lukegraham1991

2026/27 SEASON - GAME DAY 52 - CHAMPIONS LEAGUE - AWAY VS NEWCASTLE UNITED Our Champions League dream is over. We lost 3-2 in regulation time making it 5-5 on aggregate. Despite our efforts to push, and push, and push for a winning goal - we finished extra time at 5-5 on aggregate too. Penalties being a lottery, and the game unfortunately being played at St. James' Park - Lucien Agoume missing the only penalty of the 5 and that was on our team instead of theirs. Unfortunate but reaching the Champions League Quarter Finals in our first season in the competition is a big achievement in itself. Notable poor performances: Josko Gvardiol: 6.4, James Ward-Prowse: 6.4, Ryan Gravenberch: 6.4, Obinna Ajayi: 6.5, Heung-Min Son: 6.5 & Dwight McNeil: 6.5. Standout performances: Jordan Pickford: 7.6 & Josip Sutalo: 7.6.

2026/27 SEASON - GAME DAY 51 - PREMIER LEAGUE - AWAY VS WATFORD We took on relegation struggling Watford away from home next. A really bad start - Patterson giving away a penalty which Haji Wright scored on the 4th minute. Dwight McNeil managed to equalise on the 21st minute but Nikita Iosifov pegged us back 13 minutes later and Watford held onto the 2-1 lead to go into the half time break. Dwight McNeil to the rescue again on the 69th minute scoring a nice effort from the edge of the area past the Watford keeper - we pushed to try and get a winner off the back of the second equaliser but it wasn't to be. We did rest a lot of players here so that they could be fresh for our upcoming difficult test in the second tie against Newcastle but some of our lads are out injured etc so I wasn't able to rest the likes of Lavia or Gravenberch. Notable poor performances: Jordan Pickford: 6.5 & Heung-Min Son: 6.5. Standout performances: Dwight McNeil: 8.4.

2026/27 SEASON - GAME DAY 50 - CHAMPIONS LEAGUE - HOME VS NEWCASTLE UNITED We welcomed Newcastle United to the Bramley-Moore Dock Stadium for the home leg of the Champions League Quarter Final. We seem to have tightly fought games with the magpies every time we face them, beating them 1-0 early in the season and losing 2-1 recently in the Premier League. We found ourselves 2-1 down on the 84th minute after a magnificent individual effort from Roony Bardghji but super sub Kaio Jorge made a big claim to start the return leg as he bagged a brace with goals coming in the 86th and 90th minute to give us the one goal advance going away from home to St James' Park for the return leg. Notable poor performances: Angelo: 6.4, Nathan Patterson: 6.5, Heung-Min Son: 6.5. Standout performances: Kaio Jorge: 8.8 & Dominic Calvert-Lewin: 8.3.

2026/27 SEASON - GAME DAY 49 - PREMIER LEAGUE - HOME VS LEICESTER CITY Had a little time this morning before leaving for work so thought I would get a game in before leaving. First game of April 2027 we took on relegation struggling Leicester City and we put on a show - despite picking up a number of injuries and suffering some fatigue of late, we ran out 4-1 winners. I was able to gift a few youngsters their first team debuts with around 20 minutes to go as I brought Casey McKay on for Angelo RW and Cameron Thomson on for Rafael Santos Borre at ST. Aside from a Pickford mistake for their goal, we were solid in this one. With Man City beating West Ham this week too, we are now 7 points clear at the top of the league with just 6 games remaining. Notable poor performances: Jordan Pickford: 6.5. Standout performances: Ryan Gravenberch: 8.0.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE QUARTER FINAL DRAW

2026/27 SEASON - MARCH RESULTS & LEAGUE TABLE SO FAR... A strange month of results, some massive results against the notoriously bigger teams in Real Madrid & Arsenal, but we slipped up in the games against Wolves & Newcastle which is really disappointing for us and our league title chances. It is what it is and we move on and look to learn from these slip ups and improve. We still have plenty of tough tests to come, as you can see with the below fixture schedule, two Champions League Quarter Final ties coming up this month as well as a home tie against Manchester United and an away tie vs local rivals Liverpool at Anfield.

2026/27 SEASON - GAME DAY 48 - PREMIER LEAGUE - AWAY VS NEWCASTLE UNITED And there goes our game in hand. Another poor performance resulting in another loss - 2027 has been a real struggle for us for the majority so far - a million miles away from our form in the first half of the season. We remain 4 points clear at the top of the table but we are now level on games with 2nd placed West Ham having blown our chance to extend our lead with two games in hand at one point. Notable poor performances: Nathan Patterson: 6.3, James Ward-Prowse: 6.3, Vitor Roque: 6.3, Jordan Pickford: 6.4, Vitaliy Mykolenko: 6.4 & Dwight McNeil: 6.5. Standout performances: Ryan Gravenberch: 7.4.

2026/27 SEASON - GAME DAY 47 - PREMIER LEAGUE - AWAY VS WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS An away tie against Wolves, while we rang in a lot of changes after coming through the full 90 and extra time against Real Madrid in mid-week, this was really disappointing. We got the equaliser and shortly after being subbed on - DCL made a ridiculous challenge which was definitely a straight red card and put his whole team under pressure. Shortly after that, our other sub who had recently been brought on - Matias Zaracho took an injury which meant we were down to 9 men for the remainder of the game. I shut up shop after that and we did well to cling onto the one point. We are now 4 points clear at the top of the league with just the one game in hand - that game in hand could be huge for our title hopes now. Notable poor performances: Dominic Calvert-Lewin: N/A, Dwight McNeil: 6.3, Josip Sutalo: 6.4, Pedro Neto: 6.4, Lucien Agoume: 6.5 & Angelo: 6.5. Standout performances: Heung-Min Son: 7.6 & Rafael Santos Borre: 7.2.

2026/27 SEASON - GAME DAY 46 - CHAMPIONS LEAGUE - HOME VS REAL MADRID WHAT A GAME! We went into this second leg tie with a 1-0 win from our earlier match up against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu. Going into this one, we knew they would come at us with everything they had - taking a 1-0 win over us across the 90 minutes meaning we had to fight through extra time. Paul Wanner scored shortly after kickoff putting madrid 2-1 up on aggregate & putting our fight to the test, with some tactical tweaks though, we managed to hang on and fight back in this with the help of Angelo on the day and we eventually ran out 3-2 winner on aggregate and again, advance to the next round in the Champions League! We put Josip Sutalo up front as a target man and he managed to get an assist for one of Angelo's goals when we went all out attack with three central defenders and everyone else pushed further forward - the gamble paid off and what a result over the two legs this has been for the Toffees! Notable poor performances: Dwight McNeil: 6.2, Filippo Terracciano: 6.3, Anel Ahmedhodzic: 6.3, Dominic Calvert-Lewin: 6.4, Jordan Pickford: 6.5, Obinna Ajayi: 6.5 & Kaio Jorge: 6.5. Standout performances: Angelo: 8.5 & Josip Sutalo: 8.1.

2026/27 SEASON - GAME DAY 45 - PREMIER LEAGUE - HOME VS ARSENAL We returned to Premier League action in this one as we welcomed Arsenal to our ground. A bright early start saw us go 2-0 up inside 10 minutes - Neto adding a 3rd goal all inside 21 minutes as well. Martinelli got Arsenal somewhat back into the game with a goal just before the break as we went in 3-1 better off at half time. The second half was cagey, but we managed to keep hold of all 3 points in this one. Dominic Calvert-Lewin with a phenomenal first half playmaking performance with 3 assists for us to ultimately win the game in the first 21 minutes. Notable poor performances: James Ward-Prowse: 6.5. Standout performances: Dominic Calvert-Lewin: 9.1 & Pedro Neto: 8.2.

2026/27 SEASON - GAME DAY 44 - CHAMPIONS LEAGUE - AWAY VS REAL MADRID What a win this was - away from home in our first knock out round in the Champions League since we've got there. One of the biggest stages we could have been drawn at as well - even though it was just a penalty again - I'll definitely take that win. Notable poor performances: Filippo Terracciano: 6.1, Angelo: 6.4, Heung-Min Son: 6.4, Dominic Calvert-Lewin: 6.5 & Kaio Jorge: 6.5. Standout performances: Jordan Pickford: 7.9.

2026/27 SEASON - FEBRUARY RESULTS & LEAGUE TABLE SO FAR... A ropey performance in the Spurs game cost us a result, but we managed to bounce back in the following two games with 2 straight wins in the Premier League. We still stand top of the league, now 6 points clear of 2nd placed West Ham United and we still have a game in hand as well. While not playing at our best recently, I want to be optimistic and say WHEN we find our form again - we should be able to see ourselves over the line to win the league which is a huge success as it wasn't our aim at the beginning of the season. We've also been matched with Real Madrid in the round of 16 which will be played next month - another tough test in europe but we've managed to overcome most of them so far this season - a huge ask though against the spanish giants!

2026/27 SEASON - GAME DAY 43 - PREMIER LEAGUE - AWAY VS CHELSEA We travelled to Stamford Bridge in our final league game of February and managed to nick another late win. Vitor Roque on from the bench again our saviour, the lad is pushing for a starting spot, and at the moment, that LW role is up for grabs with both Son & Neto not playing very well right now. Nice win with a clean sheet - hopefully going into March now we can improve our fortunes and get back to some nice form like we were showing earlier in the season. Notable poor performances: Obinna Ajayi: 6.3, Angelo: 6.3 & Ryan Gravenberch: 6.5. Standout performances: Vitor Roque: 7.5 & Filippo Terracciano: 7.5.

2026/27 SEASON - GAME DAY 42 - PREMIER LEAGUE - HOME VS NORWICH CITY We welcomed Norwich City to the Bramley-Moore Dock Stadium next and had two early scares with Joshua Sargent putting them 1-0 after 10 mins, DCL levelled the scoring shortly after, before Sargent bagged another goal on the 23rd minute. They held onto that lead until the 83rd minute when Angelo scored a nicely placed goal from the edge of the area - Vitor Roque was the hero though, scoring a brace in the 93rd and 94th minute after coming on for DCL due to fatigue. We are still 3 points clear in the league with 2 games in hand. Notable poor performances: Obinna Ajayi: 6.5, Romeo Lavia: 6.5 & Heung-Min Son: 6.5. Standout performances: Vitor Roque: 8.4 & Angelo: 8.0.

2026/27 SEASON - GAME DAY 41 - PREMIER LEAGUE - HOME VS TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR Our up and down form continues here with a really bad overall performance by the lads. We called upon a whole different attacking unit as well to try and spark a reaction to being 2-1 down at home but nothing happened - our only goal coming from a penalty as well, disappointing to say the least. We are 3 points clear at the top of the league with 2 games in hand - need to get back to winning ways before we let this slip! Notable poor performances: Josko Gvardiol: 6.2, Jordan Pickford: 6.3, Josip Sutalo: 6.3, Dominic Calvert-Lewin: 6.3, Obinna Ajayi: 6.4, Pedro Neto: 6.4 & Angelo: 6.5. Standout performances: Romeo Lavia: 7.1 & James Ward-Prowse: 7.1.

2026/27 SEASON - JANUARY RESULTS & LEAGUE TABLE SO FAR... We started the new year really positively, continuing our awesome form by hammering Man City 3-0 at home. Next up came out bogey team who have already beaten us this season, and this was the start of a bit of a fall from grace. Over the course of 3 games, we exited two different cup competitions, we then bounced back to get a win through a penalty to get 3 points on the board in the Premier League. Our last but one game against Barcelona went a bit wrong after taking an early lead, where we ultimately got wiped the floor with by the better team. We then took on our bogey team West Ham United for the third time this month and I wanted to see an improvement, while not a huge one, a draw rather than a 4th loss to the hammers on the bounce is enough to speak positively about. We then moved on to secure our place in the round of 16 by beating Juventus in our last Champions League Table game as Lucien Agoume starred with a brace. Middlesbrough were last up for the month of January and we were back to our best - even if it was against a lesser team - we need these kinds of results to go our way to cling onto our Premier League & Champions League hopes. We finish the month of January 1st in the Premier League with a 6 point lead over West Ham who are in 2nd place & we also have 2 games in hand over our nearest rivals. The Champions League Table we ended up finishing in 4th place - after 8 games we beat 6 of our opponents, drew 1 game and lost 1 which isn't too shabby for our first season in the Champions League. I believe that means 2 less games to worry about by avoiding the playoff matches too - at the very least, 1 less game.

2026/27 SEASON - GAME DAY 40 - PREMIER LEAGUE - AWAY VS MIDDLESBROUGH In what was our last game of January 2027 we travelled to the Riverside Stadium to take on lowwer half of the league team Middlesbrough. A quick start saw us take a lead with Vitor Roque bagging an early goal, Angelo adding to that before the half to go in at the break 2-0 up. We kicked off the second half and immediately extended our lead to 3 as Vitor Roque bagged again, Jordan Pickford had an absolute howler with the O.G. in the 80th minute but Angelo put the game to bed in the 82nd minute and we played out the game to secure all 3 points. After that win we now stand 6 points clear of 2nd place and have two games in hand! Notable poor performances: Jordan Pickford: 6.4 & Vitaliy Mykolenko: 6.5. Standout performances: Angelo: 8.9 & Vitor Roque: 8.3.

2026/27 SEASON - GAME DAY 39 - CHAMPIONS LEAGUE - HOME VS JUVENTUS Our last game in the Champions League Table before moving into the round of 16 and we managed to secure auto qualification without the need of a playoff game. Lucien Agoume stepping in for James Ward-Prowse in the box to box role and absolutely smashing it, netting two really nice goals to secure the win and all 3 points here. Notable poor performances: Matias Zaracho: 6.3 & Dwight McNeil: 6.4. Standout performances: Lucien Agoume: 8.6.

2026/27 SEASON - GAME DAY 38 - PREMIER LEAGUE - HOME VS WEST HAM UNITED This match up was 1st vs 2nd in 2027. We took an early lead thanks to Dominic Calvert-Lewin slotting past the hammers goalkeeper. We held onto the lead for 52 minutes after that but it wasn't enough, Eddie Nketiah latching onto a through ball and smashing home for an equaliser, we did push towards the end of the game but couldn't break the seal. A lot better than previous results against West Ham recently but looking at the player ratings and the match stats, not really much of an improvement - maybe the hammers didn't play as well as usual. This point means we are 6 point clear of West Ham who are 2nd and we have a game in hand after we've played 24 games. Notable poor performances: Angelo: 6.4, Obinna Ajayi: 6.5 & Pedro Neto: 6.5. Standout performances: Amadou Onana: 7.8 & Dominic Calvert-Lewin: 7.4.

2026/27 SEASON - GAME DAY 37 - CHAMPIONS LEAGUE - AWAY VS FC BARCELONA Winning this game would have meant we had secured a placed in the automatic qualification places for the knockout stages. But it wasn't to be and FC Barcelona gave us a beating unfortunately. Not happy with this new habit of losing since the new year so far but it is what it is & can't complain too much about losing this one at the Nou Camp. Need to find some consistent form and soon though! Notable poor performances: Josip Sutalo: 6.3, Obinna Ajayi: 6.3, Dominic Calvert-Lewin: 6.5, Jarrad Branthwaite: 6.5 & Heung-Min Son: 6.5. Standout performances: Pedro Neto: 8.1.

2026/27 SEASON - GAME DAY 36 - PREMIER LEAGUE - AWAY VS BRIGHTON Back to winning ways after 3 losses on the spin. Not our best performance, and we only won the game via a penalty from DCL but 3 points is 3 points, especially off the back of our previous 3 games and dip in form. Notable poor performances: N/A Standout performances: Jordan Pickford: 7.5.

2026/27 SEASON - GAME DAY 35 - CARABAO CUP - HOME VS WEST HAM UNITED This second leg was worse than the first leg in many aspects, we played the full game with 11 men, didn't have many key highlights meaning a lack of efforts on goal. We miss out on a Carabao Cup final and slump to 3 losses on the bounce. West Ham well and truly have our number - something to work on for the next time we play them. Now, we need to focus on the Champions League and Premier League and find our form once again. Notable poor performances: Pedro Neto: 6.3, Dominic Calvert-Lewin: 6.4 & Angelo: 6.5. Standout performances: Josip Sutalo: 7.1 & Ryan Gravenberch: 7.1.

2026/27 SEASON - GAME DAY 34 - FA CUP - AWAY VS BURNLEY In an insane turn of events, we've gone from not losing in 19 games, to losing two games on the bounce - this one being against a team in mid-table in the Championship. Can't complain, they absolutely hammered us in the first half, maybe I made too many changes, but looking at the team on paper compared to the Burnley team - it should have been more than enough to at least be competitive. We need a reaction now as we play the second leg of the Carabao Cup semi final against our bogey team West Ham next. Notable poor performances: Vitor Roque: 6.0, Heung-Min Son: 6.0, Jack Butland: 6.3, Kaio Jorge: 6.3, Lucien Agoume: 6.4, Anel Ahmedhodzic: 6.5 & Dominic Calvert-Lewin: 6.5. Standout performances: Lovro Zvonarek: 7.6 & Angelo: 7.3.

2026/27 SEASON - GAME DAY 33 - CARABAO CUP - AWAY VS WEST HAM UNITED We took on the last team to beat us in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi final away from home. Unfortunately for us, we conceded two goals really early in the game - leaving ourselves with an up hill battle. Heung-Min Son showing us what he can scoring a brilliant individual effort and first goal for the club brought us back into the game, only for McNeil to absolutely stitch us up and get a straight red card for a ridiculous challenge around the half way line to put us up against it. However, despite all the odds, Son was the man of the moment again, putting a chance on a plate for Angelo as we levelled up the scoreline 5 minutes after the sending off. Unfortunately, it just wasn't to be in this one, with Aguerd scoring from a crossed in set piece - putting us to bed for the final time of the first leg. Some really poor performances in this one which is never going to end well so late in a cup competition against a good side. Notable poor performances: Dwight McNeil: 5.8, Filippo Terracciano: 6.2, Anel Ahmedhodzic: 6.4, Vitaliy Mykolenko: 6.4, Vitor Roque: 6.4 & Jarrad Branthwaite: 6.5. Standout performances: Heung-Min Son: 7.8.

2026/27 SEASON - GAME DAY 32 - PREMIER LEAGUE - HOME VS MANCHESTER CITY We've come through another huge test here against one of the juggernauts of english football. A faultless win after a tight first half. DCL grabbing a brace & Dwight McNeil putting the game to bed late on - we stay 6 points clear at the top of the table after this one & continue our unbeaten run to 19 games in all competitions. No rest for the wicked though, as we take on West Ham in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi final next - these were the last tea mto beat us back in October. Notable poor performances: Angelo: 6.4. Standout performances: Dominic Calvert-Lewin: 8.6 & James Ward-Prowse: 8.2.