EPL-Online 08 - Clan Thread

[adamc81]

Well I started the session in 10th and knew it was going to be pretty difficult for me to stay there with the fixtures that I had coming up.

I think its best to forget about the results that I had before the game crashed, thats done and dusted so on the reload it was a shortened session.

Portsmouth 0 - 0 Birmingham

Well this was probably the best attacking performance my team has put in all season, with some fantastic moves and great link up from my strikers. To have 37 shots at goal and not score one and describe it as fustrating would be ahuge understatement. I blame it on watching one of Jamie's matches last session because it must have rubbed off on me. VDV missed a host of one on ones making me wonder if my £10mil was well spent.

Chelsea 3 - 1 Portsmouth

My team wasnt really at the races from when the ref blew the whistle and it was only a matter of time before Drogba fired the Chavs ahead. Despite formation changes, and individual player intructions it did little to stem the Chelsea flow of chances, and 1 nil quickly became 2 and 3. My team was alot better after the break, and Jimmy Briand provided me with a brief glimpse of hope but in truth the game was lost in the first 30 minutes.

Liverpool 0 - 1 Portsmouth

With Liverpool playing a 5-3-2 under new boss Aguirre, and with Torres and Gerrard on the bench I fancied my chances and attacked Liverpool from the off. It was a tight game but all of the clear chances were coming the way of the men in blue so it was little suprise when Muntari played a beautiful throughball to VDV who run from 40yards clean through and calmly slotted the ball underneath the onrushing Reina. Crouch had a couple of chances late on but my team was pretty comfortable and never really looked like losing the lead.

Portsmouth 1 - 3 Arsenal

I had picked up a few injuries for this game, most notably Van Der Vaart and so my midfield consisted of Mihelic, Torje, Araujo and Vailatti, i feared for the worst. By the guys put up a good effort and were on top when Arsenal took the lead through Fabregas. Within a minute it was 0-2 through Adebayor and the writing was on the wall as Arsenal poured forward. Vailatti did manage to get a goal back on the 70min mark his 5th of the season as Pompey went 3 up top but a late 2nd goal from Fabregas shattered any chances of a comeback.

Transfers

On the transfer front, after considering bids for Hamann and Jagielka I decided to opt for a long term prospects and brought in the Mexican duo of Araujo and Esparaza who im hoping will be able ot become useful squad and backup players due to there versatility for around £3mil each. Lee Bowyer has also been brought in to add experience to the midfield, though he is only a short term measure and on a 6 month contract. Deals were also struck for Rangers prospect John Fleck and the talened keeper Enyeama who will come at the end of the season and I think will replace James as my number 1. I declined the chance to sign Sidwell as his wages were rediculously high at the 60k mark, money that can be saved and spent elsewhere.

On a separate note regarding the controversial Vagner Love transfer, Pompey also put in a bid but his wage demands were too high for a player that would not be an automatic starter. To be honest I thought he was fair game, once the session crashed and had to be restarted we all agreed that we should play on as normal, which actually worked out pretty well for me as I missed the beginning of the original session and was able to work on some of my targets. It also allowed me to pull out of deals that I put bids in at the end of Thursdays session including the deal of Mr Vagner Love.

[adamc81]

ok what do i keep doing wrong with my banners,lol

[TopToffee]

Adam - if you log into the photobucket account, all the banners are there, along with the correct code for putting them into your post. (the code you're looking for is the bottom one - labelled "IMG Code" - just click on it and it'll copy it to your clipboard.... then you can just paste it into your post)

[TopToffee]

i've emailed you details of the account.

[Saske]

After having lost three league games in a row, I decided it was time to ditch our old 4-1-4-1 counterattacking tactic and try out something new. I spent countless hours running simulations with various different formations, until I found one which I was hoping would allow me to keep my job a bit longer.

We also managed to scrounge some transfer funds off Randy Lerner. First order of business was to find a good right back to replace the worst signing of the season, Paulo Ferreira. I couldn't have been happier when we managed to convince Tottenham's right back Alan Hutton to join the team with the £5.5m deal all but finalized. The remaining funds are to be used on a left back or keeper.

Results:

Aston Villa 2 - 0 Reading

Things started out very well against Reading and the effect of the new tactic were evident from the start. The short passing style seems to be a perfect fit for our squad. Attacks were quick and crisp and most importantly, the three men on central midfield seemed to close down rival players on a much wider area, which helps to ease the workload of our useless full backs.

First half was all Villa and we were very unfortunate to have only 1-0 lead going into half-time. I don't know what Steve Coppell said to his players during half-time, but it certainly had a huge effect on their players. They had several good chances to equalize, but Sorensen, only on his 3th appearance of the season, didn't let anything get past him. We weren't let out of our misery until the very last minute of injury time, when Carew made it 2-0.

All in all a great result after a nerve-wracking second half. The fans were very pleased as well, which somewhat reduced my fears of getting sacked.

Sunderland 0 - 1 Aston Villa

The AI seemed to be intent on keeping me on the edge of my seat during every match. Another early goal from Fernandez gave us the lead, but despite countless chances, we failed to increase our lead. Craig Gordon managed to block each and every shot coming towards the goal and I was left waiting for the inevitable counterattack from which Sunderland would score. Fortunately, that attack never came and we got what the 3 important points that we deserved.

Blackburn 0 - 0 Aston Villa

Terribly frustrating match in which the underperforming Blackburn had barely any chances to score. We, on the other hand, had more than enough scoring opportunities to take home the win, or so I thought. Our wastefulness in addition to Friedel's amazing performance at Blackburn's goal kept the scoreline blank. Fernandez in particular missed several sitters and received a good talking after the match.

Aston Villa 2 - 1 Wigan

In their visit to Villa Park, Wigan never looked threatening. Agbonlahor opened the scoring by making a great run from right flank past Wigan's defenders and slotting the ball low past their keeper. That is the kind of stuff I'm hoping to see more from him once he gets adjusted to the new tactic. Shortly after, Fernandez increased the lead by scoring from a penalty kick.

We kept our comfortable lead right through to the final minutes of actual game time, when Wigan were awarded a corner kick. Much to my dismay, their player managed to jump above everyone also and headed the ball past Sorensen. After the goal, Wigan switched gears and almost caused me a heart attack when Heskey got clear through without a Villa defender in sight. Fortunately, Heskey panicked and made a poor long range shot which landed straight into Sorensen's arms.

Their other last gasp efforts missed the goal completely and we managed to end the session with another great result. Things are looking much better than four matches ago when my job security was insecure. However, the gap between me and Arsenal on 6th place is 9 points. If I'm to get the UEFA Cup spot I desire, I can't afford to draw or lose any more of these easy matches.

League standing: 8th

[rob110481]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Gdawg69:

I REPEAT, i did not unsettle bojinov, i didn't declare interest, and i never stated any admiration for him, i merely put him on my shortlist as he was in your reserves, and i was unaware he was in your plans. There was another team interested in bojinov and they declared interest, but because i was the bigger team interested in him, he stated my name.

first of all it said your name that was interested and only newcastle that were interested on his profile

and i did nothing to owen cause he did not want to move to city now lets forget abpout it and do talking on pitch in our league game lol

What you done was completely unfair. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

[TopToffee]

Game's up now for an 8pm start lads

[Andy H]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by adamc81:

ok what do i keep doing wrong with my banners,lol </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

All you do is right click your banner in this topic and go to properties. Copy and paste the location to your post using the little picture sign and it should come up fine. I mean I can't do it to every post you make with your banner after all.

[Saske]

1 win, 5 losses and 1 draw, Fernandez injured for 5 to 6 months, Young and Agbonlahor both out for 2 months. Way to break young man's heart FM

I'm keeping it short and simple because reliving last nights events is almost unbearable.

Results:

Aston Villa 3 - 1 Southampton / FA Cup 3rd round

These were simpler times. I thought we were unfortunate enough to face Southampton on one of those rare days when everything just seemed to click for them. The final score line was flattering for us.

Arsenal 1 - 2 Aston Villa / League Cup semi-final 1st leg

"Ah, that's more like it", I thought when we managed to get a decent result on the 1st leg of League Cup semi-final. We had the better chances and 2-2 wouldn't have been too much to ask. I was, however, happy with the result and was certain we would wrap things up at Villa Park.

Man Utd 5 - 0 Aston Villa

I was under no illusions when it was time to face Man Utd on their home turf. I was resigned to losing the match and anything more than that would be a huge, happy surprise. If only..

Before the half-time, both Young and Agbonlahor had picked up injuries, both of which I later learned would force them onto the sidelines for two months. We never looked dangerous whereas ManU kept scoring for fun. This match was well and truly a disaster.

Aston Villa 0 - 1 Newcastle

After the horrible result against Man Utd, the players needed a morale boost. What better way to do that than by scoring lots of goals against the Newcastle team crippled by injuries and the African Cup. No chance.

Carew was as wasteful as ever, managing to not score from upwards of 8 one on ones. Given was his usual self blocking everything that was thrown or kicked against him.

Aston Villa 1 - 2 Arsenal / League Cup semi-final 2nd leg

Luke Moore managed to score an early goal. We had the lead because of the away goal we scored at the Emirates. I could see it already: Aston Villa - Jamie's Everton at the League Cup final. It would've been magnificent.

But it wasn't meant to be. Arsenal scored two goals and my dreams were crushed. Arsenal's thugs also managed to beat my top goal scorer Matias Fernandez into such condition, that he's going to be bedridden for the next 5 to 6 months.

Newcastle 1 - 0 Aston Villa / FA Cup 4th round

Even with my top 3 players injured and the whole squad demoralized, I tried to stay positive. Our next game was against Newcastle after all. Even though we lost, we gave them a good whooping at Villa Park. Things couldn't be that much different at St James' Park, right? Wrong.

If I remember correctly, we didn't have a single shot on goal. Newcastle on the other hand had quite a few and one of those shots got past Sorensen. Fifth loss in a row and the team was playing worse than ever.

Aston Villa 2 - 2 Fulham

Things are going pretty badly when you're nervous confronting Fulham at your home stadium. Unfortunately, my nervousness was warranted as despite our domination, the game ended 2-2.

By then, the notes I took during the session consisted solely of various finnish expletives, so I cannot provide any further information about the events of this particular match.

During the last day of January transfer window, I begged and pleaded for Mr. Lerner to give me some dough to buy a decent left back. Surprisingly, Randy was in a giving mood and gave me £18,5m to spend as I saw fit. I bet he'll regret his generosity when he sees I wasted £10,5m on a mediocre player like Gareth Bale. Hah. That alone would be enough to fire me for incompetence.

Anyways, with tough matches against Everton (A), Tottenham (H) and Portsmouth (A) coming up, I'm really going to have a hard time keeping my job.

[Gdawg69]

Tis is an update for the whole of January and half of December

What a month and a half, i tell ye.

Well first off were the 3 home games against bottom half opposition Derby, Wigan and Bolton. WEll before the crash i won these games comfortably 2-0, 3-1 and 2-0 respectively, owen scoring 4 of those goals with martins chipping in with goals and assists.

I also signed vagner love for a bargain price of 2.7 million which would give me a formidable front line.

However after the crash is a completely different story.

Vagner Love went to Man City after a much increased wage offer of 77k per week, also Owen and martins were unsettled by Roma, with the manager of Man city throwing injury to insult by declaring interest and admiration for owen, now his morale is constantly poor and performances of 6 with no goals is not good enough from my best striker.

So as the games had to be replayed, First up was Derby.

Newcastle V. Derby County

I stuck with the same team who dominated before the crash. in the first few minutes of the game, important Right back Beye was injured...things going from bad to worse. The first half Newcastle had plenty of chances, but no goals, Owen being the main culprit, an on form Owen could have had a hattrick in the 1st half.

The 2nd half was much the same, except we managed to score a couple of goals, the first coming from martins on the right hand side of the box in the 54th minute, smashing in a great effort into the top left, leaving the keeper with no chance. Martins again scored in the 85th minute after finding himself space in the box from an N'Zogbia cross.

Martins and N'Zogbia both impressed in this game, with Owen having a poor game.

Newcastle V. Wigan

An unchanged side into this game. Hoping that Owen would find his feet. The score was opened by none other than obefami martins, another unstoppable strike on the 31st minute. However nothing went right after that, Wigan pressing our goals like it was a cup final. We managed to stay ahead and got to the break, Given once again being particularly impressive.

I decided to bring Smith on for the second half, adding a bit of bite in place of the tired Emre. But again there was chances for wigan, and they finally got they're equalizer on the 54th minute, Brown arriving late in teh box to finish part Given. Owen played terrible yet again, Ameobi coming on for the ineffective front man, but he could do nothing to get us the win.

result - 1-1

Given impressed in this match, and yet again Owen played a 6 with missed chances. I was beginning to get very worried.

Newcastle V Bolton

Butt was replaced into the midfield, Geremi at right back.

Bolton had the best of the 1st half and the scores went in at 1-1, unsure who scored.

2nd half Newcastle came out the traps and eventually got a winner through Martins, with another solo strike from the hitman.

A 2-1 win and another poor show from wen, when oh when will he find his form. I had to keep playing him to try and make him happy, that was my plan, but would this backfire at some point, i'm not sure.

Manchester Utd. V Newcastle

I didn't hold much hope for this game, my team was low on confidence including Martins by this point, i needed my strikers to be be on top form if i was to maintain pressure teams at the top of the league.

Taylor was injured in the opening minutes of this game, forcing me to bring on cacapa, who was to tightly mark rooney up front alone. Man utd were running riot, chance after chance they had but just couldnt find the finishing touch, then a shock to the books, on a counter attack Owen found himself one on one with the keeper, and managed to tuck it away. 1-0 Newcastle.

However it was not long til Man utd found the deserved equalizer trough a rooney strike. In the second half the increasingly frustrating Barton got caught dallying on the ball AGAIN, fletcher setting up Ronaldo for a chip over the keeper at the edge of the box with nothing on, it was a sublime goal, and nothing more than Man utd. deserved.

A 2-1 loss which could have been a bit more, Newcaslte never really threatened, and i would have to win my next league game against Man city.

Newcastle V. Charlton FA Cup 4th round

I made several changes to this side, only keeping Given, Martins and the left back on mostly. the young striker Carrol given a chance in front of Owen.

1st half was a pretty dire game, hardly any chances, both teams canceling each other out. I brung 3 changes on at half time as charlton began to be dangerous near the end of the 1st half. Milner and Butt on for the tired midfield, and Owen on to try and add class up front.

Newcastle opened the scoring from the young prodigy Carrol, Sidwell playing a ball over the top for Carrol to control, then finding a finish by the keeper. Charlton found an Equalizer late on with a powerful finish by the keeper.

1-1

Newcastle V. Man city

A massive rivalry had developed here, and both managers wanted to win their first encounter, unfortunately i was deservedly smashed in this game.

The whole of the game i was dominated, i just could not deal with Man City's obscure tactics, and ironically Vagner Love scored 2 of the 4 goals Man City smashed past me. This game was written in the stars, and theirs not much more i want to say in the matter, except 4 of my players got 5 ratings and 2 of them 4's. A rivalry set in stone indeed.

Charlton V. Newcastle FA cup 4th round replay

With all my Africans, martins and all of my right back options, leaving for the african nations, and wen also out for this game, i had a much depleted squad. Again Carrol started up front, this time as a lone striker as i tried a 4-3-2-1 formation.

It didn't work, carrol could not get the ball up front, and when i decided to replace him with sinclair, he got chances but put them wide or over every time.

In all honesty i should have been a man down in the 2nd half when delpierre was last man and committed a foul. however nothing was given, and it was in fact charlton who was put down to 10 men later in the half. Most of the chances had gone Charltons way, and to be honest i lost interest in the cup, my frustration with my team jsut growing to a peak.

The match went to injury time, and Newcastle somehow found a winner through the returning Steven Taylor, heading home from a corner.

Given yet again played immense, and without him these past few games, i would be out the cup, and a few less points in the league.

Aston Villa v. Newcastle

Another match against a human, and this time the much amiable saske and his aston villa team. He was another who used an obscure tactic, and to be honest iw as dreading laying against it, especially with a team bang out of form.

The 1st half there was not many chances, but it was Newcastle who went in ahead after a Milner freekick.

the 2nd half was a different story, and Aston Villa have every right to feel agreived, as they had chance after chance to pull back an equalizer and a winner. However neither moore nor Carew could find the net, Carew being particularly Awful in front of goal.

The game ended with a 1-0 win in Newcastle's favor, could this game kick start my league campaign again, i decided to praise my players, even though it was not thoroughly deserved.

Special note to Given again in goals, he has been a brick wall this season, and i do not look forward to the day i need to replace him.

Newcastle V. Aston Villa FA cup 5th round

Aston Villa up again, and a chance for Saske to reap some revenge.

this time the tie was much more even, with both teams having chances, probably Newcaste edging it. and again before the stroke of half-time, Newcastle found a goal through Michael Owen, chipping over the keeper from the edge of the box, a fantastic goal, and one that could spark the comeback of Michael Owen.

2nd half again chances went both ways, but no goals.

Newcastle are through to the next round.

after the game, special praise was given to Owen in order to raise his morale.

Newcastle V. Birmingham

For the first time Owen has a morale other than poor. I decided to place Allan Smith up front to partner Owen for the first time, as neither Ameobi or Sinclair was working.

Owen opened the scoring after 3 minutes, a goal that quick i did not get a chance to see it. Quikly afterwards Smith scored a penalty, and then Owen Scoring a rebound from his own shot made it 3-0 going into the break. This was the Newcastle of old, this was the form i had going into the 2nd session, and this is the form i want to carry on until the end of the season, and this is th form i want to be playing Man City in.

In the 2nd half Birmingham came back into it, missing a penalty but then oubina scoring a consolation goal.

However order was restored when Owen picked the ball up half way into the oppostiions half, ran left, and then cut inside by a player into the box, and placed a lovely finish into the top right hand side of the goal, a marvelous strike from Owen.

the only downside of this game beign that my assistant manager had to take over the game as there was a disconnection, and at the end of the game he upset all of my 1st team by giving them no credit...this could be a disaster and dejavu all over again....Owen even more unhappy??? we will have to find out next match.

transfer news

Sidwell and Makalelle signed from chelsea, with Sinclair coming in on loan to privide back up up front.

Ireland signed from rivals Man City, sun ji hai on loan from the same team. Morais was the biggest signing in the window, coming in as back up for either wing.

Lots of bids came in fro several players, Martins, Owen and N'Zogbia in particular. With both Owen and N'Zogbia now unsettled. But i have decided t keep them in hoping that getting a place in the champions league can convince them that Newcastle are on the right tracks and can become a big force in England again.

[Gdawg69]

that is gay, Adam how did you edit your post???

[TopToffee]

so few people, so many banner problems

[Andy H]

Anyone need a tutorial on how to get your banner to show first time?

[rob110481]

will start with transfers won't explain them just list them

ins:nordveit loan, boumsong loan, helguera 650k, huddlestone 6.5m

Outs: Distin 5m, ireland 1.7m, michael johnson loan, sun jihai loan

v wigan (h)

the 3rd round fa cup game did not have much happening in it thought it was goin to be a 0-0 but thankfully nugent scored in last minute of extra time into next round

final score: 1-0 win

v newcastle (a)

to start off not sure what obscure tactic is sonsidering i play 4-4-2 diamond formation but hey ho

this rivalry started after i snatched vagner love off newcastle i don't need to say much about this game but it was by far best performance my city side has put in all season we had chance after chance ripping open the newcastle defence time after time vagner netted first goal then another and m.petrov scored a stunner will wait to see if it got goal of the month and just before half time he scored again

the second half i controlled game comfortably and saw the game out

final score: 4-0 win

v birmingham (h)

will sum up this game easily had all of the game just loads of missed chances but a vagner love double on 9 and 12 mins sealed the game also lost geovanni for a month

final score 2-0 win

v derby (h)

fa cup 4th round not gonna say much again had loads of chances no goals derby have 1 attack in last minute and score i get knocked out really dissappointed

final score: 1-0 loss

v chelsea (a)

a really tough match which i started quite well and scored in 2 mins from vagner loves 5th goal in 4 games aj was back from injury

then chelsea took over for the whole match and scored 3 goals and deserved win

final score: 3-1 loss

final thought: really are missing yobo who was picked in nigeria squad for african nations the 2 games yobo has missed i ended up losing just hope nigeria get knocked out asap in a bad run now not the best form to face liverpool and arsenal in next 2 games got to try and get out bad patch hoping for better session on thursday

also had to battle to keep elano corlucka and petrov who i turned bids down from a host of top clubs all offers were not good enough i think to keep them i need to get a place in europe to keep them happy will have to see

[TopToffee]

Well, after a stressful last session, I was keeping my fingers crossed that things would run more smoothly tonight, both on and off the pitch (NO MORE DERBY WRECKING CRASHES DAMMIT!! )

vs. Wolves @ Goodison Park, (FA Cup), 05/01/08

With Arteta out injured, Steven Pienaar came into the side in his place. I also decided to try out a new formation in this match, and the team lined up in a sort of cross between a 4-5-1 and 4-3-3.

Whereas in the Carling Cup it had taken two set piece goals to dispose of Wolves, this match ended up far more straightforward, despite former Everton keeper Iain Turner's best efforts to make it otherwise. We opened the scoring after 35mins, Tim Cahill getting on the end of a Capel corner, chesting down and slamming the ball in at the nearpost.

The second goal, which effectively killed the tie, came 8mins after the halftime break, Steven Pienaar sliding in at the back post to turn home a Leighton Baines cross. And 16mins later, it was 3. Vaughan played a neat one-two with Leon Osman, and shot hard at goal, forcing a great save from Turner. Unfortunately, the young Scot could only parry the ball back into Vaughan's path, and he finished into an empty net.

NOTES: Richards, Baines, Pienaar, Capel and Cahill all put in good performances, but Iain Turner in the Wolves goal picked up the Man of the Match award. Leighton Baines picked up an injury which will keep him out of action for a few weeks.

FA Cup Draw

We picked up a home draw against Middlesborough for the 4th round, a tie which I will be very hopeful of winning. Other all-Premiership ties include:

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Man City vs Derby

Arsenal vs Sunderland

Birmingham vs Chelsea

Blackburn vs Reading

Newcastle vs Aston Villa</pre>

All told, a MINIMUM of 8 Premiership teams will be out of the Cup by the time the Fifth Round comes along.

TRANSFER NEWS

With our squad hit by injuries for really the first time this season, I aimed to bring in a couple of players on loan as cover. On 8th Jan, Duda came in from Sevilla as cover for Capel, while young Italian goalkeeping prospect Enrico Alfonso was snapped up for £420k. He was previously co-owned by Inter and Chievo.

vs. Man Utd @ Old Trafford, (Carling Cup Semi Final L1), 09/01/08

And so starts a 6 match run where I will play Manchester United three times, twice away, and once at home. This was probably our biggest match of the season so far - a Carling Cup Semi Final against one of our fiercest rivals. To say nothing of the fact that the League Cup probably represents our best chance of Silverware this season. Plus, with Saske's Aston Villa side in the other semi, the prospect of an all-human final was nothing less than mouthwatering.

With our defence stretched by the injury to Leighton Baines, Jagielka came in at centre back, and captain Joleon Lescott moved out to left back. Javier Mascherano was cup tied for this one, and Lorik Cana came into the side in his place.

This match started about as badly as is imaginable. Only 4 mins had passed when Tim Howard could do no more than parry Nani's shot into the path of Louis Saha, and the Frenchman had the simplest of tasks to tap the ball into the unguarded net.

Things went from bad to worse on 16mins, when Lescott tugged on Rooney's shirt, and the ex Evertonian collapsed to the floor as if shot. The foul occurred 25 yards from goal, but Joleon was contentiously judged to be the last man, and was shown a red card by referee Martin Atkinson.

I could see my plans for a trip to Wembley unravelling before my eyes. I brought off Lorik Cana and Phil Neville took up the left back spot, Manuel Fernandes shifting back to play a deeper lying role than before. I instructed the players to try to hit United on the break, and quite simply hoped for the best.

Gradually, I started to see us come into the game, worrying United from time to time at their end, while Tim Howard guarded our goal like a colossus, simply REFUSING to be beaten again. Then, on 35mins, it happened. Steven Pienaar broke down the right and made it to the byline before being tackled by Wes Brown. The loose ball broke to Cahill on the left hand corner of the penalty area and he chipped a beautifully flighted ball to the back post where Fred had stolen a yard on Ferdinand, and the Brazilian rose imperiously to plant his header into the bottom corner.

The away end erupted at this massive goal. The job was far from done however. We made it to half time at 1-1, and I told the lads that they were doing themselves proud, and to keep it up. As the second half began, United poured forward, but their shooting was somewhat inaccurate. Time after time they blasted shots over the bar or wide. When their efforts were on target, Tim Howard was equal to the task - seeming to take particular delight in denying Rooney time and time again, including one fantastic reaction save after the England striker had shot from just four or five yards.

I could see Man Utd starting to tire towards the end, as wave after wave of their attacks crashed and foundered on our solid defence. Near the end, I cheekily sent on James Vaughan, in the hope of MAYBE snatching a late winner, but that was not to be. The match finally ended without further scoring - a FANTASTIC result which gives us hope for the return leg at Goodison.

NOTES: A Man of the Match performance from Tim Howard today, and a good showing from the goalscorer Fred. Lescott's sending off means he will miss the match against bottom of the table Blackburn.

vs. Blackburn @ Ewood Park, 12/01/08

Phil Neville came in for the suspended Joleon Lescott and took up the captain's armband. Mascherano returned after being cuptied for the Man Utd game.

Blackburn came into this match with an absolutely WRETCHED record, having picked up just 9 points from 21 games. And it showed. While they're not a bad side going forwards, their defence is almost non-existant, and this match was over within the first half hour.

First, on 13mins, after a slight scramble from a corner, Manuel Fernandes slipped the ball to an unmarked Tim Cahill inside the Blackburn 6 yard box, and the Aussie made no mistake in blasting the ball past Brad Friedel. Five minutes later, the lead was doubled. Fernandes again the provider, playing a beautiful through ball which Fred raced onto. Though his first effort was stopped by Friedel, the rebound fell straight to the Brazilian, and he rounded the prone keeper and slotted home.

Only a further 4 mins had ticked by, and we were three goals up. A DREADFUL mix up in the Blackburn defence gifted the ball to Fred, and he accepted willingly, hammering the ball into the bottom corner, past the despairing dive of Friedel, who absolutely berated his defenders, and rightly so.

On 27mins, the match was over, When Pienaar got his foot to a misdirected Fernandes shot, showing great instinct to direct it towards goal and past the frustrated Friedel. The result was well decided now - settled by 4 goals in a 16min period of dire Blackburn defending. We rather took our foot off the pedal from here on out. The 3 points were in the bag, and we had much bigger games coming up soon.

There was time for one more goal apiece. On 71mins, Roque Santa Cruz got his head to a David Bentley corner and nodded home, before Matteo Ferrari did much the same at the other end, burying a thumping header from a Capel set piece for his first goal for the club, thus restoring the 4 goal cushion.

NOTES: Great performance from pretty much the whole team, especially in the first half. Special mention to MOTM Fred, who notched his 9th and 10th goals of the season.

TRANSFER NEWS

Another loan signing (and probably our final piece of business in the January window) signed in, promising Spanish youngster Juan Manuel Mata from Valencia.

vs. Wigan @ Goodison Park, 19/01/08

Lescott returned to the side in place of Jagielka, who dropped to the bench. Osman came in for Pienaar who picked up a slight knock in the Blackburn game.

The was a good, solid, straightforward win. Tim Cahill got us going, arriving late with a glancing header from Capel's corner after 24mins. Four minutes after halftime, and substitute James Vaughan doubled the lead, racing onto Joleon Lescott's through ball and placing a controlled shot past Kirkland.

Lescott himself tied up the points with 20mins remaining, with a header very similar to Tim Cahill's opener, again from an excellent Diego Capel corner. Unfortunately, 2mins later, Paul Scharner was able to notch a consolation goal for Wigan, turning neatly in the box and lashing the ball into the roof of our net.

NOTES: Good performances from Capel, Cahill, Mascherano, Vaughan and MOTM Joleon Lescott. VERY unfortunately, James Vaughan picked up a damaged elbow 12mins from time, and will miss the remainder of January.

vs. Man Utd @ Goodison Park, (Carling Cup Semi Final L2), 23/01/08

Well, this was the big one. Once again the cup tied Mascherano dropped out to be replaced by Cana. In better news, Sergio Aguero, our record signing, was passed fit to take a place on the bench.

Both sides started the match nervously, seemingly feeling each other out, probing for weaknesses. And then, on 16mins, a moment of brilliance broke the deadlock and kicked the match into life. Manuel Fernandes tenaciously won the ball from Hargreaves in midfield, advancing towards goal via a one-two with Fred. The Portuguese international appeared to have taken the ball to wide, but let fly with a thunderous shot, the ball searing past van der Sar from a seemingly impossible angle.

The tension seemed to lift from both sides, and the players set about each other with renewed vigour. However, in spite of all the effort, there were no more goals in the first half, and we went in for the break with the upper hand. I told the lads to remain steady, that we were nearly there.

Sadly, the nerves seemed to get to them, and just 2mins into the second period, United were level. At the visitors broke, Rooney forced a good save out of Howard,and the rebound dropped to Fletcher, who had been playing out of his skin all match, to fire home a simple finish.

There was a packed house inside Goodison, but it was plunged into near silence as the ball hit the back of the net. Surely we had lost our chance now? With the scores tied, the Mancs seemed favourites to come out on top...

But then.... GOALLLLLL!!! Phil Jagielka had only been on the pitch for 2mins when he reacted first to a goalmouth scramble, prodding the ball home to put us back in the lead! Sadly, the lead lasted only 5mins, and Phil Jagielka turned from hero to villain in an instant, mistiming his headed clearance and glancing the ball into his own net, with Tim Howard helpless to stop it.

United now led on away goals, which would count AET. Both sides were starting to look tired. I threw Sergio Aguero in, and his running and skillful dribbling seemed to revitalise my side. Man Utd however were always a threat, and it took an exceptional save to deny Ronaldo after a mazy dribble. The clock ticked down towards the end of 90mins, and I looked over to the fourth official... 4mins injury time. A roar went up around Goodison, URGING their heroes onwards.

But it was United who perhaps looked the more likely to score: Rooney, Ronaldo, Giggs and Scholed combined in a flowing move, but Jagielka made a last ditch tackle to keep them at bay. The four minutes were up. I was desperate to get my boys in for a (hopefully rousing ) team talk. 4mins 30seconds and STILL no whistle. Manuel Fernandes picked the ball up 40 yards from goal, and saw van der Sar off his line... he chips it... the goalkeeper back peddling, lunges desperately... and JUST tips the ball over the bar.

One last chance perhaps? Capel goes over to take the corner, 95mins on the clock, and everyone except Phil Neville goes up. Capel, steps up... swings the ball in. Tim Cahill, arrives late... he's free of his marker! He jumps..... GOOOOAAAALLLLL!!!! Cahill scores!! The noise is DEAFENING! Cahill is mobbed by his team mates as the United players collapse to the floor, heads in hands. The stewards around the pitch are holding people back.

There is barely time to kick off again before the referee blows his whistle, and we've done it. We're going to the New Wembley, where we'll face Arsenal (unlucky Saske )... Another tough test, but that's for another day. For now, we celebrate.

NOTES: A heroic performance, with Fernandes, Cahill and MOTM Tim Howard particularly impressive. Richards will be suspended for 1 match after picking up his 10th yellow of the campaign.

vs. Middlesborough @ Goodison Park, (FA Cup 5th Rd), 26/01/08

Mascherano returns, and Hibbert steps in for Richards, while Aguero makes his first start upfront in place of Fred.

After the huge accomplishment 3 days earlier, there was a DEFINITE hangover here, as we played out a lacklustre 0-0 draw against Boro, setting up a replay on 6th Feb at the Riverside.

NOTES: A weak performance all round, though it still took excellent showings from their two centre backs along with a MOTM performance from Mark Schwarzer to keep us at bay for 90mins.

vs. Man Utd @ Old Trafford, 29/01/08

And so, back to the "Theatre of Dreamsâ„¢", for yet another encounter with Alex Ferguson's side. Tim Cahill looked tired before this one, so he went to the bench, while Sergio Aguero dropped to playing just behind Fred. Micah Richards returned in Hibbert's place, while Neville still stood in for the injured Baines.

Another match against Man Utd, another bad start. 15mins gone this time when Ryan Giggs got onto a Vidic long ball and advanced down the left, swinging in a dangerous cross which Wayne Rooney headed in after a well timed run. Rooney sprinted along the touchline to the Everton fans, kissing the Man Utd badge and celebrating wildly. To say the least, this added spice to an atmosphere which already had plenty.

For the next 25mins, the game was very even, both sides having chances, and both keepers performing well. Then, on 41mins, after a neat ball from Aguero, Mascherano received the ball on the edge of the box, and shaped to shoot. Two defenders rushed to close him down, but instead of letting fly, he squared the ball to Phil Jagielka (on for the injured Micah Richards) who let fly with a shot of such ferocity I thought it would tear the net clean off. The ball arrowed into the top corner, beating van der Sar at his near post before he even had a chance to move. The away section bellowed and I was rather satisfied to see the disappointed look on Wayne Rooney's face. The rest of the half played out without incident and the players went in all square.

At half time, Duda came on for the tiring Leon Osman, and the players were sent out with a request for "more of the same". However, once AGAIN, Man Utd hit us shortly after the break, this time on 55mins. Wayne Rooney's 25 hard shot cannoned off the right hand post and bounced straight to Tevez's feet, and "Carlitos" finished comfortably.

2-1 down and with about 30mins left, I brought on Tim Cahill for Fred, and Aguero switched to upfront. Cahill's effect was immediate, his energy and aggression unsettling the United backline. Within a few minutes, we were level... and what a goal. Mascherano dispossessed Wayne Rooney about 35 yards out, and looked up, spotting van der Sar off his line - but not by much. Mascherano let loose an impudent chip with his left foot, and I was about to scream at his wastefulness, until the ball floated over the backpedalling keeper and dropped into the net. A REAL wondergoal.

Suddenly we were on the front foot, pressing and harrying when United were in possession, slick and threatening when we were. For 15mins we applied pressure until finally, with 12mins remaining, it paid off. Cahill closed down Ferdinand in the United area and won the ball, laying it back to Mascherano 25 yards out. His appetite for goals seemingly whetted, he unleashed a FEROCIOUS swerving, dipping driver which flew past van der Sar an into the top corner.

3-2!!! It had been nearly 16 years since Everton last won at Old Trafford, and here we were, only 12mins away. But once more the balance of the game shifted, and United threw everything they had at us. We repelled wave after wave of red shirts, Ferrari and Lescott indomitable at the back.

But then, as the game moved into the last seconds of injury time, Wayne Rooney broke away, and lofted the ball over the onrushing Howard... it was going in, the equalising goal... bouncing inexorably over the line, until, from nowhere, Joleon Lescott hurled himself towards his own goal and hooked the ball acrobatically off his own line. The Man Utd players celebrated as the referee blew his whistle, and my players looked heart broken. Then, in an instant, the expressions were reversed as the entire stadium realised that it was the full time whistle! We had won at Old Trafford! I sprinted onto the pitch to be with my players as we celebrated by far our toughest single match victory of the season.

NOTES: Ferrari and Lescott were IMMENSE today - they seem to be developing a good understanding. Capel, Aguero and Jagielka were also great, but MOTM of course went to Javier Mascherano whose tigerish tackling (oh, yeah, and TWO stunning goals) won this game for us.

League Position: 6th

UP NEXT:

Aston Villa (H)

Middlesborough (A)

Fulham (A)

Shakhtar (H)

Shakhtar (A)

Arsenal (N) - CARLING CUP FINAL

[TopToffee]

Premier League Table - 01/02/08

Championship Table

[adamc81]

Well what can I say, it was one bad session for me and the Pompey chimes. Both in terms of performances and number of games played. The January window really did drag and made me wish that I hadn't tried to tie up all of my upcoming deals by the end of December.

Think I played 4 matches in some 5 hours, it did'nt really bother me that I lost 3 of them was just nice to have a match.

In all honesty the downtime was to my detrement as I tried tinkering with all manners for formations and tactics which in the end ultimately cost me this session. I'll try to recall what happened.

Reading 3 - 1 Portsmouth

Close match, Briand gave me the lead with a crisp first time shot only for Lita to equalise before half time. My team was playing quite well so decided to go for the win but suffered 2 goals in injury time, 90th and 93rd minute respectively.

Portsmouth 2 - 4 Sunderland

I looked great going forward but absolutely toss at the back. Briand and Baros got my goals but without Samba at the back I look extremely fragile

Portsmouth 2 - 0 Colchester

Pretty easy game against Lower league oppositon in the cup. Menez grabbing both goals for me on his return from injury

Blackburn 6 - 5 Portsmouth

Well it was quite the game! and thats quite the understatement. Both teams with appauling defensive records went for it from the off and produced one of the most exciting games of the season even if it certainly wasnt the most skillful. Blackburn ended the game with 18 shots on target, with Pompey 21. To be honest I cant remember the Blackburn scorers or even all of mine but I do recall Van Der Vaart getting a hatrick in what was his best match to date.

At one point I was 4-1 down in the match, but managed to get back to 4-4, only for Blackburn to take the lead once one. I decided to really go for it and from kick off I equalised and was 5-5. In hindsight I probably should have gone a little more defensive as both teams were playing with pretty much 4 in attack and 3 in defence. A deciding goal was always going to come, unforunately for me it went in Blackburns favour.

I did manage to bring in a the defender Dervitte after the match in the window, but that was the end of my spending.

My Mid season thoughts

I started off well but am beginning to tail off, I thought I built a strong squad but the African Nations has hit me harder than I thought and made me wish that I had brough in a couple of old hands to help steady the ship. Long term injuries to all of defensive midfielders really hasnt helped and I have had to try and develop new formations.

I have a good amount of prospects in there, added with a few class players such as Diarra, Utaka, Van der Vaart, Menez and Briand. The problems is all of them need to be playing or I dont seem able to get the result.

Whether I am able to keep my job going into next season to develop the promising youth is debatable as Pompey are losing touch with 10th place. Only a good cup run might save me, and with a home tie against Plymouth in the 5th round it could well be a job decideding match.

I won't be playing in tonights session, but have left instructions with my assistant Tony Adams to play a 4-5-1 formation so we can try and keep it tight and pick up some much needed points. My job is in your hands Mr Adams.

[adamc81]

oh and Andy H, you do know that I was trying to make you feel important and make you really feel part of our online game experience with regards to my failing banners don't you, its just a coincidence that I can do them properly now after your informative post

[TopToffee]

Alright lads...

just a quick note before tonight's session.

Can everyone download the patch beforehand if you get a chance, but NOT install it... cos we'll all need to be sure that we've all got it installed so that the game works

catch you later

[rob110481]

hope every 1 does install it to see if things ahve been fixed properly

[TopToffee]

not til we make sure EVERYONE'S got it!

[Saske]

Things got even worse.

Results:

Everton 3 - 0 Aston Villa

Everton gave us a good whooping. In all fairness, they probably deserved to win by an even larger margin.

Aston Villa 1 - 1 Tottenham

Even match which ended in a draw. Nothing much else to say.

Portsmouth 2 - 1 Aston Villa

We faced Portsmouth's assistant manager Tony Adams for the second time this season and again he tactically outclassed me.

Aston Villa 1 - 2 Middlesbrough

Was hoping to finally get my players morale up, but Middlesbrough was so much better that it's not even funny. Own goal by Boro's Rochemback gave us the lead, but it was all downhill from there.

With my job security being 'Very insecure', our next match away against West Ham will probably be my last in charge if we lose. We haven't won in 11 matches, so I'm not too optimistic :O

Signed Asamoah Gyan, who will arrive on summer for a fee of £13m to be paid over 24 months.

[Andy H]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by adamc81:

oh and Andy H, you do know that I was trying to make you feel important and make you really feel part of our online game experience with regards to my failing banners don't you, its just a coincidence that I can do them properly now after your informative post </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Well done Adam, it's only taken what a couple of weeks.

[TopToffee]

Haven't got time to do a full writeup of this session, which is a real shame (from my point of view) because it was arguably my best yet.

Nonetheless, here goes a quick run down of results...

Everton 3 - 0 Aston Villa

Sergio Aguero with 2 goals, and 1 from Fred complete a good win over Saske's Villa side. Got my fingers crossed for you over the job mate.

vs. Middlesborough 1 - 3 Everton - FA Cup

A victory in the replay thanks to one goal a piece from Aguero, Cana and Ferrari (who's looking an absolute STEAL in the January sales...) Through to a 5th round tie against Fulham.

Fulham 0 - 3 Everton

Two more goals from Sergio Aguero, the lad's in GREAT form at the moment. Third goal scored by Fred, off the bench.

Everton 1 - 1 Shakthar - UEFA Cup 1st KO L1

Fred equalises Rat's free kick, but the draw at home leaves me a LOT to do in the return leg.

Fulham 1 - 2 Everton - FA Cup 5th Rd

Fernandes and Osman get the goals to send us through to face Reading. A much tougher game than the same tie a week earlier, but thankfully the same result.

Shakhtar 1 - 1 Everton - UEFA Cup 1st KO L2

Aguero scored after just 4mins, but Shakhtar equalised 10mins from time, and there were no goals in Extra time. Howard was the HERO however in the shootout, saving 3 out of 4 spot kicks, sending us through to face Spurs.

Arsenal 2 - 1 Everton - Carling Cup Final

Devastated with this result. We matched Arsenal throughout the match, but conceded 2 goals very early through a couple of mistakes. Fred pulled one back with 10mins to go, and despite pressing, we couldn't equalise.

Everton 1 - 0 Newcastle

Back to the Premiership, and a MASSIVE 3pts against Gareth's Newcastle. The winner was an absolute STUNNER of a goal from Fred. We struck a HUGE blow in the fight for Champions League football next season with this win.

Everton 4 - 1 Tottenham

The first of 3 matches in 11 days against Spurs. A straightforward win, goals from Fred (2), Lescott and Ferrari. Jenas struck for Spurs.

Everton 2 - 0 Tottenham - UEFA Cup 2nd KO, L1

An early Woodgate o.g and an excellent volley from Leon Osman gave us the upper hand in this tie.

[/b]Reading 1 - 3 Everton[/b] - FA Cup 6th Rd

Fred and Capel put us 2 goals up in the first half. Lita got one back for Reading with 25 to go, but Aguero killed the match with a third goal in the dying moments.

Session Roundup

Can't complain about that session. The Carling Cup Final loss was obviously hard to take - especially after such an amazing result in the Semi Final. But I'm still in both the UEFA Cup and the FA Cup, so there's still hope of silverware.

I ended the session in 5th place in the Premiership, only 5pts behind the leaders, and with a game in hand on Man Utd (1st) and Man City (3rd). The title is a long shot, but I'm actually heading up the form table, and have notched up 9 straight wins since losing to Arsenal in late December. 27 points from 27, and only 5th though... kinda shows JUST how bad my start to the season was. If I AM going to achieve anything in the league, I need a good run of results over the next 5 matches, because the final 5 include meetings with Man City, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal.

UP NEXT:

Tottenham (A) - UEFA Cup

Middlesborough (H)

Portsmouth (A)

West Ham (A)

Derby (H)

Bolton (A)

[TopToffee]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Tomo2k4:

Any room in your clan please guys? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

not at the moment, sorry.

[rob110481]

this will be quick didn't take any notes and forgot what happened

v liverpool (h)

first game with new patch noticed a few differences

i went 1-0 down to torres then came a corner for me never scored a corner on this fm 08 cause they were all disallowed but dunne scored from corner 1-1

second half and torres scored again from an awful back pass then dunne scored again from a corner 2-2 then nugent scored to put me in lead then last minute m.petrov scored to seal the game

final score 4-2 win

v arsenal (a)

same has chelsea game earlier i scored first and vagner love scored the goal again

then second half arsenal got 3 goals then last minute vagner scored again in stoppage time

final score 3-2 loss

v reading (h)

comfortable win at eastlands here aj back in goals scored the first then dunne from a corner

second half vagner love scored then aj with another and reading got a late consollation goal

final score 4-1 win

v sunderland (a)

this was the worst match in my career so far i dominated from start just couldn't score

second half things got a little better huddlestone scored from a corner his first since transfer then it went wrong conceded from an indirect free kick then elano with a back pass from half way line for no reason into the path of stokes and he scored in stoppage time

final score 2-1 loss

v blackburn (h)

straight forward game vagner love 39 mins

final score 1-0 win

summary good home session poor away just hope i can continue doin well onwards to sunday

[Gdawg69]

A brief overview...this session was Pants.

Fulham v. Newcastle

A game i should have won, a game i didn't win, a game i didn't even draw.

not sure what to make of this one, possibly morale, possibly inconsistency, possibly down to certain performances, i'm not yet sure. I had plenty of chances to wrp this one up, but a faltering owen once again, up front with the not greatly adequate ameobi proved to be a downfall. Martins was of course still on international duty so ameobi came into to prove his worth for a place, he had been making noises in the press about lack of opportunity, so i decided he was motivated enough to start.

He opened the scoring. However fulham scored a goal in the 2nd half to equalize, and then with 5 minutes remaining, Smertin of all people scored a long range piledriver in the bottom corner...victory stole from my grasp.

Score: 2-1 loss

Newcastle V. Chelsea

A match i was not looking forward to, especially after the last result.

I made a change and brought Faye into the midfield to add a bit of strength and grit.

well to my surprise, we opened the scoring, the off form Owen slotting past on rushing Cech. It didn't stop there, Chelsea restarted from the kick off and the ball was immediately stole on the half way line as we bore towards goal, Owen once again slotting past Cech on the 2nd attempt.

In the 2nd half we added to our lead with a Faye free kick. Chelsea came back into it after scoring from a corner, terry getting the decisive touch. It was back to the wall stuff with 10 minutes remaining, but we held out until the 93rd minute, anelka picking the ball up on then half way line, carrying forward then thundering an unstoppable shot 25 yards out past Given.

the game finished 3-2 and i was delighted.

Newcastle V. Nottingham Fa cup

A straightforward game, i put the team out and let the assistant take care of the match. A 3-1 win was the result

Everton V. Newcastle

I was fearing this game as much as the Chelsea one, i did not have the ebst record against human opponents, and i knew everton were in good form.

A close match,. Everton having the better chances i think. But my defense, and especially Given were on form. However in the 2nd half when i was beginning to think i could sneak a goal, fred robbed enrque and smashed a stunning goal from distance past Given.

1-0 loss

Newcastle V. Liverpool

Actually had the best of this game, and scored the opener through Martins.

Liverpool eventually equalized, but the chances were there for me to take the game.

More dropped points in my opinion as we drew 1-1

Portsmouth v. Newcastle FA cup

was put out the FA cup in this match. Portsmouth winning 2-1, a direct thrugh ball from the keeper on to their lone striker cut open my 2 centre backs and he was able to finish past Given.

gutted.

well a poor session in my opinion, only 3 points coming from chelsea. Dropped down 3 places in the league to 7th, Liverpool 10 points behind in 8th.

[TopToffee]

Alright lads...

Just a quick note. The session that was supposed to be cancelled tonight is now back on.

Stevo, Adam, can you get in touch with me asap just to let me know you've got this message. Cheers

J

[TopToffee]

bleh... seems people didn't get the de-cancellation message, so we're OFF again...

tomorrow at 8pm, definitely though

[Saske]

After 11 matches without a victory, it was make it or break it time for me. With consecutive matches against Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal coming up, I had to get a good result or two from the next five matches. Low morale has been our biggest problem, but fellow manager Adam was kind enough to remind me that an easy reserve match would be just the thing to boost our unhappy players' spirits. Thanks for the tip Adam

Results:

West Ham 0 - 1 Aston Villa

Things started out relatively well with a great performance away against West Ham. Unfortunately, our strikers couldn't score to save their lives and Ashton's fluke of a goal during 2nd half ended up being the only one of the game. Unlucky.

Aston Villa 1 - 1 Derby

A draw was all we deserved after a lazy effort against Derby. This was yet another match we should've won, but again an underperforming side managed to hold their own against us at our home stadium.

Bolton 1 - 1 Aston Villa

I was certain I was one loss away from getting sacked. Completely out of ideas, I decided to let my assistant manager Massimo Neri take over the reigns for the away match against Bolton. As hard as it is to admit, he probably did better than I would've by getting a valuable point from this tough match.

Aston Villa 2 - 1 Man City

Rob was kind enough to earn himself a touchline ban for their match against us. We did very well in our first encounter against Man City earlier in the season and with AJ out of commission and my players morale finally at ok levels, I was surprisingly optimistic.

We started the match very well, with plenty of decent scoring chances. Then disaster struck. Man City was given a free-kick from just outside the box. Petrov didn't let the chance go to waste and we were 0-1 down. Despite the goal, we kept running things on the pitch and had plenty of half-decent chances.

It took a while, but on the 2nd half Moore managed to break free place a beautiful shot into the bottom corner. There were 30 or so minutes left of the match and we kept pushing for the winning goal. City had their chances, but the lack of Andrew Johnson showed. Time was running out and I had lost hope and accepted the fact that this was going to be our 15th match without a win. Fortunately, the players were still going strong and during the last few minutes a the ball somehow ended up into City's 6 yard box. The ball kept bouncing around, eventually landing on Agbonlahor's feet who somehow managed to kick the ball into the back of the net.

Woohoo! I swear I've never been so happy winning a match on FM. Because of the result, I have a decent chance of keeping my job even if we lose the upcoming three tough matches and it served as an important morale booster before the match against our fiercest rivals, Birmingham.

Birmingham 0 - 2 Aston Villa

The second city derby against Birmingham was my chance to win back the fans' support. Our players didn't let the fans down and it was clear from the get-go that we were going to win this match. The first goal came when Makinwa played a great one-two with Moore and proceeded to score his first goal for Villa. Birmingham never looked threatening and Barry's goal from a penalty kick sealed the deal.

Aston Villa 1 - 2 Chelsea

If it wasn't for Reo-Coker's moment of madness, we could've easily gotten something out of this match. Chelsea were awarded a dubious penalty, which displeased Reo-Coker who proceeded to earn himself a second yellow card for arguing with the ref. Even 0-1 down and with 10 men, we didn't make things easy for Chelsea. All in all I was quite happy even though we lost 1-2.

With 4 or 5 matches left, we are on 9th place. Euro competition spot is already out of our reach and the rest of the matches serve little purpose other than winning back the boards trust. However, winning our next match against Liverpool on 8th place would give us a small chance to overtake them on the league table, giving us a chance to participate in Intertoto Cup (?) and perhaps win a place in UEFA Cup.

[Saske]

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

West Ham 0 - 1 Aston Villa </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

1-0! Sheesh, I should really proofread these things better.

Yay for tonights extra session. Can't wait to get this horrid season over with

[TopToffee]

Tottenham 2 - 4 Everton - UEFA Cup 2nd KO, L2

Good win here against Spurs. Fred put us one up after 5mins, but goals from Malbranque and Defoe gave Tottenham hope. Six minutes before halftime, that hope was snuffed out, as Fred headed in from a corner to give us two away goals and pretty much settle the tie.

In the second half, I gave a debut to young José Baxter. Only just 16, but labelled as "the new Wayne Rooney"... And the boy didn't disappoint. On 82mins Phil Jagielka chipped the ball to Baxter on the edge of the D, and the England U-19 international let it drop over his shoulder before volleying past Vilar and into the top corner. "Remember the name... José Baxter!!" There was still time for Sergio Aguero to complete the win, ghosting in at the far post to nod in a Capel cross from the left.

So we're through to the Quarter Final, where we'll face FC København for a spot in the Semis.

Everton 5 - 0 Middlesborough

The lads celebrated our progression to the UEFA Cup final by absolutely hammering a poor Boro side. Ferrari put us into the lead after 15min, and a pair of goals either side of halftime from Fred secured the points. Then Joleon Lescott smashed home a pile driver after 53mins. On 58, Aguero was fouled in the box, and our usual penalty taker Mikel Arteta handed the ball to Fred, who calmly stroked the ball home to complete the rout, and his hattrick.

Portsmouth 2 - 2 Everton

Our streak of 10 consecutive Premier League wins finally came to an end, but we were able to avoid defeat against a tough Pompey side. A couple of DREADFUL pieces of defending allowed Jimmy Briand to score twice in the first half, while Fred got one back for us, chesting a cross from Capel in between two defenders and slamming the ball into the top corner. We played far better in the second half, and finally got our reward on 70mins when Cahill was tripped in the box, and Fred stepped up to fire in the penalty, making it 5 goals in 2 games for the Brazilian.

Could have REALLY done with a win here in our game in hand, the race for 4th place is amazingly tight, but a draw wasn't the end of the world either, and was pretty much a fair result for a tightly contested match.

West Ham 2 - 0 Everton

HUGE game here against a Hammers side really pushing hard for 4th place. Thankfully a goal in each half from record signing Aguero was enough to get us the three points, despite a couple of late scares. Unfortunately, Manuel Fernandes picked up a knock, and he'll miss a couple of weeks.

Everton 3 - 1 Derby

Hard fought win against a Derby team who surprisingly look almost certain to avoid the drop. A goal on the stroke of halftime from Mikel Arteta gave us the lead, before Fred kept up his excellent goalscoring form on 68mins, curling home a great finish from the edge of the box. Derby gave us a scare on 84mins, David Jones getting free at a corner and heading in. Thankfully, Mikel Arteta made the game safe in the final minute, striking a marvellous freekick from the edge of the box, which the Derby keeper had no chance of getting near.

FC København 1 - 4 Everton - UEFA Cup Qtr Final, L1

What looked like a potentially tricky match went better than I really could have hoped. Two early strikes from Aguero, and second half finishes from Fred and James Vaughan gave us what should be a COMFORTABLE lead (not to mention 3 away goals) going into the second leg at Goodison.

Portsmouth 1 - 3 Everton @ Wembley, FA Cup Semi Final

The first half of this match against Pompey was less than impressive, with Jimmy Briand giving them the lead after just 10mins. The rest of the first period was equally poor from our point of view, and Portsmouth were somewhat unfortunate not to add to their lead. I tore into my players at half time, telling them that I knew they were capable of far better than this, and expected them to show it.

It seemed to work. We looked a different side after the break, getting in and about Pompey from the whistle. On the hour mark, we got back in the game, Cana fount Arteta on the edge of the box, and the Spaniard's placed finish was just out of David James's reach. The goal seemed to spur us on still further, and Fred added to the lead 10mins later, beating Araujo to a Capel cross, and heading in at the near post. On 76mins, we made the result safe, Joleon Lescott powering a header home from an Arteta corner.

So, our excellent knockout competition form this season continues, and we book another date at Wembley, this time to face Chelsea in what will be a VERY tough final. Hopefully we'll get the rub of the green.

Everton 3 - 0 FC København - UEFA Cup Qtr Final, L2

With such a comfortable lead from the first leg, I decided to rest some first team players, and Vaughan, Pienaar, Jagielka, Mata, Foster and youngster Jack Rodwell all came into the starting lineup. I must say they performed VERY impressively. 17 year old Rodwell in particular and on loan Juan Manuel Mata were excellent. Goals from Lescott, Cana and Mata (who also set one up) completed a very comfortable 7-1 aggregate victory, taking us through to a Semi Final tie with Fiorentina.

Everton 3 - 0 Man City

I was somewhat fortunate here that the other lads wanted to play on for one final game in this session, leaving me to face Rob's assistant manager in this match. I think my well-rested first XI PROBABLY would have had enough to see off City, but not having to deal with Rob's tactical talents certainly made me a little less nervous.

All three goals came in the 2nd half, with Aguero, the returning Manuel Fernandes and Mikel Arteta notching strikes after 68, 74 and 90mins respectively. City had a couple of good chances themselves, with Andy Johnson getting through on goal twice, forcing good stops from Tim Howard.

Session Roundup

A perfect session from my point of view, with the exception of the 2-2 draw with Pompey - but when you defend a striker of Briand's quality so badly, you can't expect to win matches. With 5 still to play, I'm sitting in 4th place with a game in hand on the 2 teams below me, but NOT on those above - two of whom I have to play before the end of the season.

I've got a VERY tough run-in in the league, and of course a difficult UEFA Cup tie against Fiorentina. 4th place is a BIG thing now, especially with Liverpool out of the Champions League at the hands of Inter. The next two matches against Bolton and Birmingham are really must wins if I want to hold onto a CL spot.

UP NEXT:

Bolton (A)

Birmingham (A)

Fiorentina (H) - UEFA Cup SF

Chelsea (H)

Fiorentina (A) - UEFA Cup SF

Liverpool (A)

Arsenal (H)

Chelsea (N) - FA Cup Final

[TopToffee]

Just to remind everyone... the start will be at the later time of 9pm tonight.

See you all then.

[Gdawg69]

double session whammy here.

A quick summary of all my games in the past 2 sessions, and then a summary of signings.

Newcastle v. Arsenal

Well another dropped points here as we lost 3-1. Couldn't complain, arsenal cut through us like they do most teams this season.

Portsmouth v. Newcastle

I lost my prior match to them in the last session, so things were not looking up. Portsmouth opened scoring in an even first half that portsmouth edged in retrospect.

Changed tactics in the 2nd half and that sparked a fightback which resulted in scoring 3 goals. portsmouth pulled another back late on, but a 3-2 win here, and very happy with the points.

Newcastle v. Reading

story of my season, get a good result or two, then get a poor team at home. 1-0 loss, nuff said

Tottenham v. Newcastle

Tottenham opened scoring here, but we replied with 2 goals from martins. Owen then came on 2nd half and rounded the keeper for a 3-1 win.

Middlesborough v. Newcastle

A fairly easy game surprisingly as we won 3-2, the scoreline not showing the true game as middlesborough scored 2 late goals from nowhere. 2 goals from inconsistent owen, and 1 for the ever impressing milner

Newcastle v. Sunderland

Another win here as we hit a bit of form, gourcuff and andreason came into team as we took a 3 goal lead in 17 minutes. The score remained the same for the rest of the game.

West ham v. Newcastle

tinkered with the tactics and it backfired massively in the first game of the 2nd session. 2-0 loss in a game we did not turn up.

Newcastle v. Blackburn

worst team in the league, defensive record shocking...and we lost 2-0, i wanted to retire after this match

derby v Newcastle

Lost another 2 goals first half, i didn't know what was going wrong. changed tactics yet again in 2nd half and brought back 2 goals, unlucky not to snatch it as owens goal was wrongly called offside...the difference this would have made to the league table! anyway 2-2 draw, not good enough

had another game or two after this but cant remember scorelines, think i won it/them, defo won the last game 3-1.

Summer signings

Well finally sold owen, 17.5 to sevilla, not all up front but will get all of it within 12 month. Sold rozenahl to west brom for 2.6m as he was never going to play for the 1st team.

biggest signing was berbatov to replace owen, for some reason he was placed in tottenham reserves, so got him for 10.75m. Signed thiago motta for free. sun jai hai(sp?) also got on a free as he was released by man city.in the bidding for cani and martinez right now. Hopefully a couple more coming in but we will see.

Not decided on who i should sell yet, as i am waiting on players coming in.

[Saske]

The horrible first season was almost over. Board and fans were finally somewhat content and I didn't have much left to fight for in the league so results of the last four league matches were unimportant.

Results:

Liverpool 2 - 2 Aston Villa

Two early goals from Liverpool was enough to deny us a win we very much deserved. Reina was man of the match with a rating of 9 even though he conceded twice. That says it all.

Aston Villa 3 - 3 Arsenal

What a match! After Eduardo's opener, two great goals from Agbonlahor and Farfan surprisingly gave us the lead. When Adebayor came on, I knew there was going to be trouble. Soon enough, he made a great cross which Davies somehow managed to push into our own goal. But it wasn't over yet. On 84th minute Knight leaped over everyone else and headed Bale's corner kick into back of net.

At this point, I probably should've listened to Jamie and put 10 men behind the ball, but I was too nervous to change anything. Big mistake. Five minutes after Knight's goal, Bendtner was given the ball and kicked the ball with Awesome Power from 30 yards or so! And past Sorensen it went. Good match nonetheless.

Reading 1 - 0 Aston Villa

Pfft..

Aston Villa 3 - 0 Sunderland

Nice way to end the season. Moore was determined to prove his worth before Gyan's arrival and proceeded to score two great goals.

Summer break:

Since Tottenham lost their last match against Chelsea, we ended the season in 10th place. Definitely not what I expected when we started. The injuries, poor morale and my failed tactical experiments were major factors in our downfall. What really ruined our season however, was the lack of a consistant goalscorer. Moore was our top scorer in all competitions with 10 goals, which is just really, really poor.

Start of the new season meant discussion with the board about our plans for the next season. After a moment of deliberation, I decided not to wuss out and went for 'Continental qualification through league finish' again. Last year aiming too high almost cost me my job, but if I somehow manage to finish below top 7 again, I deserve to get sacked.

As Stevo was kind enough to point out, Aston Villa had dropped about 80 places in footballs rich list during my time at the helm. This was quite evident when transfer budget for the second season was announced. From the £17.5m I was allocated, I had already spent £8m on upcoming arrivals.

Looking forward to the next season, I'm hoping that the arrival of Gyan will give us more firepower up front. I also gave Farfan a leave of absence which seemed to have settled him down a bit. Maybe he'll score a few more goals next season as well.

On midfield, the signing of very promising 20- year old Ever Banega gives me an option ahead of Gelson Fernandes, who I am starting to despise more and more every day. He's nervous before each and every match and I can't help but think that it has a big effect on his performances.

Few players were let go. Carew, Laursen, Mellberg and few other oldtimers left on free transfer, shrinking our already small wage expenses by more than £100k a week. One player I wasn't quite so happy to lose was Gareth Barry. I've never thought much of him, but was still hesitant when Tottenham made a £10m bid for him. He's a nice player to have around since he can fill in as left back, central midfielder or even as a winger if need be, but his lack of pace has always annoyed me. So when Spurs finally demanded an answer, I allowed Barry to hold talks with them. He was a bit too excited to accept Tottenham's offer, which made the decision to let him go a lot easier. Good riddance.

The money from the Barry deal bumped my transfer budget back up to £20m. If everything goes as planned and the work permit appeal gets accepted, Udinese's defender Cristián Zapata is going to join us. £15m for a young defender is pretty steep, but Zapata is a player I've always wanted to sign. I'm quite sure paired with Curtis Davies, he will be a force to be reckoned wiht. With the remaining money I'm hoping to find a replacement for Sorensen. He's definitely the weak link of the team.

Other than that, the squad is looking very good. All we need now is to avoid injuries and figure out a formation that fits the team best.

[TopToffee]

And so, to the final session of the 07-08 season. As the session started, there was still a LOT to play for from my point of view, with an FA Cup Final date to come against Chelsea, a UEFA Cup Semi vs Fiorentina, and of course the possibility of securing Champions League football for next season. However, the last few matches were, on paper, some of the toughest of the season - my players would have to be on top form.

Bolton 1 - 4 Everton

A comfortable win here against Man City. After falling behind to a Heidar Helguson goal on 31mins, we were the only team in it. Bolton's lead only lasted 7mins, before Fred played a neat one-two with Diego Capel, rounded Jaaskelainen and stroked the ball into the empty net.

The score remained tied going into the half time break, when I did my best to impress upon the lads just how important a win here was for our season. They seemed to take my words to heart, and went out almost breathing fire in their eagerness to win the game, and it soon paid off. Fred slotted home on 65, before Fernandes crashed home a viciously curling drive from the edge of the box (73), making the points safe. With the league so tight, it was really starting to look like goal difference could count at the end of the season, and with 9mins remaining, James Vaughan did his bit, heading home a Fernandes corner to complete the victory.

Birmingham 1 - 1 Everton

The final "easy" game of the season didn't exactly go the way it was supposed to. We absolutely dominated the match, firing shot after shot at the Brum goal. Unfortunately, we found Colin Doyle in inspired form, and he was beaten only once, by Sergio Aguero on 55mins. The home side could only muster 2 shots on target the whole match, but unfortunately for us one of these was stabbed home on 67 by Zarate after a goalmouth scramble. At the end of 90mins I was left lamenting the loss of 2 points, and hoping that it wouldn't prove disasterous come the final reckoning.

Everton 1 - 0 Fiorentina - UEFA Cup Semi Final L1

One of the biggest games of our season here, and the toughest opposition we've faced so far in the UEFA Cup. The match was a tight affair with only a single goal. On 71mins, Mikel Arteta won the ball in midfield, showing great strength in holding off a challenge and threading the ball through to Fred who fired powerfully past Frey in the Fiorentina goal.

The second leg would be VERY hard fought, but I was pleased to have kept a clean sheet and to be taking a one goal lead over to Italy.

Everton 6 - 0 Chelsea

Well THIS was unexpected. Chelsea were missing a couple of players (Lampard and Ballack to name two) but they just didn't show up for this match. Cech picked up a knock within the first minute or so, and with only Rhys Taylor on the bench, Avram Grant decided to leave the hampered keeper on the field. After that, Chelsea quite simply couldn't cope at the back. Almost every single attempt on goal ended in the back of the net, 5 (five!) of them coming from the boot of Fred.

With Arteta and Aguero providing support from the flanks and pushing up alongside Fred, distracting the centre backs, the Brazilian FREQUENTLY found himself unmarked as Chelsea looked MASSIVELY out of sorts. For their part, Fernandes and Cahill did GREAT work in finding their striker, and he finished gleefully over and over. The last goal was scored by Arteta in the dying moments, as he curled in a freekick from the edge of the box.

I don't really know what to say about this match except that it was probably an aberration (sadly) - and COMFORTABLY the best result of my managerial career. It was a MASSIVE blow in our favour in the Champions League race - 3 points that I in now way expected.

Fiorentina 1 - 3 Everton - UEFA Cup Semi Final L2

Went into this one knowing that a goal for us would be a HUGE hurdle for Fiorentina to get over, and I got my wish when Mikel Arteta - not exactly known for his aerial ability - rose and headed home on 29mins. Things got even better 4mins into the second half, and once more I had the "Best Little Spaniard We Know" to thank, as Mikel got free in the box and fired into the bottom corner.

A five minute spell just before the hour mark ensured that we would win this, with both Ujfalusi and Donadel seeing red, as Fiorentina started to lose their discipline. Ironically, 15mins later the Italians did actually find the net, Mutu thumping one in from the edge of the box. That however, was very much against the run of play, and James Vaughan wrapped things up for us with a minute to go, latching onto a ball from fellow sub Leon Osman, and slotting into the corner.

We had done it, and would go to the UEFA Cup Final where we would face... Arsenal... sadly. To make matters worse, we'd be playing at The Emirates!! As if I don't have enough trouble beating Arsenal in cup finals as it is!

Liverpool 1 - 1 Everton

We had much more possession, and far more shots on goal than Liverpool in this match, but we were unable to get the victory that would have secured Champions League football. We fell behind to a Ryan Babel goal 5mins after the break, and it seemed we would get nothing at all from the game. Then, 3mins from time, Arteta picked up the ball at the edge of the box, and curled a pinpoint shot towards goal, beating Carson at his near post.

A point certainly wasn't the end of the world, but 3 was what we really needed.

Everton 3 - 0 Arsenal

Going into this game, I knew that we needed to beat Arsenal to be 100% sure of making it into the CL. Any other result would mean we'd have to hope West Ham didn't beat Rob's Man City side at Upton Park.

As it turned out, I needn't have worried. Under tremendous pressure, (ableit against an Arsenal side resting several of its key players before our UEFA Cup meeting) my boys put on another great performance, and once again it was that man Fred who did most of the damage. Goals from the Brazilian after 22 and 65mins put us FIRMLY in the ascendency, before Diego Capel wrapped things up 5mins from time. We would be going to Europe's top table next season, and this result gave me real hope for the UEFA Cup final in three days time.

Arsenal 1 - 0 Everton - UEFA Cup Final

*Sigh* Another cup final against Arsenal, another tight loss. The match was settled by a van Persie strike after 36mins, and if I'm honest, we never really got going. Aguero was missing through an injury picked up right at the end of our final Premiership game, and we missed his pace and guile.

While there have been MANY matches this season which I've either drawn or lost and subsequently felt hard done by, I'm sad to say this was not one of them. While we had 14 shots on goal, we only managed to get 2 on target, and that sort of profligacy just won't get results against the likes of Arsenal. I let the players know in no uncertain terms that I'd expect better against Chelsea in 3 days.

Everton 5 - 1 Chelsea - FA Cup Final

Just as we have troubles dealing with Arsenal, so it seems that Chelsea struggle to cope with us - and specifically with a particular Brazilian striker. I went into the match DETERMINED not to go 0 for 3 in cup finals this year, and my entire team responded spectacularly to the loss against Arsenal.

Every man amongst them performed admirably, but it was Fred once again who took all the plaudits, and put his goalscoring tally against Chelsea into double figures within just the last couple of weeks. Three first half goals looked to have given us the Cup, and these were backed up by another 2 in the second period, before Yakubu notched a goal that probably didn't even count as a consolation for Chelsea in the last minute.

Fred was DESERVEDLY named Man of the Match, while Tim Cahill impressively provided three assists. I had won Everton's first silverware since 1995, and the board and fans were both delighted, as we my players.

07-08 SEASON ROUNDUP

Well what an up and down season. We started pretty badly - the team were MASSIVELY inconsistent, and we just didn't seem to be able to score the goals our play perhaps deserved, nor could we string a run of results together. Low points before Christmas included losses to Wigan, Villa, Spurs and draws against Newcastle, Boro and Bolton.

With Man City performing way beyond expectations, along with Newcastle, we dropped as low as low as 12th place in the league. Fred looked like being a complete waste of £10m, and Yakubu was misfiring too. As Christmas neared, Yak put on something resembling some goalscoring form and bizarrely, Chelsea came in with a huge offer that I couldn't turn down.

I turned to Fred, letting the Brazilian know that he needed to start delivering. And did he EVER. Having scored only 5 goals for us in 2007 (including going over 10 hours without notching a goal at one point), he BURST into life in the New Year, scoring a truly incredible 38 goals in his final 36 games.

In my opinion he was hugely aided by the signing of Aguero. The youngster came with a massive weight of expectations on his shoulders, and he matched them, scoring 14 goals playing a right wing/support striker role since joining in January.

Special mention should also go to Matteo Ferrari, who returned to Goodison for a cut price fee of just £1.3m (having previously played on loan in 05-06) and formed a ROCK solid partnership with Joleon Lescott at the back.

And as for the players already at the club, Mikel Arteta and Lescott were the standout performers, and both gained their first caps for their countries at Euro 2008.

Overall, I guess I have to be pretty delighted with how the season turned out, especially given the start we had. We went the entire second half of the league season without losing a single game, including a run of 10 consecutive wins between 29th Dec and 15th March. Securing Champions League football on the final day of the season was a HUGE step for us. The added revenue and reputation the competition brings should really push us on to the next level, and hopefully see us challenging at the top for years to come.

Our Cup form throughout the season was pretty incredible, reaching the final of all three knockout competitions we entered. Losing the Carling Cup and (in particular) the UEFA Cup finals was pretty galling, especially since they were both against Arsenal, and both in quite similar manners. I'll definitely be looking for revenge against the Gunners next season.

Bringing home the FA Cup was obviously the icing on the cake, but I'll be looking for bigger trophies next time around

Final League Position: 2nd

UEFA Cup: Runners Up

FA Cup: Winners

Carling Cup: Runners Up

Fans Player of the Season: Fred

Top Goalscorer: Fred (43)

Most Assists: Tim Cahill (21)

Highest Ave. Rating: Matteo Ferrari (7.33)

Plans for the Summer / Next Season

Obviously, next season is going to be a HUGE one for us, with CL football coming to Goodison for the first time. Thoughts of winning that competition are massively premature, as we're still a long way behind some of the European giants.

I WILL however be hoping to put in a solid challenge for the Premier League title. This season we were never really in with a hope. We finished just 2pts behind Man Utd, but had to go 19 games undefeated to get into that position, so bad was our start to the season. Hopefully next time round we can get off to a faster start. Whether we can win the whole thing, I don't know. But if we drop less silly points than we did this time round, we might be in with a chance.

So far, the transfer window has been pretty quiet, with Schalke left wingback Christian Pander and Middlesborough youngster Theo Furness coming in.

On the other side of things, chairman Bill Kenwright accepted a £20m +50% sell-on bid from Arsenal for Diego Capel, and the youngster signed for the Gunners. I've been fending off bids left right and centre for Arteta, Lescott and Fred, none of whom are going anywhere. I did accept a £35m bid from Chelsea for Micah Richards (that's just too much money to turn down for a right back), but the youngster decided that he didn't want to leave, instantly earning a place in my good books.

As far as potential targets are concerned, I'm not really sure. I may look at bringing in a truly top notch goalkeeper if I can - though Tim Howard performed admirably last season. Aside from that, I think my team is pretty strong, and unless someone truly spectacular becomes available, I can see the side remaining much as it is for the start of next season.

[TopToffee]

Final 2007/08 Premier League Table

Final 2007/08 Championship Table

2007/08 Domestic Season Roundup

[TopToffee]

alright lads...

router went down on me, and couldn't get it back up.

will get it sorted in time for Sunday.

J

[Hillskill1979]

So this season represents a massive challenge for me. The Board have proposed their budgets and expectations and I have gone for "Title Challengers" this brings a MASSIVE budget of around 70million !!!! The wage budget is also as staggering at just over 1million a week !!!!

So i know what i have to do, get promoted and get promoted in style. Sacked after half a season at spurs and seriously underperforming compared to the other lads. So first things first.....The squad is at best resembling a mid-table championship team, this had to be completely overhauled: Here are the transfers so far..........

Bouzanis is young but I am gonna give him the number 1 Jersey, if he has a howler Vilmunen and Kalac are waiting in the wings (I am looking to get Kalac tutoring Bouzanis)

Defenders I am most excited about are Sarghi and Goian who is without doubt prem class and represents a big coup for QPR and a big statement of our intent

Jimenez will be providing the flair and along with Leto and Arshavin on the wings. Marko Marin and Kevin Monnet Paquet coming off the bench to keep attack levels high we should be creating lots of chances. All we need now is someone to finsh those chances.

I have attempted to be really ambitious upfront, had bids accepted for Huntelaar, Rodrigo Palacio, Gignac and Liedson......all of which have turned me down for footballing reasons (i offered most of them upwards of 80k a week !!!)

Adam C the main man at Portsmouth gave me a call to say he is looking to get a young lad they hold in high regard a little bit of experience. Stancu promptly arrives on Loan and a speculative Loan offer for Mvuemba is accept. They have both already made an impact (more on that later) Thanx dude.

Benni McCarthy was snapped up from newly relegated Blackburn, his experience will be massive in the league title push, especially in a squad that has an average age of 22. Daryl Murphy had fallen out of favour at Sunderland and he was also snapped up for a bargain 160k.

While the forward line is starting to look like it could do some damage I still felt i needed a player with that X Factor. After having Work Permits turned down for just about every exciting South American prospect i managed to complete a deal for Thiago. This boy is going to be special no doubt.

Pannucci, Kalac, Lullinha (nice bit of business) Craig Cathcart were also brought in on Loan. Dietmar Hamman, Inigo Idiakez and Flachi were brought in on free transfers. While i dont see any of these players being a massive part of my plans (apart from Cathcart and Lullinha) they all offer experience, strength and depth.

So this is my season so far.

Can't recollect goal scorers at the mo and no way of checking while im offline like this. I think we have several players on two for the season with Leto racking up the assists.

Currently on a bit of an unbeaten run and sitting top of the League.

Looking to sign a couple of high profile players before the close of the window too.

[Hillskill1979]

Oh no !!!! Gutted....I posted the wrong Banner !!! What a nugget lol !

[TopToffee]

Sad news today lads...

Adam's work schedule and real life stuff has changed, and he's not going to be able to make it to the sessions anymore, so he's handed in his resignation effective immediately.

Thanks for helping us get the clan up and running Adam... it's been a pleasure having you as part of the clan, and if things change again for you, let me know... there'll be a spot open for you.

J

[adamc81]

Thanks Jamie and sorry to the rest of you guys.

Keep up the good work with your updates as im still going to be around to see how all of you are getting on.

Fingers crossed Keegan doesnt take my old job at Pompey!

[TopToffee]

Tony Adams took over mate

[TopToffee]

Ooook... so, it's been a little while since the last updates.. well here goes... (Some matches will just have the scoreline and Everton goalscorers listed, as there's a LOT to catch up on)

Pre-Season:

Plans were announced to expand Goodison Park to 50,000 seats. The work would be completed by the start of November, until which time the capacity would be reduced to 35,000

Transfers in the off season were a bit of a mixed bag.

A large number of players were out of contract, and not having been offered new deals, left the club, including Tony Hibbert, James Hall, Bjarni Vidarsson, Stefan Wessels, Anderson Silva and Lee Carsley.

Henri Saivet, Jack Rodwell and Dan Gosling were all sent on loan to Preston, with ex-Everton assistant manager glad of the help in what promised to be a tough season for them.

There were three "major" transfers heading out of Goodison over the Summer. Chairman Bill Kenwright decided that an offer of £20m + a 50% sell-on clause from Arsenal for Diego Capel was too good to turn down, and the youngster moved to the Emirates.

Goalkeeper Ben Foster moved to Rob's Man City for £6.5m, after having failed to oust Tim Howard throughout last season. Trebling the fee we paid to Man Utd for the player was a good result, especially since he was only likely to be a backup again this season. Foster is however a good quality keeper, and he should do a good job for City.

Finally, the big one. Having only been at the club for 6 months, Javier Mascherano moved on to Real Madrid for a HUGE fee of £35m. Originally, Real offered £15m, and I was not interested, so I slapped what I thought was a prohibitive pricetag on the player. To my astonishment, the Spanish giants matched that price and I couldn't stand in the way of the player.

Armed with a hefty transfer budget, I managed to bring in a few different players - some of the names bigger than others.

First on my checklist was a new backup keeper to provide competition for Tim Howard. Seeing that Blackburn had been relegated, I made a bid for Kasper Schmeichel, and was able to acquire the promising youngster for just £1.8m.

Christian Pander, a quality attacking leftback was snapped up on a Bosman deal from Schalke, and would push Leighton Baines all the way for his starting spot. Other "small" deals included the signings of youngsters Theo Furness (17) and Andy Vernon (16) from Boro and Leicester respectively.

The three biggest signings of the season were made in a two week span just before the start of the season. First of all, we splashed out £18m on winger Nani from Man Utd. Still only 21 years old, and with skill and pace to burn, Nani's an exceptional talent who will add a great deal to our squad.

Next up, I looked around Europe for a good young centre back, and noticed that Breno had failed to win a place in the team at Bayern. After some back and forth with their board, a fee of £7.5m was agreed for the player, and the highly rated 19 year old joined his compatriot Fred at Goodison.

Finally, on the eve of the new season, Miguel Veloso was brought in from Sporting Lisbon, adding to our burgeoning young Portuguese contingent, and providing a MORE than able replacement for the departing Javier Mascherano.

Friendlies

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Preston 0 - 3 Everton

Gretna 0 - 4 Everton

Boulogne 0 - 3 Everton

Istres 0 - 3 Everton

Grenoble 0 - 1 Everton

Clermont 0 - 1 Everton</pre>

Pre-season saw us maintain a perfect record, with 6 wins from 6 matches, and no goals conceded. Sergio Aguero and Fred were both in great goalscoring form, while Ferrari and Lescott were exceptional at the back.

Everton 1 - 1 Man Utd - Community Shield

The season started with the showpiece opener against Man Utd - our third trip to the New Wembley since I took the helm.

This was a hard fought match, with both sides going close before the scoring was opened in the 42nd minute by Wayne Rooney. Thankfully, the Utd lead lasted only 3mins. On the stroke of halftime, James Vaughan raced onto a through ball from Lorik Cana and slotted past van der Saar.

The game went through the whole second half without and further goals being scored, with both sides struggling for supremacy in the midfield. And so, it went to penalties, where Tim Howard was the undoubted hero against his old club, saving three spot kicks (from Vidic, Anderson and Gamst Pedersen) and giving us the victory, and the first piece of silverware of the season.

NOTES: Vaughan and Cana distinguished themselves in this match, with the young striker taking the MOTM honours.

***My first two fixtures of the season (vs Newcastle and Crystal Palace) were postponed due to me having 5 players away representing their countries at the Olympics.***

Everton 4 - 2 Arsenal

An EXCELLENT way to start the season, with a victory against my nemeses from last season, the Gunners. The match was effectively settled in the first half, when all our goals were scored. Fred notched one, and Mikel Arteta fired in an EXCEPTIONAL hattrick, including one wondrous solo run and finish. Behrami and Eduardo hit back for Arsenal.

NOTES: Obviously Arteta grabbed the headlines (and the MOTM award) with his hattrick, but there were also great performances from Fred, Cana and Micah Richards. Tim Cahill picked up a yellow.

Wigan 0 - 0 Everton

Dour, disappointing game.

Everton 4 - 0 Chelsea

Fred really is on a one man mission to destroy Chelsea Football Club, and once AGAIN notched all 4 goals in this demolition. I am truly at a loss to explain his knack of finding the net against Chelsea REPEATEDLY, but I'm certainly not complaining.

Yakubu actually gave Chelsea the lead in this one, but after a stern talking to at the halftime break, Fred went out and did his thing in the second half, to my bemusement, amusement and delight.

NOTES: Needless to say Fred was MOTM, but he was ably assisted by Nani and Fernandes. Baines, Cahill and Phil Neville all picked up bookings, while Micah Richards was injured early on and will miss about 3 weeks.

Sunderland 0 - 2 Everton

Ferrari (21), Arteta (81 pen)

Sendings Off: Harte (64), Gordon (82) - both Sunderland

Champions League Group Stage Draw

The draw for the group stages was ANYTHING but kind to us, and we were lumbered with something of a "Group of Death". Lyon, Real Madrid and Olympiakos would be our opponents, and as those teams were announced, I immediately knew that getting out of the group would be no mean feat, and would require us to play at PEAK performance every match.

Everton 3 - 0 Newcastle

Big win here against Gareth's Newcastle side. Matteo Ferrari scored (14mins) for a second game in succession, this one a nearpost header from Mikel Arteta's corner. Fred added to the lead on the half hour with a cool finish past Given. 20mins into the 2nd half, and the match was over - Lescott nodded the ball down from a Baines freekick wide on the left, and Fred got there first to steer it home.

NOTES: A great team performance, with Fred (MOTM), Schmeichel, Neville, Ferrari, Lescott, Arteta and Fernandes all shining.

Everton 0 - 1 Man City

By FAR the most frustrating match of the season so far. Rob came to Goodison and quite literally parked the bus. And even that didn't work quite as he intended, as we had 24 shots on the City goal, over half of which were on target. Sadly, we found Isaksson in inspired form, as he pulled off save after save.

City for their part had ONE shot. ONE. In ninety minutes they managed ONE shot on goal. Sadly for us, and in a continuation of how Rob ran against me last season, that shot (a speculative effort from Luka Modric) found Howard out of position, and found the back of the net. I could easily live to be 100 and never figure out how we lost this match.

NOTES: NOT a great performance from my lads, with Howard, Fred and Aguero looking particularly out of sorts.

Real Madrid 0 - 1 Everton - Champions League

From outhouse to penthouse in the space of a few days! This was really up there with the best results I've had since taking the Everton job. Impressively, we actually had by FAR the better of the game, and could have won by more than the single goal, scored by Fred just after halftime.

NOTES: Pander, Cahill and Fred all had excellent games. One slight concern is that 4 players picked up bookings (Arteta, Veloso, Fernandes and Aguero) which could be a problem later on.

Portsmouth 1 - 0 Everton

A carbon copy of the Man City match, even down to the number of shots the opposition had on my goal. Sick.

Sunderland 0 - 1 Everton - League Cup 3rd Round

Arteta, (31)

West Brom 0 - 0 Everton

More points dropped. Not a SINGLE shot (on or off target) from West Brom, but we failed to score from our SEVENTEEN.

Everton 1 - 0 Olympique Lyonnais - Champions League

At least we seem to be able to perform in Europe. Another GREAT win, which leaves us sitting top of our group. Tim Cahill got the decisive goal just before halftime, thumping a low shot just inside the right post from the edge of the box, just before halftime.

Everton 5 - 0 West Ham

Finally we hit some real form in the league. Fred had an eventful game, scoring a hattrick AND being withdrawn with a slight ankle knock, all within the first 25mins. The rout was then completed by goals from Vaughan and Nani (on for the injured Sergio Aguero after 21mins - Aguero will miss about 5 weeks).

Crystal Palace 1 - 3 Everton

A second consecutive hattrick from Fred - the lad seems to be on fire. A straightforward win over a side who will be struggling against relegation this season. Danny Webber scored their consolation.

Sheff Wed 1 - 3 Everton

With Fred out injured, it took us until the 69th minute to take the lead through Mikel Arteta, but we were almost immediately pegged back to 1-1. With time running out, I brought on young José Baxter for the inneffective Vaughan, and his impact was HUGE. The 16 year old grabbed two goals in 3 mins to secure the 3 points for us.

Everton 6 - 3 Olympiakos

NOT a day for defences. Our attack ran riot, but we looked a little vulnerable at the back. Thankfully, we had too much firepower for the Greek side, and goals from the excellent Nani (2), Cahill, Arteta, Vaughan and Baxter won us the match. A win in the return fixture in Greece would now ensure us qualification from the group with unexpected ease!

Everton 4 - 1 Reading

Rosenior o.g (4)

Vaughan (52)

Arteta (65)

Fred (90)

Everton 2 - 0 Wigan - League Cup 4th Round

Fred (pen 43)

Cahill (60)

Tottenham 1 - 3 Everton

The team looks to be starting to gel. Fred returned to the starting lineup, and Nani was still in for the injured Aguero. After falling behind to a Kevin Doyle strike, Fred, Nani and Vaughan all notched to win us the match in ultimately comfortable fashion. Nani is playing out of his skin right now, and Aguero might find it hard to get back in the side.

Olympiakos 0 - 1 Everton

We maintained our 100% record in the Champions League, and secured qualification from the group thanks to a beautifully curled finish from that man Nani again, in the 14th minute. That single strike was enough to win the match, though we could easily have added several more in the second period.

Everton 2 - 0 Bolton

Once again, Nani opened the scoring with a carbon copy of his goal against the Greeks, and his international team mate Manuel Fernandes hammered home a free kick to make the three points safe.

NOTE: Goodison was at 50,000 capacity for the first time for this match, and the attendance was 49,968.

League Position: 2nd

Already looking like catching Man Utd will be difficult, as they've amassed a 6pt lead. But we have (hopefully) gotten over our little slump, and seem to be firing on all cylinders.

Nani looks like being a great signing, and if he keeps up his recent level of performances, Aguero might have to settle for a place on the bench when he comes back from his injury.

UP NEXT:

Fulham (A)

Real Madrid (H)

Aston Villa (A)

Portsmouth (H) - League Cup Qtr Final

Liverpool(H)

Lyon (A)

Man Utd (H)

[TopToffee]

Unfortunately, we lost another of our members before our last session, as Gareth had to step down due to uni commitments. Sorry to see you go mate. Best of luck with the dissertation.

On that note, I'd like to welcome newly appointed Liverpool manager Andy Massey to the clan. Liverpool were on something of a slide when he took over - languishing in 16th place and only competing in the UEFA Cup.

It'll be interesting to see if Andy - himself a rabid Kopite - can turn around the fortunes of the red half of Merseyside... Should make for some good Derbies too

[Dunga99]

Hi guys, just wondering are you lot still playing or just stop reporting.

Used to kill some time at working reading them .

[TopToffee]

We're still playing mate.... updates have just become a bit scarce... will write a bit of a catch up tomorrow if i get a chance....

fair bit gone on since the last posts.

[TopToffee]

We're still playing mate.... updates have just become a bit scarce... will write a bit of a catch up tomorrow if i get a chance....

fair bit gone on since the last posts.

[Saske]

Had some spare time and decided to give this thread a bump in the form of a season summary.

Season 08/09 summary

After the terrible first season, I pretty much threw caution to the wind and started signing players left and right even though I had already managed to downgrade Aston Villa's financial situation from secure to okay. In addition to £10m deal for Curtis Davies, I signed Asamoah Gyan for £13m, Ever Banega for £9.25m, Cristian Zapata for £15m and finally Francisco Guillermo Ochoa for £15.5m. Most of the money was to be paid over 24 months, which very nearly took us into administration before end of the season.

The team however was looking solid and even horribly bad luck wouldn't justify us not reaching our goal of qualifying for at least UEFA Cup through league finish.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

Ochoa

Hutton - Davies - Zapata - Bale

Fernandes - Reo-Coker

Agbonlahor Farfan

Fernandez

Gyan

</pre>

As I hoped, we did quite well in the league. There were quite a few matches we should've won, but Gyan wasn't the 30+ goal/season superstar I had hoped he would be. The fact that by the end of the season Gyan had only scored 16 goals while Zapata, a defender scored 15 times says a lot. Speaking of Zapata, he was amazing throughout the season, scoring crucial goals from corners and working very well with Davies at the back. Well worth the 15m I paid for him. Even still, we conceded more goals than we should have. Our flanks were particularly vulnerable as Bale was perhaps a bit too young to play 40+ games a season and Hutton.. well he is just mediocre.

What's pleasing was our great results in matches against the big four. We put up a good fight both home and away and I don't remember a single match where we didn't at least deserve a draw. However, frustrating losses against the likes of Fulham and Bolton prevented us from creating a big enough gap between us in 4th and Chelsea in 5th place. Amazingly, we managed to defeat them with 5 matches left, but that must've drained all of our luck reserves as during the final game week Chelsea were two points ahead of us with a better goal ratio. While we had to face Man City away, they had an easy home match against Newcastle.

The score in our match was 1-1 when we heard the news that Chelsea had only managed to get draw out of their match against Newcastle. This meant that we had to win our match by 3 goals or more, which didn't look likely with the way things were going. Eventually, our gung-ho mentality backfired and Man City managed to score again. We finished the league in 5th place and.. sigh.. qualified for UEFA Cup.

Finishing fifth was a hugely disappointing, but considering our troubles scoring, things could have been much worse. Fortunately the board considered our long-term goals of mounting a title challenge fulfilled and were quite happy. A good thing, seeing as we neared bankruptcy and were knocked out of each cup competition way before than we should have.

Despite our poor financial situation, I was given 25m to spend during summer. As tempting as it was to spend it all, I managed to use some common sense and ended up only spending 14m on Rolando Bianchi. A risky acquisition, but he seemed like a more attractive option than Adriano.

We started the 09/10 season with a slightly modified tactic. Our goal was to qualify for Champions League. No easy feat seeing as Everton and Arsenal are almost certain to take the top two spots, which means we will have to beat Chelsea, Man Utd or Liverpool to the fourth place. Winning UEFA Cup is also something we'll be doing our darndest to achieve.

More about the ongoing season sooner or later.