retired_bbcarr

March 2006

International games once again meant that we had a light schedule in March, we would take to the field only three times. The first was a league trip to Villa Park, and after having lost there in the FA Cup, I wasn’t particularly happy about it. Luckily, Jan Lastuvka had by far his best game in a Wigan shirt and kept out everything Aston Villa could throw at him. Unfortunately, we couldn’t nick a goal at the other end and had to make do with the goalless draw.

Leicester visited us after the two week international break, and this time it was us frustrated in front of goal. Leighton Baines had a storming game down the left flank, making life very hard for his Leicester opponent and crafting plenty of chances for our front men, but they had no luck against Scotland goalkeeper Mark Brown, and once again we had to make do with a 0-0 draw.

The worst news from the game; however, came twenty-four hours later when we knew the extent of Edgar Barreto’s injury. The Paraguayan had pulled up in the first half with a clear hamstring injury, the scan let us know that it was a tear and he’d be out for the rest of the season.

Our month ended with a visit to star-studded Chelsea, and this time we couldn’t even get the point we’d mustered from our last two games. Having taken the lead early on through Hugo Viana, we merely angered the beast, and by half time we were 3-1 down, the goals coming from Jorge Andrade, Mateja Kezman and Ronaldo. Frank Lampard added a fourth in the second half, just to make sure we knew we were well beaten.

League Position: 7th

retired_bbcarr

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | | Man Utd | | 29 | 21 | 2 | 6 | 68 | 24 | +44 | 65 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | Chelsea | | 31 | 18 | 10 | 3 | 56 | 24 | +32 | 64 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Liverpool | | 30 | 17 | 7 | 6 | 50 | 21 | +29 | 58 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Arsenal | | 30 | 16 | 8 | 6 | 64 | 34 | +30 | 56 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | Middlesbrough | | 32 | 17 | 3 | 12 | 54 | 45 | +9 | 54 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | West Brom | | 32 | 16 | 4 | 12 | 44 | 40 | +4 | 52 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | WIGAN | | 31 | 13 | 11 | 7 | 51 | 42 | +9 | 50 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Charlton | | 31 | 14 | 4 | 13 | 42 | 42 | 0 | 46 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | Aston Villa | | 31 | 12 | 9 | 10 | 32 | 27 | +5 | 45 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | | Bolton | | 31 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 41 | 43 | -2 | 43 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | | Newcastle | | 30 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 29 | 28 | +1 | 42 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | | Fulham | | 31 | 9 | 8 | 14 | 37 | 43 | -6 | 35 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 13th | | Everton | | 31 | 9 | 8 | 14 | 35 | 48 | -13 | 35 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 14th | | Tottenham | | 30 | 10 | 4 | 16 | 30 | 45 | -15 | 34 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 15th | | Southampton | | 31 | 8 | 10 | 13 | 32 | 51 | -19 | 34 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 16th | | Wolves | | 31 | 8 | 7 | 16 | 41 | 53 | -12 | 31 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 17th | | Man City | | 31 | 6 | 12 | 13 | 27 | 47 | -20 | 30 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 18th | | Crystal Palace | | 31 | 8 | 4 | 19 | 28 | 46 | -18 | 28 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 19th | | Leicester | | 31 | 7 | 7 | 17 | 28 | 56 | -28 | 28 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 20th | | Norwich | | 31 | 5 | 7 | 19 | 16 | 46 | -30 | 22 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>

retired_bbcarr

April 2006

Just what you need after getting battered by Chelsea, a game against another title chasing side, Arsenal. I expected nothing from the game, and Javier Saviola showed why on just fifteen minutes, rounding off a beautiful team move to give the visitors a lead. However, they seemed unable to recreate that sort of flowing football in the rest of the game, and come the hour mark we were still only a goal down. We started to come out of our shell and little with the idea of nicking a point, and managed just that with seven minutes left, Kenny Lunt driving home a shot from the edge of the penalty area.

With confidence somewhat rebuilt in the Arsenal game, we travelled the short distance to Bolton with a determination to keep our challenge for a European spot on track. It would turn out to be a quite incredible game, as a frantic opening ten minutes suggested it might be. We took the lead after just ninety seconds when Aaron Lennon volleyed passed Jääskeläinen, only for Ricardo Vaz Te to equalise from the re-start. We were back in the lead after nine minute though, Lennon this time the provider for Joe Cole to score.

Another three goals and a red card had come by half time, Kevin Davies striking Bolton’s second equaliser before Fernando Cavenaghi netted twice to open us up a gap. Just before the break, the hosts were then reduced to ten men, Ricardo Gardner seeing red for a horrible challenge on Cole. We took advantage of the numerical superiority in the second half, scoring a further twice – through Ligüera and Bent – to five us a four goal victory.

Cole and Diarra picked up injuries that kept them out for two weeks each during the Bolton game, and we missed them both in our next game, against Charlton. We could have taken the lead in the first half when Lunt was brought down in the area, but Cavenaghi’s penalty attempt flicked off the outside of the post and went wide. That dented our confidence, and we paid the price when Jason Euell grabbed the only goal of the match with thirteen minutes remaining.

Again we were met with a tough game when our self belief had taken a blow, this time presented with a trip to Old Trafford to face Man Utd. We competed well for the first half hour, but goals from Rooney and Scholes had the hosts in front by half time. Cavenaghi pulled one back for us after fifty-six minutes, and the game was put beyond doubt by Eidur Gudjohnsen with eight minutes left.

The run-in hadn’t been kind to us in terms of fixtures as we faced the final of the big four, Liverpool, at the JJB. The Anfield side, much like Arsenal, dominated us each on and took the lead – through Anthony Le Tallec – but were unable to grab the second, and when Fabrizio Miccoli was sent off, we took our opportunity and stole a point, MatÃ*n Ligüera with the goal.

League Position: 7th

retired_bbcarr

May 2006

Only two games remained for us to try and overhaul West Brom in the league and book our place in the UEFA Cup, and the first of those was a trip to face Wolves. With West Brom doubtless going to secure victory over relegation threatened Man City, we had to start well, and did just that, Cavenaghi netting after only four minutes. The Argentinian had doubled our lead on the half hour, and he completed his hat-trick and our victory with twenty minutes of the match left. Unfortunately, West Brom’s success meant that we remained a point behind them – and level with Charlton – going into the final round of games.

That game saw Newcastle travel to the JJB, though former Magpie Hugo Viana would not face them as he suffered a groin strain in training that would force him to miss out. Needing a win, we began nervously, but were cheered when we learnt that Man Utd had taken the lead at the Hawthorns. Our situation became even better when Ligüera put us in front, and with United two up against West Brom by the break, we were looking at Europe. Charlton were also leading against Tottenham, but as long as we held onto our advantage, we’d beat the London club on goal difference. We seemed headed towards a single goal victory, and most certainly a UEFA Cup place after Tottenham equalised at Charlton, but Darren Bent ensured that we signed off in style, flashing home a drive three minutes into injury time.

League Position: 6th


Premiership XI:

GK: Jan Lastuvka (Wigan)
DR: Jamie Carragher (Liverpool)
DL: Wayne Bridge (Chelsea)
DC: Sol Campbell (Arsenal)
DC: Mikaël Silvestre (Chelsea)

MR: Mauro Esposito (Arsenal)
ML: Ryan Giggs (Man Utd)
MC: MartÃ*n Ligüera (Wigan)
MC: Alou Diarra (Wigan)

SC: José Antonio Reyes (Arsenal)
SC: Thierry Henry (Arsenal)

retired_bbcarr

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | C | Man Utd | | 38 | 28 | 4 | 6 | 89 | 30 | +59 | 88 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | Chelsea | | 38 | 24 | 10 | 4 | 70 | 26 | +44 | 82 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Arsenal | | 38 | 22 | 10 | 6 | 85 | 42 | +43 | 76 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Liverpool | | 38 | 20 | 8 | 10 | 56 | 29 | +27 | 68 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | Middlesbrough | | 38 | 19 | 5 | 14 | 59 | 52 | +7 | 62 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | WIGAN | | 38 | 16 | 13 | 9 | 65 | 50 | +15 | 61 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | Charlton | | 38 | 18 | 5 | 15 | 53 | 48 | +5 | 59 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | West Brom | | 38 | 18 | 5 | 15 | 50 | 46 | +4 | 59 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | Newcastle | | 38 | 15 | 11 | 12 | 41 | 36 | +5 | 56 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | | Aston Villa | | 38 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 38 | 36 | +2 | 52 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | | Bolton | | 38 | 12 | 11 | 15 | 49 | 63 | -14 | 47 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | | Tottenham | | 38 | 13 | 6 | 19 | 45 | 58 | -13 | 45 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 13th | | Fulham | | 38 | 11 | 10 | 17 | 43 | 52 | -9 | 43 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 14th | | Everton | | 38 | 11 | 10 | 17 | 43 | 58 | -15 | 43 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 15th | | Man City | | 38 | 9 | 12 | 17 | 34 | 57 | -23 | 39 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 16th | | Southampton | | 38 | 9 | 12 | 17 | 39 | 64 | -25 | 39 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 17th | | Wolves | | 38 | 10 | 8 | 20 | 47 | 67 | -20 | 38 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 18th | R | Leicester | | 38 | 9 | 9 | 20 | 33 | 64 | -31 | 36 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 19th | R | Crystal Palace | | 38 | 9 | 4 | 25 | 38 | 65 | -27 | 31 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 20th | R | Norwich | | 38 | 7 | 8 | 23 | 23 | 57 | -34 | 29 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>

retired_bbcarr

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| Pkd | Inf | Name | Apps | Gls | Ast | MoM | Pas | Tck | Drb | Sh T | Av Rat| | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | | Lee Grant | 3 | - | - | - | 59% | - | - | - | 7.00 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | | Jan Lastuvka | 35 | - | - | 4 | 46% | - | 0.03 | - | 7.49 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | Unh | Hayden Mullins | 8 (1) | - | - | - | 80% | 2.79 | - | - | 7.11 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | Unh | Pieter Collen | 12 (1) | - | - | - | 67% | 2.25 | 0.25 | - | 7.08 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | | David Wright | 11 (4) | - | - | - | 74% | 3.14 | 0.71 | - | 7.07 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | | Arnold Kruiswijk | 36 | 1 | 2 | - | 75% | 2.42 | 0.17 | 42% | 7.06 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | | Joleon Lescott | 28 (1) | - | - | - | 79% | 2.92 | 0.49 | - | 7.17 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | | Nyron Nosworthy | 31 | - | 1 | 2 | 74% | 4.73 | 1.27 | - | 7.32 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | | Leighton Baines | 33 | - | 2 | 1 | 72% | 3.39 | 1.18 | - | 7.21 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | Unh | Steven Hammell | 9 | - | - | - | 75% | 2.36 | 0.96 | - | 7.22 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | Unh | Miel Mans | 12 (2) | - | 1 | - | 74% | 1.52 | 0.17 | - | 7.14 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | Unh | Arnau | 4 (2) | - | - | - | 78% | 1.79 | 0.51 | - | 7.00 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | | Alou Diarra | 26 (3) | - | 1 | 1 | 75% | 2.56 | 0.78 | - | 7.34 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | Unh | Ashley Young | 6 (11) | 1 | 4 | 1 | 78% | 1.32 | 1.68 | - | 6.88 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | Unh | Marcio Junquiera | 20 (6) | 2 | 5 | - | 79% | 1.45 | 2.80 | 30% | 7.12 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | | Aaron Lennon | 17 | 1 | 1 | - | 78% | 1.69 | 2.73 | - | 6.59 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | | Kenny Lunt | 10 (13) | 2 | 2 | 1 | 81% | 1.88 | 0.94 | 55% | 7.22 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | Lst | Anders Svensson | 5 (5) | 2 | 4 | - | 78% | 2.80 | 1.65 | - | 7.00 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | Inj | Edgar Barreto | 10 (1) | 1 | 3 | 2 | 84% | 2.15 | 0.88 | 66% | 8.00 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | Lst | Joe Cole | 22 (2) | 5 | 8 | - | 74% | 2.19 | 5.53 | 44% | 7.38 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | Inj | Hugo Viana | 7 (2) | 1 | 1 | - | 83% | 1.09 | 0.91 | - | 7.22 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | Unh | Kenneth Perez | 15 (6) | 4 | 4 | 3 | 80% | 1.64 | 1.32 | 56% | 7.43 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | | Kevin Thomson | 20 (1) | 5 | 5 | 2 | 81% | 1.88 | 1.82 | 52% | 7.29 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | | MartÃ*n Ligüera | 35 | 9 | 15 | 3 | 85% | 2.09 | 0.94 | 54% | 7.80 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | Unh | Darren Bent | 10 (16) | 13 | 3 | 1 | 85% | 0.40 | 1.84 | 68% | 7.12 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | | Fernando Cavenaghi | 25 (9) | 19 | 5 | 2 | 88% | 0.63 | 1.79 | 62% | 7.35 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | - | | Jack Tuyp | 7 (11) | 4 | 1 | - | 89% | 0.22 | 1.43 | 50% | 6.89 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>

retired_bbcarr

Summer 2006

With the board announcing plans to extend the ground’s capacity by 6,500 seats (something which would not be completed until December) my spending power was hit on the head. At the start of the summer the chairman explained that, despite a new £7.5M sponsopship deal and at least another season in the Premiership, I would have only £3.4M to spend and would have to reduce the wage bill drastically.

I would, however, be able to keep the majority of money made from player sales, and a clearout of the squad was needed if we were going to maintain our Premiership standard.


Players Out:
Wigan Record: Name [Starts(subs), goals, assists, rating]

Anders Svensson [5(5), 2, 4, 7.00]
Anders had never found himself able to break into my plans, he spent a large part of his season as an unused substitute, and I couldn’t see him doing any better in coming seasons. A £1,500,000 bid from Birmingham was more than I’d hoped to get, so I had no hesitation in accepting it and wishing Anders well for the future.

Hayden Mullins [25(4), 0, 0, 7.21]
Simply not a Premiership quality defender in my book. I’d had hopes for Hayden when he came to the club, but he never seemed to grab his chance when presented with it, and £1,700,000 in my kitty courtesy of Norwich was well worth Hayden’s services.

Miel Mans [44(3), 0, 5, 7.35]
Miel had ousted Arnau from the team as the number one defensive midfielder when he arrived, but had suffered the same fate himself when Alou Diarra turned up. I hadn’t planned to sell Miel, he was a good back-up player, but evidently his performances had been turning heads back home in Holland, and Feyenoord were willing to pay £2,000,000 which we were willing to accept.

Arnau [30(3), 0, 1, 7.04]
A solid signing for our Championship season, Arnau was way out of his depth at Premiership level. Norwich, however, would be playing their trade in the Championship next season, and they obviously saw Arnau as someone to help them back up. They met our £1,000,000 asking price and the Spaniard was sent on his way.

Kevin Cooper [15(5), 4, 3, 7.05]
Way down the pecking order, even pretty quickly after he came in during our first season, Kevin was alwys going to be one in danger of being moved on. Sunderland offered up £500,000 and the left winger was gone in a flash.

Kenny Lunt [10(13), 2, 2, 7.22]
I went back and forth over the sale of Kenny, eventually coming down on the side that said we needed the money. Portsmouth were offering £3,000,000 for a player we’d picked up for free twelve months earlier, and though he had looked good and done us well at times, he was by no means first choice, so in the end he simply had to go.

Marcio Junquiera [20(6), 2, 5, 7.12]
I had never planned to sell Marcio, but the release clause that the Dutchman had insisted on came back to bite us. When signing his bosman deal, he demanded that he be let go if a bid of £4,000,000 or more came in, and when Real Sociedad met that figure, he scarpered. The kid had done well and was only going to get better, so I was sad to lose him.

Jack Tuyp [21(19), 15, 4, 7.04]
Jack may have found his chances restricted during our Premiership campaign, but he had proven himself plenty useful as backup, and I’d certainly not invited bids to be made for him. However, Ajax had been monitoring his progress and moved to take him back to the Netherlands. We held out for a £3,500,000 fee, but again he was still a player I was sad to see leave.

Pieter Collen [12(1), 0, 0, 7.08]
Pieter seemed to have impressed others more than he had me, I was most definitely surprised when four clubs began a bidding war for his signature. In the end it was Leicester who won the battle, forking over £1,500,000 to take the Belgian defender to the Walkers Stadium.

Released:
Jackob Lekgetho [25, 0, 0, 7.32]
Magnus Hedman [58, 0, 0, 7.02]

retired_bbcarr

Summer 2006 Pt. II


Players In:
Name [Age, Position, Nationality, Caps, Goals]

Kily Gonzalez [31, AML, Argentinian, 61, 6] free transfer from Real Madrid
A bit of a coup in the eyes of the fans, Kily was available on a free transfer after Real Madrid decided not to renew his contract. He may be getting on in years, but he is still a quality player and will no doubt improve our options going forward.

John Welsh [22, DMRC, English, 0, 0] free transfer from Liverpool
With both Miel Mans and Arnau leaving the club, we needed a back-up for Alou Diarra’s defensive midfield role. John was easily the best available without having to spend wacking great lumps of cash, though for a twenty-two year old he had relatively little first team experience.

David Rozehnal [26, DC, Czech, 8, 0] £1,000,000 from Club Brugge
Another signing of necessity rather than desire, David was at least a little step up in terms of talent from both Pieter and Hayden. I was happy to get him in, but I also felt he’d have a hard job shifting Kruiswijk and Lescott from their position as first choice centre backs.

Robin van Persie [23, AM/FLC, Dutch, 7, 1] £6,250,000 from Everton
Many were surprised twelve months earlier when Arsenal allowed Robin to leave for Merseyside.The fee then was a mere two million pounds, but a clause written into his contract meant he could leave for a little over six. We were only too happy to meet that clause, and with his wage demands not as sky high as I thought they might be, Robin was someone who perhaps we didn’t need, but who would definitely make us a better side.

Sergey Ignashevich [26, SW/DC, Russian, 32, 5] £2,000,000 from CSKA Moscow
Very much bought in the same role as Rozehnal, Sergey was better than that which we’d sold, but probably not any better than what we already had. However, strength in depth was vital, and so I was willing to put up the fight to persuade CSKA to part with their best centre back.

Jermaine Pennant [23, AMR, English, 0, 0] Season-long loan from Chelsea
With Joe Cole back in the first team squad at Stamford Bridge and Junquiera leaving for Spanish shores, I felt we needed a bit of strengthening out wide. Jermaine had barely played since making the move to Chelsea, and he was delighted to grab the chance of first team football once more. I wasn't convinced how much he'd play, but he'd at least be solid back-up as we aimed for europe again.

retired_manragh

Nice work Terk, good results, Fm05 is too easy!!

retired_bbcarr

Cheers, Pan I think the thing with FM05 is that if you get momentum (in either direction - winning or losing) it's very difficult to lose it. I've been relegated with barely a win on the board for teams that should have been battling for Europe, and I've won the league with teams that were no better than mid-table but got off to a blinding start to a season.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

August 2006

With pre-season wins over Rushden, Hartlepool, Bielefeld and Mainz under our belts (all managed without conceding a single goal) we were ready for our league opener. Unfortunately, that took us a trip to Anfield, and Liverpool were in no mood to help celebrate my 100th game in charge. With Alou Diarra missing with a broken arm, we fielded a number of debutants, and thanks to Hyypiä’s opener and a double from Cissé, we travelled back to Wigan with a convincing defeat.

Our first home game, just four days later, saw us up against Aston Villa. The first half was a drab affair, neither side really threatening a goal, but we managed to sneak ourselves ahead before the hour mark, Gareth Barry turning a cross into his own net. Cavenaghi limped off with twenty minutes left, but his replacement, Darren Bent, proved himself more than adequate with a rasping volley to double our lead, and late on Kily Gonzalez scored his first for the club with a beautifully flighted free kick.

Cavenaghi was missing for the trip to Bolton with a bruised thigh, but Bent again deputised well, putting us ahead in the ninth minute. Unfortunately, he suffered a nasty gash to his leg soon after, meaning Robin van Persie had to take on the lone striker role. It was something he didn’t do particularly well, and two goals in the second half – from Kevin Nolan and Grzegorz Rasiak – gave Bolton all three points.

Bent’s injury gave Fernando Cavenaghi the chance to jump straight back into the side against West Brom, and the Argentinian fired us in front on the quarter hour. Our injury hit season continued with Gonzalez, Welsh and Pennant all forced to leave the field before half time, but we battled on well, and with ten minutes left, MartÃ*n Ligüera sealed the points with a tap in from six yards.

The draw for the first round of the UEFA Cup had paired us with Portuguese side Belenenses, but we had more pressing matters at hand with a trip up north to face Middlesbrough. I enjoyed the games against Steven McLaren’s charges, and even more so for the three points we gained out of this trip. There was only one goal in the match, Cavenaghi netting in first half injury time, but it was enough to give us the points, even if the joy was tempered by losing another player to injury when Leighton Baines fracuted his jaw in a heavy challenge.

League Position: 4th


Player In:

Chris Pennock [18, GK, English, 0, 0] £1,200,000 from Middlesbrough
Whilst in Middlesbrough for the Premiership tie, a deal was struck to bring England U-21 goalkeeper Chris to the JJB. I was plenty happy with Jan Lastuvka as my first choice, but I felt I might have to let Lee Grant go in January as he was complaining about his lack of game time, and that meant another back-up ‘keeper was essential. Chris fit the bill as young and talented, and I was sure he would do a job if called upon.