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.