Mike..

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Spav:
Top of the table, eh? Best of luck for promotion for Pau. KUTGW <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yeah, just a shame that pre-patch I couldn't produce regular table updates as is my usual style. Cheers for the support, I know the boys appreciate it

retired_amyslack

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Meervogel Col:
Damn, this is good. Wasted almost an hour of my bosses time to read this.

I'm actually pretty jelous too. I tried to write a CM03/04 story last year, but it was crap. Stopped it after three or four posts. Might try to do one again now.

Keep it up... <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Of course it's good - it comes from the 2003 Writer of the Year, and a strong contender to re-peat this year I think :thup:

Mike..

I'd be a bit surprised to be in the running this year as this is about all I've done - but still it's nice to know my writing finds an appreciative audience :cool:



Clubs were being relegated already, Royes and Raon-l’Etape were both a massive 16 points adrift with seven games left in the league schedule. Ed pinned the league table to the notice board in the changing rooms and circled the bottom four or five clubs. He added, in marker pen, a little note for his players

Whatever happens in the next few weeks, remember that this is where everyone expected us to be. Well done!!

It was only a gesture, just one more little thing to keep the confidence reserves topped up. He had to admit that, with things being so far from where he’d expected, he hadn’t received any inspirational thoughts, all he could do was to keep urging his players to maintain their self belief.

They seemed to take heed, although the visit of Bayonne hardly provided a sparkling game for the casual spectator a second-half goal from Bonnel (in for an inured Millereau) kept them in top spot.

Mike..

MARCH 2005 SUMMARY

Pau 2 (Bédani pen 39, Tchami 67)
Racing 92 0
Man of the Match: Leglib (Pau)

Pau 1 (Bonnel 113)
Auxerre 0
French Cup
Man of the Match: Leglib (Pau)

Sannois SG 2 (Liri pen 14, Poinçon 28)
Pau 2 (Bindi 3, Bédani pen 57)
Man of the Match: Raboteur (Sannois)

Pau 1 (Bonnel 50)
Bayonne 0
Man of the Match: Ba (Pau)

retired_amyslack

It's quality not quantity flip

Mike..

Well I don't suppose I can argue with that statement at least



Things were still extremely tight at the top of the table, so tight that a disappointing defeat at Besançon dropped them to 3rd place, with the next two sides within a point of them. It wasn’t the defeat that was disappointing as much as the manner of it. Pau had stepped up a gear from the Bayonne game, they’d gone hunting for goals and Millereau had struck early to give them the lead.

They’d defended the lead until the final whistle was in sight, smothering the home side’s attacks and getting the ball up to the front two, but a momentary lapse saw them pulled back and in the ensuing confusion, and attempts to reorganise, the home side pounced to steal the points – less than 2 minutes from winners to losers.

Ed had a real problem on his hands now as well, Aernoudt was declared fully fit but he was still insistent that he wanted to leave the club – still he could (or would) only say that he was unsure of his role at the club. Ed had tried hard to make it crystal clear, maybe there was a language barrier but he couldn’t imagine it. His view was simple, Aernoudt was first team – simple as that – but Ed couldn’t play him with a broken leg! He made it his priority to give the midfielder pitch time in every remaining game.

-----

With the end of the season approaching fast things were in the balance for all of the teams in Ed’s life. Huddersfield were in the relegation spots but, with four games to play, they had ample opportunity to escape it if, and it was a big if, they could notch a win or two. Spurs were in the running for Europe, although mainly thanks to the financial mismanagement at Everton – the Toffees, deducted 9 points after going into administration, were enjoying a hell of a season and should have been in 5th rather than the 8th spot they occupied.

In France Bordeaux were having a mixed season, but a couple of wins for them could deliver a potential top three finish, and then of course, there was Pau. Having allowed themselves to be caught on the break early on, they fought back against GFCO Ajaccio but could only manage another draw in front of their home crowd.

The point wasn’t enough to keep them in the top three and suddenly, with four to play, it was looking like the season was going to be a month too long.

Mike..

Ed woke late on Tuesday morning, it had been a long day training on Monday and he’d made sure that he got involved – he wanted the team to know that the whole club was pulling the same way so he’d rolled his sleeves up and got stuck in on the practise pitch.

Grabbing a quick shower he got into the car and drove down to Pau, listening to an old ‘mix’ CD and enjoying the spring sunshine. He arrived later than he would have liked, but still in time for training. When he walked through the doors he found the whole coaching and playing staff congregated around the TV.

“OK lads, come on, we’ve got work to do, no time for television, we’ve got a Cup game coming up”

Brahim Naïmi turned to Ed and laughed “You’ve not heard have you? Here, watch this” and the assistant stepped aside, giving him a seat in front of the set. The face on the screen looked familiar, but it took him a moment to place it

…cannot overlook the fantastic few seasons that we’ve had, but the time has come for us to make a change…

then the face clicked, it was the English that did it, with the French subtitles, it was David Gill – chairman of Manchester United. It couldn’t be, could it…?

…it’s not been a good season for us and the hope is that a new face can shake things up a bit, maybe even grab us a Champion’s League spot. Everyone involved with the club, of course, extends their eternal gratitude to Sir Alex but it’s by mutual consent that we’ve decided to look for a new manager…

Ed couldn’t believe what he was hearing, he had to admit that he’d envisaged Ferguson staying at Old Trafford until he retired (or dropped dead) but with United in 5th place Gill and the board had obviously decided that enough was enough. The timing was wrong though, that’s what struck him, with six games to go you see out the season, surely? Then if it doesn’t happen, you find someone new in the summer. He looked at the table again, and began to wonder if Arsene Wenger might be next!

-----

Eventually he did get people out onto the practise pitch, and the training went well. The quarter final of the Cup was upon them but suddenly, with the league situation, it was back to being nothing more than a distraction.

Ed gave Aernoudt the start against Metz, he’d looked sharper than expected in the 20 minutes he’d played at the weekend and the Cup seemed the ideal opportunity to test his match fitness.

For a while it looked like the dream was going on, Ed had often heard to managers referring to the incredible with the tried and tested “Oh he’s done that in training a hundred times” – well he could safely say that Nicolas Cami had never lashed home a dipping, swerving, shot from thirty-odd yards in training – but he did exactly that 15 minutes into the Cup tie. Like Auxerre in the previous round, Metz set about the Pau goal looking for vengeance but, again, Leglib was in superb form and they came within 2 minutes of securing a place in the semi-finals before Lamouchi threaded home a side-footed shot from the tightest of angles.

It was devastating for Ed’s men, but what bothered him more was the 30 minutes of extra time that they faced at such a crucial point in the season. Metz made sure that there would be no more giant killing for the National League upstarts, with a finely crafted goal, and when Anthony Gardan received his second yellow the fight was done for Pau. The Cup run wasn’t without reward though, a healthy cheque banked courtesy of the French FA, and Ed went home to work out how to play out the season.

retired_emsta12

I think this may be the first time I've posted on this forum, but I think this excellent story, nay, experience deserves a few words. I love it, I really do. I frequently read these FM Diaries and rarely do I come across something that captures my interest in the way that this has. From the drama of Auxerre in the cup to the general building of the Edgar Allen character, if there's another writer more worthy of an award I have yet to read his work. Keep it up!

Mike..

Thanks very much SP, knowing that someone is really enjoying not just the results, but also the narrative, makes putting the work into something like this even more enjoyable



The general feeling from the coaching staff was that Pau needed to control midfield more – at the moment they were feeding the ball through quickly and losing it too easily. Ed decided to tinker a little – Aernoudt was defensively minded and, with Bédani, would make a good holding pair – he decided to use the two of them to hold the ball up and have Cami operate in the more adventurous role. It meant one less supply line, but hopefully more possession.

He was conscious that it might not be the best time to be making changes, but it was hardly a revolution in Pau’s playing style and he decided to stick it out. Rouen would be the first team to face the new setup, and their poor league form had Ed hoping for a push back into the promotion spots.

Cami revelled in his new role as free-moving playmaker, time and again he split the defence with a telling pass or mazy run, and that home defence had to resort to desperate measures to try and stop the Pau front line – Millereau, in particular, showed a speed of both body and thought that had his marker in a panic from early on, and that won him the first of two penalties to deliver the points.

Ed felt a moment of sympathy his Rouen counterpart, early in the season he had berated the referee who awarded their opponents three spot-kicks, now he was grateful for Monsieur Ennjimi’s disciplinarian approach.

With three to play Pau were back into the promotion spots thanks to goal difference alone, and the crunch games were coming up fast.

Mike..

APRIL 2005 SUMMARY

Besançon 2 (Barro 83, Agouazi 84)
Pau 1 (Millereau 4)
Man of the Match: Millereau (Pau)

Pau 1 (Tchami 33)
GFCO Ajaccio 1 (Féron 30)
Man of the Match: Bindi (Pau)

Pau 1 (Cami 15)
Metz 2 (Lamouchi 89, Renouard 105)
French Cup Qtr Final
Man of the Match: Leglib (Pau)
News: Gardan (Pau) sent off 120 mins

Rouen 0
Pau 2 (Bédani pen 29, pen 75)
Man of the Match: Cami (Pau)
News: Macalou (Rouen) sent off 74