retired_sahba

Sixth Season: 10/11 - Championship. Part. 2

Martin's return lifted the mood around the squad no end. An asault on the Championship would be much less daunting with a player as skilled as he amongst our ranks. We carried this confidence into our first match of the season as we thrashed our follow recently promoted side Swindon 4-0 at home, with a debut goal for Stefan Moore, one for Martin on his second debut at the club, one for Kuqi and the fourth coming from Campos, who put in perhaps his best performance yet in the yellow of Prescot Cables.

Our opening day win was not a sign of things to come however, as it was followed by two defeats on the road to Preston and Plymouth and a home draw with Reading. After four games we were in 16th place with just 4 points and I was begining to think we would not have the impact I had hoped for in the Championship. I have always said, throughout our rise, at the beginning of every season, that safety is the priority and i don't expect us to get promotion, and I've usually meant it. But somewhere along the line, after so much success, I began to expect us to be promoted despite the unlikelihood and despite what I said in public, purely because it was all I knew as a manager. This was my first taste of a struggle.

What was perhaps most disappointing was the early season form of my son Jack. After an excellent season last year he was slipping back into the sort of arrogant unconcerned displays he had been putting in a couple of years ago. What was worse, our relationship off the pitch was disintegrating too. I separated from the boy's mother when he was 5, but my relationship with Jack had always been close when he was growing up. Most of my career was spent playing for clubs within a few miles of his and his mother's home in Prescot, so there was never a problem of me not being around. On a Sunday I would take him to the park (the very same park, adjacent to Valery Park which the new Cables stadium was built on) to kick a ball around. By the age of 11 he was running rings around me. I thought then that there must be something special about an 11 year old who could take on a Conference level defender so easily, and I was right. He was picked up by the accademy at Liverpool FC and, at one point was considered their brightest young prospect. I supported and encouraged him throughout his teenage years and we remained close, and it was me who was there for him when he was released by Liverpool at 17 with no explanation given. Although he had offers from Championship and League 1 clubs at the time, he only ever wanted to play for me. Over the years at Cables though, our close father-son relationship has begun to fall appart. The loyalty and humility which made him come to play here rather than at one of te bigger clubs who wanted him has vanished, and I think he has begun to resent me. His performances have suffered, and it hurts deeply to see the boy I cared for as a child all those years ago now turning his back on me as he looks to advance his career. He came to me in my office on the 25th August and put ina transfer request. I had little choice but to accept.

It wasn't all bad around the camp though. After a poor start, we managed to turn our results around and go on an eleven match unbeaten run, including victories over Rotherham and Crystal Palace in the League Cup. We continued to climb the table throughout October and Novemeber with a series of good results and performances. Martin and Baradji renewed there superb left-sided partnership, while Moore settled admirably alongside Kuqi up front. Gardner was a revelation at the back, partnering Hobbs brilliantly as the two complemented eachother so well. The only problem area in the defence was at right back, where none of our options were really Championship class.

Our league cup run continued, as I guided the team through a third round victory over Bristol Rovers, to set up a fourth round meeting with top-of-the-table Charlton. We went into that match on the back of three straight wins and carried on our excellent form with a 4-0 victory over the league leaders. The goals came from Kuqi, Yeates, and Campos (2).

This however, marked the end of our good form. We had climbed to eighth in the table prior to this match, but followed it with four straight league defeats slipping fown to 13th. My next match was aginst Premiership Norwich in the Quarter Final of the League Cup. Despite taking an early lead, we seemed to lose our bottle in the second half and were eliminated 3-1.

In the new year, then, our fortunes took yet another turn, as we rediscovered our winning touch, climbing back up the table into 7th place, our highest point yet, in February. Meanwhile, our FA Cup involvement had begun. Our third round match at home to Coventry ended in a 1-1 draw, but we won the replay 3-2 to progress. We continued to progress with a 4-2 win over Barnsley and a 2-0 victory over Reading to take us into our second cup quarter final of the year. The cup drew us away against Shef Wed, a club only 4 points above us in the league table and our adversaries from last year's title run in.

It took a while to sink in for me, that the club I had started managing just six years ago in the Conference North, the highest point they had reached in their long history to that time, were now genuinely competing for a place in the play-offs for promotion to the elite level, and taking cup quarter finals in our stride. It was an immensely proud moment for me.

In the month before that match, we played some vital league games, and on the whole did well, despite some heavy defeats. We won (including a 4-1 at Barnsley and a 3-1 at Norwich). The attacking style in which we played made some heavy losses almost inevitable when playing at this level, with three of our midfielders pushing up far to support the forwards. The presence of D'Laryea prevented this becoming too big a problem however. Depite those losses, we had begun to win the majority of our games and were accumulating points at an impresive race as we climbed into the play-off places and promotion became a realistic prospect for the first time. The key figure in this revival of fortunes was Alvaro Campos. The Spaniard has raised his game beyond recognition in recent months. Not only is his passing and crossing sublime, but he has become a lethal goalscorer too. In terms of goals scored he is keeping pace with the front men, with only Moore having outscored him.

On the day of our FA Cup Quarter Final, I was nervous as hell. Having grow up a Liverpool fan, any time I stepped out at Hillsborough was a harrowing experience, but on such a historic occasion for my club the feeling was amplified. The match was a tight, tense affair. Neither side wanted to risk anything, and I had told my players to defend at all costs. I used Nafti as a second anchorman, meaning one of the attacking trio of midfielders had to be dropped, and it was an easy decision as to which, since Jack had not been pulling his weight all season. The plan worked, anyway, since in extra time we got a free kick deep in opposition territory which Moore converted from Campos cross. We held out and made it to the semi-final.

Our league form dipped a little as everyone seemed focussed on the cup tie, the biggest game in the history of Prescot Cables, as we failed to win a game between the Quarters and the Semis against Tottenham. We remained in contention for a play-off place however. The semi final finally roleld around on 24th April. The camp was filled with nervous anticipationa s we made our way down to London. Watching from the side-lines as the game kicked off I could not get my head around the idea that in just a couple of hours this team could be in the Final of the world's greatest cup competition.

The match began every bit as cagily as the Shef Wed match had been, although I reverted to 4-1-3-2 due to an injury to Nafti, and at half time the score was still 0-0. I told my boys to try to open the game up in the second half, worried that against a top Premiership side like Spurs our defences would not last 90 minutes. We went out more attacking in the second half, but it proved our undoing as Jermaine Defoe ghosted past former team-mate Gardner to slot home on 55 minutes. We pulled one back through a Stefan Moore tap-in from a Kuqi knock down, but they grabbed the win late on through Defoe's second of the game. We were out, but we could hold our heads high having come so close to making the final. Not bad for a team which had only been in the league for a few years.

That left us eneding 7 points from our final 3 league games to guarantee a play-off spot. We began with a 2-0 victory over play-off rivals Shef Wed, with both goals coming from Campos, and followed that up with another 2-0 away to Leeds, this time the goals coming one apiece from Howarth and Moore. We needed a draw in our final match of the season and we achieved it in dramati fashion having gone 2-0 down to West Brom. We came back in the second half through Campos yet again, and with less than 10 minutes remaning, Kuqi, by now practically a club legend for his goals, headed home to give us a huge opportunity to get into the very top level of English football.

Account of play-offs to follow tomorow, in the meantime, feedback as welcome as ever

retired_sahba

Okay, so I lied about continuing the next day, been busy.

Before I tell you how we fared in the play-offs, I would like to make mention of something else. The season just finished was the first in which players who came up through our academy played in the first team, which I think ranks as one of our biggest achievements yet. The first time a youth player made his debut, Daniel Blackwell as a subsitute for Lee Martin in the League Cup against Charlton, was an immensely proud moment for me, since I feel I've played a significant role in turning Cables into a club capable of producing their own players capable ofperforming at this level. Over the coruse of the season, Blackwell made another 4 substitute appearances. Daniel Richards was also involed in two games and, although both have a long way to go if they are to become first team regulars, I'm very optimistic.

On to the play-offs then, and we drew Shef Wed in the semi-final. Over the last couple of year's we've developed quite a rivalry with Shef Wed, from our title race last season, through big cup ties and battles for play-off places, and this tie felt like the culmination of that rivalry. The first leg was at Hillsborough. After a cagy first half, we took the lead early in the second half through Stefan Moore, but were pegged back almost immediately. Jack gave us a 2-1 lead mid-way through the half, but we were pegged back again late on in a very tight game.

We carried a slight psychological advantage into the home leg, but it started to unravel as we went behind after just 23 minutes. The minutes ticked slowly away, and despite some good running from Baradji, Martin and Campos, we could not find an opening.

We were handed a lifeline late on when substitute Yeates headed down a Martin cross for the inspirational skipper D'Laryea to riffle home an equaliser.

With the game looking like going to extra time it took a piece of individual brilliance from Campos as he recieved the ball from Hobbs, jinked past two defenders and slotted home the winning goal to send us into the final.

We were now just ninety minutes away from achieving the ultimate deam of Premiership football, and only Leeds United stood in our way. At Wembley, in front of the biggest crowd we'd ever played for, we lined up to try to make the leap into the big time. I was slightly woried beforehand that my players, some of whom had been with the club from the non-league days, would be overawed by the occasion, but with the top-flight experience of Gardner and Nafti in the line-up, they settled to the task well. We started on the back foot, with Hobbs, Rothenbuhler, Baradji and Gardner having their work cut out for them, and the deadlock was broken just before the half hour mark when David Healy beat Hammer from 6 yards.

The game livened up somewhat in the second half when i took off Nafti and replaced him with Campos. Campos had a huge impact on the game and soon set up Kuqi for the equaliser. Then we took the lead via a Gardner header from a Martin corner, before making it 3-1 on 72 minutes through Moore. Campos orchestrated much of this, and was rewarded with a goal of his own soon afterwards. Leeds grabbed a late consolation goal but it was to no avail as we stromed throgh 4-2 winners and were on our way to the Premiership.

retired_sahba

Seventh Season 11/12 - Premiership

I still have trouble believing quite how far this club has come in seven short years. Even with the fantastic financial backing of Jim Graham, for a club out of its depth in the Conference North to climb right through the league system so quickly still strikes me as amazing, and I feel so lucky to have been a part of that. After our play-off triumph, and the obligatory open-topped bus tour through the streets of Knowsley, I had a lot of work to do to prepare the team for the rigors of the world's greatest league.

My first task was clearing out the players who weren't up to the job - starting with right-backs Rothernbuhler, Zehman and [France[/b], none of whom had been at all impressive in that position last term. I also managed to get £1million from Notts Forrest for high profile misfit Alioui.

Also out were Mckenna, Ricketts, Rak, David Martin and Potter, none of whom were capable of taking the step up, along with most of the youth academy graduates who didn't look like making it at the club.

To replace those who left, I had a long list of targets, and I quickly set about snapping up those I could. The first in, the latest in a long line of players who have left the club only to return soon after, was Matty Fryatt, after a season on the bench at Ipswich in the Premiership. He was followed through the door by Belarusian international attacking midfielder Vyacheslav Hleb, brother of former Arsenal winger Aliaksandr, Danish midfielder William Kvist, Manchester United fullback Rincon, an old friend of Lee Martin, Notts Forrest winger Kris Commons, Malaga's Spanish right-back Alexis, Spanish goalkeeper Sergio Alvarez from Crystal Palace and Egyptian defender Hosni from Strasbourg.

Even with the fees recieved from selling players, that lot came to £12 million, but with the club thriving, having developed a huge fanbase by poaching fans from nearby Liverpool, Everton and Saint Hellens Rugby League Club, and ith the Chairman still willing to donate from his own pocket, we were able to scrape together the funds requried to put together a Premiership standard team, when combined with the talent of the likes of Lee Martin, Jack Hobbs and Jonathan D'Laryea.

Another plus about making the big league was that it seemed to settle Jack, since he no longer felt he needed to leave to play at a big club, he asked to be taken off the transfer list and redoubled his efforts in training.

When the fixtures for the season landed on my desk, I couldn't help but smile. Our first Premiership game was against Liverpool. Local giants. The club I had supported as a boy growing up, through the glory days under Shanks and Paisley. The club who had gone out of ther way to help their fledgling neighbours by transferring players to us time and time again, from where we got Potter, Fowler, Hobbs Hammill, Howarth and Nardiello. Although Potter, Nardiello and Hammill have now left, Hobbs and Howarth were still here at the start of this season, and Fowler was on the coaching staff. It was going to be a special occasion for all of us, that first trip to Anfield.

First we had a rigorous pre-season, which we came through well, with all the players looking fit and ready for the season, and generally good results from friendlies against Oldham, Grimsby, Luton and Palace. But then came the big game, the biggest game of most of our careers: Liverpool away.

The game will live in my memory for a long time. It was one of the greatest defensive performances I've witnessed, with Hobbs typically outstanding, showing Liverpool what they were missing out on. Alexis also had an excellent debut, while after an early injury to Gardner, fellow newcomer Hosni also excelled. Liverpool had chance after chance and time after time they were kept at bay. Then, late in the second half, when it looked destined for 0-0, a moment of genius from last year's player of the season Campos released Fryatt to score a massive goal on his return to the club.

Minutes later it was all over, and in our very first Premiership match we had overcome giants and neighbours Liverpool to win 1-0.

More to follow soon, if anyone's reading

retired_carlos.jango71

I'm reading, it's good :thup:

Pleased you made up with your son

retired_sahba

Thanks for the feedback Lionel. The stuff with my 'son' came about because I'd put myself into the game as a young player and thought it would be the best way to explain a player with the same name as the boss. I thought I might aswell use the ready-made troublesome son thing, since most of the best stories I've read on here have had some sort of personal problem running through them.

Seventh Season: 11/12 - Premiership Pt. 2

After a magnificent start to our Premiership campaign, we struggled to follow up on it. In our second game we were humiliated 4-0 by Chelsea, and we did not manage a second win until we beat Middlesborough 3-1 at Valery Park in late October. Our results continued to be eratic - strong victories over Luton, Crystal Palace, Fulham and Everton contrasting with sound beatings on the road at the hands of Charlton, Arsenal, Wigan and Newcastle.

However, despite a string of awful results on the road, we were doing enough to keep our heads firmly above water, and Premiership survival was beginning to look a strong likelihood.

The consistency problem affected the whole team, so it is difficult to pick out stand out players from this season - Martin struggled to reach top form against a higher standard of defender, Hobbs was culpable at the back on occasion, Baradji was didn't look capable at the highest level and Jack Jr, despite the most commitment I've seen from him in a long time, failed to hit top form. Last years hero Alvaro Campos found he didn't get the time on the ball he was used to and proved ineefective too.

D'Laryea was our lifesaver, and without him I doubt we would have got any results at all. This season has been his best yet, and he seems quite unfazed by playing against better opposition. Kuqi has been outstanding in attack and has chipped in with some invaluable goals too as Fryatt, Moore and Yeates have struggled to adapt, and Gardner's experience has been vital at the back.

Of the new signings, Kvist has proved next to useless as he doesn#t fit well into our formation and when played has producednothing to suggest he can become a first team regular. Hleb has been encouraging if not great, picking up slack for the udnerperforming Campos and Howarth. Hosni has not done anything to displace the current centre backs, and the two right backs Alexis and Rincon have both been mildly succesful and have competed for the shirt all season. Goalkeeper has been a troubled position, with new boy Alvarez, last season's firs choice Hammer and Jan Habr each having spells between the sticks.

Of the youngsters, Richards had a hugely succesful loan period at Tranmere, while Blackwell had a less succesful time at Chester. As time wears on, Richards, the right back is proving to be the more able of the two. Steve Harper meanwhile stayed at the club and made his debut as a substitute in a league cup appearance, acquitting himself reasonably well.

Talkingof the league cup, we had a good run in that conpetition this season. After strolling past League One Yeovil in the first round and Championship strugglers Derby County in the second, we came up against Premiership rivals Charlton. After a tense encounter, the score finished 2-2, with our goals coming from Fryatt and Hleb, and extra time proving inconclusive. That set up our first penalty shootout. We struck first through talismanic forward Kuqi, but they leveleld. Our second spot kick taker was Fryatt, who also netted, but again the equalised. Our third kicker was the skipper, and he buried his drive in the back of the net. Hammer made a hero of himself by saving the third Charlton kick, and, after a succesful conversion from Howarth, the fourth Charlton penalty take blazed over the bar to send us through to the fourth round, where we met and easily overcame Notts Forrest.

Meanwhile, in the league, things remained eratic. We suffered a humiliating 7-2 defeat at Villa Park, with Hobbs and Rincon both sent off. We achieved a couple more victories in this period, but largely we were relying on the points accumulated early on to keep us out of trouble as we slumped to 16th. We continued to succeed in the League Cup though, overcoming Blackburn 2-1 in a close quarter final thanks to a late winner from Martin to take us into a two leg semi-final against Middlesborough.

Keep tuning in to find out if we stayed up, whether we made the league cup final, how we fared in the FA cup, whether any of the youngsters made their mark late on in the season and much, much more...

retired_sahba

Seventh Season: 11/12 - Premiership Pt. 3

January roller around, and a few things of significance happened: firstly, Daniel Richards returned from an excellent spell on loan over the water at Tranmere, and Blackwell from a less succesful one in Chester. Also in January we started - and ended - our FA cup campaign with a 3-1 defeat to Sunderland at the Stadium of Light. That was followed immediately by the first leg of our big semi-final against Middlesbrough, in which we fared slightly better. After going behind early in the second half, we grabbed an equaliser through Stefan Moore and took a draw into the second leg.

In the meantime we had some important league games, including the return against Liverpool, whichw e lost 2-0, but also some key victories - against Manchester City and Charlton, allowing us to claw our way back up the league to 4th and move closer to safety.

The second leg soon came around at Valery Park and we were within 90 minutes of our first major cup final. All we had to do was score. Unfortunately, Kuqi was injured and that task was left to the misfiring Fryatt and Moore, who were not up to the task. We defended well, but could not take a lead, and the tie went to extra time. With the clock ticking down and the game looking like penalties, Middlesbrough broke the deadlock and our Wembley dream was over for another season. The league was now our sole concern.

In our first game after the league cup exit, we found ourselves once again up against Boro, this time at the Riverside. The irony, of course, was that after failing to score when it mattered, we put on a thrilling 3-3 draw in the league fixture with goals from Fryatt, Martin and Hobbs. From there we went until mid-March without a win, facing some tough games against Arsenal, Everton and others and failing to play to our best. However we managed to turn things around when we met Manchester United at home, winnong 3-1 thanks to a Kuqi double and an own goal.

Daniel Richards has done well since his return from Tranmere. Rincon and Alexis have both been solid rightbacks all season, but since January Richards has been pushing them for a place, strting a number of games in the league and doing well. I think that given time he could become a firstteam regular and a very good player.

After the United win, we had a strong finish to the season, with victories over Luton, Bolton and Tottenham following. We achieved safety from relegation by April and continued to accumulate points.

Eventually we finished in 13th place with 45 points - 14 above the relegation places and remarkably only 12 short of Europe. Not that European qualification was ever a possibility, but to finish closer to it than relegation I felt was an achievement in itself.

So we had survived our first season in the Premiership. The challenge that lay ahead was to buildon that success and consolidate our position as a Preiership side. That and avoiding second season syndrome of course.

retired_sahba

Eighth Season: 11/12 - Premiership

Throughout our first season in the Premiership we had been drawing big crowds and filling our 17,000 seat stadium, and over the summer an extra 3,000 seats were added to accomodate our ever growing fanbase. That meant there was not a huge amount of money to spend on transfers, and we were in desparate need of a top quality goalscorer if we were to advance in the Premiership.

For the last 10 or 12 years the best goalscorer in the country had been Ruud van Nistelrooy of Manchester United. Last season, despite turning 35 he managed 27 league goals for United, but over the summer they revamped their forward line and Ruud rejected their new contract offer, fearing his opportunities would be limited. United's loss was our gain as we snapped the veteran Dutch international up. We may only get one season out of him, but hopefully he can provide the goals and Premiership experience we've been lacking to take us to the next level.

We also signed Shaun Wright-Phillips on a free transfer. The former England international, once amongst the brightest prospects in the game had been in decline for some time after limited chances at Chelsea and a disastrous couple of years at Aston Villa, but he impressed me on a trial here and I think he can do a job for us.

Due to the poor performances of Campos and Howarth last term, half of our small budget, £2.2m was spent on Brazillian attacking midfielder/right winger Roberto Ferriera to bolster our options in those positions. Another million was spent on Chelsea anchorman Lassana Diarra as cover for D'Laryea to replace the outgoing Nafti, similar to the role he had played at his former club. The final incoming transfer was left-back Bob Jackson as competition for that position.

Aside from Nafti, also outgoing were Scott Phelan and Matthew Russel who no longer had a role at the club at this level.

With our squad for the season assembled, and a strong pre-season under our belts

retired_sahba

Oops, posted before finished

we were ready to build on our first season in the top flight.

retired_sahba

Van Nistelrooy had been icnredibly sharp throughout pre-season and when the season began he did not disappoint, scoring on his debut, with the equaliser in a 2-2 draw with Leeds United, after Hleb openned the scoring before Leeds drew level and then ahead. Our opening games went well, and after 8 league matches we had lost only one and were firmly in the top half of the table. I knew it was unlikely to last, but the more points we accumulated early on the sooner we were safe. The best of our early season results was a thrilling 4-3 victory over Arsenal, arguably the best team in the world with 4 succesive Premiership titles and 2 European Cups in recent years. The match was something of a showcase for the two greatest strikers in the country over the twelve or so years, as both Ruud and Arsenal's ageing skipper and club legend Henry rolled back the years with a hattrick apiece, but it was Sekou Baradji's late headed goal which decided it. Around this time we also go through the second round of the League Cup with a 4-0 thrashing of local rivals Tranmere Rovers.

After going 9 games in all competition with only one loss, perhaps predictably we suffered a sharp downturn in fortunes. We lost Hobbs to injury and he left a huge hole in our backline, and over the next 9 games we underwent a complete reversal, by only winning one. Shortly before Christmas our form settled a little, and we began to notch up points where we were to be expected to and dropping them in tough games. The lowpoint here was a 5-0 destruction at the hands of our big brothers in Liverpool, but in general we were doing well, accumulating a number of victories and coasting towards safety. We crashed out in the third round of the league cup following a 4-1 drubbing by Charlton, but the league was our main focus so I wasn't overly concerned.

By February we had climbed to eighth in the table, albeit having played two games more than the teams immediatly below us, and the media began to talk about Europe. I immediately dismissed this talk lest it get to the players heads, and repeatedly told the press that I was more concerned with staying in the Premiership for another season.

It's become almost not worth saying that the key to our good run has been D'Laryea, since he has been behind everything good we've done for years now, but he has been fantastic once again, and it hasn't gone unnoticed. There has been something of a call in the media for him to be called up to the England squad, and with mifield mainstays such as Steven Gerrard and Keven Nolan ageing rapidly he has been described by some as the future of England's midfield. I have no doubt he could do a job for England, but Stuart Pearce, the England boss is yet to call him up.

The other key figure in our good season has been van Nistelrooy, who has terrorised defences and is banging in the goals despite his advancing years. Ferriera has also been good amongst the new boys, largely displacing a disappointing Campos in the attacking midfield role, with Hleb making the right wing his own ahead of Howarth and Wright-Phillips.

More to come

retired_sahba

While our strong league run was ongoing, we also had a good start in the FA Cup. My boys entered in the 3rd round with a home tie against Portsmouth, who sat towards the bottom of the Championship. On paper an easy result, but I knew it could be tougher than it sounded, and so it turned out. Twice we took the lead, first through Ruud and then through a rare strike from the skipper, and twice they clawed us back, and, tied at 2-2, the match went to a replay. Ultimately we prevailed, with strikes from van Nistelrooy, Hleb, Kuqi and Martin in the return fixture. That earned us a 4th round tie against another mediocre Championship side, Birmingham City. This time we didn't underestimate our opponents and a solid defensive display led to a 2-0 win and sent us into the 5th round, where we drew local rivals Everton.

At this point I feel I should update you on the ongoing family drama which has tainted the succeses I've had with Cables. My close personal relationship with my son was severely damaged a long time ago by footballing problems. A tip to all parents: never employ your children, it can only damage your relationship. However, even if we would never be as close as we were as father and son, I always hoped Jack would achieve his potential on the field, but that's no looking increasingly unlikely. I firmly believe that, but for his attitude he could have been world class, but he just isn't performing. He shows flashes of brilliance, but he seems out of his depth at the top level, and with his 25th birthday rapidly approaching, I don't think it can be chalked down to age any more. With a number of new right-sided attacking midfield players joining in recent years, he is also no longer an automatic first choice pick, and indeed is spending an increasing amount of time on the bench, which has only innreased his moodiness and worsenned his problems.


Him aside though, I'm thrilled with my boys. Especially the ones who've been with us for years, D'Laryea, Hobbs, Martin, Kuqi. It fills me with immense pride to see these boy's who were with me way down the pyramid storming the Premiership, and after a first season in which a couple of them struggled, they're all firing on all cylinders now. As much as anybody, I'm proud of young Daniel Richards, the first player to come out of our own youth accademy to join the first team squad on a full time basis, the player who more than any other that I and the people around me can point to as ours. Refular right back Alexis picked up a serious injury early in October, and although in his abscense the Brazilian Rincon has been first choice, Richards has had a number of opportunites and ha taken them well, and I think he has what it takes to soon fill what has for years been a problem position. His fellow accademy graduate Blackwell, on the other hand, I can't see ever making it.

Back to our league performances then, and after our peak at 8th position, we have settled into a more realistic lower middle table place in 13th. I always suspected it was a bit soon to be talking about Europe, but any improvement on last year's 13th will be welcomed.

Our FA Cup run, however, came to an end at Goodison Park after a spirited 2-1 defeat, having mounted a mini comeback from 2-0 down at halftime, but to no avail.