Premier League Update

The weeked has arrived, so I can take my eyes of my Soccerlens writing jobs, and A-League stat reading, and pay attention to my Wolves in FM. As soon as I signed in, good news. Maniche is joining the Wolves. Hurrah. Our next game was against Everton. We were out for some payback. Losing in the League Cup.

Vs Everton, Premier League
1-2
(Ebanks-Blake 37)

Well, Everton seem to know what makes us tick, and how to beat us. Yakubu was the played for them. We just had nothing to counter him. However we had to look up, with Manchester United ahead. We beat them before, we can do it again. We were missing Ebanks-Blake, and we were away, so it was going to be such a tough game.

Vs Manchester United, Premier League
2-1
(Ashton 18, 55)

We have defied all odds again, defeating the Red Devils 2-1. Ashton was the main reason we won, even without top goalscorer Ebanks-Blake. In the meantime, the transfer season opened, and we signed a huge amount of players. Adam Federici won our clubs first major award. Beating Iker Casillas to the top award.

Our next match was against Tottenham, and a win here will start off what will be a possibly great FA Cup Campaign. Vokes was going to play against he old club, while we were going to field a completely revitalised and changed squad, with Riquelme, Pennant, and John Fleck.

Vs Tottenham, FA Cup 3rd Round
0-0

Sam Vokes played a good dangerous match, great player, too bad we had to offload him as he didn't fit. Still, we made 4 mill from him. Our debutants could've played a better game, however we still played well to hold them off. We had Arsenal up next, and Pennant was to play his first match.

Vs Arsenal, Premier League
1-3
(Sagna 72 o/g)

Well, a tough, harsh and card filled match, 2 red cards from Arsenal and one for us. Well, we couldn't complain, losing to one of the big 4. Adebayor ran rings around us, scoring 3 times.

I sold James to Manchester United, after they offered 23.5 million, and Ebanks-Blake might be on his way out for 50 million. I am still not sure whether to sell, as he is an important player.

So thats all for me now, as I go off and attempt to get an interview with Miles Jacobson for Soccerlens.com, any readers here who would like to ask him a question, just go here : http://soccerlens.com/forum/topic/interview-with-miles-jacobson-sports-interactive-studio-director#post-45455

Sister Site Opening.

Sport runs in my veins. Well, kinda, its almost if someone rammed it into me. That's why I launched The Sportsfan's Journal, a sister site for anyone who wants to read about my perspective on the wide sporting arena.

http://thesportsfanjournal.blogspot.com

Anyway's, don't stop FM-ing, scroll down a bit to continue the Wolves' Premier League story.

December 2009 Update

After two high profile wins, the rest will not be too hard for us. Doncaster, Stoke and Reading, however as history goes, we have a bad record against low level teams. The investment in defence and training has paid off, with the defencive line winning the Arsenal game, along with Federici, who has had some brilliant gains in his stats. I am hoping that with my strong side, we will challenge for the trophy, and maybe I can walk in the footsteps of Paine who won with Stoke. Maybe....

Vs Doncaster League Cup 2nd Round
3-0
(Ebanks-Blake 6,15,23)

Vs Stoke Premier League
1-1
(Ashton 11)

Vs Reading Premier League
3-1
(Ebanks-Blake 29, Ashton 84, James 90+4)

We were on top of the ladder. 1 point clear of Man City, Chelsea, West Brom and Newcastle. In other games, Arsenal registered a 3-0 win against Ipswich, and United won 2-0 against Middlesbrough, to move both clubs out of Relegation territory. Wigan also had a shock win over Liverpool, thanks to a Brown penalty on 70.

Vs Portsmouth Premier League
0-0

A bore draw for us today, however, it was a decent performance. Finishing remained the problem, as we had many more chances, however in the dying stages, we slacked off and our defence had to work even harder. The match was all good (0-0) until Ebanks-Blake was injured. He is out for a month with a groin strain. Oh dear. In other news, it seems the a Liverpool takeover is imminent, which surprises me quite alot. They lost to Chelsea, 2-1.

Vs Leicester League Cup Round 3
2-1
(King o/g 1, van Der Schaaf 5)

Not really a good result, only 2-1, with Glauber putting in an own goal from a free-kick. We still go through, but the competition just gets tougher now. Ebanks-Blake was out through injury and Collins was taken off injured, in our team's defence.

Vs West Brom Premier League
1-2
(Ashton 63)

We lost the game, 2-1. Unbelievable. Two obviously offside goals went through, and we lost on a horrid refereeing decision. Our first loss this season after 6 games. We are now 7th. We are doing well, but we deserved to win that.

Vs Chelsea Premier League
0-2

A loss marred by a disallowed goal, which should've stood. I guess that's football for you. We we're now sitting mid-table, at 10th. We needed to up our game, in order to keep ourselves in this position. Ebanks-Blake's injury is really taking a toll on our team.

Vs Liverpool Premier League
4-0
(James 25, Ebanks-Blake pen 29, Dossena O/G 34, McFadden 38)



Well it seems perfectly fine to say that our side relies on Ebanks-Blake too much. Following two game losses, Ebanks-Blake returned against Liverpool, which we defeated. We were now sitting 6th on the ladder, a great achievement for us.

Vs Wigan Premier League
1-1
(McFadden 88)

Sagnol was sent off in the middle of the second, so for us to equalize, was just brilliant. Mcfadden's shot went straight into the corner. Great goal. The draw put the Wolves up into 5th spot, one above Arsenal. Man Utd took the top of the table, reversing a horrible start to the season to be on 19 points.

Vs Man City Premier League
4-2
(Ebanks-Blake 20,31,33,61)

The team suffered a few key injuries during this game. James, Stoch, Cech. We regained 5th spot with this win, Chelsea were on top, 5 points clear, with Newcastle, Man Utd in third and West Brom in 4th.

Vs Tottenham Premier League
2-3
(Ebanks-Blake 8,80)



A game which we could've won easily. We conceded two soft penalties, which lost the game for us. We were now sitting in 6th, which is good, but not good enough.

Vs Blackburn, Premier League
3-0
(Ebanks-Blake 9,30, Ashton pen 56)

A comfortable win for the Wolves, which moved us back up to 5th on the table, one behind Arsenal. Sylvan Ebanks-Blake is really playing brilliantly, and I wouldn't be surprised if he received a call-up for the national team.

Vs QPR, League Cup Round 4
4-3
(Cech 26, Neil 48, Camp O/G 50, Ashton 67)

A slight reminder of last season, in which we conceded some easy goals late in the game due to complacency. 4-1 ahead was where we started to slack off, and we conceded 2 quickly. In the meantime, I signed two brilliant players, one 15 year old Spanish defensive midfielder, who has the potential to be the best in the team, and a young French midfielder, who I will look to train to his highest potential.

Vs Newcastle, Premier League
3-1
(Ebanks-Blake 5, 23, 54)

After another well worked game, we played our tactics perfectly today. We shut down the players who were the most dangerous. We moved up another spot to 4th on the ladder. We were shaping up to becoming a major player in the English footballing scene. Who knows, maybe Cristiano Ronaldo will be sporting the Wolves number 7 next season. Only time will tell. Speaking of new players, Juan Riquelme has been signed for my Wolves, as well as John Fleck (finally).

Vs Ipswich Premier League
2-0
(Ebanks-Blake 23, Jarvis 52)

Despite a bad performance, Federici made sure that we didnt concede, and that we now have a 3 match winning streak. We are sitting at 4th on the table, two points ahead of Newcastle. I was just browsing through the Premier League sides, and found out interestingly that Carlos Queiroz is in charge of Australian A-League club Queensland Roar. After purchasing Vokes from Bournemouth for $700K back in 2008, we sold him for $13.5 million. A well worked deal. We were also assigned with Tottenham in the FA Cup Third Round, which is an extremely tough ask. I was also second in the November Manager of the Month award, and Ebanks-Blake taking second in the Player of the Month.

Vs Everton, League Cup Quarter Final
1-1 | E/T: 1-1 | PEN: 3-5
(James 41)



A tough match between two equal (on paper) sides, which could only be decided on penalties. Still, a decent effort by my boys. Everton keeper Tim Howard did brilliantly, and deserved his Man of the Match award.

Vs Middlesbrough, Premier League
3-1
(Keogh 31, 35, 88)

With Sylvan Ebanks-Blake being taken off injured on the 22nd, we were in trouble, and second striker Andy Keogh came on. He played a blinder, scoring a hat trick which might stake his claim for a first team spot. Stewart Downing was given a controversial penalty, which was saved by Federici, however the rebound fell to Tuncay, who was taken out by Stoch for another penalty. This time, Tuncay scored. That game puts us 5 points ahead of Newcastle who are at 5th spot, with us a 4th. We were only one point behind Man Utd and Arsenal who were in 2nd and 3rd respectively. We were 7 behind Chelsea however, who are the only big 4 team we haven't beaten this season. Whilst receiving reports from my under 18's team, I came across a young new player who is touted as the next Owen Hargreaves. Instantly, I took a massive look at this player, and he was going to become a star for this club. The 17 year old, Shaun Young (a gen player, don't look for him :P) is already worth $3.1 million, and I will begin training him intensely. Also, for the next transfer window, I signed Jermaine Pennant from Liverpool, after he was offered for next to nothing. A good deal if you ask me.

Vs Aston Villa, Premier League
1-1
(Hill 34)

In a match we dominated (esp in the second half), we were unlucky to not win this. In a match where the defenders were doing all the attacking, Hill scoring a cracking goal, set up by Neil, and Rocha hitting the crossbar in the dying seconds, Collins header was disallowed on 82. It was a game which the defence played brilliantly, and Keogh couldn't turn last match's hat trick into anything but a lacklustre performance. With that game, we stay at 4th place, with 31 points, however on equal points with Newcastle.

Vs Bolton, Premier League
1-2
(Ashton 67)

It was a game which we didn't deserve, but we didn't deserve to lose. Our side played horribly against a lower-grade Bolton side. They had nothing to lose, and took advantage. Iwelumo had a shocking game, and just hasn't been the same since the thigh strain last season. With that loss, we moved into 5th place, going below Newcastle. We were getting too complacent, and we were doing so well for us to just give up now.

Vs Fulham, Premier League
1-1
(McFadden 24)

It seems our side is slowing down a little. Possibly due to our good position, we were surely going to slide as a result. We had such a good position, but petty losses caused us to fall. Those players who are the culprits may be replaced, as we are getting a huge batch of new players in the transfer season. We fell back to 6th on the ladder, and were 2 points ahead of Everton.

Current Squad



Table



Fixtures

The Beginning of the Premier League Journey.

The Wolves are in the Premier League. Not really exciting as they actually are in real life, but don't put out my fire :) I am kinda getting annoyed at the constant bids for Ebanks-Blake, but I need him for this season, more than ever. Dean Ashton is just going to be brilliant for me this season. I was just amazed that our board increased transfer funds from 9.5 million to 67 million. Wow.



I changed the captains for this season to Lucas Neil and Sylvan Ebanks-Blake. Neil has a good influence rating, and Ebanks-Blake played a brilliant season. Our season was going to begin hard. Manchester United, then Arsenal. :S.

MATCHES

Wolves vs Manchester United

Vidic scored first for United on the 12th minute. Nani scored soon after. We were down 2-0. Rooney could've easily made it 3 but blasted wide. Our team was down, badly. Federici prevented Rooney on the 29th minute. Ebanks-Blake scored our first Premier League goal this season, however Rooney made it 3-1 on 42. Ebanks-Blake then scored a trademark goal on 48, 3-2, a respectable scoreline.

Dean Ashton wasn't having a great game, but I was hoping he'd spring up and show us why we brought him to the Molineux. Dean Ashton hit the post on 49. The team looked fired up. Ebanks-Blake made it 3-3 on 55 minutes. What a comeback. They looked like they were going to win it. Federici denied Nani on 57, before snuffing out the corner. James came close on 64 minutes, we were getting so close to going ahead of the nation's best team. Federici made a brilliant save on 67 minutes to deny Rooney from the 6 yard box. Still and nail-biting 3-3. Glauber unbelievably made it 4-3 for the Wolves. 20 minutes to go, we had to defend hard. Ebanks Blake was awarded a penalty on 90, with Ashton to take it, we scored the winner. 5-3. What an unbelievable game. 5-3 on our first match. Our new players were the toast of the team, as well as Ebanks-Blake.



Wolves vs Arsenal

Our next match was against holders Arsenal. My plan was to defend, as there was a lot that Arsenal had above us. The Emirates was also the venue. Even tougher.

Within the first 10 minutes, we were defending well, forcing them to make long shots. Adebayor's pace beat our defence and he hit the post. We were holding very well, and I was happy. However, as always, when I write that, we concede and did so in the late 20's. Walcott broke the defence, and we conceded. Ashton then scored for us on the 42nd minute. 1-1 to the league holders. Adebayor almost scored late into injury time, however he put his shot wide.

Toure missed a free-kick early on in the second. Rosicky was denied by Federici, who was having another good game.Stoch's shot hit the crossbar, before being cleared. Sagnol almost scored on the 66th. We were pilling on the pressure, however Arsenal were doing the same. Ashton scored a stunning goal on the 85th, to silence the home supporters, 2-1 with 7 minutes to play. At this point, I realised that my team was perfect for my tactic. It seems now, our side might be able to challenge for the title. This seems so suss, however the United game was kinda fluky, but now, it seems our new players are just perfect for this system.



So after 2 matches, the Premier League table looks surreal. The big 4 are nowhere to be seen, with Arsenal losing 2 matches and in relegation territory. The Wolves were surprisingly topping the table. Winning the season would be brilliant, and as our small form record goes now, we could achieve the impossible. Don't worry, I'm as surprised as you are. This has to be a dream!!



Wolves Squad



Wolves Fixtures

Pre-Season Update

Well, the start of my maiden Premier League Run is about to begin, and here is the start of my decisive season.

I decided to aim for a mid-table placing, due to the number of transfers I was making, It seemed sensible.



We were given a heap of cash from TV rights, and also players being sold helped me purchase some quality players, so of which were outlined last post.



A very fitting way for me to start the season, against Man Utd and Arsenal. It will be a test, but I am ready to take them on.



Squad



New Players

Marek Cech (West Brom)


Lucas Neil (West Ham)


Glauber (Man City)


James McFadden (Birmingham)


Miroslav Stoch (Free)
(Apparently has the potential to be world class)


Dan Spence (Free)


Dean Ashton (West Ham)


Willy Sagnol (FC Bayern)


The emphasis is on defence this season, as I think my team can cope offensively.

A very short update, but from now on, due to school, I will have very small updates during the week, with large ones on the weekend.

End of Season Wrap

In the advent of hearing that the editor in FM 2010 will have an editor capable of creating leagues, I have decided to create a challenge for all those Australian FM players out there. It will contain two/three new divisions below the A-League, which will contain state leagues. This will reflect on what the A-League expansion will look like. This challenge will be for Australian players, as there is next to no challenges for us out there, and anyone else who wishes to try out an Australian league.

P.S. I have decided to try a new layout to my posts. I am doing this so I can focus on tactics during matches instead of writing. Please post some feedback.

With three games to play, Wolves qualified for promotion. With Reading already having won the league almost 5 matches ago, this was great, with the pressure off, and other teams were now battling it out for the third and final place in the Premier League. There will be a major reshuffle of the squad for next season, with certain players already guaranteed a spot in my plans, however the others will have to work for it.

So, in order to wrap up this season, the final match for us was at Ashton Gate, Bristol. Finishing second was a great achievement for a side destined to be borderline playoff contenders. Below are the fixtures/results list for the season, as well as the table. I have begun searching for players to bolster my Premier League squad. With the exciting prospect of a large transfer budget, I hope to entice a large number of highly skilled players to help us stay in the Premier League. A number of deals for high-profile players were made, but fell through at the last minute. Two confirmed signings are Marek Cech from West Brom, Lucas Neil from the recently relegated West Ham, Glauber, the Brazilian defender from Manchester City, Miroslav Stoch, after being dropped from Chelsea, Dan Spence, after being sacked from Reading, Dean Ashton from West Ham, and James McFadden from Birmingham. On a staff level, Terry Connor, Wolves former Assistant Manager was sacked by me, on the grounds of poor advice during the season. A number of his calls and judgement were quite poor, including press conferences. His replacement was former Manchester United First Team Coach (who we signed him from) Rene Meulensteen, who has experience managing Brondby, Al-Sadd in Qatar, and Al-Gharrafa also in Qatar. He is a World Class staff member and is a welcomed addition to my backroom personnel.

Here is a quick SLIDE containing our new staff and players.

Obviously, my player of the year has to be striker Ebanks-Blake. He is just so speedy, which works perfectly to the way I manage. His trademark blasting of the ball is just brilliant to watch, and he gets us out of so much danger. He will no doubt be a definite starter for next season. Within the first 20 league matches, he had already blitzed the goal scoring record, and at the end of the season, finished at a whopping 47 goals.

In terms of awards, I finally received the Manager of the Month award. 4 out of 5 league victories. Hurrah for me :)



The seasonal awards were given out, first up, the Goal of the Season. The award was won by Guillaume Beuzelin of Coventry against Blackpool (April 18th). The goal was a first time shot from way outside the area to equalize for Coventry on the 78th minute. Coming in second place, was Pablo Counago of Ipswich, against QPR (October 4th). With the score at 2-0 down for Ipswich, A cross outside the area found Counago, who took a first time shot to the top corner of the net. In third place, was our very own Sylvan Ebanks-Blake, against Sheff Wed (December 6th). Scores at 1-1, Ebanks-Blake takes the ball from the Wolves half, dribbles past 2 defenders, before rounding the keeper and scoring.



The Manager of the Year award was handed out to none other than Steve Tilson of Reading. Taking control of Reading half-way through the season, he kept the team's momentum flowing, in winning the league. Coming in second is yours truly, after taking the Wolves through to promotion, and not losing to Reading in the whole campaign. In third was Dave Jones of Ipswich, who took the team 12 places above what was predicted, to win the playoffs and secure promotion to the premier division, the first time the club's been in the division since 2001/2002.



The Players' Select this year is made up of 8 clubs. No real surprises in this team, apart from Matt Jarvis of Wolves, who had a shocking season, considering his chances.



Finishing up the awards section is Top Goalscorer, which went to none other than Sylvan Ebanks-Blake, who scored a whopping 47 goals. Second to that was Kevin Doyle of Reading, who scored 34, and in third was Jason Scotland, who scored 25 to help Swansea achieve a very impressive 11th. Sylvan Ebanks-Blake's large amount of goals has beaten the previous record of 31 goals by 16, which was set in 1998/1999 by Lee Hughes of (then) West Brom.




Fixtures/Results



Table




Notable Matches

The friendly against Melbourne Victory was a match that was quite one-sided, but a valiant effort from the home side reduced the scoreline to lower than what the stats reflected. The experience of the Wolves squad showed in the end, 3-0 winners.



The match against Ipswich was supposed to be a draw, however the Wolves showed exactly how to play football. They managed to win despite having less shots, and the scoreline was absolutely brilliant. The man-of the match award should've been awarded to the Ipswich keeper, who, whenever he cleared the ball, had to be on guard as another attack was on the way.



So, to end this post, this season has been one of big scorelines, so I leave you now with a montage of our biggest scorelines.

Closing stages of the Season + FM 2010 Announcement

Coming into this next post in winning fashion was great. 5-1 to Crystal Palace. Ebanks-Blake is on fire at the moment, scoring a hell amount of goals. 7 in the last 5 matches. He has improved rapidly during this campaign, and I'd love to see more of him in the remainder of the season. This might be a long shot call, but I am surprised that he hasn't been shunned into any of the England teams.

An unchanged team for the Derby Match, hopefully a similar result as last match can be achieved. Ebanks-Blake found the net on 4 minutes, smashing it into the top corner. 2 minutes later, he blasted just wide of the post. Hulse hit the crossbar for Derby on the 20th minute, before a counter attack bagged Vokes a simple one-on-one tap in. James had a free-kick on 30 minutes, which went wide. Ebanks-Blake's header went just over the bar on 30 minutes, before Villa forced Federici to make a brilliant save. Green then struck the ball just over a minute later. Ebanks-Blake scored a goal after a header deflected off the bar, 3-0, then James made it 4 with his first ever goal.

Carroll made a save on the 59th minute to save a great header from Elokobi. A very quite second half came to an end, with the scoreline looking very one-sided. What a tactic this has turned out to be.



The next match against Blackpool should be easy, so I played Iwelumo in his first match in ages. This should shut up his first team pleas.

Keogh had a shot from 30 out, missing just on the 12th minute. Collins header hit the crossbar on 22, before James free-kick on 25th missed by just. James forced a fantastic save from the opposition keeper, before Jarvis' inswinging corner went wrong. Keogh took a shot but missed wide again. He has been wasteful today. Stearman almost found the net on 40 minutes. Iwelumo finally scored on the 44th minute following winning the ball in the 6 yard box. Half time, 1-0.

Ebanks-Blake replaced Keogh who was having a torrid game, at half-time. Wolves kicked off the half. Ebanks-Blake shot was parried by the keeper, before it being cleared. Our defensive line was holding strong, stopping Blackpool from getting into the box. Ebanks-Blake took a solo run from half way to give Wolves a deserved 2-0 lead. Full-time, 2-0.



The next game against Barnsley was another we would have to work for. Their defensive line is very strong, and Ebanks-Blake speed is still not enough to completely assure us victory. With the match between the two clubs chosen as a fan day by Barnsley, it will be quite funny to inflict a defeat. Following the goal he scored in the previous match, Iwelumo won his place in the first team yet again.

Hume scored the first goal from distance on the 11th minute. 1-0 down. Knightly's free kick went just wide on 13 minutes. Iwelumo then scored on 16, to equalize. An error by Stearman conceded a corner, but Van der Shaaf cleared the danger. Half-time, 1-1.

Hill's header early on found the keeper, before at the other end, Federici made a great save. Macken then scored for Barnsley, after Rocha made a vital error. Stearman hit wide on 80 minutes, before a corner on 88 minutes. Full-time. 2-1 loss.



The next game was against front-runners Reading. A full strength (bar Rebrov who is injured) will be played, a I hope that a few tactic changes can mastermind a victory.

Kick-off could not have started better, with Taylor-Fletcher scoring in 30 seconds. Knightly took the ball down the wing, before crossing for Taylor-Fletcher. Doyle came close, only denied by Federici from point-blank. Ebanks-Blake then scored on the 34th minute, following a great through-ball, however a minute later a sensational save by Federici kept Reading at bay. Hill came close on 47 minutes, before half-time. 2-0.

Ebanks-Blake went close on 48 minutes, heading just wide. Doyle was denied by Federici, he was having an excellent game. Metejovsky went wide on 58, as Reading continued to hammer the Wolves goal. A counter attack helped Ebanks-Blake score on 60, before Vokes shot was brilliantly parried by Hahnnemann. James forced a top draw save from Hahnemann, before Doyle countered and finally scored. A lifeline. At full time, Wolves showed who is the best in the league, following a dominating 3-1 win. It seems careless losses are the cause of our problems, however we inflicted Reading's first defeat in a whopping 12 league games.



A scare for us, as Ebanks-Blake was ruled out for a month following an injury. The rest of the team needs to suit up in order to cover for him. We were facing Burnley, so the problem was not as big as first seen.

We conceded the first goal, from a header. Not the best start. Thompson came close later on, before James hit the side netting on the 22nd. Rebrov's goal went wide short after. 1-0 down.

Stearman's header went just over the bar, before James' stuffed up cross was countered on for a Burnley corner. The header went just wide. Vokes' shot went just wide on 81, however Taylor-Fletcher wasted a one-on-one opportunity on 85th. Full-time, lost 1-0. The team once again, has faultered to a lesser opponent.



The next game against QPR was another must win, in order to keep the gap between 2nd and 3rd as it is.

Cook came close for QPR early on, however the shot went wide. QPR scored first through Ledesma, 25 yards out. James stuffed up a one-on-one opportunity, but 3 minutes later, Keogh scored to equalize. Vokes then scored off a header on 28. 2-1 ahead. Vine then scored for QPR after beating the defence. 2-2. Half-time.

Taylor-Fletcher came close early one, before QPR found the net through Balanta. 3-2 down. Knightly hit the post on 60, before Taylor Fletcher squandered a chance on 69. Vokes then scored on 72nd, 3-3. Knightly had a chance against an open net, before shooting wide. Vokes had a goal disallowed on 91, for offside. Full-time, 3-3.



Next match against Sheff Utd was a match that we couldn't take for granted. Sheff Utd are another team that are not as high on the table, however, teams like that have shown how to play Football properaly.

Vokes' hit the bar early on from a Knightly cross. Keogh's horrid shot stopped before the line wide, before Vokes scored from a header on the 27th. Sharp scored for Sheff United on 28, almost immediately. Half time, 1-1.

Keogh's cross was pushed away, before Henry recieved a yellow card. Keogh's attempt to round the keeper failed, with the shot parried. Federici's error in goals, dallying on the ball conceded the goal for Sheff Utd, 2-1 down. Vokes powerful shot was saved on the 75th. Rocha's shot went just over the bar, before full-time. 2-1 loss.



Against Watford, I employed a new tactic, and hopefully, something could come out of that game.

Vokes almost scored on 2nd, lobbing the keeper, before it being gobbled up. Vokes then scored on the 5th minute, after a great through ball. Vokes header on 16 went just wide. Keogh rounded the keeper to score a brilliant individual goal on 24 minutes, before he did it again directly after his first. Wolves then scored through James, following a good cross. 4-0 in 30 minutes, with more to come. Federici made a brilliant save on 48 minutes, to keep it 4-0 at half time.

Keogh finished off a run on 50 minutes to make the score 5-0. Federici made a save directly after to gift Watford a corner, it was cleared by Rocha. What a great played he has been for us this season. James scored a goal from an impossible angle to give the game a massive scoreline. Keogh almost scored a goal from 50 metres out, it hitting the post. Smith almost scored for Watford, however he put it wide. Full-time, 6-0.




Our current first team looks as it does below:



Our current best performing new signing is by far Chris James. A large number of assists, and three goals for him. He is also very well disciplined. His stats increased dramatically due to training (by about 4 or 5), and also directly after his international friendly.



At the moment, Reading have already booked their spot in the playoffs, but not that they will play it. They are on fire. We are sitting under them, but ahead of third by 3 points. A number of missed oppotunities have prevented us from increasing that number.



The injury to Ebanks-Blake has been horrible for the campaign, with a large reduction in goals (except for the Watford game), and we will all be welcoming him back when he is back to full fitness.

Also, on FM News, FM 2010 has been announced, for 30th October 2009. Can't wait. Also something that is worth noting is the (re)opening of FM Scene on the 19 September, a great site which is undergoing revamps and a new management.

Taken from the FM website:

"The introduction of a Tactics Creator makes it easier to instruct the team to play the way the manager wants, alongside the introduction of touchline ‘shouts’ and quick tactic changes for instantly altering your team’s playing style during the match. Working with coaches from various levels of football, alongside some of the Football Manager communities most respected independent tacticians, the game now has an extensive array of pre-set tactical options allowing the user to select a player’s role in the team (such as ‘Ball winning midfielder’ or ‘Deep lying playmaker’), however the option to use the old ‘slider’ controls remains.

Feedback from matches has been improved to give the user better insight into where their team is going wrong, or right. A new Match Analysis tool lets players see where shots, passes, crosses, headers, tackles, fouls and interceptions have been made on the field for all players on the pitch. Managers can view this analysis both live in-game and post match, allowing them to pinpoint the strengths and weaknesses of both their team and their opponent’s and adjust their tactics accordingly.

Football Manager 2010 features a brand new User Interface, with a light and a dark skin to choose from as part of a vibrant new look and has undergone a complete navigational overhaul. The side bar navigation of previous years has been replaced by an intuitive tab system at the top of the screen, making Football Manager’s famed depth easier to navigate and will make the game more accessible to new players.

A brand new Data Editor will allow the addition of new divisions to existing leagues and of entirely new leagues as well as making it easier than ever to keep the game up to date, and do so for free. The delivery of information to the manager has been refined with users now able to sign up to the News Centre, an in-game subscription based newspaper that lets you get the news that you want about the football world and filter out the stories that you do not need, making the football world as immersive as you want it to be.

Following the debut of a 3D match view in Football Manager 2009, this year’s release sees a revamp with improved AI, over 100 new animations for the 3D pitch view, new stadiums, crowds, realistic pitch degradation and better lighting, creating an even more realistic match experience. "



Release: October 30th, 2009.