailing in his wake, he times himself perfectly to shoot between the legs of Robert Green to tie the scores at 2-2 apiece after 32 minutes. Surprisingly, after four goals are scored before half-time, the remainder of the game sees no more goals scored and we take a point from the match against our more highly-fancied opponents. Next up, a trip to Hillsborough and a vital game against fellow relegation strugglers, Sheffield Wednesday. It also happens to be the first time I travel to Hillsborough since I was sacked by the Owls’ chairman. Coventry (4-1-3-2): Taylor; Giddings, Dawson, Caldwell, Whing ©; Berson; Doyle, Castrillon, Ishizaki (Harding 81); Barrett (Mackey 57), Diouf. Leicester City (4-4-2): Green; Samuel, Shittu, Svard ©, Onuoha (Heath 67); Stewart, Hughes, Gudjonsson, Castroman; Bangoura (Connolly 67), Butcher (de Vries 78). Final score: Coventry 2:2 Leicester City MoM – Jordan Stewart In games involving our rivals to escape relegation, Fulham had held Arsenal to a 1-1 draw at Craven Cottage, which also did the chances of Chelsea claiming the championship no harm at all. Manchester United hit five goals past a forlorn Southampton outfit at Old Trafford. Aston Villa, in fourth place and on track for a European Champions’ League finish, comfortably disposed of Sheffield Wednesday 2-0 at Villa Park. Crystal Palace had triumphed 3-0 over Portsmouth to gain some breathing space at the wrong end of the table. So, our point against Leicester City had closed the gap on our rivals (except for Fulham and Palace). The point comes at a cost, however, with the physios diagnosing stalwart centre-half, Michael Dawson, as suffering from a strained wrist. He is in severe doubt for our crucial game against Sheffield Wednesday next weekend. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixie Flatline Posted April 2, 2008 Author Share Posted April 2, 2008 26th of March 2008 Some international friendlies are played in the evening, and my assistant manager, Mr Alan Cork, keeps me informed of what happened to those Coventry players fortunate enough to represent their respective countries. Jaime Alberto Castrillon was a second half substitute for Colombia and scored a goal as they defeated Northern Ireland 3-1 in Belfast. Unfortunately for us, Castrillon sustained a twisted ankle in the win, yet was not substituted by the Colombian manager. On his return from the game, I’m informed by the club’s head physio that Castrillon should not put any weight on the ankle for at least a week, and it will be at least two before he’s considered fully fit to play for the club. That’s not a great outcome, by any stretch of the imagination. Despite going a goal down after 21 minutes, Scotland recovered sufficiently to hit five goals past a hapless Bulgaria at Hampden Park with Gary Caldwell playing a full 90 minutes. Future Coventry player, Stephen Crainey was a second half substitute. In front of just over 50,000 fans at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales defeated Tunisia 2-0, with James Collins having a good game at centre-half. 28th of March 2008 Sky Blues to secure two new players in the summer Coventry manager, Senor Dixie Flatline, released a statement via the club’s website confirming that Sheffield Wednesday goalkeeper, Graham Stack, and Leicester City’s Icelandic defensive midfielder, Joey Gudjonsson, have both agreed to join Coventry in the summer. It remains to be seen whether they will be plying their trade in the English Premier League or the Coca-Cola Championship in season 2008/09… Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixie Flatline Posted April 2, 2008 Author Share Posted April 2, 2008 29th of March 2008 Japanese international midfielder agrees to move to Coventry Shinji Ono has reportedly turned down a contract offer from current Dutch club Feyenoord and has agreed to sign for Coventry effective from 1st of July 2008, according to reports from the Netherlands. Ono, 28, and capped 88 times by his country, is a central midfielder who has played the last seven seasons for Feyenoord. Ono is reportedly delighted to have agreed to terms with the Sky Blues. This comes as a fillip for the club, which is playing away to Sheffield Wednesday in today’s feature match from the English Premier League, exclusive to Sky Sports… <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> Pos Club Pld Won Drn Lst GF GA GD Pts ------------------------------------------------------------- 1st Chelsea 31 21 8 2 73 31 +42 71 ------------------------------------------------------------- 16th Palace 31 7 7 17 33 56 -23 28 17th Fulham 31 4 15 12 30 45 -25 27 ------------------------------------------------------------- 18th Sheff Wed 31 4 12 15 23 45 -22 24 19th S'hampton 31 4 12 15 29 57 -28 24 20th Coventry 31 5 8 18 23 52 -29 23 </pre> Premier League – Game 32: Sheffield Wednesday v Coventry Senor Flatline makes triumphant return to Hillsborough Former Owls manager, Senor Dixie Flatline, came back to Hillsborough to haunt the club that had sacked him during his first campaign in the English Premier League as Coventry scored twice in injury time at the end of the game to seal a remarkable 3-1 victory over their fellow relegation battlers. Senor Flatline was given a loud cheer by the Sheffield Wednesday faithful as he took his seat in the Coventry dug-out, and the manager responded with a good-natured wave to all parts of the half-filled Hillsborough. With two of his best eleven out through injury, Senor Flatline would have been pleased to see Coventry take the lead on 27 minutes when Irish international Graham Barrett judged better the long ball from Michael Doyle from the left flank and, leaving Julio Cesar trailing in his wake, powered a header home past Graham Stack on 27 minutes. The chances came thick and fast at both ends, with both clubs playing an open, attacking game that left little to the imagination as to why both clubs had conceded more than 100 goals in the season so far. Remarkably, however, the clubs finished the first half with Coventry still holding a 1-0 lead over Sheffield Wednesday. Stuart Taylor had been dynamic in goal for Coventry, fending off a flurry of Owls’ chances. Coventry was required to make a change at half-time as Stefan Ishizaki was hampered by a knock he had received in the first half. Heider Helguson replaced the Swedish international in midfield, with El-Hadj Diouf dropping back into midfield. On 54 minutes, however, the complexion of the match changed, as referee Uriah Rennie concluded that Coventry left-back Stuart Giddings had tripped and fouled Peter Crouch inside the penalty box. After conferring with his assistant referee, Rennie pointed to the spot and Crouch duly dispatched the penalty past Taylor to tie the scores at 1-1 apiece. The goal galvanised Sheffield Wednesday and time and again, the Owls forwards tested Taylor, but found the England international keeper in impressive form. The match seemed destined to end in a draw, which would suit neither team, but in a last desperate foray forward, as the clock ticked towards 90 minutes, Michael Doyle broke free down the left channel and sent a cross in to the unmarked Graham Barrett. The Irishman flicked the ball towards El-Hadj Diouf, and the Senegalese striker rounded Stack to find the empty net. With the match suddenly in favour of the visitors, Senor Flatline made the third and final substitution, replacing the goalscorer with James Collins and instructing his players to fall back to a 4-1-4-1 defensive formation. However, this didn’t stop Coventry finding the net for the third time, as Helguson bobbed up with the third goal for the Sky Blues when he was left free in acres of space inside the Owls penalty box to collect Doyle’s cross and slam it past the hapless Graham Stack. The result seemed particularly cruel upon Sheffield Wednesday, who had been dynamic in attack but had found Stuart Taylor in irrepressible form, but as they always say, ‘Winners are grinners and the rest can please themselves’. Although Coventry face a tough run home towards the end of the season, the win stretches their unbeaten run to five consecutive games and as Senor Flatline said in the post-match press conference, morale is rising at the Jaguar Arena. Who will be prepared to bet against them when Arsenal visit the Jaguar Arena next Saturday? Feelings of karma and Schadenfreude swirl through me after this game. What an emotional roller-coaster. I have nothing but good feelings towards the Sheffield Wednesday fans, who always supported me when I was managing at Hillsborough, but I think the result just about makes it impossible for Wednesday to climb clear of the relegation zone for the second season on the bounce but gives us that faint hope that we can pull off the impossible. My former boss, Mr Dave Allen, says nothing to me for the entire afternoon and tries to avoid me whenever possible, knowing that if he had given me the funds that I had demanded all those years ago, then perhaps Sheffield Wednesday would be enjoying mid-table security and dreaming about another European adventure, rather than scrabbling for each point just to keep its head above the dark waters of relegation. However, to be honest, when I saw Crouch put away the penalty, I thought that the match was over. Wednesday was the better side and had dominated from the time Barrett had put us in front until the time Crouch had equalised. I thought that they would go on to win the game, particularly with Ishizaki off the ground and much of our creativity gone with him. To the credit of the players, and I point this out to them after the game, they were resilient and with Stuart Taylor proving unbeatable from open play, they had gone on to claim all three points. We live to fight another day, and that’s all I ask for at the moment. Sheffield Wednesday (4-4-2): Stack; Warnock, Wood (P. Collins 68), Julio Cesar (Lee 54), Swerts ©; Brunt, Delap, Ricketts, McGovern; Reet (Talbot 68), Crouch. Coventry (4-1-3-2): Taylor; Giddings, Spector, Caldwell, Whing ©; Berson; Doyle, Harding (Kozluk 69), Ishizaki (Helguson 45); Barrett, Diouf (J. Collins 89). Final score: Sheffield Wednesday 1:3 Coventry MoM – Stuart Taylor After the game, Mr McGinnity tells the press that he’s delighted with the result and he sees that Coventry has a chance of escaping relegation. As we make our way back to Coventry from Yorkshire, we all have our ears trained upon BBC Radio Yorkshire to hear how our rivals for escaping relegation are getting on in their matches. Thankfully, everything had gone our way. Liverpool had defeated Fulham 2-1 at Anfield. Southampton had lost 2-1 to Bolton at St Mary’s Stadium. Crystal Palace wouldn’t play until Monday night. Things weren’t looking so cheerful at Brighton any more. Since I left the club in late January, the Seagulls had played 12 league matches and had won, precisely, none of them. A 2-1 loss to Wigan at the JJB Stadium had seen the Seagulls slump to 11th on the Championship ladder. With six games left in the season, Brighton was safe from relegation, but any chance of promotion was contingent upon snapping this dismal run of form and winning games. A manager had yet to be appointed to replace me and surely that was a necessary requirement for the club to complete as quickly as possible. On the positive side, Brighton still had the best goal difference of the clubs outside the top six clubs and had still lost less than ten games for the season. As I’m relaxing at home after the hard day at Hillsborough and the trip back to Coventry, the phone rings. It’s the agent for Hungarian international striker Sandor Torghelle, who invites me to watch a package of highlights he has emailed to me concerning his client’s performance for Burnley in their remarkable come-from-behind victory against Ipswich. The Tractor Boys had raced to a 3-0 lead at Turf Moor, but two goals from Torghelle, plus an assist from the Hungarian for Tcham N’Toya, helped the Clarets recover to win the pulsating match 4-3. Torghelle did look impressive, so I send an email to Burnley’s manager requesting his advice on how much he’d be prepared to let the Hungarian go for. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixie Flatline Posted April 9, 2008 Author Share Posted April 9, 2008 30th of March 2008 One year ago, Dennis Wise was in charge of a Millwall side apparently charging towards promotion to the Coca-Cola Championship while I was in charge of Brighton trying to climb our way towards a potential promotion position. Twelve months on, and I’m in charge of Coventry, trying to stave off relegation and the former Leeds and England midfielder is sacked by Millwall chairman, Mr Theo Paphitis. Apparently the players had lost confidence in their manager and given that Millwall were down in 18th position in League One, it’s a little surprising that they waited this long to pull the trigger. 31st of March 2008 Gary Caldwell and Jonathon Spector are named in the Premier League’s Team of the Week. Unfortunately, Crystal Palace secures a 1-0 win on the road over Leicester City to move five points clear of us with six games in the season to play. Fulham seems to be the only club which might drop into the relegation zone, as we trail them by a point. 1st of April 2008 With the board meeting not coinciding with a match day, Mr McGinnity invites me to the boardroom to hear the full meeting. Of course, I’m not given any votes on any matters requiring attention from Coventry’s board of directors. So, I don’t pay much attention to what goes on for the first 10 or 15 minutes, until Mr McGinnity calls out the next item of the agenda as the club’s on-field performances. Quite calmly and with an amount of precision, I say to the board of directors, “We’re going to be relegated at the end of the season.†Somewhat shocked, Mr McGinnity says, “Don’t you think that’s a little pessimistic, Dixie? After all, we hired you to keep us in the Premier League.†“Micky Adams was hired by Fulham on the 2nd of January this year. I wasn’t appointed manager of this club until the 24th of January this year. So, this club was without a manager for more than three weeks during the transfer window. I worked night and day to seal the deals that brought in Caldwell, Dawson, Spector, Berson and Cheyrou to this club. Unfortunately, Bruno did his knee and we had to send him back to Liverpool to get treatment, but within a week, I had landed all those players, not to mention hire some of the best coaches in Europe to come to this club.†“We’re grateful for the work you’ve done so far for Coventry,†interrupts Mr McGinnity. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixie Flatline Posted April 9, 2008 Author Share Posted April 9, 2008 I interrupt Coventry’s chairman in turn, “The point I’m trying to make is that had I been appointed earlier in the month, I could have done this work before too many games had passed. You’ve seen the results on the pitch. We’re unbeaten in five league games, and we’re up to 18th in the league, a point away from safety. However, look at our run home. We host Arsenal next weekend, and they’re chasing Chelsea for the title, so they’ll be hungry for points. On the 16th of April, we go to Anfield to play Liverpool. The Reds might not be pushing for the title, but they’re always difficult to beat at Anfield, especially for a club like this one. Three days later, we’re back here to host Chelsea. By then they’ll have wrapped up the title, but if I know Jose Mourinho, he won’t let his side relax for an instant. We then have a relegation dog-fight against Birmingham on the 26th of April. Our last home game is at home to Newcastle United, who will be looking to secure a place in the European Champions League and are flying under Gianluca Vialli. The last game of the season is away to Southampton. Hopefully by then the Saints’ relegation will have been confirmed, but I suspect that our relegation will also have been confirmed by then.†Mr McGinnity looks depressed, “When you put it like that, Dixie, I can see why you’re so pessimistic about our chances. I don’t want to see us go down to the Championship. We belong in the Premiership.†“There’s no right to be anywhere in football, Mr McGinnity,†I tell the club’s chairman. “You have to earn it, each and every day. We’ll do our best, but I’m no miracle-worker. I’m just trying to prepare you for the realities of what we could face in less than six weeks.†“Okay,†says Mr McGinnity, and he lets me leave the boardroom. In brighter news, Michael Dawson finishes third in the ballot for the Player of the Month award. His injury against Leicester which kept him out of the side that defeated Sheffield Wednesday probably robbed him of crucial votes which could have pushed him towards a higher finish. However, it’s encouraging signs from the former Spurs man. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixie Flatline Posted April 9, 2008 Author Share Posted April 9, 2008 2nd of April 2008 It’s quarter-finals time in the European Champions League. Bayern Munich and Liverpool play a 1-1 draw in Munich. Juventus defeated Inter Milan with a score of 1-0 at the Stadio delle Alpi. Manchester United defeated Arsenal by the same scoreline at Old Trafford. AC Milan beat Valencia 2-0 in Spain. 3rd of April 2008 It’s quarter-finals time in the UEFA Cup. Borussia Dortmund defeats Atletico Madrid 1-0 in the Vicente Calderon, setting the Germans up nicely for the return leg. Newcastle United disposed of Panathinaikos 2-0 at St James’ Park. Real Madrid defeated Werder Bremen 3-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu. Roma and Middlesbrough set up a mouth-watering second leg with a 0-0 draw at the Stadio Olimpico. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixie Flatline Posted April 9, 2008 Author Share Posted April 9, 2008 5th of April 2008 <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> Pos Club Pld Won Drn Lst GF GA GD Pts ------------------------------------------------------------- 1st Chelsea 32 22 8 2 78 31 +47 74 ------------------------------------------------------------- 16th Palace 32 8 7 17 34 56 -22 31 17th Fulham 32 4 15 13 31 47 -26 27 ------------------------------------------------------------- 18th Coventry 32 6 8 18 26 53 -27 26 19th Sheff Wed 32 4 12 16 24 48 -24 24 20th S'hampton 32 4 12 16 30 59 -29 24 </pre> Premier League – Game 33: Coventry v Arsenal Arsenal overcome plucky Coventry to keep pressure on Chelsea A special goal from Patrick Vieira with ten minutes left in the first half condemned Coventry to its 19th loss of the season, making it difficult for Senor Flatline to pull off a Houdini-like escape routine with the Sky Blues. Before Vieira’s goal on 35 minutes, Coventry had played with the confidence borne of a five-game unbeaten streak, stroking the ball around the Arsenal penalty box and creating a number of chances. However, Vieira’s goal was superb and deserved. The French international midfielder was involved in the build-up, trying to probe the tightly packed Coventry defence, but without much success. So, Vieira gained possession about 30 yards from goal and hit a swerving, dipping drive that left Taylor flapping at air. Coventry tried hard to find an equaliser, but Arsenal will think that they should have had more than just Vieira’s goal to show for their work as they piled the pressure on the Coventry defence. However, Taylor had an otherwise outstanding game in goal for Arsenal and kept the Gunners at bay for the remainder of the game. After the match, Senor Flatline said philosophically: “We knew it was going to be tough this afternoon and there was no magic in that prediction. Arsenal is chasing hard for the title and they needed the points as much we did. It was a very special goal that defeated us in the end, and although we had our own chances to score, we couldn’t take them. We’ll have to work hard to get the points in our next match.†Monsieur Wenger said: “This was a difficult match for us. Coventry plugged their defence and that meant we needed to take the initiative, but we knew that if we relaxed, Coventry would try the counter-attack, so we needed to be vigilant. Vieira’s goal was a terrific goal and the moment of class that we needed to break the deadlock. I would have liked more, but to take the three points and keep up the chase upon Chelsea is a job well done.†We tried, we really did, but we are outclassed by a superb Arsenal outfit. The only comfort is that Crystal Palace and Sheffield Wednesday shared the points in a 1-1 draw at Selhurst Park, so we stay 18th for the moment. Coventry (4-1-4-1): Taylor; Giddings, Dawson, Caldwell, Whing ©; Berson; Kozluk, Doyle, Diouf (Helguson 59), Ishizaki; Barrett. Arsenal (4-4-2): Wiese; Clichy, Kuffour, Toure (Campbell 45), Heitinga; Martins (van Persie 45), Vieira ©, Fabregas, Rommedahl (Ljungberg 52); Henry, Smith. Final score: Coventry 0:1 Arsenal MoM – Stuart Taylor It gets no easier for us, as in 11 days, we travel to Anfield to play Liverpool, then host Chelsea the following Saturday. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixie Flatline Posted April 9, 2008 Author Share Posted April 9, 2008 6th of April 2008 I settle myself in front of the television at 4pm to watch Fulham host Chelsea in a match that has wide ranging ramifications upon the Premiership. With Arsenal defeating us yesterday, three points from their game against Fulham would go a long way towards securing yet another title for Chelsea and the Blues go on to secure the points. Vincent Kompany put the favourites on course for the win on 48 minutes, but Fulham, despite being reduced to ten men after just 20 minutes, equalised almost immediately through Collins John. However, Javier Saviola struck with five minutes in normal time to win the match for Chelsea. In another game which has a bearing on us, Middlesbrough was held to a 1-1 draw by Southampton. The gap between Fulham, in 17th, and Southampton, in 20th, is just two points. 9th of April 2008 The matches comprising the second leg of the quarter-finals in the Champions League are played tonight. Although defeating Manchester United 2-1 at Ashburton Grove, Arsenal bows out of the competition at this level on the away goals rule. Inter Milan defeated Juventus 1-0 at the San Siro, taking the tie into extra time and ultimately penalties. However, the Old Lady of Turin converted three penalties from three attempts. Inter Milan’s players converted just one penalty from four attempts, so they went out of the competition 3-1. Liverpool cruised through to the semi-finals 4-1 on aggregate after beating Bayern Munich 3-0 at New Anfield. 10th of April 2008 The matches comprising the second leg of the quarter-finals in the UEFA Cup are played tonight. Borussia Dortmund defeated Atletico Madrid 2-0 in Dortmund to advance 3-0 on aggregate. Middlesbrough beat AS Roma 1-0 at the Riverside, allowing the English club to go through 1-0 on aggregate. Although Newcastle lost 1-0 to Panathinaikos in Greece, their 2-0 win over the Greek club ensured that the English club made it through to the semi-finals 2-1 on aggregate. Real Madrid beat Werder Bremen 1-0 in Germany to cruise through 4-1 on aggregate. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixie Flatline Posted April 9, 2008 Author Share Posted April 9, 2008 12th of April 2008 Arsenal hosts Crystal Palace at Ashburton Grove on a match televised live throughout the United Kingdom and overseas. Palace is almost out of reach, but Arsenal’s 3-0 win over their fellow London club keeps them within our grasp. Better news as Sheffield Wednesday was thrashed 4-1 by Portsmouth at Hillsborough and Birmingham defeated Fulham 3-1 at St Andrews. If we pull off an unlikely win at New Anfield, we would be out of the relegation zone for the first time this season. If only… 13th of April 2008 Chelsea thrashes Liverpool in the first semi-final of the FA Cup at New Wembley. 14th of April 2008 Southampton defeats Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 at St Mary’s to move temporarily out of the relegation zone, pushing us simultaneously down to 19th on the ladder. We trail the Saints by two points. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixie Flatline Posted April 9, 2008 Author Share Posted April 9, 2008 16th of April 2008 Premier League – Game 34: Liverpool v Coventry Coventry earns a point at New Anfield Liverpool’s reduction to ten men assisted the Sky Blues earn a point from a scoreless draw at New Anfield tonight. Referee Howard Webb sent off French defender Carl Medjani for two yellow card offences on 24 minutes. Liverpool manager, Mr Sam Allardyce, chose to sacrifice Djibril Cisse for defender Joseph Yobo, leaving Michael Owen to plough a lone furrow up front for the Reds. Senor Flatline packed the Coventry midfield, with Graham Barrett up front on his own. The Irishman made a number of opportunities to score a valuable away goal, but unfortunately for the Sky Blues, his radar was askew. Michael Dawson almost scored a spectacular goal from a long-range effort in the first half, but Liverpool goalkeeper Chris Kirkland was hardly tested by Coventry. After the game, Senor Flatline was in an ebullient mood: “I hope today’s result teaches our players that whenever they apply themselves, they can achieve. In fact, I’m almost disappointed that we didn’t take all three points from the match. Obviously, the red card shown to the Liverpool defender helped our cause, but we’re confident that we can match it with the best in this league.†Liverpool manager, Mr Sam Allardyce, said: “I was disappointed in the referee sending off Carl [Medjani], as I didn’t think the yellow cards were worth it. However, I can’t say any more about the incidents. All credit to Coventry. They set their stall out to defend, but to try to hit us on the counter-attack, and if they were more accurate then Chris [Kirkland] would have more to do.†Although Liverpool is struggling in mid-table at the moment, I was not confident that we would come away from New Anfield with a point, let alone a clean sheet, so I’m very pleased with the result. However, we have a massive, massive test coming up on the weekend, with Chelsea visiting Jaguar Arena. Liverpool (4-3-3): Kirkland; Smith, Agger, Medjani (s/o 24), Josemi; Broich (Watson 7), Nolan, Hleb (Malbranque 64); Cisse (Yobo 24), Podolski, Owen. Coventry (4-1-4-1): Taylor; Giddings, Dawson, Caldwell, Whing ©; Berson; Doyle, Castrillon, Diouf (Harding 83), Ishizaki; Barrett (Helguson 54). Final score: Liverpool 0:0 Coventry MoM – Stuart Taylor Manchester United booked its place in the FA Cup final against Chelsea after defeating Aston Villa 1-0 in the semi-final. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixie Flatline Posted April 9, 2008 Author Share Posted April 9, 2008 19th of April 2008 <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> Pos Club Pld Won Drn Lst GF GA GD Pts ------------------------------------------------------------- 1st Chelsea 33 23 8 2 80 32 +48 77 ------------------------------------------------------------- 16th Palace 34 8 8 18 35 60 -25 32 17th S'hampton 34 5 13 16 33 61 -28 28 ------------------------------------------------------------- 18th Fulham 34 4 15 15 33 52 -19 27 19th Coventry 34 6 9 19 26 54 -28 27 20th Sheff Wed 34 4 13 17 26 53 -27 25 </pre> With just four games left to play, things couldn’t be tighter at the bottom of the table. However, Coventry hosts Chelsea this afternoon, so I’m not expecting any free points whatsoever from this game. Premier League – Game 35: Coventry v Chelsea Coventry secure point with determined display The Sky Blues battled bravely against the championship favourites, Chelsea, at a capacity Jaguar Arena this afternoon. As expected, Chelsea dominated proceedings, enjoying the better possession and creating opportunities. However, Chelsea’s attacking players found Stuart Taylor in fine form and ably supported by his defence, with captain Andrew Whing particularly prominent. Coventry weren’t creative in front of goal, but after the match, Coventry manager Senor Flatline was satisfied with the result: “I think most pundits tipped a fairly easy win for Chelsea and, on paper, you can see why. Chelsea has a world class squad and the club is managed by a world class manager. However, we’ve found an element of self-belief in the last month or two, and we took a lot out of our game against Liverpool in mid-week. We knew it was going to be tough and we would need a slice of luck – which we had, thanks to the post blocking a shot! – but we worked hard for that point and I don’t think anybody could begrudge us that. For the moment, our fate is in our hands, and that’s all we can ask for at this stage of the season.†Chelsea manager, Mr Jose Mourinho, said: “Coventry has put together a nice run of form of late and we knew that it was going to be tough this afternoon. Nonetheless, I’m pleased with the endeavour shown by the players today and, had an ounce of luck gone our way, we would be celebrating the three points. It isn’t to be, however, so we have to look forward to our next match.†We fought Chelsea tooth and nail for that point, and I’m glad that we earned it. No doubt, Chelsea had all the class out there (this was one game where Bruno Cheyrou would have been useful, just to give us a spark of creativity that could have unnerved Chelsea), but with Caldwell and Dawson at the back, supported by Andrew Whing (who was superb) and Stuart Giddings, I think we have a back four that can ably protect Stuart Taylor. Unfortunately, El-Hadj Diouf was forced from the field during the game with an injury he sustained in the first half, so I hope it’s not too severe, because I need my best eleven to play Birmingham next weekend in a real six-pointer. Coventry (4-1-4-1): Taylor; Giddings, Dawson, Caldwell, Whing ©; Berson; Doyle, Castrillon, Diouf (Helguson 45), Kozluk (Harding 76); Barrett. Chelsea (4-3-3): Cech; Bridge, Kompany, Terry, Watt (Johnson 60); Robben (Berbatov 60), Ballack ©, Xabi Alonso; Saviola (Cole 74), Luque, Drogba. Final score: Coventry 0:0 Chelsea MoM – Javier Saviola Unfortunately, Diouf strained a groin muscle and will miss a fortnight. That isn’t good timing. To make matters worse, Southampton defeated Everton 2-0 at Goodison Park to consolidate the Saints’ position outside the relegation zone. We trail the Saints by three points (as do Fulham). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixie Flatline Posted April 9, 2008 Author Share Posted April 9, 2008 20th of April 2008 Leicester makes sure that Sheffield Wednesday doesn’t join ourselves and Fulham on 28 points by hammering the Owls 4-0 at Walker Stadium in a live televised match. I also watch intently Aston Villa grind out a 1-0 win over Birmingham in the afternoon. We play Birmingham next weekend. 23rd of April 2008 It’s a bad night to be English as the first leg of the semi-finals in the European Champions League is staged tonight. A goal on 19 minutes to French defender William Gallas is enough to secure the win for Juventus over Manchester United at the Delle Alpi. The Old Lady of Turin can enjoy her 1-0 win over the Red Devils, setting things up nicely for the return leg. In the meantime, AC Milan defeated Liverpool 2-0 at the San Siro, thanks to goals from Shaun Wright-Phillips and Nicolas Anelka in the first half. In the Premier League, Chelsea defeated Aston Villa 3-1 at Stamford Bridge to all but clinch the title, given that the Blues lead Arsenal by eight points with three matches left in the season. 24th of April 2008 The first leg in the semi-final in the UEFA Cup is staged tonight. Middlesbrough enjoys a solid 2-0 win over Borussia Dortmund at the Riverside Stadium, while Newcastle United will be pleased with their work, having held Real Madrid to a 2-2 draw at the Bernabeu. 26th of April 2008 I can almost feel the grim, fetid breeze flowing from the trapdoor leading to the Championship after today’s results. While most eyes were on Stamford Bridge to see Chelsea secure the championship in style with an easy 4-0 win over Crystal Palace (a good result for us), I’m dismayed to see Southampton win 3-2 over Fulham at St Mary’s Stadium. Sheffield Wednesday’s relegation is confirmed as the Owls draw 1-1 with West Bromwich Albion at the Hawthorns. We need to beat Birmingham tomorrow in order to keep our flickering hopes alive of securing safety, then hope to achieve something against Newcastle the following week to take our dreams to St Mary’s Stadium on the final day to play Southampton. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixie Flatline Posted April 9, 2008 Author Share Posted April 9, 2008 27th of April 2008 <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> Pos Club Pld Won Drn Lst GF GA GD Pts ------------------------------------------------------------- 1st Chelsea 36 25 8 2 87 33 +54 84 C ------------------------------------------------------------- 16th S'hampton 36 7 13 16 38 63 -25 34 17th Palace 36 8 9 19 35 64 -28 33 ------------------------------------------------------------- 18th Fulham 36 4 16 16 36 56 -20 28 19th Coventry 35 6 10 19 26 54 -28 28 20th Sheff Wed 36 4 14 18 27 58 -31 26 R </pre> Premier League - Game 36: Birmingham v Coventry The fate of our future in this division probably rests upon the outcome of this game. A loss will just about condemn us to the Championship. A draw keeps us going for another week (albeit with an immensely tough fixture against Newcastle to come). A win brings us to within a point of Crystal Palace. I therefore decide to chase the win, so I adopt my attacking formation of 4-1-3-2, with Berson protecting the back four (in his last game this season for Coventry, as he's due to return to Aston Villa at the end of the month), and Michael Doyle, Jaime Alberto Castrillon and Rob Kozluk pushing forward and to the flanks from midfield, with Barrett and Helguson up front. We get off to a bright start when on 10 minutes, we clear the ball from our defensive third of the pitch following the break-down of a Birmingham corner. Graham Barrett comes deep to receive Giddings' clearance and spots Castrillon making a surging run towards the Birmingham box. The Irishman lifts the pass into the Colombian's path, who dances around the despairing Matthew Upson before sliding the ball into the corner of Albert Jorquera's goal. A tremendous start and it serves to silence the Birmingham faithful. Birmingham's players try to respond and Taylor pulls off a fine save on 14 minutes, before Castrillon whistles a drive over the bar on 18 minutes. Taylor is called into action a moment later as Birmingham's players try to step up a gear. However, we defend well and restrict Birmingham's attempts to break our resistance to long-range efforts and Taylor's next save isn't until a minute or so before the half-time interval. Things are upbeat in the change-rooms at half-time, but I caution the players not to lose sight of the fact that we've been put under enormous pressure and we can expect Birmingham's players to deliver more of the same in the second half as they chase the equaliser. So you can imagine my disappointment when on 50 minutes, we concede the equaliser. A long ball out of our defence aimed for Helguson is knocked back into our defensive half by Matthew Upson, who finds Bobby Convey dropping deep to collect the ball. Convey interchanges passes with Darren Carter to move down the left flank, then pops the ball in to Craig Bellamy running into the penalty box. The Welsh international forward cuts the ball back for the surging Carter who hits his drive past Taylor at his near post. It is all too easy for Birmingham, as it was a soft goal to concede. It serves to lift Birmingham's spirits and they go on the attack, looking for the win, only to find Stuart Taylor determined not to be beaten for the second time in the game. Birmingham win corner after corner and create chance after chance for the next 10 or so minutes, but they find Taylor in irrepressible form and he won't be beaten again. Thompson, Heskey, Bellamy, Andresen and Hamill are amongst those who have attempts on goal but are foiled by their inaccurate shooting or Taylor's heroics. The few times we have possession in Birmingham's defensive half, inability to come up with the right ball, or failure to keep it flowing, result in Birmingham's defenders quickly closing down our avenues towards goal and the match eventually ends in a nail-biting and unsatisfying stalemate. Birmingham (4-4-2): Jorquera; M. Taylor, Upson, Oji (Rocha 66), Melchiot; Convey (Hamill 66), Carter, Andresen ©, Thompson; Bellamy (Morrison 75), Heskey. Coventry (4-1-3-2): Taylor; Giddings, Dawson, Caldwell, Whing ©; Berson; Doyle, Castrillon, Kozluk (Mackey 60); Barrett (Harding 78), Helguson. Final score: Birmingham 1:1 Coventry MoM - Stuart Taylor So, the equation for us now is simple. We must win both our remaining games - home to Newcastle next Saturday, then away to Southampton - and hope that Crystal Palace loses both games. At worst, we need to draw one of those games and win the other by at least one clear goal and hope that Palace loses. However, that would give Fulham, one point behind us and five behind Palace, the opportunity to win both its games and leapfrog us and Palace to safety. With Newcastle in third (with a game in hand) and Southampton in great form, bookies have stopped taking bets on us going down. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixie Flatline Posted April 9, 2008 Author Share Posted April 9, 2008 30th of April 2008 The final of the European Champions' League will be an all-Italian affair after AC Milan and Juventus confirmed their victories over Liverpool and Manchester United respectively. In Liverpool, AC Milan defeated Liverpool 2-1 to take the tie 4-1 on aggregate. At Old Trafford, Juventus defeated the Red Devils by the same scoreline to go through to the final 3-1 on aggregate. 1st of May 2008 I thank Mathieu Berson for his work with Coventry over the past three months and wish him all the best for his future. He comes out of contract at the end of the season, but having already secured the signature of another defensive midfielder, I'm not sure I can see my way to offering Berson a permanent place on our roster. However, he is too good to languish in Villa's reserves, so I think he should have no problem securing a full-time post for himself. Matheiu Berson (28 y/o, FRA, DM C): 9 apps, 1 assist, av. rating: 7.44 I then proceed to the boardroom at the Jaguar Arena to face the board of directors, led by Mr McGinnity. Surprisingly, given the club's situation, they are upbeat about my performance as manager, telling me that on the whole, they are pleased with the progress I have made at the club since I joined in January 2008. I thank them for their support, hoping that they will remember these words when our likely relegation is confirmed (as I expect it to be). On the financial side, we had lost just over 443,000 pounds for the month of April, but the club had turned a profit of more than 10 million pounds for the season to date, so even if we are relegated, it would still seem to be a lucrative season in the top flight. We had missed out on any awards from the Premier League administrators for our games in April 2008, as Southampton players secured Player of the Month and Young Player of the Month awards. In the evening, after a hard day on the training pitch and in tactical planning sessions with my staff, I settle back at home to watch the matches comprising the second leg in the two semi-finals of the UEFA Cup being played this evening. Borussia Dortmund overturned a 2-0 deficit by thrashing Middlesbrough 4-0 in Germany to take the tie 4-2 on aggregate. Lars Ricken and Ewerthon had wiped out Middlesbrough's lead after just 5 minutes, with Holm and Marx adding two goals before half-time to make the comeback complete. Similarly, Real Madrid did it the hard way, taking its tie over Newcastle United 5-4 on aggregate after beating the Magpies 3-2 at St James' Park. Ronaldo scored twice - on 81 and 89 minutes - to rescue the tie for the Merengues. 3rd of May 2008 The penultimate round of the English Premier League kicks off with Birmingham securing a 3-2 win over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park in the day's featured match. However, my pleasure at hearing the result soon turns to dismay as word filters through from Craven Cottage that Fulham has, against the odds, spanked Blackburn Rovers 4-1, thanks to an 8-minute hat-trick from Collins John. The win lifts Fulham to 18th, two points behind Palace and two points ahead of us. We now need to beat Newcastle to have any realistic chance of escaping relegation. On that unhappy note, I turn my attention back to family matters in the hope that I can escape the pressures of the job for one night, at least. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixie Flatline Posted April 9, 2008 Author Share Posted April 9, 2008 4th of May 2008 <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> Pos Club Pld Won Drn Lst GF GA GD Pts ------------------------------------------------------------- 1st Chelsea 37 25 9 3 88 36 +52 84 C ------------------------------------------------------------- 16th S'hampton 37 7 13 17 39 65 -26 34 17th Palace 37 8 9 20 37 67 -30 33 ------------------------------------------------------------- 18th Fulham 37 5 16 16 40 57 -17 31 19th Coventry 36 6 11 19 27 55 -28 29 20th Sheff Wed 36 4 14 18 27 58 -31 26 R </pre> Premier League – Game 37: Coventry v Newcastle United A loss today would spell the end of our involvement in the Premier League, at least for one season (possibly more). With Sheffield Wednesday already relegated and Chelsea having sown up the championship, all eyes are upon ourselves, Fulham, Crystal Palace and Southampton. The Saints’ extraordinary run of form has seen them ease themselves away from the relegation zone, and for all intents and purposes, we’re aiming for 17th. However, coming up against Newcastle, third on the ladder going in to the game, is not a recipe for an easy match. With a win vital to help ease the pressure on us, I prefer to go with my attacking 4-1-3-2 formation. To replace the departed Berson, I push Caldwell into midfield as the anchor and pair Spector with Dawson, preferring the American over the Welsh international James Collins thanks to Spector’s pace. Perhaps that was a mistake, as Newcastle takes the lead on 12 minutes thanks to a fluke headed goal scored by Shola Ameobi. Collins’ extra strength may have allowed him to win the ball in the aerial contest, denying Ameobi the opportunity to score. We’ll never know, unfortunately. The goal comes against the run of play and means that we’re staring relegation in the face. It’s vital that we hit back, and we do when on 31 minutes, Gary Caldwell plays a superb pass which deceives the Newcastle defence. It appears to be aimed for Helguson, but it’s actually intended for Barrett, as it curves through the air and lands in a perfect position for the Irish forward to take into the penalty box and beat his compatriot, Shay Given, from point-blank range. Yet, Newcastle haven’t hit the height of third by accident, and the defence makes sure that we create no further chances through the remainder of the game. Apart from a sticky moment, where Taylor pulls off a superb save, and later punches the ball clear out of our defence in the second half, Newcastle’s players seem content to play out time and deny us any clear-cut opportunity to test Given. In desperation, I switch to a 3-1-3-3 formation, pushing Ben Mackey forward to partner Helguson and Barrett, but we run out of time to snatch the winner, and now our chances of survival are truly out of our hands. Coventry (4-1-3-2): S. Taylor; Giddings, Dawson, Spector (Harding 81), Whing ©; Caldwell; Doyle, Castrillon, Ishizaki (Mackey 68); Barrett, Helguson. Newcastle United (4-4-2): Given; Babayaro (Edman 66), Elliott, S. Taylor, Hughes ©; Gonzalez, Faye, Jenas (van Bommel 45), Ambrose; Forssell (Chopra 66), Ameobi. Final score: Coventry 1:1 Newcastle United MoM – Michael Dawson So, with a game left to play, we have 30 points from 37 matches. Fulham, in 18th and also with a game left to play, has 33 points from 37 matches. Crystal Palace has 33 points from 37 matches and is the only club that we can replace. In order for us to survive, we must defeat Southampton at St Mary’s Stadium and hope that Fulham loses to Manchester United at Old Trafford and Palace lose to Newcastle United at St James’ Park. This is a tough, tough ask. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixie Flatline Posted April 9, 2008 Author Share Posted April 9, 2008 5th of May 2008 Michael Dawson is named in the Team of the Week. 10th of May 2008 <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> Pos Club Pld Won Drn Lst GF GA GD Pts ------------------------------------------------------------- 1st Chelsea 37 25 9 3 88 36 +52 84 C ------------------------------------------------------------- 16th S'hampton 37 7 13 17 39 65 -26 34 17th Palace 37 8 9 20 37 67 -30 33 ------------------------------------------------------------- 18th Fulham 37 5 16 16 40 57 -17 31 19th Coventry 37 6 12 19 28 56 -28 30 20th Sheff Wed 37 4 14 19 28 62 -34 26 R </pre> Premier League – Game 38: Southampton v Coventry In the pre-match address, I quietly tell my eleven starting players and five substitutes that they should solely focus on the task at hand – winning the match against Southampton. Anything else is out of their control, and they should forget about it for the 90 minutes that are to come when the referee blows on his whistle. I remind the players of their up-turn in form over the past few months – the defence has become very solid and while the goals haven’t exactly flowed, we’re no longer a pushover that we were prior to my arrival. A win today, regardless of other results, would be a fitting end to our season. In team news, I bring back El-Hadji Diouf, who has fully recovered from his groin strain suffered a fortnight ago. Heider Helguson makes way for the Senegalese international, though not without some consideration on my part. Helguson’s strength could have been useful against the Southampton defence, which I expect to besiege over the next 90 minutes. However, the Icelandic international will be a useful weapon off the bench. Otherwise, it’s the same eleven that took to the pitch against Newcastle United last Sunday. My players take my words to their collective heart, and they get off to the perfect start when on 9 minutes, a combination of Dawson and Caldwell repels a Southampton attack. The ball lands kindly for Doyle to control, and the Irish winger advances down the left flank, before looking up and spotting the run of Diouf through the centre. Timing the pass to perfect, Doyle places the ball in Diouf’s path and, without breaking stride, the forward slides the ball past Niemi into the open net for a goal. Meanwhile, at St James’ Park, Newcastle had already taken the lead against Palace on 3 minutes, through a goal from Shola Ameobi. We are therefore level on points with Palace. It is still 0-0 at Old Trafford between Manchester United and Fulham, meaning that Fulham has its head above the dark waters of relegation. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixie Flatline Posted April 9, 2008 Author Share Posted April 9, 2008 Not for long, however, as the scoreboard at St Mary’s Stadium shows that Fernando Cavenaghi has scored for Manchester United on 11 minutes, meaning that courtesy of Diouf’s goal, we sit in 17th on the ladder, though with plenty of more time to come. The players heed my pre-match address and quickly forget about the scoreboard, concentrating on playing football, and we open up Southampton on 20 minutes when Stuart Taylor launches a long ball down the left flank for Doyle to take in his stride and advance towards the Southampton penalty box. The Irishman cuts towards the by-line and spotting Diouf, sends a perfect ball through the penalty box, giving Niemi no chance of cutting it off, and the Senegalese international is left with an easy tap-in for his and our second goal. In the meantime, it’s still 1-0 to Manchester United over Fulham and 1-0 to Newcastle United over Crystal Palace. Thus, we cling to safety precariously. However, Mark van Bommel adds to Newcastle’s buffer on 23 minutes, making it much harder for Palace to resurrect their survival hopes. But there is the possibility that this would all count for nought if we throw the three points away and when Matthew Oakley converts a free kick on 24 minutes past the static Stuart Taylor, suddenly our chances of survival recede. Not heeding the lesson, my defenders proceed to give away two further free kicks within range, but fortunately, Oakley and Milligan miss the target and we survive the danger. Then, right on half-time, we make the points just about safe when Brett Ormerod is adjudged to have committed a foul inside the penalty area. Michael Doyle takes on the task of converting the penalty, which he does with aplomb, sending the ball past the outstretched fingertips of Niemi and sending us to the half-time interval with a comfortable 3-1 lead. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixie Flatline Posted April 9, 2008 Author Share Posted April 9, 2008 Prior to the match, I instruct my staff not to have any information in the change-rooms about the scores at the other two vital venues (for our purposes), and I spend the break reassuring the players about their immediate role, telling them that everything else will take care of itself. Of course, had they kept an eye on the scoreboard, they would have seen that Newcastle had entered the half-time break at St James’ Park three goals to the good over Crystal Palace, thanks to a goal from Mark Gonzalez on 36 minutes. Still no further goals at Old Trafford. The opening stanza of the second half passes without much incident, although word filters through from Old Trafford that Manchester United has finally scored a second goal against Fulham, thanks to Fernando Meira on 53 minutes. This is quickly followed by news of a third goal, from Kleberson, on 56 minutes. In the meantime, James Milner had scored Newcastle’s fourth goal against Palace on 48 minutes. With this news supplied to me, I start to relax, thinking that we have our survival just about sewn up. Of course, it’s not proper to really relax until the fat lady has sung, so I remove Graham Barrett on 64 minutes, sending on Heider Helguson in his place to soften up the already defeated Southampton defence. Ruud van Nistelrooy adds a fourth goal for Manchester United on 86 minutes, while Mikael Forssell scores a brace for Newcastle United to make the final scoreline at St James’ Park 6-0 over Palace. We top things off by scoring a fourth, as El-Hadji Diouf completes his hat-trick on 90 minutes. Castrillon feeds Heider Helguson, who draws a fine save from Niemi. Unfortunately for the Finnish goalkeeper, the rebound lands at the feet of the Senegalese forward, who delights in sticking the ball promptly in the unguarded net to make it 4-1. The celebrations amongst the travelling Coventry supporters really begin in earnest as they exhale their collectively held breath and realise that they will be enjoying Premiership football next season! The referee plays the bare minimum of added time at the end of the match then blows his whistle three times to signify the end of the game and the end of the season. The Coventry players race to embrace each other and, after a perfunctory shaking of hands with their defeated opponents, rush over to our dug-out to embrace myself and the support staff on achieving what seemed to be impossible. As we troop down the tunnel, we can hear the incongruous sounds of Queen’s “We are the Champions†blaring out from our dressing rooms, as though we’d just won the Premier League. Our chairman, Mr McGinnity, and several of the directors are in the dressing rooms, ready to greet us as we march in, tired from battle and elated from the result. One by one, Mr McGinnitty embraces each of the players in a powerful bear-hug, conveying without words the happiness he feels at escaping relegation. After finishing this exuberant display of emotion, my boss grabs a magnum of champagne and, after shaking it vigorously, releases the cork and sprays it liberally around the dressing room. Immediately following his example, Diouf grabs another magnum and pours it over the heads of Barrett and Helguson, while Taylor stands under another magnum, gulping down massive amounts of champagne thanks to the help of Michael Dawson and Jonathan Spector. To be truthful, I can remember very little of the post-match press conference and everything else that happened after the game. Southampton (4-4-2): Niemi; van Damme, John-Baptiste (Baird 62), Fontaine, Nosworthy; Seric, Oakley ©, Folly, Ormerod; Mulligan (Phillips 62), Best (Burke 73). Coventry (4-1-3-2): Taylor; Giddings, Dawson, Spector, Whing ©; Caldwell; Doyle, Castrillon, Ishizaki; Barrett (Helguson 64), Diouf. Final score: Southampton 1:4 Coventry MoM – El-Hadji Diouf Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixie Flatline Posted April 9, 2008 Author Share Posted April 9, 2008 So, the final table, after 38 games, appears as follows: <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> Pos Club Pld Won Drn Lst GF GA GD Pts ------------------------------------------------------------- 1st Chelsea 38 26 9 3 91 36 +55 87 C ------------------------------------------------------------- 2nd Arsenal 38 23 11 4 85 30 +55 80 3rd Newcastle 38 23 9 6 87 37 +50 78 4th Man Utd 38 21 12 5 76 36 +40 75 5th Aston Villa 38 21 9 8 66 48 +18 72 6th M'brough 38 17 11 10 58 44 +14 62 7th Leicester 38 16 8 14 61 53 +8 56 8th Bolton 38 14 10 14 58 56 +2 52 9th Liverpool 38 15 6 17 58 56 +2 51 10th Tottenham 38 12 15 11 47 50 -3 51 11th Blackburn 38 12 12 14 49 48 +1 48 12th Portsmouth 38 10 15 13 43 53 -10 45 13th Birmingham 38 12 8 18 36 55 -19 44 14th West Brom 38 11 8 19 38 67 -29 41 15th Everton 38 10 5 23 44 82 -38 35 16th S'hampton 38 7 13 18 40 69 -29 34 17th Coventry 38 7 12 19 32 57 -25 33 ------------------------------------------------------------- 18th Palace 38 8 9 21 37 73 -36 33 R 19th Fulham 38 5 16 17 40 61 -21 31 R 20th Sheff Wed 38 4 14 20 28 63 -35 26 R </pre> Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixie Flatline Posted May 28, 2008 Author Share Posted May 28, 2008 So, we survive by the skin of our teeth – a superior goal difference to Crystal Palace. In recognition of our finishing position, we receive the tidy sum of £2.4 million, which the board immediately makes available to me for transfers. Coming the other way are Charlton Athletic (as champions) and Manchester City and the winner of the play-offs, which will involve Sheffield United, Sunderland, Nottingham Forest and West Ham United. My former club, Brighton, finishes the season in ninth position, on 66 points, seven behind West Ham. The Seagulls only lost eight games for the season, but drew 24, which is the reason why they are not involved in a promotion fight. Taking a look at the club’s season statistics, now, and I’ll start with the goalkeepers: Goalkeepers Rhys Evans (26 y/o, ENG, GK): 4 apps, 9 conceded, 1 MoM, av. rating: 6.75 Stuart Taylor (27 y/o, ENG, GK): 35(1) apps, 52 conceded, 8 clean sheets, 13 MoMs, av. rating: 7.36 Taylor clearly established himself as the no. 1 keeper out of himself and Evans (who didn’t play a game under my management). They’ll gain further competition in the off-season as Graham Stack is due to join us from Sheffield Wednesday on a free transfer. Taylor will probably go to Euro 2008, but only as the third choice keeper for England. Defenders Jonathan Spector (22 y/o, USA 13 caps, 1 goal, D RC): 3(1) apps, av. rating: 7.50 James Collins (24 y/o, WAL 21 caps, 1 goal, D C): 18(6) apps, av. rating: 6.75 Michael Dawson (24 y/o, ENG, D C): 12 apps, 3 MoMs, av. rating: 7.92 Andrew Whing (23 y/o, ENG, D/DM R): 30(2) apps, av. rating: 7.19 Rob Kozluk (30 y/o, ENG, D/DM RL): 16(8) apps, av. rating: 6.92 Gary Caldwell (26 y/o, SCO 28 caps, 3 goals, D/DM RC): 13 apps, 1 assist, av. rating: 7.23 Stuart Giddings (22 y/o, ENG, D/DM L): 33(2) apps, 4 assists, av. rating: 7.09 Settling on a back four combination relatively early in my tenure helped stabilise the defence playing in front of Stuart Taylor. Giddings looks to have plenty of promise on the left side of the defence, and I hope he commits himself in the long-term to Coventry. Andrew Whing showed some excellent leadership qualities during the fraught final stages of the Premier League and is keen also to commit himself to the club, so I’m sure to be sitting down with him and his agent during the off-season to negotiate a new deal for the right-back. Michael Dawson and Gary Caldwell formed a superb partnership at the heart of our defence, and I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see Dawson turning out for England in the near future. He is one of the reasons why Coventry remains in the Premier League for another season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixie Flatline Posted May 28, 2008 Author Share Posted May 28, 2008 Midfielders Olivier Dacourt (33 y/o, FRA 31 caps, 2 goals, DM C): 12 apps, 2 goals, 1 assist, av. rating: 7.17 Isaac Osbourne (21 y/o, ENG, DM C): 9(6) apps, av. rating: 7.00 Mathieu Berson (28 y/o, FRA, DM C): 9 apps, 1 assist, av. rating: 7.44 Jaime Alberto Castrillon (25 y/o, COL 22 caps, 1 goal, DM RC): 9 apps, 2 goals, 1 MoM, av. rating: 7.33 Ben Harding (23 y/o, ENG, M C): 11(19) apps, av. rating: 6.87 Stefan Ishizaki (25 y/o, SWE, AM RC): 14 apps, av. rating: 7.14 Michael Doyle (26 y/o, IRE 1 cap, AM LC): 26(2) apps, 1 goal, 8 assists, av. rating: 7.11 Gary McSheffrey (25 y/o, ENG, F LC): 3(5) apps, av. rating: 6.38 Signing Castrillon on a free transfer from Medellin was an excellent move for me, while Stefan Ishizaki was also great value down the right side of our midfield. Michael Doyle was an underrated player for us, and did his job very well. Berson was a superb holding midfielder and well worth the short-term loan contract I used to bring him to the club. The midfield is one area which will be overhauled in the summer, particularly with the arrivals of Goitom, McGoldrick, Ono and Job already agreed and money at my disposal. Forwards Graham Barrett (26 y/o, IRE 9 caps, 3 goals, AM/F RC): 37 apps, 11 goals, 4 assists, av. rating: 6.84 El-Hadji Diouf (27 y/o, SEN 52 caps, 17 goals, F RC): 21 apps, 8 goals, 3 assists, 1 MoM, av. rating: 7.33 Heider Helguson (30 y/o, ICE 50 caps, 11 goals, S C): 13(16) apps, 5 goals, 2 assists, av. rating: 6.97 Ben Mackey (21 y/o, ENG, S C): 3(12) apps, 1 goal, av. rating: 7.00 To be truthful, I’m a little disappointed with the output of Barrett under my stewardship this season. I would have thought that the Irish international would have scored more than three goals in the 14 appearances he made since I joined Coventry. Diouf, on the other hand, improved his scoring return very nicely with a hat-trick on the last day of the season, while Helguson chimed in with some important goals to rescue sticky situations for us, more often than not. Mackey is a youthful player with some promise, but will be given time to develop more at his own pace next season, as I add Peter Crouch to the arsenal available to me during the off-season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixie Flatline Posted May 28, 2008 Author Share Posted May 28, 2008 The joy of the day is soured somewhat when I read on the BBC website late in the afternoon that 21 year old defensive midfielder, Isaac Osbourne, has complained publicly that he isn’t being played often enough for his liking. The young and obviously ambitious midfielder has promise, but he was too limited to do the job that I needed my players to do in the pressure-cooker atmosphere of a struggle against relegation, so he’s going to have to bide his time if he wants to make it at the Sky Blues. 12th of May 2008 Myself, Mr McGinnity, Andrew Whing and Stuart Taylor make our way down from Coventry to London to attend the Football Association’s night of nights, where we celebrate the great game’s achievements in England in 2007/08. We scrub up very nicely – the 48 hours since our survival was confirmed was just enough to make us look presentable (you wouldn’t have wanted to see us immediately after the game against Southampton!). Albert Luque of the champions, Chelsea, is named the English Players’ Player of the Year for 2007/08. The Spaniard was selected ahead of team mate, Arjen Robben, and Dennis Rommedahl picked up the third-place nomination. Martin Cranie of Southampton was named the English Players’ Young Player of the Year, ahead of Matthew Bates of Middlesbrough and Cesc Fabregas of Arsenal. Coventry’s own Stuart Taylor is named in the Premier League Select for 2007/08 as first choice goalkeeper. Gary Caldwell, Michael Dawson and El-Hadji Diouf are all named in the Premier League Team of the Week. Jose Mourinho of Chelsea is named the Manager of the Year, ahead of Manchester United’s Hugo Sanchez and Arsenal’s Arsene Wenger. Luque is the English Footballer of the Year, with Robben and Rommedahl again filling the minor places. Ruud van Nistelrooy from Manchester United, with 22 goals, topped the goalscorers’ charts, ahead of Thierry Henry of Arsenal and Collins John of Fulham. In news closer to home, we seal the deal that sees Gil Prescott leave Sheffield Wednesday for the Jaguar Arena. Prescott is a very experienced and highly capable scout who doesn’t require much money to do what he loves to do. He’ll be spending his time at the forthcoming Euro 2008 in his first assignment for Coventry. 14th of May 2008 Real Madrid claims the UEFA Cup with a 1-0 win over Borussia Dortmund thanks to a penalty converted by Helguera on 22 minutes in the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. 21st of May 2008 The Champions League final ends in a 0-0 draw between Juventus and AC Milan, so the tie goes to penalties in order to determine the winner. It’s the Old Lady of Turin who absorbs the pressure of penalties better, prevailing 3-1 on penalties. 24th of May 2008 Although a goal on 10 minutes from Sanli Tuncay gave Manchester United the lead, Chelsea completed the League and Cup double by ramming three goals past Tim Howard at Wembley, thanks to goals from Albert Luque, Dimitar Berbatov and Michael Ballack. 25th of May 2008 Sunderland secures promotion to the English Premier League with a 1-0 win over West Ham United with a goal to Kevin Kyle two minutes into extra time. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixie Flatline Posted May 28, 2008 Author Share Posted May 28, 2008 1st of June 2008 I have a quick meeting in the morning with the club’s directors who again express their delight in how we escaped relegation on the last day of the season. Mr McGinnity presses me for details on my plans for the forthcoming season, but, with a smile, I tell him that these plans are still in development, but he should expect to see some changes in the squad as I look to remodel the first eleven in time for the opening day of next season. 3rd of June 2008 Rushden & Diamonds signs Paul Lancaster, a young goalkeeper, for the princely sum of £250,000. It’s good to have the moaner off the club’s books. Stuart Taylor is selected by England manager, Sven-Goran Eriksson, to be part of the squad for the forthcoming Euro 2008. Graham Barrett will also participate for the Republic of Ireland. I feel a little sorry for Michael Dawson, as he had been a bed-rock of defensive stability for us since I signed him from Spurs. However, while England has many faults, a shortage of centre-halves is not one of them, and it was always going to be difficult for Dawson to squeeze in amongst the likes of Jonathan Woodgate, John Terry and Rio Ferdinand. 4th of June 2008 Jaime Alberto Castrillon is a substitute in Colombia’s 2-1 loss to Brazil in a COMNEBOL World Cup qualifier. 7th of June 2008 Jonathan Spector played the first 72 minutes of the USA’s 2-0 win over the Dominican Republic in a World Cup qualifier this afternoon. Colombia leaves out Castrillon but still loses 2-1 to Argentina. Euro 2008 kicks off in the evening with Portugal taking on Bulgaria. The Portuguese race to a 2-0 lead but a brace from Bojinov late in the match saved a point for the Bulgarians. 8th of June 2008 Although Birmingham achieved safety from relegation relatively comfortably, that’s insufficient for the board of directors of the club, who fire Steve Bruce with immediately effect today. On the same day, the directors in charge of Liverpool give the dreaded vote of confidence to Sam Allardyce. In the afternoon, England plays Italy to open its campaign in Euro 2008, winning thanks to the single goal scored by Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney in the first half. Bad news, however, for Chelsea’s Glen Johnson, who suffers a facial injury and is in doubt for England’s next group match. Good news for Coventry’s Graham Barrett, who plays 67 minutes in Ireland’s 2-1 win over Croatia to open its campaign on a bright note. In the third game played today, Greece and Switzerland play out a 2-2 draw. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixie Flatline Posted May 28, 2008 Author Share Posted May 28, 2008 9th of June 2008 I take particular interest in Spain’s first game of Euro 2008, against Belgium, as I travel to the match to provide expert comments for Spain’s broadcaster. Carlos Marchena and David Villa score the goals that give Spain a 2-0 win over Belgium, who will have some selection dilemmas after losing three players to injury during the game. In the other game played today, a goal from Ryan Babel on 76 minutes gives Holland the perfect start against Germany. 10th of June 2008 Austria loses 3-1 to Serbia & Montenegro, and the poor performance does not please the Austrians. In the other game played today, Turkey and France share the spoils with a 1-1 draw. 11th of June 2008 Just the one game today from Euro 2008, and Italy and Bulgaria will not be satisfied with the 0-0 draw the match produces. 12th of June 2008 In the day’s only game, England and Portugal play out a 0-0 draw. 13th of June 2008 Two games, both from Group D, are played today. In the first match, Ireland, with Graham Barrett scoring the second goal, defeated host nation Switzerland 2-0, to have maximum points after two group games. In the second match, Croatia and Greece shared the points with a 2-2 draw. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixie Flatline Posted May 28, 2008 Author Share Posted May 28, 2008 14th of June 2008 While Euro 2008 is dominating the headlines in Europe in particular, World Cup qualifiers are occurring around the world. Three Coventry players participate, and Alan Cork fills me in on how they went. Jonathan Spector looked cool, calm and collected at the heart of the USA defence, but the level of his opponents should be considered, as the USA defeated the Dominican Republic 3-0 in Los Angeles. Darren Moore might be counting the days to his retirement, but that didn’t prevent Jamaica calling on his services for a full 90 minutes as they defeated Nicaragua 2-0 in Kingston. In a big upset, minnows Zimbabwe shocked African Cup of Nations victor, Senegal, featuring El-Hadji Diouf 3-2 in Harare. Two games, both from Group A, are played in Euro 2008 in the afternoon and evening. In the afternoon match, Holland defeats Belgium 3-0, whilst I am on hand for the evening game to commentate for Spanish broadcasters, as Spain defeats Germany 2-0, with goals from Raul and Albert Luque, both in the first half. A red card shown to Mista at the end of the game spoiled the celebratory atmosphere for the Spanish contingent. Holland and Spain join Ireland as qualifiers for the quarter-finals. 15th of June 2008 Only a week after denying that Sam Allardyce is in any trouble, the board of directors at Liverpool feels compelled to again issue a statement saying that Big Sam’s job at Anfield is safe. However, the tenor of the statement is designed to ensure that speculation over his tenure will not go away any time soon. Again, in the afternoon and early evening, two games from Group C are played in Euro 2008. In the early game, Turkey notches up a convincing 3-0 win over Austria. In the late game, Serbia & Montenegro and France share the points with a 1-1 draw. While I am on the Continent following the fortunes of Spain, I tie up a deal with Andrew Whing that will keep the full-back at the club for a further four seasons, at the cost of £2.5 million in wages. That’s actually less than what Andrew’s agent originally demanded, and I persuaded Andrew to remove the requirement for an automatic wage increase, which pleased me. Martin Jol is named as the new manager of Birmingham, replacing Steve Bruce. 16th of June 2008 In a shock result, Bulgaria defeats England 2-1 to top Group B, and only England’s better head-to-head record over Italy is enough to see the Three Lions through to the quarter-finals, despite Italy defeating Portugal 1-0. Italy and England finished their group matches level on points with the same goal difference. 17th of June 2008 Holland finishes on top of Group A after drawing 1-1 with Spain by dint of goal difference, while Germany finally chalks up a win, 1-0 over hapless Belgium, which ends its participation in Euro 2008 with no points from its three group games. 18th of June 2008 Groups C and D are finalised in the afternoon and evening today. In Group C, France ensured that Austria would not have happy memories of hosting the tournament, handing out a 3-0 whitewash to the Austrians. Turkey defeated Serbia & Montenegro 2-1. Turkey tops Group C, with France qualifying by finishing runner-up. The plucky Serbians miss out due to their loss. In Group D, Ireland ended the group stage with its third win, defeating Greece 3-1. Charisteas gave Greece the lead, but Coventry’s own Graham Barrett equalised six minutes into the second half, and Ireland didn’t look back. In the other game, Switzerland earned a point with Croatia the hard way, as the countries drew 4-4. Volanthen scored twice and Frei once to have Switzerland 3-0 up by 22 minutes, but Ivica Olic and a hat-trick from Ivan Klasnic put the Croatians 4-3 ahead with 17 minutes remaining. However, Frei’s second goal earned Switzerland a point. Unbelievably, Croatia qualifies second behind Ireland for the quarter-finals with just two points from its three group games, but it’s goal difference of -1 is enough to see it through over Greece and Switzerland. So, the qualifiers for the quarter-finals are England, Holland, Bulgaria, Spain, Croatia, Turkey, Ireland and France. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixie Flatline Posted May 28, 2008 Author Share Posted May 28, 2008 19th of June 2008 The Supporters’ Association announce that Graham Barrett is the supporters’ choice for Coventry’s Player of the Year. While I can appreciate a player of Barrett’s talent being on our roster, I thought that El-Hadji Diouf and Michael Dawson were more deserving of the supporters’ appreciation. Five players graduate from Coventry’s academy and Alan Cork puts them in to the U-18s for the time being. Although Cork is particularly keen on one of the players, I have to confess that at this stage, I don’t see much potential in them. I receive a telephone call from the board of directors at Coventry to discuss the financial matters concerning the new season and the board’s expectations. I’m advised by Coventry’s financial controller that we have been given £13.75 million as our split of the television revenue for the forthcoming season. The board of directors have resolved to pay a dividend totalling £4.7 million to shareholders. However, Mr McGinnity is pleased to tell me that the club has a new sponsorship arrangement for the next two years, worth £2.3 million per annum. That’s a tidy sum and makes me aware of how important it was for the club to avoid relegation at the end of last season. I’m therefore advised by Coventry’s financial controller that the board has authorised a transfer budget of £5.75 million, plus most of what I’m able to raise through the sale of players. I also have a wage budget of £475,000 per week. Currently, we’re paying only £225,000 per week, so I have plenty of wiggle room left in the wage budget to entice players to join the club. Having dealt with the financial issues, it’s time to turn our attention to the board’s expectations. Mr McGinnity tells me that the board remains absolutely delighted with my effort in guiding the club to safety from relegation in season 2007/08 and they expect me to ensure that the club battles bravely against relegation. In turn, I tell Mr McGinnity and the other directors of Coventry that I believe their expectation to be realistic and that I intend to carry out their wishes in the forthcoming season. With the influx of new players joining Coventry in the off-season on free transfers, we should have a considerably improved squad, and that’s before I start looking at targets to purchase. Having discussed things over with the board for about an hour, we finally break up and go our separate ways. I head over to Linz as a guest of the English Football Association to watch England secure its place in the semi-finals of Euro 2008 with a 2-0 win over Holland, thanks to goals from Michael Owen and David Beckham. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixie Flatline Posted May 28, 2008 Author Share Posted May 28, 2008 20th of June 2008 It took Spain penalties, but they defeated a determined Bulgaria 3-2 on penalties after the countries finished normal and extra time still deadlocked at 0-0 apiece. 21st of June 2008 Croatia advances to the final four after beating Turkey 2-0. 22nd of June 2008 For some strange reason, Ireland’s manager, Mr Brian Kerr, relegates Graham Barrett to the bench. Barrett can only watch on as an unused substitute as Ireland loses its quarter-final 2-0 to France. 25th of June 2008 England defeats France 2-0 to reach the final of Euro 2008. A brace from Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney proved the difference between the countries. 26th of June 2008 Spain books its date with destiny and a final against England after defeating Croatia 2-0. 29th of June 2008 Almost 62,000 spectators at the Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna watch a ruthless England dispose of hapless Spain 3-1, with goals scored by Alan Smith, Owen Hargreaves and Michael Owen. Smith and Hargreaves made it 2-0 to England at half-time, and David Villa’s goal on 50 minutes gave the Spanish a sniff of forcing the game into extra-time, but Owen’s goal 11 minutes from time sealed the win for the English, who add the European championship to their 2006 World Cup success. Sven-Goran Eriksson, citing the need to find a new challenge, decides to leave the post of England’s manager with immediate effect following the game. I also decide to apply for the position as manager of England, and also of Portugal, after the Iberians dismissed their manager following a sub-standard performance at Euro 2008. Making far less of a fuss is Andrew Hall’s move from Coventry to Aldershot in a deal worth £60,000 (plus a 50% sell-on clause) to the Sky Blues. Andrew Hall (22 y/o, ENG, AM R): 1 app, av. rating 4.00 1st of July 2008 With the formal introduction to the season’s requirements having already been made, this morning’s meeting with the board of directors at Coventry is a simple and quick affair. Mr McGinnity again affirms the board’s total support for my management of the football affairs of the club and bids me good luck in the forthcoming season. I explain to Mr McGinnity that I’ve arranged for a number of testing friendlies to be played in July, as we warm up for our tough start to the season. Our first five league matches are against Arsenal (home), Aston Villa (away), Liverpool (home), Manchester United (away) and Chelsea (home). So, amongst the friendlies, I have organised games against Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United, with the latter to be televised live by BBC as part of the F1 Cup III (Manchester City and Coventry reserves are the other participants). This should give us a good guide as to where we sit amongst the scheme of things. Later in the day, our Bosman free transfers arrive at the club. The new players are Graham Stack, the Irish international goalkeeper whom I signed on a free transfer whilst I was managing Sheffield Wednesday, Joey Gudjonsson, an Icelandic international defensive midfielder, Henok Goitom, a Swedish international attacking midfielder, Thomas Job, a Cameroonian international winger, and Peter Crouch, the beanpole striker whom I had also signed whilst managing Sheffield Wednesday. We also pay Wolves £325,000 to complete the transfer of Scottish international full-back, Stephen Crainey. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixie Flatline Posted May 28, 2008 Author Share Posted May 28, 2008 5th of July 2008 To herald the start of the new season and to enable some of the club’s highly valued supporters to dig deep into their pockets again, we stage a friendly at the Jaguar Arena between the first team and the reserves. Accordingly, players like Rhys Evans, Rob Kozluk, Jamie Clapham, Olivier Dacourt and Gary McSheffrey turn out for the reserves in the hopes of impressing me and earning a call-up to the first squad. The team comprised of first team players misses El-Hadji Diouf, as he is on World Cup qualifying duty with Senegal, but Joey Gudjonsson, Thomas Job, Henok Goitom, Peter Crouch, Graham Stack and Stephen Crainey all sport their new Coventry jerseys for the first time this afternoon. Although Stefan Ishizaki scores early in the game, Evans does a very good job at preserving the reserves’ loss at 1-0 and it seems perhaps that I’ve written off his career at Coventry too early (though he still remains third in the pecking order behind Taylor and Stack). All in all, it’s a lacklustre start to the season as both teams look rusty, particularly in front of goal, and the 1,500 people in attendance generally keep the football in the background as they use the opportunity to network amongst themselves. 8th of July 2008 Our preparations for the new season are badly derailed by news from the physio department that our stalwart Scottish defender Gary Caldwell will miss up to two months of football with a slipped disc. Apparently, something as innocuous as helping his partner clean the bathroom caused him to suffer this debilitating injury, and also throw out our preparations for our defence clean through the window. I confer urgently with my assistant manager, Alan Cork, to determine whether it’s worth delving into the transfer kitty to bring a solid defender into the side to cover Caldwell’s absence, particularly given our tough start to the season, where we face Arsenal, Liverpool, Blackburn and Chelsea in the first five rounds. Alan is of the opinion that it might be worth looking at bringing cover into the squad, so I instruct him to draw up a shortlist of affordable targets who would be good enough to be a first team player, but realistic enough to know that when Caldwell is back to full fitness, they won’t be seeing much game time. Alan promises me to get to work on it immediately. 9th of July 2008 Our second friendly in our pre-season preparations takes us to Kenilworth Road, where we are hosted by Luton Town, down in League One. I name the same eleven that prevailed over the reserves outfit, and with up to twelve substitutes available, I call up a number of the reserves to fill places on the bench. Peter Crouch puts us on our way after 8 minutes, but Elvis Hammond draws Luton level on 32 minutes. Parity lasts for just three minutes as, under enormous pressure from Crouch, Cunningham puts through his own net. Ben Mackey administers the final touch on 54 minutes, as we go through a comfortable hit-out against our inferior opposition. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixie Flatline Posted May 28, 2008 Author Share Posted May 28, 2008 12th of July 2008 My first attempt at plugging the gap left through Caldwell’s injury falters at the Home Office, as the bureaucrats deny Nemanja Vidic a temporary work permit to allow the Serbia & Montenegro international defender to partake in the four week trial I had arranged for him after he left Spartak Moskva. In happier news, former Owl Chris Brunt has decided to follow in the footsteps of former colleagues Graham Stack and Peter Crouch by agreeing to participate in a four-week trial. In the afternoon, Brighton comes to visit the Jaguar Arena and just under 3,000 people watch Heidar Helguson score a second half hat-trick to put the Seagulls to the sword 3-0. Surprisingly, my former boss, Mr Dick Knight, has yet to name a replacement for me, so Bob Booker remains in charge of the club on a temporary basis. However, without the position of ‘manager’ beside his name, my former assistant manager doesn’t have the power to sign new players (though those transfers I had arranged before I left still proceeded). His overly-cautious approach is exposed this afternoon as we rain 10 on-target shots at Rene Adler’s goal, with a further eight shots missing the target. Brighton did not create a single opportunity, much to the chagrin of the visiting reporter from The Argus who called the performance a grim and unwelcome portent of the “second year blues†for the Seagulls. In contrast, our creativity from midfield was very much to the fore today, but our finishing, apart from Helguson, was not sufficiently clinical and to be truthful, we should have at least had two more goals, possibly three. Goitom created the first goal for Helguson, advancing down the right flank unhindered before sending a pinpoint cross for Helguson to tuck away. Goitom’s involvement led to Helguson’s second goal when Adler couldn’t hold on to Goitom’s fierce drive and Helguson was on hand to put away the rebound. Helguson’s third goal came from when the Icelandic international snuck in front of Virgo to flick Harding’s skimming cross past Adler. It was an impressive performance from the experienced striker and does his chances of receiving a new contract no harm at all. Chris Brunt performed very competently on the left flank before I replaced him after the hour mark due to his lack of match fitness. 16th of July 2008 Stefan Ishizaki joins Gary Caldwell in the physios’ room to retrieve treatment on a damaged knee cap that he picked up in training ahead of tonight’s preseason game against Ipswich. The Swedish midfielder is scheduled for a return in about three weeks, which means he is unlikely to be available for at least the first round of the new season. More than 30,000 spectators braved blustery and warm conditions at Portman Road to see a double strike by Heidar Helguson defeat Ipswich 2-0. Peter Crouch wasted a number of opportunities in the first half, either by missing the target completely or seeing them saved, and as he was carrying a slight knock, I removed him in favour of the Icelandic striker at the break. Both goals were created by long through-balls cutting out the Ipswich defence to permit Helguson to use his football knowledge and speed to run on to the ball, round the keeper and score simple goals. Henok Goitom created the first and Andrew Whing created the second with identical passes. After the game, I see reports from St James’ Park to the effect that Newcastle has signed former Arsenal and Brazilian international Gilberto on a free transfer after he was released from his contract by the Gunners. At 31, with more than 50 international caps under his belt, he should be a very good addition to an already strong Magpies squad. Only a day after signing a new contract with relegated Sheffield Wednesday, one of my targets, Gil Swerts, tells TEAMtalk.com that he is ‘keen’ to join Coventry but hopes that a swift resolution is brought to his situation, so that he can go back to concentrating on his football. Having managed him in my stint with the Owls in the Premier League, I am a big admirer of the Belgian international and would like to bring him to the Jaguar Arena. However, with the leverage of a possible Bosman transfer removed, I’m sure that Sheffield Wednesday are determined to hold on to their marquee player and would demand the world in order to sell him to me. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixie Flatline Posted May 28, 2008 Author Share Posted May 28, 2008 18th of July 2008 I authorise the completion of a small transfer out of the club, with Australian defender Sean Cooney moving to Cambridge for the princely sum of £375,000: Sean Cooney (24 y/o, AUS, D/DM C): 0 apps 19th of July 2008 A crowd of less than 3,000 travel to the Jaguar Arena to see us draw 1-1 with Rangers. This game is a game of two halves, for in the first we are irrepressible and are unlucky to be only leading 1-0 at the break, thanks to a goal from point-blank range by Graham Barrett 12 minutes from half-time. However, Rangers draw level six minutes into the second half with a goal from Thomas Buffel, and they spend the remainder of the game hammering away at the goal protected first by Stuart Taylor, then by Graham Stack. Apart from a long-range effort from Goitom which drew a good save from Stefan Klos, we hardly created any opportunities for ourselves in the second half. I have much food for thought from this game. 24th of July 2008 We travel to Bristol to be hosted by Rovers and, as expected, we hammer the League Two club 5-0, thanks in the main to a hat-trick from Graham Barrett, plus goals from Joey Gudjonsson and Paul McCrink, a reserve midfielder who struck a penalty home after the keeper Nick Culkin was found to have fouled Barrett. However, the big win is overshadowed by shocking news from the physios. Scottish international left back, Stephen Crainey, who hasn’t even been at the club a month after joining from Wolves, damaged his spine in a seemingly innocuous contest for the loose ball in the second half, after coming on as a substitute for Stuart Giddings. I’m advised by Malcolm Stuart, who was liaising with the local hospital who had treated Crainey after the injury occurred, that he will be out for at least five months. Therefore, we probably won’t see Crainey play until 2009. With only Jamie Clapham in reserve to support Giddings, it looks I’m going to have to dip into the transfer market to see if I can strengthen that area of our defence. 25th of July 2008 Having seen Chris Brunt in action in a number of friendly matches, I decide it’s time to make a decision on his future. The coaches are unanimous in their recommendation that Coventry should sign the Northern Irish midfielder, so we prepare a contract for him which is agreed to by the player in a short space of time. I allocate the no. ‘25’ to him. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixie Flatline Posted May 28, 2008 Author Share Posted May 28, 2008 26th of July 2008 I spend the first wad of cash this summer to bring defender Eric Addo from PSV Eindhoven to the club. The central defender, comfortable also playing as a defensive midfielder, is 29 years old, with 19 caps for Ghana. The price we’re about to pay PSV isn’t exorbitant, and he should provide adequate cover for the injured Gary Caldwell and to keep pressure on James Collins as partner for Michael Dawson. I agree terms on behalf of Coventry with Icelandic striker Heidar Helguson, extending his contract to the end of the 2009/10 season and giving him a substantial pay-rise (though not as much as he initially wanted). He has been impressive in the pre-season so far and I hope he carries that form through to the real stuff. Addo flies over in the late afternoon from the Continent to quickly sign the contract and to be presented to the media in time for their local news bulletins. However, as I’m about to leave the Jaguar Arena for the day, I’m advised to take a look at SSN, which is running a quote from defender Jonathan Spector, who says that he is prepared to fight off the challenge posed by Addo’s arrival at the club. I issue a quickly worded media statement, telling Spector to effectively pull his head in and to concentrate on playing football. 27th of July 2008 I’m disappointed, and I imagine that ITV is also disappointed, with the attitude displayed by my counterpart at Chelsea, who selected only Joe Cole and Pablo Aimar as genuine first-team contenders in his side to play my Coventry at the Jaguar Arena this afternoon. Just shy of 15,000 spectators saw us score three goals in the first 15 minutes of the game and effectively end the contest. Apart from some free kicks from Cole and cute passing from Aimar, Chelsea showed very little, but then again had rested all their first team stars, apart from Cole and Aimar. I looked forward to being tested by Chelsea, but it wasn’t to be, unfortunately. 29th of July 2008 Totalbet.com releases its odds for the forthcoming Premier League season. Arsenal is handed favouritism, with odds of 6-4 on being quoted. Chelsea is expected to be Arsenal’s closest competitor (7-4), Manchester United then at 2-1, Newcastle at twelves, Liverpool 14-1 and Aston Villa 25-1. The odds quoted for Coventry are 150-1, meaning that the bookmakers appear to consider our chances of surviving the season to be relatively slim, notwithstanding the additions I have made to the squad over the summer. Obviously, the issue of the bookmakers’ thoughts are the prime issue for the weekly press conference and I’m bullish in my response, making it clear that relegation is not even on the agenda as far as I’m concerned. Of course, privately, having only escaped relegation last season by the skin of our teeth, making sure that we don’t come near to being relegated is front and centre in my mind at present. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixie Flatline Posted May 28, 2008 Author Share Posted May 28, 2008 1st of August 2008 Coventry unveils triple signing Three new players join the Sky Blues today, as reported by Liam Oldfield, live from the Jaguar Arena… “Yes, thank you Richard. I’m here at the Jaguar Arena where Coventry manager, Senor Dixie Flatline, and chairman, Mr Mike McGinnity have just completed their press conference to unveil three new players for Coventry. The first player unveiled is Spanish left back Pedro Marti, signed from Racing Santander in the Spanish Segunda Liga. Senor Flatline said that the 26 year old was signed to provide cover on the left flank, which had been left threadbare after a long term injury suffered by recent acquisition, Scottish international Stephen Crainey. With Stuart Giddings the only feasible player in that position, the club felt that the acquisition of Marti on a free transfer was a good piece of business and he should settle nicely in at Coventry. The second player unveiled is young English midfielder David McGoldrick. Richard, his career path has been somewhat different to most of his compatriots. He failed to gain recognition in England for his talents, so he joined Segunda Liga B club Cartagena, where he was spotted by Senor Flatline several years ago, whilst he was still managing Brighton. McGoldrick came out of contract at the end of the 2007/08 season and Senor Flatline pounced, signing the attacking midfielder on a Bosman free transfer, much to the chagrin of Cartagena, who was looking to build their club around the Englishman. He has yet to be capped at any level for England and will be down the pecking order somewhat, but he has been claimed by Senor Flatline to be a sound long-term investment for the Sky Blues. The third player who officially joined the club today is Japanese international midfielder Shinji Ono. Ono has played the last six seasons in Holland with PSV Eindhoven and said through an interpreter told the assembled press that he is pleased to have joined Coventry and have the opportunity to test himself at a higher level. Senor Flatline said that Coventry signed Ono to give the club some extra class in the midfield and they would be expecting good things from the Japanese international this season. For the moment, Richard, that’s all from the Jaguar Arena…†Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixie Flatline Posted May 28, 2008 Author Share Posted May 28, 2008 After the press conference is wrapped up, I check my Blackberry to see any emails have come in. One in particular catches my eye, as it’s from the club’s commercial director, who praises me for having signed Ono on a free transfer because it will boost the club’s exposure in Japan. Later in the day, I name Ono and Marti in the starting eleven for our friendly against Manchester United, which forms one semi-final of the F1 Cup III. Manchester City and Coventry’s reserves go head to head in the other semi-final. Ono’s class is on display early when he sets up Peter Crouch down the left flank, but his cross into the box is not met with any conviction by Thomas Job, who finds the side netting when he perhaps should have done better. Unfortunately, Ono doesn’t have much opportunity to impress the crowd of just over 17,000 further as he is forced from the field with an injury that my physio later advises me is a deeply gashed arm. His replacement, however, scores the goal that puts us in front. Ben Harding benefits from some fine work by Graham Barrett and Job, with Job lobbing in the cross to perfection for Harding to slam past Hocker in goal for Manchester United. We look relatively comfortable sitting on our 1-0 lead against a fairly strong Manchester United eleven. Substitutions are eventually made and as time ebbs away it looks like we’ll cruise through to the final. However, Graham Stack is considered by the referee to have shoved a Manchester United player when reaching for a high ball late in the game and a penalty is awarded. Silvestre steps up to take the chance and he makes no mistake on 86 minutes. Under the rules of the competition, we go straight to penalties if the game finishes in a draw, and that’s what happens. We convert our first three penalties to go to a 3-1 lead after Manchester United only convert one, but we lose our nerve and allow United to take it back to 3-3 apiece. However, Eric Addo does just enough to make it 4-3 and when the pressure is on Silvestre to score to keep United in the contest, he fails to do so and we go through to the final. Later in the day, Manchester City defeats Coventry reserves 2-0, so we will face Manchester City tomorrow to determine the winner of the F1 Cup III. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixie Flatline Posted May 28, 2008 Author Share Posted May 28, 2008 2nd of August 2008 A brilliant first-half performance from El Hadji Diouf allows us to celebrate our pre-season competition win over Manchester City. Diouf sets up two goals and scores one of his own to have us 3-0 at the half-time interval. It should have been 4-0 but for James Collins failing to convert a penalty just three minutes before half-time. However, Diouf is the star of the show in the first half, as his ability to pick out the most dangerous option is unerring and allows Castrillon and Helguson to slide the ball past the beaten Olave for easy goals on 7 and 11 minutes respectively. Diouf’s goal came courtesy of a lovely through-ball from Job on 23 minutes, allowing Diouf to run on to the ball, draw Olave to the edge of the box and passing the ball into an empty net. Stung by a woeful first half, Manchester City fights back hard in the second half and were probably better value than the single goal they clawed back, through Bradley Wright-Phillips late in the second half. However, Stuart Taylor has a fine game to keep the damage to that one goal to Wright-Phillips and we run out winners in the end, to cap off our pre-season preparations. Next up, we play host to Arsenal to open our Premier League campaign in a week’s time. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gino Posted June 1, 2008 Share Posted June 1, 2008 Good to see you writing Dixie. Senor Flatline is still one of CMS' greatest creations. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixie Flatline Posted June 1, 2008 Author Share Posted June 1, 2008 Thanks very much, Gino! 3rd of August 2008 The season kicks off with the traditional Charity Shield fixture, played this time between Chelsea and Arsenal, the two favourites for the Premiership. Arsenal claims the early season bragging rights with a 2-1 victory. Chelsea opened the scoring through an own goal to Alan Smith on 59 minutes, but goals to Vieira on 72 minutes and Henry (via the penalty spot) on 77 minutes sealed the come-from-behind win for the Gunners. 4th of August 2008 Fabregas joins Inter Milan Spanish midfielder Cesc Fabregas has agreed to join Inter Milan on a three-year contract worth £43,500 per week, with Arsenal receiving £12.5 million for the Spanish international. 9th of August 2008 Premier League – Game 1: Coventry v Arsenal Arsenal’s Thierry Henry demonstrates his class French international striker Thierry Henry scored a brace as championship favourite Arsenal got their season off to a good start with an easy 3-0 win over Coventry. It took Henry less than a minute to open his 2008/09 account with a rasping drive from 25 yards that completely beat Taylor in goal for Coventry. Patrick Vieira made it 2-0 to Arsenal on 27 minutes when he out-jumped Castrillon at the back post to head Pedro Martins’ cross past a static Stuart Taylor. Although Arsenal made several more chances, it was still 2-0 at half-time, but Henry had the final say on proceedings when he beat Stuart Giddings to Alan Smith’s cross on 57 minutes and scored a rare headed goal. After the game, Senor Flatline told the media: “We knew it was going to be a very difficult start to the season, with Arsenal amongst the favourites for the title, as we believed that they would come out strong and try to dominate us. Unfortunately, Henry scored a very good goal inside a minute, and when you concede so early in the game, sometimes it deflates the players’ effort a little bit. It’s disappointing to see us concede two goals from headers, so we’ll be working hard to rectify a few things in training as we prepare for our next game.†Monsieur Arsene Wenger said: “It’s important to get off to a good start when you’re chasing the title. We know from last season that, under Senor Flatline, Coventry are a well-drilled side, so it was important to get the early goal to settle our nerves. It was a beautiful goal from Henry to set us on our way, and both he and Vieira showed plenty of strength when they scored their goals from headers. I’m pleased with the start that we made, but it’s vital that we go ahead and build upon it in the next game.†Well, that’s highly disappointing. Arsenal is a terrific side and well worth the favouritism attached to it by the bookies, but to concede three goals after we had spent the off-season signing new players and trying to build a competitive side is not what I wanted to see. We have a lot of work to do, as we start the season after the first game last. Coventry (4-1-3-2): Taylor; Giddings, Dawson, Addo (Collins 57), Whing; Castrillon; Goitom, Ono, Diouf (Job 57); Crouch (Helguson 57), Barrett ©. Arsenal (4-4-2): Wiese; Clichy, Campbell, Toure (Kuffour 70), Heitinga; Martins (Freriks 57), Edu (Hoyte 57), Vieira ©, Ljungberg; Smith, Henry. Final score: Coventry 0:3 Arsenal MoM – Alan Smith Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixie Flatline Posted June 1, 2008 Author Share Posted June 1, 2008 12th of August 2008 Sky Blues sign Dunne Manchester City defender Richard Dunne has signed for Coventry in a deal worth £2.5 million to City. Coventry, defeated 3-0 by Arsenal in the opening game of the season, has added Dunne to provide further options in central defence and at the press conference to unveil the Irish international defender, Senor Flatline said: “Making sure that the defensive foundations are solid is essential to success in the Premier League. I’m confident that Dunne, an experienced international defender, provides the type of player that we’ve been looking for. I’m happy that Richard, having received a number of offers from different Premier League clubs, recognised the potential in Coventry and chose to come to our club.†Richard Dunne said: “Obviously, having spent a long time with Manchester City, I was excited to reach the Premier League this season, and the battle to stay in the division. However, it quickly became apparent that my time with City was going to end, so I needed to make a decision about which club to pick. I’m confident that Coventry, with the facilities available and the calibre of the manager and back-room staff, has the resources to compete successfully at the highest level. I’m going to do my best to ensure that this club has the greatest chance possible of enjoying success this season.†Richard Dunne’s Manchester City contract contained a buy-out clause worth only £2.5 million, and the 28 year old has plenty of experience at the Premier League level. He was a very good defender at the Championship level, and his experience with Ireland and City when they were in the Premier League a few seasons ago will be useful assets for us. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixie Flatline Posted June 1, 2008 Author Share Posted June 1, 2008 13th of August 2008 Premier League – Game 2: Aston Villa v Coventry Late Helguson strike salvages a point for Sky Blues A much improved performance from Coventry earned a point at Villa Park, though it needed a goal on 88 minutes from Icelandic international striker Heidar Helguson to rescue a point. Senor Flatline reverted to a more defensive formation, with five in midfield and just one striker, although with support from the wings. But Villa dominated the opening 25 minutes of the game, with Victor Sikora and Steve Harrison looking particularly dangerous on each flank. However, they failed to force Stuart Taylor into making a save and Coventry gained in confidence, with giant striker Peter Crouch leading the lines. Veteran striker Patrick Kluivert drew a comfortable save from Taylor on 32 minutes, and Taylor then pushed a strike from point-blank range onto the bar just before half-time. On 53 minutes, Peter Crouch had Coventry’s first clear-cut opportunity after some good work down the right flank by Graham Barrett. But Crouch’s snap-shot was well-blocked by Paul Robinson and with no Coventry player following up, it was easy for the Villa defence to tidy up the opportunity. Seven minutes later, Crouch got on to the end of a cross from Henok Goitom following some clever work by Diouf in midfield, but the English striker’s shot went high and wide, not troubling Robinson in the slightest. Kieron Dyer then blasted over on 67 minutes and then Angel drew a magnificent finger-tipping save from Taylor on 71 minutes from distance. Coventry cleared the corner and a nice downward header from Crouch teed up Graham Barrett to be creative from the right flank, but Goitom’s shot at goal was weak and inaccurate. On 76 minutes, the referee pointed to the spot in favour of Aston Villa after finding that Castrillon had infringed upon Lee Hendrie just inside the penalty area. Waving away furious protests from the Coventry players, the replays showed that the decision from the referee was correct, though many others may not have given it for the slight contact that Castrillon had exerted on his opponent. Nonetheless, Hitzslperger made no mistake from the spot, notwithstanding that Taylor guessed correctly and Aston Villa had a 1-0 lead on 77 minutes. Dawson almost drew Coventry level when he was left unmarked inside the Villa penalty box from Barrett’s free kick, but the defender flashed his drive over Robinson’s bar. However, an errant clearance from Robinson allowed Barrett to take possession with just a few moments remaining, and his cute through-ball allowed Helguson to take possession and drive the ball low and hard past Robinson’s right hand into the bottom right corner of the Villa net to tie the scores at 1-1 apiece. Helguson had the opportunity to steal all three points for Coventry late in the game, when a long clearance from Taylor found the Icelandic international in the clear. However, late pressure from Villa’s defence forced Helguson to take the shot earlier than he would have liked, and he screwed the ball wide from 25 yards, much to the relief of the Villa management. The game ended all square. A much better performance and Dunne’s inclusion at centre-half certainly, in my opinion, stiffened our defence enormously. We looked more comfortable in possession and weren’t shy in trying to create chances. Crouch and Helguson had to try hard as lone strikers, but with the likes of Ono, Diouf and Barrett in midfield, we certainly had the capacity to be creative. As the season wears on, I like to think that that trio of players, supported by Goitom, Brunt and others, will create a number of opportunities for the strikers to finish off. Aston Villa were highly rated before the season began, and while their season hasn’t yet really taken off in the manner they would like, I’m glad to come away from a fiercely contested Midlands derby with our first point of the season, which lifts us out of the relegation zone, at least momentarily. Aston Villa (4-2-3-1): Robinson; Baines, Distin, Mellberg ©, Zuiverloon (Finnan 72); Hitzslperger, Dyer; Harrison, Kluivert (Hendrie 62), Sikora; Vittek (Angel 62). Coventry (4-1-4-1): Taylor; Giddings, Dawson, Dunne, Whing; Castrillon; Goitom, Ono (Gudjonsson 65), Diouf (Job 73), Barrett ©; Crouch (Helguson 73). Final score: Aston Villa 1:1 Coventry MoM – Henok Goitom After the game, our most recent opponent announces to the media that it had signed Robin van Persie from Arsenal for £12 million plus a fringe player. Given all the additional clauses, the fee could rise to £14 million, plus the fringe player. Surprisingly, Arsenal had just raised £24.5 million from the sale of two players, yet it seemed that it didn’t need to be selling players. Could this weaken the Gunners’ chances of winning the title this season? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixie Flatline Posted June 3, 2008 Author Share Posted June 3, 2008 14th of August 2008 I send reserve defender Clayton Fortune to London for a three-month loan to Crystal Palace. I hope that this will kick-start his stalled career, as he has no future at Coventry. 16th of August 2008 Premier League – Game 3: Coventry v Liverpool Crouch hat-trick sets up Coventry’s upset win A hat-trick from Peter Crouch in the first hat-trick allowed Coventry to claim its first victory of the 2008/09 season, with a hard-fought 4-3 win over Liverpool. Crouch put his first goal on the board after 8 minutes when the referee, Mr Phil Dowd, pointed to the spot for a trip on Castrillon by Djibril Cisse. Crouch had no difficulty in beating Chris Kirkland in goal for Liverpool. Four minutes later, Castrillon played Crouch through the middle, and with his strength and ability on the ball, Crouch was able to hold off the Liverpool defenders and slide the ball in between Kirkland’s legs in to the empty net. With Liverpool so focussed on Crouch, four defenders were drawn to Crouch as Henok Goitom strode down the left flank with the ball at his feet. Diouf, however, had come into the Liverpool box without a marker, and the Swedish international’s cross found him. From an acute angle, Diouf lashed the ball past Kirkland to put Coventry 3-0 to the good by 21 minutes. However, Liverpool set about returning to the game. On 24 minutes, Michael Owen accepted a low cross from Sinama-Pongolle and with a shimmy, wrong-footed Taylor in goal for Coventry to allow him to lash home Liverpool’s first for the afternoon. Coventry was wobbling when on 28 minutes, Riise blasted home a free kick past Taylor, with the aid of a significant deflection off the Coventry wall. But Crouch claimed his hat-trick on 31 minutes thanks to cool work from Henok Goitom and Graham Barrett, setting Crouch free through the midfield. With strength, Crouch fended off his markers and slotted his drive past Kirkland, notwithstanding the fact that the goalkeeper managed to partially deflect the ball. That marked the end of the goals in the first half, with Coventry holding a 4-2 lead. The second half was much quieter, with Liverpool failing to penetrate a strengthened Coventry defence, while Coventry seemed content to sit on the lead and to play out the second half. However, Michael Owen’s goal on 85 minutes gave the Coventry faithful a nervous ending to the game. But the Coventry defence did enough to hold on to the lead, allowing a substituted Peter Crouch to claim the match ball and Coventry the three points. A great win, in the end, though we were made to work hard for it given our porous defence. Unfortunately, Stuart Taylor, who was so vital to us last season, hasn’t started this season in the best of form and I’m considering whether to give him a spell and introduce Graham Stack to our eleven, given his good pre-season form. However, Peter Crouch is the hero today – his strength and ability on the ball set up two of his goals at least and with Diouf chipping in with a nice goal, it was good to see us with some attacking options. Coventry (4-1-4-1): Taylor; Giddings, Dawson, Dunne, Whing; Castrillon; Goitom, Ono (Gudjonsson 90), Diouf (Job 67), Barrett; Crouch (Helguson 67). Liverpool (4-3-3): Kirkland; Riise, Agger, Medjani, Carragher; Kewell (Le Tallec 62), Kehl (Nolan 62), Hleb; Sinama-Pongolle (Frayne 73), Cisse, Owen ©. Final score: Coventry 4:3 Liverpool MoM – Peter Crouch The win lifts us to tenth position in the league, after three games, which represents the highest position I’ve ever achieved in my time as a manager. In nine days, we play Chelsea at the Jaguar Arena, and then after that game, we’re off to Old Trafford. Both games will seriously test the mettle of our side. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixie Flatline Posted June 3, 2008 Author Share Posted June 3, 2008 17th of August 2008 Charlton Athletic comes in with an offer of £2.5 million for Stuart Taylor, which I have no hesitation in rejecting, officially on the basis that Taylor is an indispensable member of our club’s playing roster. I note, however, that Taylor has a minimum fee release clause of just £3.2 million, so I determine it’s time to renegotiate Taylor’s contract to remove that impediment to his long-term future at our club. 18th of August 2008 With a hat-trick under his belt, it’s not surprising to see Peter Crouch named in the Premier League Team of the Week. “Gary,†I say to a Coventry favourite, closing the door to my office behind him and pushing a chair in his direction. “I’ve had an offer from Peterborough to take you on loan for three months. I wanted to let you know that I think you should take the offer. It will give you an opportunity to play first team football for at least three months.†“Boss, I want to play for Coventry.†“Gary, you’re just not in my first team plans at the moment. I’m trying to have a settled first eleven with substitutes who can step up and make a contribution when required. I’m not convinced that you’re capable of doing that at this stage in your career.†Gary McSheffrey looked unhappily at the loan contract on the desk in front of him. Peterborough, 14th in League One, was a far cry from Coventry, currently tenth in the Premier League, but I was being very, very honest with him. Although the fans respected his contribution to the club over the seasons, he was not first team material and, to be truthful, I had transfer-listed him at the start of the season without much luck. He left my office to ponder his future, taking the loan contract with him. In the meantime, I lifted the telephone to call my counterpart at the Posh to let him know that I had decided to accept the offer and it was up to the player. 21st of August 2008 As I expected he would, Gary reluctantly agrees to go on loan to Peterborough. Hopefully, this is the first step in Gary finding a new club who is prepared to play him on a regular basis. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixie Flatline Posted June 3, 2008 Author Share Posted June 3, 2008 23rd of August 2008 Newcastle moves to strengthen its bid for the title by signing Matteo Ferrari Former Roma defender, Matteo Ferrari, has gone to Tyneside in a deal worth £17 million to Roma. The 28 year old defender, capped 35 times by his country, told the press at St James’ Park that he was looking forward to working under Gianluca Vialli and doing his utmost to bring success to Newcastle. We’re drawn to play Blackpool in the second round of the Coca-Cola Cup, with the match scheduled for the Jaguar Arena on the 16th of September 2008. 24th of August 2008 Stuart Taylor pledges his future to Coventry England goalkeeper Stuart Taylor has pledged his future to Coventry by signing a new three-year deal worth £3 million. Taylor, who has in the past been part of the England set-up but is yet to earn his first senior international cap for his country, was instrumental in securing Coventry’s victory against relegation and has been the subject of interest from several Premier League clubs during the off-season and in the early days of the new campaign. Senor Flatline told the press at the Jaguar Arena: “We’re pleased, obviously, that Stuart has seen fit to extend his tenure with Coventry. He has played some very good football and obviously has attracted interest from a number of clubs. It’s important to Coventry that our better players commit their future to the club, and Stuart has taken that step today.†Importantly, I convinced Stuart to remove his minimum fee release clause, at the expense of a significantly improved weekly wage packet. I hope that the security provided by a new contract will improve his game, with two tough matches to come. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixie Flatline Posted June 3, 2008 Author Share Posted June 3, 2008 25th of August 2008 Arsenal splash the cash to sign Hitzlsperger Arsene Wenger unveiled his latest acquisition today at the Emirates Stadium, 26 year old midfielder, Thomas Hitzlsperger from Aston Villa for the sum of £13.75 million, plus Steven Defour. Arsenal sees Hitzlsperger as a replacement for Spanish midfielder Cesc Fabregas, who left the club in the summer for Inter Milan. Manchester City sign Ricardo Vaz Te from Bolton for £9.25 million Portuguese striker Ricardo Vaz Te has left the Reebok Stadium for the City of Greater Manchester Stadium in a deal worth £9.25 million to his former club. The 21 year old, capped 13 times by Portugal, welcomed the opportunity to test himself with City and pledged that he would do his utmost to help City avoid relegation. 25th of August 2008 Premier League – Game 4: Coventry v Chelsea Two early goals from Chelsea are enough to settle the contest in their favour. Frank Lampard converts a free kick from 25 yards, bending it around our wall and past Taylor in goal, on 10 minutes. On 23 minutes, Luque finds a way down Chelsea’s left flank and bends a cross in towards goal. Drogba out-jumps Dawson and heads the ball powerfully into our net to make it 2-0 to Chelsea. Surprisingly, however, Chelsea determines that a two-goal buffer is sufficient and puts up the shutters, content to do their best to contain us without threatening Stuart Taylor. But we do not possess the necessary guile or creativity to find a way back into the game until it is too late, when Henok Goitom hits a drive past Petr Cech in Chelsea’s goal on 87 minutes to make it 2-1. With the last kick of the game, El-Hadji Diouf misses a golden opportunity to draw the sides level when his header from Job’s cross goes wide. Coventry (4-1-4-1): Taylor; Giddings, Dawson, Dunne, Whing; Castrillon; Goitom, Ono, Diouf, Barrett; Crouch (Helguson 66 (Job 86)). Chelsea (4-3-3): Cech; Bridge, Kompany, Carvalho, Burns (Huth 62); Robben, Ballack ©, Lampard; Drogba (Aimar 62), Luque, Saviola (Berbatov 74). Final score: Coventry 1:2 Chelsea MoM – Vincent Kompany Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixie Flatline Posted June 3, 2008 Author Share Posted June 3, 2008 26th of August 2008 Liverpool sign Baptista Liverpool manager, Mr Sam Allardyce, today presented the club’s latest acquisition, Julio Baptista, to the media at New Anfield. The Brazilian international, capped 11 times by his country, was signed by Liverpool from Sevilla for an undisclosed amount, but sources close to both clubs suggest that the fee was in the order of £14 million. Baptista, speaking through an interpreter, told the press conference that he was excited to have joined such an illustrious club and looked forward to rising to the challenge of playing at one of the world’s most famous clubs. 30th of August 2008 Premier League – Game 5: Manchester United v Coventry Coventry upset the Red Devils at Old Trafford The Sky Blues achieved a rare victory at Old Trafford over Manchester United, to prove that the 2008/09 outfit will not be easy-beats. Goals from Graham Barrett and Henok Goitom in the first half allowed Coventry to take to the half-time break a comfortable 2-0 lead over a strangely lethargic Manchester United. Barrett opened the scoring on 7 minutes when he picked up Fernando Meira’s partial clearance and found his way past Heinze before drilling his shot past Hocker. Coventry’s next goal came on 35 minutes when Ono and Whing exchanged passes on several occasions down the right flank before Whing centred the ball in to El-Hadji Diouf. The Senegalese international spotted Goitom streaming in to the penalty box and the Swede had no hesitation in lashing his drive past Hocker. Manchester United no doubt received a half-time spray from their manager, Senor Hugo Sanchez, and they responded in typical fashion in the second half, creating opportunity after opportunity. But Stuart Taylor stood tall, with assistance from Dawson and Dune, his centre halves, to repel each United attack until the 87th minute when Graham Poll found that Giddings had handballed inside the box. Zvonimir Vukic took responsibility for the penalty and he comfortably beat Taylor to give United a sniff of a chance to find a late, undeserved equaliser. But Coventry had done enough and closed out the game with some tempo football and achieved a feat rarely accomplished – defeating Manchester United at Old Trafford. After the game, Senor Flatline was effusive in his praise for his side: “I said to the boys before the start of the season that the opening stretch of our season would sort out where we are in the scheme of things. Travelling to Old Trafford is never an easy thing and to come away with all three points in what I believe to be a deserved win is an excellent result for everybody associated with the club. I sincerely believe that the squad assembled over the summer is a competitive squad and I think today’s result demonstrates that perfectly. The trick, is of course, to continue building on this result and getting the points.†Senor Sanchez was philosophical: “Coventry played us today perfectly and we were deservedly 2-0 down at half-time. I said to my players at the break that they had not done justice to the jumper and that they needed to respond in the second half. However, Coventry defended in the second half as well as they did in the first and we just couldn’t catch the breaks that we needed in order to take something from the match. We’ll have to regroup and come out stronger and more intelligently in our next game.†This is a terrific result, without a doubt! It’s never easy to come to Old Trafford and take the three points against unarguably a world class side, but we played the game perfectly and we took the opportunities when they were presented to us. The result serves as a great morale boost, particularly for Stuart Taylor, who was feeling down about his performances in the matches hitherto. Manchester United (4-4-2): Hocker; Heinze, Meira (Yakubu 61), Ferdinand, Neville ©; Smith (O’Shea 45), Ferguson (Tuncay 45), Vukic, Fletcher; Rooney, van Nistelrooy. Coventry (4-1-4-1): Taylor; Giddings, Dawson, Dunne, Whing; Castrillon (Gudjonsson 80); Goitom (Job 89), Ono, Diouf, Barrett ©; Crouch (Helguson 66). Final score: Manchester United 1:2 Coventry MoM – Michael Dawson Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixie Flatline Posted June 3, 2008 Author Share Posted June 3, 2008 1st of September 2008 With the transfer deadline passing for Premier League clubs at 11.59pm on 31st of August 2008, let’s take a look at the squad that I have assembled for the forthcoming season, barring any additions or subtractions in the future. Goalkeepers Stuart Taylor (27 y/o, ENG, GK): 40(1) apps, 62 conceded, 8 clean sheets, 13 MoMs, av. rating: 7.22 Rhys Evans (26 y/o, ENG, GK): 4 apps, 9 conceded, 1 MoM, av. rating: 6.75 Graham Stack (26 y/o, IRE 5 caps, GK): 0 apps Rhys Evans is itching to play first team football and I’ve decided that if I can find a club who is prepared to pay a reasonable amount for him, he will be allowed to leave, as I believe that in Taylor and Stack, I have a combination that can play reasonable football through the season. Taylor was instrumental in our late season revival and has recently signed a new contract with the club, while Stack has come in to the club through the off season after being relegated with Sheffield Wednesday. Taylor’s start to the season hasn’t been all that good, to be truthful, but he showed some good signs in our recent win over Manchester United, so I think I’ll persist with him for the moment, though Stack will probably have our game against Blackpool to show his credentials for more regular football. Defenders Jonathan Spector (22 y/o, USA 15 caps, 1 goal, D RC): 3(1) apps, av. rating: 7.50 Richard Dunne (28 y/o, IRE 34 caps, 4 goals, D RC): 4 apps, av. rating: 7.25 James Collins (25 y/o, WAL 21 caps, 1 goal, D C): 18(7) apps, av. rating: 6.76 Michael Dawson (24 y/o, ENG, D C): 17 apps, 4 MoMs, av. rating: 7.71 Andrew Whing (23 y/o, ENG, D/DM R): 35(2) apps, av. rating: 7.19 Gary Caldwell (26 y/o, SCO 28 caps, 3 goals, D/DM RC): 13 apps, 1 assist, av. rating: 7.23 Stuart Giddings (22 y/o, ENG, D/DM L): 38(2) apps, 4 assists, av. rating: 7.10 Pedro Marti (26 y/o, ESP, D L): 0 apps Stephen Crainey (27 y/o, SCO 14 caps, 1 goal, D/DM L): 0 apps Eric Addo (29 y/o, GHA 19 caps, 2 goals, D/DM C): 1 app, av. rating: 6.00 To be truthful, players like Addo and Marti probably would not be here unless there were some key injuries to players such as Stephen Crainey and Gary Caldwell. For that matter, you could probably add Richard Dunne’s name to the list of players that are lucky to be at Coventry this season, though Dunne’s performances since he joined means that I have a selection dilemma once Caldwell is fit to play. Stuart Giddings was meant to play the role of understudy to Crainey this season, but we’re not likely to see Crainey until 2009, so that means that Giddings has first crack at left-back, with Pedro Marti needing to impress me sufficiently in order to find his way into the first eleven on a regular basis. Through it all unscathed (so far) have come Michael Dawson and Andrew Whing. I decided to relieve Andrew of the burden of captaincy and he has repaid me with solid performances all throughout the season, while Dawson looked his imperious best against Manchester United on the weekend. I still believe that Dawson is a credible alternative to the incumbents at centre half for England, but he would probably need to play for a higher profile club in order to obtain an opportunity to play for his country. In the meantime, provided he stays fit and healthy, that’s all I need. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixie Flatline Posted June 3, 2008 Author Share Posted June 3, 2008 Midfielders Jaime Alberto Castrillon (25 y/o, COL 23 caps, 1 goal, DM RC): 14 apps, 2 goals, 2 assists, 1 MoM, av. rating: 7.28 Joey Gudjonsson (28 y/o, ICE 47 caps, 3 goals, DM C): 0(3) apps, av. rating: 6.33 Ben Harding (23 y/o, ENG, M C): 11(19) apps, av. rating: 6.87 Shinji Ono (28 y/o, JAP 91 caps, 10 goals, M C): 5 apps, av. rating: 7.20 Thomas Job (24 y/o, CAM 19 caps, 2 goals, AM RL): 0(5) apps, av. rating: 6.60 David McGoldrick (20 y/o, ENG, AM RLC): 0 apps Henok Goitom (24 y/o, SWE 15 caps, AM/F RLC): 5 apps, 2 goals, 1 assist, 1 MoM, av. rating: 7.20 Stefan Ishizaki (26 y/o, SWE, AM RC): 14 apps, av. rating: 7.14 Chris Brunt (23 y/o, NIR 24 caps, AM LC): 0 apps Michael Doyle (27 y/o, IRE 1 cap, AM LC): 26(2) apps, 1 goal, 8 assists, av. rating: 7.11 Graham Barrett (26 y/o, IRE 12 caps, 5 goals, AM/F RC): 42 apps, 12 goals, 6 assists, av. rating: 6.88 El-Hadji Diouf (27 y/o, SEN 54 caps, 17 goals, F RC): 26 apps, 9 goals, 4 assists, 3 MoMs, av. rating: 7.34 Castrillon now has solid support (and rivalry) from Joey Gudjonsson, who will be keen to establish his credentials as a potential first eleven player. That means that I have two solid options to anchor the midfield and screen the defence, with both players quite accomplished at fulfilling those roles. Shinji Ono brings to the table a great deal of class which will be very handy when coming up against clubs with the calibre of Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool through the season. He has slowly accustomed himself to the speed and tempo of the English game, but I believe I saw some fine passing shown against Manchester United, which contributed to our second goal. He should be a very good player for the club, and he will also be a lucrative asset given the interest in the Premier League in Japan. Henok Goitom has probably been the most impressive of my off-season acquisitions to date, and his goals have been very handy indeed. I hope he continues to provide us with great service down the left, as well as a threat in the penalty box. Thomas Job has had to be content with appearances off the substitute bench but I’m sure that as the season wears on, he will be asked to do jobs from the start. On the other flank, Graham Barrett seems to be much more attuned to the club’s needs playing as a right winger than as a striker, and I’ve also made him the captain for the season, so the extra responsibility seems to have focussed Graham’s thoughts on the task at hand. I hope he keeps up his excellent recent form. El-Hadji Diouf was one of the primary reasons we stayed in the Premier League last season and I’ve decided to play him primarily as a central midfielder, to provide unpredictability and creativity to our midfield, along side our more silken-skilled Ono. It’s somewhat of a change of role for Diouf, but he seems to be adapting well to it and has already provided some highlights for the season review. Ishizaki, Brunt and Doyle are all in reserve, and Ishizaki is probably rueing his injured knee during pre-season, which has allowed his rivals to steal a march on taking a position in the first eleven on a regular basis. All three are trying to earn match fitness in the reserve and I’m sure they will have an opportunity impress me soon enough. Forwards Peter Crouch (27 y/o, ENG, F LC): 5 apps, 3 goals, 1 MoM, av. rating: 7.80 Heidar Helguson (31 y/o, ICE 50 caps, 11 goals, S C): 13(21) apps, 6 goal, 3 assists, av. rating: 6.97 Ben Mackey (21 y/o, ENG, S C): 3(12) apps, 1 goal, av. rating: 7.00 Crouch’s three goals all came in the single game, but as we won that match, I’m pleased for him to have scored a hat-trick. Helguson has been good value coming off the bench, while Ben Mackey is learning his trade in the reserves. However, he isn’t pleased to be third choice striker at Coventry and has made noises to the effect that he’ll seek his opportunities elsewhere if he isn’t granted them at the Jaguar Arena. I’m not concerned about that, to be truthful, as I have plenty of options elsewhere in the squad (Barrett and Diouf, in particular). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixie Flatline Posted June 24, 2008 Author Share Posted June 24, 2008 3rd of September 2008 The first game in the qualification road to the 2010 World Cup is played this evening. England is held to a 1-1 draw in Belgium. Spurs’ Jermain Defoe opened the scoring on 8 minutes, but England spurned its opportunities to extend its lead, and with Belgium’s only on-target shot, Thomas Buffel equalised in stoppage time at the end of the game. In England’s group, Belarus defeated Azerbaijan in Baku with goals to the Hleb brothers. Scotland put three past Serbia & Montenegro with Barry Ferguson’s 86th minute goal the winner. Graham Barrett was an unused substitute in Ireland’s 4-0 win over Malta. Richard Dunne played 68 minutes. James Collins played an impressive game at centre-half for Wales as they drew 2-2 with France at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. Heidar Helguson and Joey Gudjonsson both played in Iceland’s 0-0 draw with Northern Ireland. Gudjonsson played the full 90 minutes and Helguson was replaced after 61 minutes. Chris Brunt was not selected by Northern Ireland for this game. In South American World Cup qualifiers, Jaime Alberto Castrillon played the full 90 minutes as Colombia defeated Peru 2-1 in Lima. 6th of September 2008 In African World Cup qualifiers, Thomas Job played the full 90 minutes in Cameroon’s 2-0 win over Zimbabwe. El-Hadji Diouf scored Senegal’s fourth goal in their 4-0 win over Malawi. Diouf was voted man of the match for his performance. In contrast, Eric Addo had a terrible game and was substituted after 61 minutes by Ghana as they battled to a 1-1 draw with Tunisia. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixie Flatline Posted June 24, 2008 Author Share Posted June 24, 2008 10th of September 2008 Premier League – Game 6: Blackburn Rovers v Coventry Almost a fortnight after we defeated Manchester United at Old Trafford, we’re on a high as we front up to Ewood Park on a cool September evening to play Blackburn Rovers, sitting currently in sixth position. I’m forced to make one change to the side that so memorably defeated Manchester United, with Shinji Ono playing for Japan in a World Cup qualifier against Pakistan. I push Jaime Alberto Castrillon into central midfield, with Joey Gudjonsson taking over duties as the anchor midfielder. Eric Addo sits down on the bench. On 28 minutes, El-Hadji Diouf launches the ball from a set-piece at the right wing into the penalty box where Peter Crouch out-leaps Igor Biscan to nod the ball past Gabor Kiraly to put us in the lead. I clench my fists in excitement and then pray that we can hold on for the remainder of the match to clinch another valuable set of three points on the road. Our cause is aided when creative midfielder Morten Gamst Pedersen is forced from the field with a knock on 32 minutes, and is replaced by Wouter Vandermieren. Blackburn’s players don’t really challenge us in the remaining minutes of the first half, no doubt as they struggle to come to grips with the fact that they are behind to a club they probably believed would be cannon fodder. However, I warn the players to expect Blackburn to come out and breathe fire in the second half. That’s exactly what happens and it requires Stuart Taylor to stand tall and deliver his best performance of the season to date in order to preserve our lead through the remainder of the game. Time and again, Blackburn surged forward only to be denied either through some stout defending by our back four or by Taylor, as the last line of defence. Even the late substitution of Andrew Whing as a precaution against a knock he picked up during the course of the game wasn’t enough to unsettle our defence and they did an excellent job at preserving the solitary goal our first half play had earned. Nonetheless, had we taken a number of chances that we managed to forge for ourselves as Blackburn threw its players forward in search of an equaliser, then we wouldn’t have needed to be so concerned about the possibility of conceding an equaliser. Heidar Helguson, on as a substitute for Peter Crouch, should have put the game beyond doubt mid-way through the second half, but failed to beat Kiraly when it mattered. Similarly, Crouch had had several opportunities one on one with Kiraly but failed to test the Hungarian keeper sufficiently. Still, three points on the road are very valuable and I’m glad to have picked them up today. Blackburn Rovers (4-4-2): Kiraly; Johansson (Tierney 62), McEveley, Biscan, Neill, Gamst Pedersen (Vandermieren 32), Savage ©, Douglas (Miller 62), Reid; Stead, Luis Garcia. Coventry (4-1-4-1): Taylor; Giddings, Dawson, Dunne, Whing (Collins 83); Gudjonsson; Goitom, Castrillon, Diouf (Addo 66), Barrett ©; Crouch (Helguson 66). Final score: Blackburn Rovers 0:1 Coventry MoM – Stuart Taylor After the game, a quick recalculation of the Premier League ladders sees us climb to ninth position, which is the highest position any club under my management has achieved. No wonder Mr McGinnity is so pleased! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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