The Manager's Journal

The Beginning of Bolton's 2010-11 Season

2010-12-21T19:05:00.011+11:00

Here we go again. It's time to start another Football Manager Story! I begin this time with English Premier League Side Bolton Wanderers, as I aim to take control and make an impact. It seems the fans are skeptical at my appointment, being an Australian with relatively no experience, however I was keen to make a splash ahead of my first match against Ballymena United.

I began by analyzing my training schedule and had to work out preferred tactics for my squad. I set up three for preparation, these being a simple 4-4-2 diamond, 4-4-2 and 5-4-1. Depending on the squad after the first few Pre-Season friendlies, I may rethink the stratergy and make

either the 4-4-2 or 4-4-2 diamond into a more attacker friendly tactic.

I was quite happy with my current squad, however with my tight transfer budget I was still going to squeeze the funds out of it, to try and strengthen the team and bolster for the future. I notified the board that I would attempt to go for a Top Half finish, which is achievable, and was promptly given 1.4 million (AUD) and a wage budget of 4.3 million (AUD).

Out of my current squad I was quite excited to utilize the skills of loan import Rodrigo, a 19 year old Spaniard from Benfica.

I was however in the market for a left back in order to keep strength in the backline, so I decided to approach club-less Michael Ball, former Manchester City and Rangers defender. According the the media report, I was close to signing Ball, until Middlesbrough swooped in with a late contract offer, followed after by a contract from Fulham. With this stiff competition I was no longer confident in signing Ball, and cautiously scouted other options.

With my first press-conference completed, I remained quite quiet and answered questions that only needed to be said. I still believe that giving away very little is good to prevent opponents to have the chance to take a quite swipe. I refused to give away any of my transfer policy, as to not arouse suspicion in my future transfer targets. I have already been labelled as a media-friendly boss, which is always good. Having the media on my side can be something of an asset at times.

8/7/2010

I used my first Intra-Squad friendly as a chance to bump out the kinks in the squad after the pre-season, and test out my 4-4-2 Diamond Formation. I stuck with a strong first eleven, in hopes to see whether the squad would blend well to my formation.

Bolton vs Bolton Reserves

The County Ground, Preston

(2-0)

Ricardo Gardner (16)

Fabrice Muamba (21)

I was happy with the performance from the Bolton First Team considering it was a match directly after the pre-season. The team passed well and defended well, however they were unable to control the midfield with any conviction. We were down on Possession as the squad was not able to string together plays from the midfield. Both goals originated from the wings, with one being a corner, and the other being a link up between the left back and left midfielder. I was very concerned at the level of fitness demonstrated, with both Ivan Klasnic and Rodrigo injuried in the friendly match.

Post match I was pleased when Matty Taylor's agent announced that his client was not interested in a move to Fulham, which means one less player to worry about replacing.

Back with a Vengeance

2010-12-21T17:23:00.002+11:00

It has been quite a while since I had posted on my Manager Journal, well, It's Time for me to make a splash back onto the scene. With Football Manager 2011 and two years added experience, its time for me to come back, this time, I will take charge of Bolton FC, in the English Premier League.

First posts will be up soon.

Cheerio.

The Wolves Slight Downfall

2009-09-11T21:51:00.002+10:00

Well, after a serious loss to Arsenal, we were hoping to make up for it and play a decent rest of season. We were 8th, and if we were going to press for a spot in Europe, we needed to up our game.

Vs Tottenham, FA Cup 3rd Round Replay
1-2
(Ebanks-Blake)

Losing to Tottenham was really such a sad defeat. It was a very even match, however we had to rely on the Premier League this season to get some silverware.

Vs Stoke, Premier League
1-2

Losing to Stoke was pretty bad, as we were now sitting 8th. We needed to up our game, and fast.

Vs Reading, Premier League
4-2
(Ebanks-Blake 44, 88, Ashton 59, Armstrong o/g 62)

The win, was our first decent result. I gave 15 year old Jean-Luc Mahe his debut for the Wolves. He's a young wonderkid, and really deserved his first match, playing very well.

Vs Portsmouth, Premier League
1-0
(Ashton 31)

A lucky game for us to win, after being down most of the match. However, a win is a win, despite being aided heavily by Federici, and sloppy defence by Pompey. I sold Ebanks-Blake for a massive 67 million up front, and maybe up to 70 million. To AC Milan by the way, so I just had to let him go on and continue his career. A good deal in my opinion. However soon after, I realised the potential gap in my side, and since the transfer window passed, I had no option but to promote Andrew Keogh.

Vs Wigan, Premier League
4 - 0
(Riquelme 19, 81, Ashton 34, Keogh 40)

In a fairly one sided match, Riquelme was on fire on his return match. So was Keogh. We showed we didn't need Ebanks-Blake to defeat Premier League Sides. Unfortunantely, Adam Federici sustained a back strain during a weights training. A bad time, as he is out for a month.

Vs West Brom, Premier League
2-2
(Keogh 45, 80)

The match was showing why we need all the players on our first team, as Federici's absence showed. Riquelme played well, as well as Fleck, who is showing some great potential. It also seems my profile is growing, after being shunted in as Cameroon manager. My goal for the nation is to do well in the group stages of the World Cup.

I immediately began organising friendlies for the African Giants, the first at home against Albania, then match 9 days before the first World Cup match against Hosts South Africa. Our World Cup Group matches are against Argentina, USA and Greece. A tough group. After the Cup, we have Peru away, Australia away, New Zealand at home, Iraq at home, and local rivals Ghana at home to round off the year.

Vs Chelsea, Premier League
0-0

A Great result for our side, as we didn't lose to the top of the ladder team. We moved up to 5th, and we did it without Federici. Our side was seriously playing some great football.

Vs Liverpool, Premier League
0-2

Well, after beating them by a large margin first time round, they were out for revenge, and Torres definantely found it. Ebanks-Blake was sorely missed, as we lacked pace up front.

Vs Man City, Premier League
2-1
(Keogh 32, Ashton 83)

It was a good match for us, showing that we can defeat a team despite being on the back foot. Great defence also works for us, as well as sustained midfielders. Our strikers once again showed how to shoot, placing the ball into the back of the net on two separate occasions.

Vs Tottenham, Premier League
0-2

A bad game for us. We needed to keep winning in order to help us gain a spot in Europe. Tottenham just had the edge in the end. We were now 7th.

Vs Blackburn, Premier League
1-1
(Cech 64)

Another match, in which we salvaged another point. We were 7th by 2 points, and we needed to up our game. I started looking for a new striker to make up for Ebanks-Blake.

Vs Albania, Friendly
1-0
(Meyong 52)

At full-time, a decent performance gave my Cameroon side its Maiden win. We were dubbed down with the untimely injury to Eto at the start, which lessened his impact, however Meyong came off the bench to score the vital goal for us. The score should have been more.

Vs Newcastle, Premier League
0-1

Another shocking loss. This time without Federici, and Rocha sent off on 42. We were slipping on the table, and it seemed we were past out best. We were now 8th, even though we looked to be 4th, or somewhere near.

Vs Ipswich, Premier League
3-3
(Keogh 10, Ashton 47, Mahe 80)

We turned around a horrid start to the match to draw with 12 minutes to go. A horrid game, prompting a reshuffle and a complete change in tactics. At the moment, we can finish possibly at 3rd.

Vs Middlesbrough, Premier League
2-3
(Ashton 39, Riquelme pen 70)

Unbelievably, in the final minute, we were punished by a painfully offside goal, a major controversy. Unbelievably, we were now going to slip, and needed a major new striking signing to help us for next season.

Vs Aston Villa, Premier League
1-2
(Ashton 6)

We lost to a team which we dominating against. It seems the loss of Ebanks-Blake has completely ruined our side, Federici's injury is also causing a stir, with Hennessey not being able to compete with Federici's skill.

Vs Bolton, Premier League
1-0
(Neil 49)

With the goal coming from a very unlikely source, we finally won a match, giving us a chance to qualify for Europe. I was still working hard to sign a new striker, however none were really wanting to move to the Wolves.

Our squad was rocked by the injury to the unstoppable Federici

We have two more fixtures, them being Fulham and Everton, and we can finish at a high of 7th, and a low of 11th.

Thats all from me, after a long break for me to study, hope you enjoy my rocking Wolves campaign.

Premier League Update

2009-08-29T10:06:00.000+10:00

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.

2009-08-24T17:02:00.002+10:00

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

2009-08-23T15:45:00.003+10:00

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.

2009-08-21T17:01:00.004+10:00

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

2009-08-18T17:58:00.006+10:00

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

2009-08-16T16:50:00.007+10:00

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

2009-08-15T08:15:00.020+10:00

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.

Great League Update

2009-08-14T17:56:00.021+10:00

The first match this time round was against Watford in the FA Cup. We made our signings, Taylor Fletcher, James, and Van der Chaaf. I hoped they would make a splash.

With the player's debut in the FA Cup, a win was needed. On 12, Keogh went one-on-one, missing by inches. On 16, James powered a header just wide of the post. Keogh scored on the 44th minute after a great Ebanks-Blake run and cross. 1-0 at half time.

Taylor Fletcher came on at half time, and I hope the money I spent would not go to waste. We virtually forced Watford to take long shots, as we had a great defensive performance. Taylor-Fletcher's long shot went just wide of the post on 70. A free-kick was awarded on the stroke of full-time on the edge of the area, but no time to take it.

After drawing the FA Cup Fourth Round thingy, we were drawn against the mighty Manchester United. I don't expect to win, but I hope a good performance is in order. Our next match however, was against Plymouth. Hopefully, our current form will take us into this match successfully.

Kick off against Plymouth. We conceded a free-kick on 8, but they missed. We started on the back foot, with shot count 4 to 1. Keogh headed the ball into the side netting on 24 before we conceded on the 27th. Half-time, down 1-0.

Taylor-Fletcher chipped the keeper with his first shot in the second, landing on top of the net. Van der Shaaf was sent off on 70 minutes, and it seems the team was destined for another horridly embarrassing loss. Mpenza then scored on the 82nd minute, another horrid loss, back to the beginning. Ebanks-Blake then scored on the 96th minute, giving a little credibility to a horrid match.

Our next match was a must win to give us some leeway, with only 3 points between us and the nearest rivals. Southampton are on a two match winning streak, and we had to win. Not an easy task.

We started off well, with Euell sent off in the first 2 minutes. We almost scored through Ebanks-Blake on the 16th minute. Ebanks-Blake then scored on the 22nd minute, lobbing the keeper. A corner on the 39th minute rendered Jarvis injured, after a horrid collision. He was replaced by David Jones. 1-0 at half time. Vokes replaced Keogh at half as well.

A few great saves by Hennessey saved our bacon, however Dyer was really dominating his right wing. Stearman had an easy chance on the 87th minute, before blasting it over the bar from 6 yards, and Ebanks-Blake squandered a one-on-one opportunity on 88. Full time, 1-0.

At the time, we were sitting second, with Reading still steaming ahead. Reading were undoubtedly going to win the league, but we hadn't lost all hope of a last game upset.

Our next match was against the mighty Manchester United, it was obviously going to be a colourful match. The thrill of playing at Old Trafford is also a largely anticipated thing for the players.

We conceded first, through Manucho on the 12th minute. Stearman missed an easy interception for go down. Hennessey made a save a minute later to stop Manucho from scoring another. Anderson scored from close range on the 23rd after taking the ball off Stearman on the 6 yard box. Ebanks-Blake went close on 30, but blaster it over. He did score on 33, showing off the prowess that makes him a quality striker. Half time, we were doing well, only 2-1 down.

Stearman was taken off following a bad first half, and then the match restarted. Carrick missed a header straight after the interval, as Wolves survived a mass wave of attack, before conceding through Berbatov on the 62nd. Taylor-Fletcher went wide on the 80, before Ebanks-Blake was only denied by van Der Sar. Giggs then missed horribly on the 83rd minute. Manucho then rounder the keeper to score a 4-1 scoreline. Van der Shaaf headed over the bar on 88, before James shot went inches wide. Full-time, 4-1.

The next match against Coventry, was once again, a match which can be won. The team needed to suit up, in order to get a direct promotion.

With another new tactic, going into the match was not easy, but finding a balance between attack and defence was what I am after. A Vokes cross found Jones in acres of space, before hitting the post from point-blank. A waste. A bad back-pass gave us a corner, a chance to go ahead. Cleared away. A Jones corner was wasted going out. Keogh hit a shot at the keeper, who parried wide. Taylor-Fletcher was injured, replaced by Rebrov. Henry came close to scoring on the 41st, before Vokes headed just over the bar. A match which we were dominating was still at 0-0. Ebanks-Blake replaced Vokes at half-time.

Rebrov found Keogh, who rounded a defender, and missed by inches. Ebanks-Blake came close on 57, before he hit the crossbar minutes later. Coventry came close with Eastwood squandering a one-on-one effort. A penalty was awarded from a trip by Rocha, which was scored by Ward. Elokobi's cross found Stearman, who headed over the bar. A match in which Wolves dominated was lost out due to a controversial penalty.

The match against Crystal Palace was a revenge match, after a dogged 3-0 loss away last time. A few tactic changes hopefully would help us use Ebanks-Blake speed more, and Chris James midfield ability. A great training schedule was helping us a lot.

Adam Federici made his return to football in this match, after impressing during training. No other changes were made apart from tactics.

Ebanks-Blake scored an incredible goal on the 2nd minute, before making it 2 on 4 minutes. What a start. Keogh almost scored on the 23rd, but missed an easy chance. Ebanks-Blake lobbed the keeper to make it 3-0 on 37. What a game for him. Keogh made it 4-0 from close range on 40 minutes. Rebrov came close soon after, so did Ebanks-Blake. An impossible 4-0 at half-time. A new radical tactic seems to work a treat. An attacking approach is quite risky, unless you have great defenders.

Knightly found Ebanks-Blake who scored his 4th straight after half-time. Federici made a superb save on 62. Kuqi finally scored for Crystal Palace on 78 minutes, following a good through ball. Full-time, 5-1.

A stunning match.

The league table is still virtually the same as last time, with us 13 points behind, but 3 points ahead of the next rival. I hope to bring the Crystal Palace form with me to the Premier League. Birmingham and Charlton are doing horrible, promotion favourites now look like being relegated.

The current squad for the Wolves is at the moment quite different. As I said before, Federici impressed at training and for Australia. Other than that, no other changes are present. Knightly is upset that he had a transfer from Everton rejected. He won't be as angry if we get promoted.

The upcoming fixtures are not problem, apart from the match against league 'owners' Reading. At the moment, I am in the process of organising friendlies during the season against some teams around the world, most notably Australian Champions Melbourne Victory.

A number of transfers were made over this transfer season, including the following, most notably the one from Everton.

A range of random statistic about the team, which may or may not be interesting to you.

After that long message, I am still positive that becoming champions is still possible. Hard, but possible, and my goal at the moment is to remain virtually undefeated for the remainder of the season. So that's all from me this post, have fun reading, spread the word about my blog, don't forget to keep tuning in :P.

Keep on Fm-ing.

turner

League Update (Promising)

2009-08-13T20:35:00.006+10:00

After a long day of refereeing, I decided it was time to go back to the fantasy world of football. With a match against Doncaster away, we had couldn't give away such an easy match. On other matters, it seems our successful season has been paying off for the reputation of out players, with 8 players being poached by other clubs, most notably, Ebanks-Blake by Fulham. He won't be leaving I'll tell you that.

Kick off against Doncaster started no so good, with Heffernan having an easy shot early on. Coppinger scored on the 25th minute, following horrid defence, before Jarvis set up Ebanks-Blake on the 41st minute. Second half started bad, almost conceding. After an average remainder to the second, the score ended 1-1, another crappy result for the promotion seekers. No tactics seem to work for this side.

Next match was against Bristol City, at home. This was a game I was hoping my side wouldn't throw away. With the prospect of two new attacking players to the squad in the next window, we just had to scrape in some results in the next few matches.

On the 11th minute, we squandered another one-on-one opportunity, which is something we need to work on. Ebanks-Blake did the same on 12, and then 18. Keogh then scored on the 22nd minute, after lobbing the keeper. Ebanks-Blake hit the post on 30 minutes, after a great solo run. Ebanks-Blake then scored after a great through ball, using his trademark 'blasting' strike we all know to well. Bristol then scored on Half time, after some lazy defence.

On 64th minute, Mccombe was sent off, giving us a great advantage which we should use to our advantage. McIndoe then defeated our offside trap, to equalise with a horrid performing Wolves side. 2-2. Another game thrown away.

With Reading now 12 points ahead, we had some serious catching up to do. To help ease the attacking problem, I attempted to sign Sergiy Rebrov from Rubin. The Ukrainian international is quite old, but still an exciting player to watch. In order to fix my defence problem, I have begun to scout for defenders.

Going up against Charlton, I have learnt is not an easy task. Any team we face now is not easy at all. Ebanks-Blake almost scored with his first touch, after a shaky start (Charlton 5 shots.) Jarvis then scored on 29 minutes, finishing a great move. Jarvis' solo run almost found the net on 36 minutes.

Ebanks Blake had a goal disallowed for offside. Very close decision. Some great work by Wolves in second half slowed Charlton down a lot. Ebanks-Blake put in a small cross, to let Keogh score a goal on 70. The game ticked over, and Wolves finished one of their first clean sheets this season. Hats off to a stellar performance.

With a small 3 point buffer from third place, we were making some leeway. But we had to keep it up. I started poaching players for the second transfer window, them being Remco Van der Chaaf from Burnley (defender) and defensive mid Mikele Leigertwood from QPR.

We were out for revenge this match against Norwich, after losing last time. Ebanks-Blake set up Keogh on the 6th. Great teamworked goal. Norwich equalized soon after, and it was on.Ebanks-Blake shot rebounded to Knightly, who cooly slotting it away.

2-1 up at half time was not time to shut down. Almost conceding on 46 minutes was a horrid start. Wolves were being pegged back by Norwich most of the halve, until Ebanks-Blake scored on the 72nd minute. A great smashing shot. A penalty was awarded on the 80th. Ebanks-Blake slotted it into the corner to make it 4-1. Keogh then scored from a great free-kick, to make it 5-1 at full-time. For once, the team played a match which had a scoreline worthy of their skills and performance.

The next match against Birmingham was going to be a great match. We had momentum and I hoped we didn't stop at the slaughtering of Norwich. Birmingham took hold of the match at the start, dominating the first 10 minutes, before the match evened out a bit. Ebanks-Blake had a clear cut chance, before shooting wide. 0-0 second half. We need a break through.

Second half kicked off in style. Ebanks-Blake scored a header on 48 minutes. Vokes almost scored on 60 minutes, in one of his odd matches. Henry set up Vokes to score his first EVER goal for Wolves. O'Connor then scored for Birmingham on the 84th. A small consolation. However he almost scored again on the 90th. Knightly almost scored on the stroke of full-time. 2-1 the final score. Another win, making it three in a row.

Everton recently made a bid for Knightly. Which I rejected. He is such an important player for us. Below are the current status' for transfers (Wolves)

Unfortunately, Reading are steaming ahead. We are closing in, and as current form is showing, looking to mount a challenge if things go to plan.

Current Squad. A few players I will be looking to offload, for money.

League Update (Disappointing)

2009-08-11T21:41:00.008+10:00

With the team sitting 2nd on the table, we had some work to do to achieve direct promotion. So going into the Swansea match, a lower rate opponent, we had to make sure we didn't fall into the complacency trap, as we have done on countless occasions.

Up against Swansea, we had one change, that being Karl Henry in attacking midfield, and Shackell playing in Henry's original spot. Despite being the higher ranked team, we were on the back foot, conceding early on. Keeping the score at only 1-0 down, was keeper Hennessey, who was playing brilliantly.

Early on in the second, we scored, courtesy of Knightly, from an Ebanks-Blake cross. Running rampage of our defence, was opposition striker, Febien Brandy. Jarvis set up a brilliant chance for Ebanks-Blake, however, he couldn't finish. Brandy then scored the winner on 86, following horrid marking. Following a horrid match from Wolves, another loss. 2-1. Very disappointing for a team destined for the Premier League.

Going into the match against Nottm Forest, I declared Matt Murray still unfit to start this match. The next home game will be his next chance. Only one change made, Keogh playing in AMC with Karl Henry back in his original spot. Within 4 minutes, Ebanks-Blake tested the keeper, showing off his prowess, before two minutes later, Jones scored from a cross. On the 7th, Jarvis scored from a Jones cross, in almost the same fashion as Jones. Karl Henry had two chances to score his first goal this season, but on both occasions, blasting it over the bar. Half time, 2-0.

Once again, a horrid start to the second, letting Earnshaw behind the defence to make it 2-1. However Martin conceded a penalty on the 53rd, slotted home by Ebanks-Blake. A number of shaky defensive corners followed, all coming close, before Collins almost scored at the opposite end. 3-1 final score. Still, not fitting of what Wolves could have achieved.

With Preston a slow side, I hoped to use Ebanks-Blake to my advantage, however, this match was no easy task, but another must win game to ensure we are still in the title race.

An almost horrible start to the match, with Preston going one-on-one, saved by Hennessey, before Davidson scored on 3 minutes. With no shots at 35 minutes, Wolves looked in serious danger when Mellor scored. Being the better side, and not using the team's major player to their advantage, when Brown scored, the game just looked horrible.

One-on-one, Keogh once again squandered a great ball, before doing the same 10 minutes later. Vokes set up Ebanks-Blake in the box, which was blasted over. Full time, 3-0 loss. A horrid performance for a side looking to be promoted. It seems the finishing expertise of new striker Gary Taylor Fletcher will be needed.

Falling down to 5th after looking so promising is such a disappointment. At the end of the season, some serious squad shuffling will be in order. Matt Murray will make his return against Sheff Wed at the Molineux.

A new tactic was employed for this match, being a famous Barcelona tactic. Hopefully, this will work. A corner on the 29th was the first attack, but as usual was squandered. A minute later, Ebanks-Blake used his pace, and scored a blinder. 1-0 at half time.

Knightly's cross for Davis almost found the net, before Ebanks Blake scored another on 61 minutes, before his third on 62. And what a goal it was. Dribbling past almost all defenders, before rounding the keeper. Goal of the month in my biased opinion. Beevers found the net on 80, following a horrid defensive lapse. I don't think Wolves have had one clean sheet this season.An own goal by Watson on the 84th sealed the match, following a Knightly cross.Davies missed a sitter on the 83rd, before full time. 4-1. Ebanks-Blake played one of the best matches of his career. If only we had results like this every year.

Clawing our way back to second spot following the match, on equal points with Preston, and two from Norwich, Cardiff, and Southampton. A very tight table. Just randomly I'd like to add, that I just saw the most interesting and controversial sounding result, Cardiff u/18 vs (Unknown) U/18 side - Goal scored from Penalty, 90+8 minutes. Interesting sounding result ey?

Following a series of disappointing results, and still being 2nd on the table, it shows that we are able to achieve much more. Reading seem runaway leaders now, and only injuries and a string of bad results can stop them. More interestingly, two promotion favourites, Birmingham and Charlton are now in relegation danger.

My new tactic is as of below. Using a single striker but a lot of midfielders seems crazy, however the pace of Ebanks-Blake will be good, as balls will be fed through to him.

Squad

Upcoming fixtures should be easy, but a tough road is ahead for promotion. Doncaster next up before Bristol and Charlton. Complacency will be something needed to guard against. New players will be welcomed, and if you can tell me some great new young players or just good cheap players, it will be much appreciated.

Meanwhile, in the Premier League

West Brom, recently promoted, have take 6th, while undefeated Man Utd are chart topping. Nothing else quite notable except West Ham destined for the Championship next season.

Long Season Update

2009-08-09T18:36:00.014+10:00

I have decided to begin reporting "live" as the match goes, which leads to a more in-depth report and analysis of the match.

The match against Reading was a tough ask for a squad who only had 3 days since the last outing against Derby. With a few tactical adjustments, mainly aimed at Kevin Doyle, and one squad change, being Wayne Hennessey in goals instead of Federici, as he has a better one-on-one rating, which has been occurring many times this season. As the match progressed, the Wolves managed to stop Reading from having any close range shots, which they resorted to wild long shots, which went off target. The Wolves strikers were only let down by horrible finishes, and aerial acrobatics from Marcus Hahnneman. 38 minutes in, Ricardo Rocha suffered an minor injury, to be replaced by Kevin Foley. Once again Edwards is having a shocker. On 42 minutes, Foley was brought down in the box, and a penalty followed, coolly taken by Ebanks-Blake, to take the lead away from home. Hennessey's being drafted into the squad was a life-saver, making some important saves early in the second half, just before Ebanks-Blake's goal was disallowed. Set-piece training seems to have paid off, after Stearman headed in a perfectly placed header on 80 minutes, to increase a lead they deserve. Post match, it seemed that the tactic and squad change worked its magic, and the Wolves inflicted Reading's first loss this season.

With the team now sitting at second place, they travelled to Blackpool, who were sitting 8th at the time of writing. They, were surprisingly favourites for the match. Going into the match, it seemed from previous performances Gary Taylor-Fletcher would be a major threat to the Wolves. For the Wolves, an unchanged line-up from the Reading game, Hannessey retaining his spot.

Things started off well for the Wolves, scoring in the 12th minute, through Ebanks-Blake after a low Keogh cross. A Knightly cross on the 24th minute was run on to by Collins, who scored an easy goal, after losing his marker. 10 minutes later, Knightly took another great corner, which Keogh took advantage of to give the Wolves an unstoppable 3-0 lead, despite having less possession. At half-time, Elokobi replaced Hill in defence, and the team ran out, looking for more. Edwards looked disappointing in the first half, despite having played better than in previous outings, and his spot is now under review.

25 seconds into the first half, only two passes were needed to gift Taylor-Fletcher the ball to get past 2 players and coolly place the ball past Hennessey. Blackpool finally scored the goal their territorial dominance deserved. A goal of the month contender.

58 minutes in, Taylor-Fletcher scored another great goal, which then prompted a tactical change for the Wolves. 5-4-1 defensive should do the trick. 6 minutes later, the unthinkable happened. Southern took a shot 40 yards out, only for it to land in the top corner. Coming from 3-nil down, the Blackpool team was on-fire, and a thrilling finish to the match was to be had for the 9045 supporters at Bloomfield Road.

Both teams played defensively, until the last 5 minutes, when both almost simultaneously switched into attack mode, and shots were fired at a constant pace. It seems Taylor-Fletcher's finishing expertise won the game for Blackpool, turning a 3-0 deficit to a 4-3 lead with 3 and a half minutes to play. Obviously Gary Taylor-Fletcher was Man of the Match. Wolves threw away a game they had in the bag due to horrid passing. Gifting away possession. A shocker second half after such a promising first.

After a 4-3 loss, the team slipped down to third on the table, two points clear of QPR who are 4th. This match was to be Edwards' ultimatum. His performances have been under-par recently and may lose his spot to a reserve lurking in the second team. After being on the back foot the majority of the time leading up to the goal, 25 minutes in, Edwards gifted the ball for Barnsley to score an easy tap in. Ebanks-Blake pulled it back easily, scoring from point-blank range after Knightly smartly crossed it to the near post. At half time, Jones was replaced by Davies, and 22 year old Vokes got a rare first team appearance, replacing Keogh. He almost made an immediate difference, almost finishing a header on the 47th. On 49 minutes, Knightly had the chance to score from a free-kick just outside the box, following a Denis-Souza foul, however it hit the cross-bar before being cleared away. On the 75th however, Ebanks-Blake utilised his speed, which makes him a great striker, to score a break-away goal, to give the 21,000 fans at the Molineux something to cheer about. On the 82nd, the Wolves sealed the match, after Collins scored another trademark header, to make it 3-1. The game wasn't over, with Hennessey carelessly gifting away a clearance, which was smothered and scored. It seems that the Wolves let in too many goals in the second half, and final third in particular. Once again, complacency. Still, another nail biting injury time was near, this time falling in the Wolves favour, after Knightly ran onto a Ebanks-Blake pass to score on 90. 4-2 the final scoreline. Edwards played his last match for the first-team, another mistake ridden match means he is to be dropped into the reserve side, his successor is still unknown.

On the back of another horrid Edwards performance, his dumping has left a place in the first team. With no suitable successors sitting in the current squad, I looked towards a player I had seen while scouting Oceania. Chris James. The former Fulham attacking midfielder has international experience, and would be a great player/addition for the squad. He currently plays in Finland for Tampere United, on a free after being dumped by Fulham. Pat Mountain, Oceania Scout, said in a report, that James has the potential to be as good as Karl Henry, currently the strongest midfielder in the team.

Following the victory, we regained second spot, and were 6 points from Reading, who were leading. We faced Burnley, who are 15th on the ladder. Wolves started well, Jarvis free in the box, to put in a cross from serial-assister, Knightly. A quite first half came to an end, and I must say, this was the first match where the team played great football, in defence and attack. Jones played his first match in his new position, being the replacement for Edwards was always going to be a tough ask, and he performed, putting in some key balls for the strikers.

4 minutes into the second, Ebanks-Blake squandered a great ball from Keogh, clean through, to blast it wide. Unfortunately, as the team always does, we conceded early, letting Quinn score an easy point blank header. However directly after, a great long ball from Jones found Keogh unmarked, who chipped the keeper before it hitting the post, only to be cleared on the line by Caldwell. A horrid defensive lapse, only too common by the Wolves defensive line let McDonald score an easy goal. Once again, the second half lets us down. Something has to be done, but it seems the team just settles down too much, and loses focus. With the ability to defeat the title contenders, why is it that we are unable to defeat petty teams (no offence) like Burnley and Blackpool?

Following a stellar performance by Gary Taylor-Fletcher, I was astounded by his finishing. Immediately, after a few scouting matches, his transfer was at a really cheap rate, so I purchased him. He has scored 10 goals form 13 matches this season.

The Wolves now travelled to Loftus Road, to face QPR. They were now sitting at 12th place, with the Wolves a disappointing 4th, considering the previous circumstances. QPR were on the back of two losses, 3-0 to Sheff United, and 4-2 to Cardiff. Could the Wolves add a third?

Ebanks-Blake scored Wolves first, with the first shot on goal. A through ball by Jones found the run of the speedy striker, who smashed it into the back of the net. Unfortuantely, later in the match, he carried a small injury, and was taken off. Iwelumo replaced him on the 36th, directly after he had another goal disallowed. A great save by Hennessey on the 46th helped the Wolves keep clean going into half time. He was on fire in the first.

Despite being on the back-foot most of the second, Iwelumo showed some moments of brilliance, making up for his lack of speed with skillful touches, however Wolves couldn't prevent the run of play becoming anything, conceding on the 77th minute. On the 94th minute, Henry conceded a free-kick just outside the area. Buzsaky squandered the kick, and Jarvis cleared it out of the area. In the final seconds, Vine had a goal disallowed, to the relief of the Wolves fans and players, who once again, played a crappy second half to throw away a game they had earlier dominated. Tactically, QPR had played better than Wolves, and it seems that the two new players signed for January will be able to help the team achieve some decent results. Hennessey was on fire today, and prevented the scoreline from being anything else than it should have been.

On the back of some average matches, a new training schedule was in order. A new, tougher one, designed to sort out the slackers from the first teamers. One major change for the Sheff United match, being L. Gobern playing his first match this season, replacing Jones in attacking midfield.

10 minutes in, Ebanks-Blake scored a great goal from just outside the area, to give us a trademark early lead. Vokes' cross found the foot of a Sheff United defender, to give us a two nil lead. Vokes set up Ebanks-Blake, who scored a great goal, typical of his calibre, before he added his hat-trick withing 25 minutes of kick-off, taking the ball off the opposition keeper to give the Wolves a 4-0 lead. Unfortunately, we squandered a long ball to concede a great goal by Sheff goal by Beattie on the 30th. Howard's shot on the 42nd unluckily hit the crossbar, and Sheff once again unable to capitalise. Launching a comeback, Cotteril scored a great goal to make it 4-2 at half time. Once again, a terribly complacent effort in defence gifting away easy goals.

Ebanks-Blake put the ball narrowly over on the 53rd minute, before another chance by him hit the post only to be missed by Vokes from the 6 yard box. Adam scored on the 74th, to give Sheff a chance to come-back. Another horrid second half performance almost gifted Sheff a goal, however Sun Jihai smashed it wide. The Wolves just seem to lose matches in the second half, and this was again shown today. Ebanks-Blake played the best game of the season today.

Ricardo Rocha suffered a thigh strain in the Sheff United match, rendering him unable to play for the next month. A big loss.

For the match against Watford, Jarvis was put into attacking midfield, as a short-term replacement for Edwards had yet not been found. It seems Hennessey has done enough to win back the main goalkeeping role from Federici, following some stellar performances recently. I an attempt to stamp out complacency, I implemented a new tactic that requires a lot more running than usual, with the defence also sitting deeper, to cope with Watford's speedy attacks.

On the 3rd minute, Jarvis came so close to scoring a free kick, virtually inches from the bar. 23 minutes in, it seemed that sitting deeper did the trick for us, snuffing out a lot more attacks that Watford would have wanted. The bane of the Wolves performance today seemed to be giving away too many passes. All falling to opposition players. At half time, the score was 0-0, and the dreaded second half was looming. Could Wolves buck the trend and play a great one?

Knightly gave the Wolves the lead from a superb Keogh assist. Despite being on the back foot, they managed to go one up. A fairly quiet half remained, and then full-time. Finally, the Wolves played a great second half, and created a win from that half alone. Pat on the back boys. Good one.

November began, and the next transfer window loomed. The prospect of two new attacking players, one an established international, and the other one who had ran rampage against the Wolves earlier in the season, was playing on my mind. Would they fit into my plans as I had hoped? Or would they not be able to fit into the squad, as they both come from teams with a defensive tactic, as opposed to mine. Only time will tell.

On the eve of the Cardiff match, another player has fallen to injury. This time, it is striker Iwelumo. Another unfortunate loss. On the subject of injury, Matt Murray's return might be on the cards, after being absent for a majority of the season. Providing he impresses in training, the 27 year old may be called into action, due to his expertise.

For the Cardiff match, Jones retained his AMC spot, with Jarvis moving back into left midfield. Cardiff named an unchanged line-up for the match.

A massive defensive lapse by Collins, had him concede the ball in the 6 yard box, giving Cardiff the easiest goal they've probably scored this season. Keogh scored a reply on 18 minutes, after Ebanks-Blake set up with a great speedy run. Keogh could have made it two, but stuffed an easy effort, skewering it wide. Parry's clever cross found Boyd in the box, to tap it past Hennessey, to make it 2-1 at half time.

Wolves have never had to make a come-from behind victory, could this be the time for young Vokes to shine? It seemed not, and with the defence unable to cope with Boyd, they lost the game. Another one that could easily have been won.

For the Ipswich match, Shackell replaced Rocha, who is currently out with a thigh strain. Otherwise, a rare occurence, both Jones' on Wolves were on the field, Daniel and David. Daniel was replacing Knightly, who is out with a cold.

Keogh scored the first goal, on 4 minutes, a simple tap in. David Jones was unfortunantely injured on the 24th minute. He was replaced by Potter. Ebanks-Balke scored a great goal, on the 43rd minute, beating the keeper before dribbling it into the net. Keogh had a goal disallowed on the stroke of half time.

It was now up to Wolves to play a second half without throwing it away, as they have done against teams like Ipswich. As usual, they did. And conceded a goal to Walters, due to complacency. A professional foul by Naylor gave the referee one option. Red. Wolves were unable to capitalise on the extra man, and the game finished 2-1. A lacklustre performance as the Wolves once again scraped through another round.

After 8 matches, the team sits at 2nd spot, exceeding all expectations. Despite the good placing, they are sitting 6 points behind Reading, who, if they hadn't thrown away so many matches, could be on top of. Are the Wolves promotion material? I'll let you decide at this stage.

The current first team at the time of writing looks as below. Both wingers were injured, and a proper replacement for Edwards has still not been found. Matt Murray is still waiting for his return, however he is still not up to scratch (see condition) to play.

At the moment, my status at the club is that I am still feeling around at it, as showed by the confidence. Some bad performances have hurt the rating, however overall, my job as the Manager of Wolverhampton Wanderers is stable.

For anyone interested, here is the staff roster. I still wish you could do something with the money. Charity? Assist players in travelling (for smaller clubs and poorer players). Imagine boosting your popularity/status with a Charitable donation. Ah just imagine.

Upcoming fixtures start with Swansea away, then Nottingham Forest. In my opinion, Matt Murray will return against Forest, being a lower grade side, and being at home. Preston and Bristol will be teams to watch out for, but as out previous record goes, anyone will be a major rival.

At the moment, the best player is Ebanks-Blake. He has scored a large amount of goals, and is by far the best marksman in the league. The tactic I currently use seems to bring out the best of him, especially him being the target man. His speed is something to be amazed at, and his dazy dribbles set up remarkable goals. Next post, I'm going to try to upload some videos of his best goals.

Well, that was a long update. Hope you didn't fall asleep reading this. Well, thank you, and remember, keep FM-ing

(is that a word?)

Season Update

2009-08-08T15:21:00.005+10:00

The Wolves season begun in style this year, within the first ten matches, we produced some great wins, however were sent crashing back to earth on two occasions, with some horrid losses. Once again, complacency, and finishing being the problem.

After 10 matches (Cup and League), the Championship Table sits:

The Wolves results:

The season started with a great away from home win against Charlton, promotion favourites. An even match match was ended in fashion by Chris Iwelumo on the 84th, with a great finish following a Jarvis cross.

An expected 3-1 win over Wycombe followed, goals scored by Edwards, Iwelumo, and Keogh. Straight after, the team produced a shocking performance, to lose 2-1 to Norwich, who to their credit played a great match, and were deserving.

The next match was against apparent league favourites (League table doesn't reflect their performance) Birmingham at St Andrews. The Wolves squad turned around a dangerous Birmingham cross to counter and score, through Ebanks-Blake, before Keogh scored a tap in.

A horrid performance away at Walsall left the Wolves fans astounded, getting knocked out of the League Cup prematurely. Finishing was again the problem, and it seems complacency against lower ranked sides is a predominant trait in the players.

A 3-2 win against Plymouth, 2-0 over Southampton, and a 1-1 draw against Coventry followed, showing off the team's attacking prowess, however a 3-0 loss (a shocking performance) away to Crystal Palace, left the team licking their wounds, and they needed to bounce back, in order to be able to stand up to the challenge Derby would produce the next match.

The Wolves played an average match by their standards, to narrowly defeat Derby 2-1, but to their credit, Derby played a great defensive match, despite conceding early. This was reflected by Derby defender Martin Alberchtsen receiving Man of the match.

After 10 matches, the squad is currently this:

No major losses to the squad as of such, however one addition, that being goalkeeper Adam Federici, who was signed on the last day of the transfer window, after Chelsea 3rd goalkeeper Hilario turned down a first-team opportunity. Many other transfers fell through at the last minute, including Dentiniho, a striker from Brazil, who didn't qualify for a work-permit.

Pre-Season Round Up

2009-08-05T21:14:00.014+10:00

After an exciting pre-season, filled with goals, and exciting new tactics being employed, produced mixed results in general. Here is my round-up of the Wolves Pre-Season Campaign.

The first match was against Hereford. Using the 4-4-2 tactic, we played a conservative match, with possession fairly even. Matt Jarvis scored a goal from 30 metres out, with the second an own-goal by Toumani Diagouraga.

The second match was against AFC Telford. A one sided match could end only one way, with Wolves triumphant in a 4-0 whitewash.

The match against Stockport had a fair amount of troubles for the travelling team, with some untimely injuries, however still winning with ease 3-0. Karl Henry played a shocker, with Elokobi staking a claim for a first team spot with a great performance.

Facing Premier League Outfit Stoke was no-easy task, but remaining scoreless was a slight embarrassment, considering the shocking way the strikers played. It seems at this point, the squad's main problem is finishing, millions of chances, all thrown away with some errors which shouldn't be happening at the top level. Post match I decided to try out some new tactics, in the Ireland Tour.

First match was facing Derry City was a major one-sided affair, capitalising on all chances presented, in a performance which, despite the lowly opposition, was the best I had witnessed from them all season. Trying out a new tactic, a 4-4-2 variation, it seemed to pay-off, with Keogh having a great game.

The match against Drogheda was much the same as the Derry game. Well, at least at the beginning. Ahead 2-1 at half time, the team threw away the lead to lose 5-3. Complacency was the key here, and needs to be addressed (wait, that's my job). Unfortunately, the resident keeper is a relatively inexperienced 21 year old, who, despite being quite talented, shouldn't be playing at this level as much.

The match against Bray Wanderers began with the Wolves running with a new 4-3-3, slightly defensive tactic. It proved successful, with the team setting up 30 shots, and winning 8-0. It seemed a great new tactic was born, but I required some more testing, so decided not to use it in the next match. Sam Vokes played a blinder of a match.

The match against Bohemians started horribly, conceding 2 from 2. A quick pep-talk at half time and a tactic change to the recently successful 4-3-3, helped the team scavenge a small 3-2 win. It seemed an unlucky own-goal won the match for us, set up by Karl Henry, who set up all three goals.

With the first match against promotion favourites Charlton, the team will have to step up in order to have a chance for this season. It seems what this team lacks is an experienced goalkeeper (nothing against the talented Wayne Hennessey), and finishing up front. In the lead up to the first match, I am searching for a fix for these problems, and if you have any tips, just leave a comment.

Upcoming Fixtures:

Current First Team:

First Season Friendly

2009-08-04T17:19:00.007+10:00

Start of the season is always a tense time. Players just coming back from a holiday, high expectations. As I said before, I was pondering on the type of tactic I should employ. After some advice from Paine (Thanks Mate), I set out using a 4-4-2 variation that I had downloaded from one of the leading FM download servers. Regrettably, I forget which, so if this tactic is yours, please let me know, as you deserve credit, it's a great tactic.

The player instructions are

The first match of the season, was against Bournemouth at The Fitness First Stadium. A good start for my boys in my opinion. Final score 3-0.

A healthy start to the season, Vokes and Jarvis started off to a flyer, putting us two ahead after 13 minutes. A number of missed opportunities make us wonder, closing in on half-time, but the opposition keeper prevented us from reaching 3 before half in spectacular fashion.

Directly after the half, Foley scored a goal, rounding the keeper before placing the shot. Despite some shocking misses, it was a good display, especially from Ricardo Rocha, who was signed from Tottenham days earlier. Man of the Match was awarded to Jarvis, who scored, and held the left wing quite well. As of that match, it has come to my attention, that another brilliant player was sitting amongst my squad, that played being Karl Henry, who played quite well in his midfield role before being substituted. He will be a major factor for the Wolves this season.

Season Preview

2009-08-03T19:22:00.011+10:00

After a season of no challenges, a power surge, and a daft overlook by me on whether I was still using a real-time editor of any sort, I have set out on a new task.

My new team? The Wolves.

Taking control of a sub-Premiership team has always been something that I have enjoyed, so, as I did 4 years ago with CM 4, I decided to use the same team.

As I took over, my squad was expected to come 6th this season. I thought that was a reasonable target, so I set out to impress.

I took the squad and looked at it for a long time. Trying to work out a tactic for a league which I hadn't played for in a long time, is hard, but I'm going to stick to trial and error. I'm not going to make my tactic known for now, but it'll most likely be a 4-4-2 (or variation) or a 4-3-3 style tactic.

The squad, as I took over, looked like this:

The season was to start off with a few normal friendlies, however I organised my usual tour of another nation, one of my tactics to get the players ready. This year, I chose Ireland, with 4 average clubs which took my liking.

Out of the entire squad, one player stood out the most, and that is Michael Kightly.

I'm still not sure where to place him, on the wing or as a playmaker. He has great dribbling ability, speed, determination, and crosses well. I can't wait to see him in action. He's is the man to watch this year for Wolves.

With a gaping hole in my defensive line, I have taken the task to look for a replacement. With a browse through other teams, I managed to spy a 29 year old Portuguese defender sitting in Tottenham Reserves, Ricardo Rocha.

Look out for him as an addition to the Wolves squad this season.

Oh Dear?

2009-08-03T16:48:00.001+10:00

Well, as of yesterday, almost 2 hours after the last post, a power surge completely wrecked my computer while playing FM. Unfortunately, I had no UPS, meaning I am having to start my game all over again. It comes as perfect timing, as I have been searching for a new challenge.

World Player of the Year 2010

2009-08-02T16:25:00.019+10:00

Voting has begun for World Player of the Year 2010, and the list is quite vast this year, in-comparison with last year.

The list contains a large amount of Australians, however that is because the status of the nation has increased tremendously.

DETAILED ANALYSIS OF LIST

Goran Pandev is on my shortlist, scoring 38 goals for Lazio. The Macedonian international has also scored 4 goals for his country. His 38 goals also came from 31 matches, which is a great record for the forward.

Harry Kewell of Manchester United, is also a major player, having player 47 matches, scoring 16, and 19 assists. He is playing his position quite well for United, despite not performing quite well internationally for Australia.

Out of the entire list, Goran Pandev is the only player to have an average rating of more that 7, with 8.55. Australian Scott McDonald has also had 14 MoM awards.

In trivial matters, Chelsea have the most players from their club on the shortlist, with 7 players. Australia have the most players from the country on the list, with 6.

14 clubs are represented on the shortlist, with the same number of nations represented.

Macedonia is the lowest ranked nation to be represented.

Ashley Cole is the only player on the list to have not scored a goal. The lowest number of appearances is 31 (Goran Pandev), and the lowest number of assists is 1 (Carlos Tevez). Michael Essien is the only player on the list not to have received a MoM award, and the lowest average rating is 6.78 (Luca Modric).

*All Statistics noted are from the whole of the 2010 year, and not just the 2010-2011 season.

My Votes are:
5 points for Goran Pandev

The Forward has been absolutely brilliant this year for Lazio. He has scored many goals, and set many up as well. He has also done all of this playing the least amount of matches of anyone on the list (31). He achieved a average rating of 8.55.

3 Points for Andres Iniesta.

Iniesta has played well for Barcelona this year, and it shows on his stats. 42 matches, 8 goals, 14 assists, shows he is playing his role well, and adapting to the way Barcelona have had to, with the injuries of Xavi and Yaya Toure.

1 Point for Michael Ballack.

The midfielder has adapted well this season for Chelsea, playing almost everywhere. He was scoring goals up front, setting them up from the wing (most notably vs Arsenal this season), and when he wasn't doing that he was defending from the back line, and, on one occasion stepped up as goalkeeper when Petr Cech was sent-off. Despite letting in two on that occasion is besides the point. The German international player 45 matches, scoring 11, with 9 assists and 1 MoM. Unbelievably, he finished this year with an average rating of 6.93
REAL LIFE UPDATE

With the A-League Season to begin, I took a look at the new jerseys for the teams. I was slightly unnerved. They are so bland. But that's not what I'm looking at now. Why are all the sponsors Reebok? For my inaugural Real Life Update post, I designed my own Nike Jersey for Sydney (Its not realistic), so thats my question today. Why can't they get a major shirt sponsor?

Aloisi and Corica showing off the jersey. No sponsor, and still Reebok. It just looks too bland.

Here's the same design as last season, with Nike instead. It makes such a difference. If I had the patience, i'd redesign the whole shirt.

Secret Report

2009-07-30T16:13:00.001+10:00

A report has come out today from a no-name Sydney FC administrator, that current manager Stephan Johnson reportedly received an offer from AFC Ajax in the off-season. The deal, reportedly worth 5 million dollars a season, was obviously turned down, however some, are stunned at why he would turn down such an offer.

Mitchell Surgeon, a football writer for a prominent Sydney newspaper, said "Its madness that Johnson turned down Ajax's offer, with the money, and the possibility to manage a top European club. Its madness!"

Stephan Johnson's secretary later confirmed the case, stating the reason for the declination, being the man was too attached to the Sky Blues to leave, and was hoping to win another A-League season, and compete in the upcoming Asian Champions League, which his club will be front runners in.

*NB: The above names are completely fake, and any similarities are just coincidences*

A look to the Future.

2009-07-27T17:40:00.001+10:00

FOOTBALL MANAGER 2010

Football Manager 2010 will heavily scrutinised when it comes out in two/three months. Already, we have had a sneak peak of the game, after SI's Miles posted a picture after a heavy night on the town, on social networking site twitter. (http://twitpic.com/a9jzt/full). At the moment the game looks pretty good, but that's visually, which doesn't tell us of the actual game play. While we wait, here is my view on what the Football Manager 2010 should bring us.

1. Create you own Clubs

And by this, I mean in-game. Living in Australia, the A-League is still expanding, and in Football Manager, I can play the game in 2034, and there are still 8 teams battling it out for the trophy. This will go hand-in-hand with your pay-packet, and possibly recruiting an investor to stake you claims. For once, maybe the money you earn doesn't drain off into the non-spending pocket of your manager.

2. Improve the 3D match Engine

The bold move to move to 3D has been great, however, I must say it is still not adequate enough. Sure it might just scrape in to let you make basic tactical decisions, however I wouldn't mind if they spent a whole game improving the engine without improving anything else, it would be a lifesaver.
*EDIT: The below screenshot is CM 10, and not FM 10*

Above is a screenshot of what Championship Manager 2010 might look like. This 3d mode is exactly what FM need to do. Realistic looking, well everything, and a stadium to match.

3. Become Friends with Managers.

I don't know if I'm the only one noticing this, but a manager can "feel you two becoming friends" but you never ever become them. I'm sure that it'll be a huge aesthetic change and manager relations can become useful, like appointing people as International managers etc.

4. Have use for your money.

Your the manager for Real Madrid. Earning 500,000 pounds or something a month. What is the point of all this cash? SI should take a page out of FIFA Manager's book, and add a use for this money. Travel costs, boosting your team's economy, buying a house, paying for a player to come play, etc. The possibilities are endless. The decisions you make with you personal life can help with your managerial status, (charity?) which would be a great boost for this already realistic simulator.

BREAKING NEWS

After snooping around on Championship Manager's website, I found a new feature that should be admitted. Set piece creation. This, would be a massive thing for the FM series, which would make the game so much more realistic. On that topic, it should be integrated with training, which should also be overhauled.

A replay saver, and drill trainer were mentioned on the official site, however, no official screenshots have been found apart from the one posted above. It seems like FM might have a major competitor on the market, but I'm sure, as you might be, FM shall prevail, and learn from CM's initiative. CM also might have taken a bit out of the new FIFA 2010 game, which is set to include a training overhaul, and a set-piece creator.

I can think of many, many more, but for now, this is my incomplete list.

Anything extra you can think of? Post a comment.

7th November 2010

2009-07-25T14:46:00.000+10:00

A-League News

Sydney FC have ended their winning run this round, with a 1-1 draw with Perth Glory. A valiant effort by Perth, they took the lead against the Sky Blues on the 5th minute, the first time Sydney have conceded first this season, before an equalier from Luca Toni on the 53rd Minute. It ended up that Perth's goal was their only shot on goal, while Perth defence put up with 13 Sydney shots, from the two most experienced strikers in the world, Luca Toni and Robbie Fowler. It was also a record crowd for Perth Glory, with 71956 turning out for the upset.

In a mind game tactic, Aurelio Vidmar has said that Sydney FC cannot win the A-League this season, however with Sydney's current run, they look unstoppable.

The team are currently ahead of the closest rival by ten points, Sydney on 28, Newcastle on 18.

EPL News

Chelsea are currently topping the EPL ladder, closely followed by Arsenal. It does seem however disappointing, that Manchester United are currently sitting at 12th. The Red Devils have completely thrown away their season, and possibly a complete reshuffle of the squad is in order. The Official Premier League Round Up was released today, with 20 teams in action with 26 goals scored. However, 35,000 people witness a shock upset at the Riverside Stadium, with Middlesbrough defeating Arsenal 3-0 at home. In an even affair, Middlesbrough scored on the 5th, then 37th before David Wheater rounded off a stellar performance with a goal on the 56th.

In other Premier League matches, Gerrard scored twice during Portsmouth's three all draw with Liverpool, and Oleg Husyev scored the best goal in Tottenham's 3-1 loss defeat to Man City.

368,358 fans turned out this round in the Premier League.

In other English Football News, the League Cup 4th round was released.

The match of the round, would have to be Chelsea vs Manchester United a Stamford Bridge, that is if Manchester United get back into their premiership form.

International News

In the U20's Asian Cup this week, the quarter finals have been named, with holders North Korea a no-show.
Iran faces against Japan, Vietnam faces Saudi Arabia, Australia faces Oman, and South Korea faces China. Australia and Saudi Arabia both have the easier path to the final, with the match of the round having to be Iran v Japan.

Asian News

The Asian Champions League final has been drawin, with Al-Ittifaq to face Suwon in two legs, to decide who represents the continent in the upcoming Club World Championship in the UAE.

9th October 2010

2009-07-22T10:12:00.000+10:00

Premier League News

In the League Bup this week, Hull City and Stoke City have caused major upsets, defeating Manchester City and Fulham respectively. The Championship sides caused the shock of the round both away from home, stunning both sets of spectators.

In the latest Premier League Results, Middlesbrough defeated West Brom at home 1-0, and Newcastle defeated Blackburn 3-1 at home. The next fixtures are Aston Villa playing Middlesbrough, Manchester United playing West Brom, and Sunderland playing Derby.

Abedayor took out the Player of The Month, with Eidur Gudjohnson taking out Goal of the Month.

Latest Champions League Results (Click to Enlarge)

A-league Table

Sydney FC are currently topping the table, with an 100% win ratio, 6 points ahead of the Newcastle Jets, whom have played one more match than the Sky Blues.

In the Latest Results, Newcastle Jets defeated Wellington Phoenix 2-0 at home.

In the match of the round, rivals Sydney FC defeated Central Coast Mariners 3-2 at Bluetongue Stadium.

CCMFC Winger Greg Owens scored the first goal on the 6th minute with a well placed shot, before Sydney midfielder Shannon Cole scored from out of the area shot which hit the post before hitting the post.

Central Coast then had the worst possible scenario played in front of them, with Nigel Boogaard sent off for ungentlemanly conduct on the 42nd minute. Striker Luca Toni then put the blues ahead by one with a well placed strike. Fowler's header then increased the blues lead on the 72nd minute with a well placed header, before Mile Jedinak's consolation goal on the 76th gave the Mariners some credibility.

Attendance 48578

Socceroos Captaincy.

2009-07-21T11:57:00.000+10:00

Following a succesful World Cup Campaign, Captain Lucas Neil (Fulham) has stepped down from the International Captaincy role. The successor was named on the same day, as Tim Cahill (Everton*), and Vice-Captain will be Harry Kewell (Man Utd).

Tim Cahill has expressed his gratitute to being named captain, however Harry Kewell has expressed his disgust at being shunned from the main role.

*Future Uncertain, linked with $106 million move to Arsenal

Captain Tim Cahill
Vice Captain Harry Kewell

FM Update (2009)

2009-07-21T08:41:00.000+10:00

8th August 2010

After an eventful month of World Cup triumphs and upsets, began the pre-season to a majority of sides around the World. Australia's shock triumph comes at the expense of Brazil, Italy and Spain, who Australia defeated.

Australia knocked out the two favourites for the competition, Brazil, in the Group Stages 3-1, and then Italy in the Second Round, 3-2. Spain were then tactically outclassed in the final, 1-0, thanks to a goal from FC Bayern striker Brendan Gan.

As a result of good performances, a number of Australian player received offers and moved clubs during the transfer season. This is visible in the current Australian squad.

Brett Emerton and Mark Bresciano have teamed up and are now both playing at Chelsea in the Premier League. Lucas Neil is now playing for Fulham, Kewell making an attractive move back to England, playing for Manchester United, Jake Bird is now playing for Inter Milan, and Scott Mcdonald for Real Madrid. A number of other players are being looked at by other clubs, however the biggest at the moment, is Socceroo Tim Cahill, with a reported bid of $106 million coming in from Arsenal.

As a result of the World Cup, there have been a number of changes in the World Rankings this month. England, Slovakia and Australia were all big movers this month, with Spain taking out top spot, and Holland taking second spot. Argentina remained as they were, at third position.

Back home, there were some domestic transfer rumors as well. Sydney FC have had a number of transfer stories published of their own, however manager Stephan Johnson has played down anymore additions to the squad. However the biggest A-League transfer story is the transfer of Iceland international Bjorn Tryggvason to the club on a free-contract. The former Valur man has stated that he cannot wait to start playing for his new club.

One of the biggest local news is the intensive Pre-Season for Sydney FC and it's youth Team. After declaring that the Youth season is not up to scratch, he went out and arranged a number of warm-up tournaments and tours, including the youth tour of India and Taiwan.

The Youth side is still in the Middle East completing their tour of the area.

Sydney FC's First Team, however, were not immune to the intensive Pre-Season routine. The squads slightly less intense schedule included a friendly competition with a number of youth sides, the normal friendlies against local clubs, and a tour of New Zealand, which included a shock loss to Auckland City.

There have been a number of changes to the Sydney FC roster this season, including a number of youth signings from the QAS, AIS and NSWIS. However the biggest two signings for the transfer window would have to be former Liverpool front man Robbie Fowler, and former Italian international striker Luca Toni.

In the pre-season, Robbie Fowler played 7 matches (5 starts), scoring 2 goals, 2 assists, and recieved 1 man of the match award. Luca Toni played 8 matches (7 starts) scoring a massive 12 goals, 3 assists, and 2 man of the match awards.

Update

2009-07-16T08:45:00.000+10:00

3/12/2010

Australian manager Stephan Johnson has stepped down as Newcastle United manager, following the sides dismal draw to Steaua. After a brilliant first season with Newcastle, Stephan Johnson took Australia to win the World Cup, however, that may have been a bad omen, with his club side losing in the majority of the domestic matches.

Within a week, Stephan Johnson took control of Ajax, with his first match at the helm against AZ.

1/2/2011
The Dutch transfer window has wound up, with the biggest news coming from AFC Ajax. First of all, sweeper John Heitinga was made redundant and sold to Inter Milan. Ajax then purchased a large number of players, including World Cup winning striker David Williams. They also purchased Liam Lawrence from Hearts, Nelson Sale from YoungHeart, Lee Chun-Soo from Middlesbrough, Adnan Fallatah from Al-Ittihad (whom he presumably came across during his time at Sydney, Harald Muller from Werder Bremen, Thiago Ribeiro from Sao Paulo, and Benjamin Lauth from HSV.

6/2/2011
Following Ajax's draw with rivals PSV, Stephan Johnson has lashed out at the match referee, after disallowing the goal. Claiming it cost the squad the match, was quite true, as the stalemate found Ajax dominating proceedings.

Stephan Johnson has been officially warned by the Dutch FA.

AJAX Squad 6/2/2011

Ajax Table 6/2/2011

Australia Squad 6/2/2011

Confederations Cup Groups 6/2/2011

Asian Cup Groups 6/2/2011

Update

2009-07-15T17:26:00.000+10:00

Newcastle Update

No changes to the Newcastle Squad, however Sebastian Frey has lost the number 1 keeper role to youth player Michael Turner, who recently joined the club from Real Madrid. Fraser Forster has yet to make a game this year, however, it is expected, as he was only recently promoted to the first team, as a result of a Tim Krul injury.

In other Newcastle news, the FA fined manager Stephan Johnson $16,000, following a 2-0 defeat to Manchester United. He recently said in a press conference, that he is adamant that the goal was a goal.

Despite horrible results domestically, the side has managed to uphold some pride in the Champions League, with a 3-0 win at home to Steaua, and holding Barcelona to a draw at the Nou Camp 1-1.

After horrible start to the season, Newcastle are sitting at 16th on the Premier League Ladder. Newcastle’s next opponent, Tottenham, are exceeding all expectations, and topping the premier league ladder.

Australia Update

Socceroos Manager Stephan Johnson named an almost fully domestic squad for the Asian Cup qualifiers, including some notable internationals that are eligible to play for Australia. One major player is Reinaldo Mineiro, who made a splash on his few matches.

Australia has yet to concede a goal with their A-League outfit, with an average score of 5. With two more matches to go, it’s the last chance for the A-League based squad to impress the manager to gain a spot in the first team.

Player Focus

Reinaldo Mineiro

This Brazilian, who qualifies for the Socceroos by passport, has player 4 matches, and scored 11 goals. The Striker will give David Williams and Scott Macdonald a run for the striking spot, however with a possible move to 4-3-3, he might be able to play side by side his rivals. This year is his 6th with Queensland; he started out playing with America in Brazil, and Corinthians. He is on an $875,000 contract and is being poached by Newcastle Jets. Only 26 years old, he is expected to be one of the only A-League Socceroos to retain the green and gold jersey.

Update

2009-07-14T19:06:00.000+10:00

Newcastle Update
(Click on Image to Enlarge them)

As season 2010/2011 kicked off, this was how the Newcastle First Team looked like. The obvious loss, was defender Lucas Neil, who was replaced by Josimar Spencer Silva Lima. The little known defender was coldly welcomed by the St James faithful, however impressed during the season. We will look at Josimar in today’s player focus.

Newcastle’s season started very well (pre-season friendlies), especially due to that fact that half the squad were away at the World Cup. The, unfortunately also manager Stephan Johnson was away for the entire pre-season. This meant that the team was at the reign of Kevin Bond. The first competitive match started well, winning 1-0 away to AA Gent. The team then had substantial losses in the Premier League, leaving the side 10th on the table. The team however has had success in the Champions Cup, but the next match against Barcelona will be a test.

Australia Report

The current Australian squad remained unchanged from the World Cup squad, however the biggest change in this squad was the clubs, and player value. Most notably Lucas Neil now playing for Juventus, David Williams for Koln, and Scott Macdonald for AEK Athens.

The Australian side backed up their World Cup triumph with former rivals New Zealand in Sydney. The team ranked 45th fielded a defensive squad, but the press demanded goals. It seems complacency took hold, as Luke Wilkshire put in an own goal on the 4th minute. New Zealand took hold in the match until a Stephan Johnson tactic change swayed the pace of the match. Instantly Scott Macdonald scored on the 25th. The score stayed as is at half time, and indeed almost the rest of the second half, until a Tim Cahill wonder goal on the 72nd minute showed the team’s class. However New Zealand player Liam Egan scored on the 74th, against the run of play. Tim Cahill then scored emphatically 2 minutes later, before sweeper Ljubo Milicevic scored to make the scoreline look respectable, in a horrible performance by the World Champions.

The Australian side will now play Vietnam in an Asian Cup match, with Stephan Johnson set to experiment with a locally based squad.

Player Focus

After excelling at the Excelsior youth academy (no pun intended), Josimar Spencer Silva Lima was seen by Newcastle manager Stephan Johnson in pre-season warm up matches in Sydney. After being advised of Newcastle’s inability to re-sign Lucas Neil, Johnson instantly offered a contract to Silva Lima. He plays internationally for Cape Verde, not a world dominating side, but locally, he is a hero. He puts in strong performances for his country, including a 1-1 draw against 129th ranked nation Kenya (Cape Verde is ranked 144th).

He wasn’t welcomed into Newcastle too well, with supporters questioning Stephan Johnson. However, he put in some solid defensive performances, however made his mark, when he was pushed up into the midfield, he scored his first goal against Ipswich.

He has stated that one of his favourite players is Tim Cahill, and has been known to say he is honoured to be at the same club as him. He played two matches for the Dutch U/19s side, however fell out of favour, and earned his first international cap against Tunisia at age 17.

He is currently on a $38,000 wage, and is worth $10 million. He is poached by Burnley and Walsall, however Stephan Johnson rejected both, stating he is not for loan or sale.

Australian FM Challenge

2009-07-12T14:47:00.005+10:00

Australian FM Challenge (For FM 2010)

For anyone who knows Australian football, the league is made up of one small 8 (now 10) team competition, the A-League. My plan involves using FM 10's new editor to create a league below the A-League, in which will contain state league teams trying to achieve promotion to the A-League. All teams will have adjusted funds, based on reputation. It will be one of the first Australian Challenges out there, and it will be hard, but worth it to play.

Initial Competitions:
A-League (Current Comp)
Adelaide United
Brisbane Road
Central Coast Mariners
Gold Coast United
Melbourne Victory
Newcastle Jets
North Queensland Fury
Perth Glory
Sydney FC
Wellington Pheonix

National Championship
Manly United (NSW)
Marconi Stallions (NSW)
Brisbane Strikers (QLD)
Olympic FC (QLD)
South Melbourne (VIC)
Melbourne Knights (VIC)
Canberra City SC (ACT)
Canberra FC (ACT)
ECU Joondalup (WA)
Perth SC (WA)
North Eastern MetroStars (SA)
Adelaide City (SA)
Hobart Olympic (TAS)
Glenorchy Knights (TAS)
Port Darwin FC (NT)
Darwin Olympic SC (NT)

National Division 1
Sunshine Coast FC (QLD)
QAS (QLD)
Sydney United (NSW)
Blacktown Demons (NSW)
Green Gully (VIC)
Altona Magic (VIC)
Canberra Olympic (ACT)
AIS (ACT)
Sorrento (WA)
Floreat Athena (WA)
Adelaide Galaxy (SA)
Modbury Jets (SA)
Metro Claremont (TAS)
New Town Eagles (TAS)
Darwin Dragons SC (NT)
Palmerston FC (NT)

FFA Cup
Contains all league teams, plus qualifying round with additional teams.

Academy League
Contains all academy teams (including some made up teams, based around states)
AIS
NSWIS
QAS

Any additional feedback would be very welcomed.