Educated Hick

The Wednesday February 17 game against Lazio saw the return of the squad rotation as Murray, McMillan, Miller and McCann took their turns alongside all the regulars. Nearly 13000 came out to the Crabbe on a usually fine day for February. They were rewarded when, late in the first half, McMillan zinged a shot in to give Dover the 1-0 lead. Meanwhile, the Dover defense prevented Lazio from getting a shot on target. Dover sealed the win early in the second half when Mitchell converted a penalty to make the score, and the final Dover 2 Lazio 0. We would actually travel to Lazio in a week for our next game.

For the game at Lazio, McLaughlin, Irvine, Robertson and Cunningham took their turns in the rotation and were joined by all the regulars. Dover shut up the fans in Rome’s Olympic Stadium when Mitchell scored on 12 to give the visitors the 1-0 lead. Our defense was good enough to hold off Lazio through the rest of the half, even though Thompson had to leave with an injury on 7 and there was no DMC on the bench. However, the fact that we were playing a man out of position caught up with us. Lazio scored in the opening minutes of the next half to tie. But, Foulon came out of nowhere to give Dover back the lead on 60. Then, in the final minutes, Lazio scored again to make the final a 2-2 draw. The point left us firmly entrenched in second place of the Group, just a couple points behind Barca. Next would be a weekend Prem game at Blackburn on the last day of February.

Against Blackburn, the rotation was Murray, Irvine, Robertson and McCann who were joined by Treguer and all the regulars. The game itself was over by halftime as Mitchell converted two penalties and Foulon scored late to give Dover the solid 3-0 lead. Considering that Blackburn was down a man, that lead looked commanding and so it was. There wasn’t much action in the second half. Dover coasted and got the win. With ten league games left, Dover was in third place with 54 points. In second was Man U with 57 points and Everton remained in first with 61 points. If we could get hot down the stretch, we could still win this thing. Next game would be a home game against Nottingham Forest on Saturday March 6.

The lineup as we hosted Forest on March 6 was McLaughlin, Irvine, Robertson and Liop (who would rotate with McCann and Cunningham the rest of the season.) Treguer continued to hold down the DMC spot and all the regulars got the nod. If it looks like Irvine and Robertson are playing in third straight game it’s because I’m using them for the Premier matches. The midfield rotation will only be used in Europe; otherwise, those two players will get the start. The 19000 at the Crabbe had a collective heart attack as Foulon was ejected in the 8th minute. Not only that, but the young French lad had blown a gasket and punched an opposing player in the face. Forest took advantage of their extra man and scored late in the half to take the 1-0 at halftime. In the second half, Irvine saved the win for Dover by scoring a brace on 60 and 62 to give Dover the 2-1 win. After the game, I delivered reprimands to Foulon for getting red and punching opposing players in the face. He accepted both rebukes with good grace and as a result, I appealed his three match ban. I figured Foulon had learned his lesson, after all, he probably felt guilty about letting Dover down at such a critical time. Next up was a Wednesday March 10 game at Nantes in CL action.

In a decision that shocked me, the FA revoked Foulon’s ban completely. When the match day arrived, the lineup was Murray, McMillan, Miler and McCann along with Treguer and the rest of the regulars. Both Dover and Nantes had trouble shooting straight. Each team landed only one shot on the button, but both of those shots resulted in scores as Nantes took the early lead on 21. However, Mitchell got a fine strike in the 40th minute to make the game tied at halftime. The game continued to be defensive in nature until Murray broke the deadlock with a fine header on 86 to give Dover the 2-1 win. The win put Dover into the CL quarterfinals. Next we would play Barca at home in a week in a game that would finish the CL Group Stage. The contest would be to see who finished first in the group.
The game against Barca on March 16 saw a lineup of McLaughlin, McMillan, D. McLaughlin and Cunningham who took to the field with Treguer and the rest of the regulars. As less than 13000 showed up at the Crabbe, Barca took a quick 1-0 lead by the intermission. Their defense just totally shut down our offense. Barca held onto that lead in the second half and we lost 1-0. I didn’t care too much as my thoughts were on the weekend Premier game at Arsenal. On Wednesday, the CL quarters were drawn and we got Manu U. If nothing else, this probably hurt both teams in the Premier League title chase.

March 20 saw us travel to Highbury to take on Arsenal. The lineup was Murray, Irvine, Robertson and McCann alongside all the regulars as Thompson returned to the lineup. Arsenal took the lead quickly, just six minutes into the game. Dover looked flat and uninspired and didn’t pose much of a threat. But, Dover caught a break late in the first half when Arsenal had a player ejected. We would hope to take advantage of that in the second half. We lost the advantage when Thompson was ejected for drawing two yellows. Thus, we lost the match 1-0.

We had two weeks off before our next game, an April 3 contest versus Sunderland at the Crabbe. On Saturday the 3rd, the lineup I unveiled was an “eleven best” lineups that would work because everyone was well rested. The only surprise in the lineup was Treguer, who was playing in place of the suspended Thompson. The usual 19000 came out to the Crabbe and saw an unbelievably frustrating half. Dover took ten shots, landed all ten on target and failed to get a score out of it. The Dover defense held Sunderland to no shots whatsoever. But, the score remained 0-0 at the half. Dover shot seven of eight for the second half and again, failed to score. The Sunderland keeper picked this game to hade a career day. He alone managed to hold us to a single point in a game that should have been ours to win. Ah well, next on the fixture list was the home leg of the CL quarters against Man U on Wednesday April 7.

On the 5th, four Dover players made it into the EPL all-league team: Diawara, Mitchell, Thompson and Abiven. Now if only we could win the title and I’d be done with this team. April 7 was the day of the match against Man U. The lineup was Murray, McMillan, McLaughlin and McCann taking their turn in the rotation along with all the regulars but Guerin getting the nod. Batelle held down the LB. The sub 13000 crowd watched a typical Dover stalemate in the first half. Neither team could get much going nor did neither team seem to want to expend energy trying. The second half was as dull as the first and the game ended in a scoreless draw. Next for Dover would be a weekend Prem fixture at Bolton.

The lineup against Bolton was McLaughlin, Irvine, Miller and Cunningham in the rotation. Of the regulars, both Fernandez and Thompson got the day off, replaced by Aph and Treguer. Neither Dover nor Bolton played brilliantly, but Bolton had the edge in play as they scored on 22 to take the 1-0 lead. Meanwhile Dover’s offense failed to land a shot on target, which prevented them from even challenging Bolton. The second half saw Diawara ejected for being booked twice. However, Guerin and Cunningham scored goals three minutes apart to give Dover the 2-1 lead. However, Bolton clawed back to tie it and then won the game 3-2 on an injury-time penalty conversion. The title hopes were rapidly fading as Everton was ahead by ten points with only five games to go. We had a week off before facing Chelsea at the Crabbe on the 17th.

Saturday afternoon at the Crabbe saw Dover employ a “best eleven” strategy against Chelsea. The 19000 loyalists braved a drizzle to watch their home side do much better than they had been. Liop scored a brace and Foulon tacked on a goal to give Dover an early 3-0 lead. By intermission, Chelsea had scored to make the score 3-1. Chelsea never challenged in the second half, especially not after a Thompson goal made the final 4-1. Next up was the CL Quarters second leg at Old Trafford on April 21.

Wednesday evening at Old Trafford saw use start McLaughlin, McMillan, Robertson and Cunningham along with all the regulars. Man U took the 1-0 lead two minutes in, when Vols scored. They held onto the lead until the break. Man U coasted in the second half as Dover never threatened. I was not unduly disappointed as now we could finally focus on the last few league games.

On Saturday April 24, we hosted Birmingham. Murray, Irvine, Miller and McCann took the rotation turns alongside all the regulars. Diawara was suspended for two games, but McLaughlin would fill his place quite nicely. The 19000 at the Crabbe watched as Dover took an easy 2-0 lead by halftime thanks to a Foulon goal and a Mitchell penalty conversion. Birmingham also had a man ejected, so things were looking good for the home side. Mitchell sealed the win with an early second half goal and Dover coasted to a 3-0 win.

Educated Hick

May would open in a week with a crucial fixture at Everton. We had a week to prepare and I intended to use that week well.

On the 1st, we went to Goodison to face the Premier leaders in their lair. I threw out a “best eleven” lineup that featured Thompson at DC rather than his customary DMC spot. On 20, Irvine gave Dover the 1-0 as the Dover defense kept stuffing Everton’s attempts to attack. Dover had the lead at the half. Despite a furious Everton on-slaught, we held on for the win. Next up was second placed Leeds at the Crabbe on May 8.

With three games remaining, the race had tightened. Everton led with 71 points. Leeds had 70 and both Dover and Man U had 67. It looked like it could go down to a nose.

Against Leeds at the Crabbe, Murray returned to the lineup, which put Thompson back at DMC. Batelle held down the LB spot in place of the injured Guerin. 19000 turned out for the final home game of the year. Fans watched a tight defensive struggle take place as Leeds took the 1-0 lead early and refused to relinquish it in the first half. Dover tried to fight back and McCann tied it late, but Sparrow scored in injury time to give Leeds the win. This effectively ended our title hunt as the most points we could gain now would be 73 or the same number that new Premier leader Leeds already had. We would have a week and half off before traveling to Old Trafford on May 17.

We went to Manchester with really, nothing to lose. Thus, I wasn’t really surprised when we jumped ahead of United just for minutes in as Liop nailed a beautiful header to open the scoring. Man U tied it twenty minutes in, but then Murray and Miller scored to make the score 3-1 Dover at the half. The second half saw United mount a comeback with a penalty conversion on 73, but Liop scored his second goal of the night to ice the 4-2 victory. Our last game of the year would be on Sunday May 23 at Charlton.

The last day of the season was going to be fun. Leeds had 73 points and was hosting Ipswich who was 16 in the league and Everton at 72 points were hosting Bolton who was 15 in the league. Meanwhile Dover at 70 points had to travel to London to face 12th placed Charlton.

As had been usual in these last few games, I stared the “best eleven” on a fine spring afternoon. But, the afternoon proved not to be fine for long. Charlton were determined to play the spoiler role to the hilt. Their keeper had a fantastic day and Abiven, though up to snuff, conceded two goals. Thus, on the last day of the season, Dover choked. In the end it didn’t matter as Leeds won to clinch the Prem title outright and Everton drew to take second. Hard-charging Man U snuck into third with a win. This left us in fourth place. In many ways, it was a disappointing loss. All year we were fighting for first or second and then, over the last couple of games, we choke. It seemed like West Ham had finally caught up to Dover.

“You’re kidding me.”

“No I’m not sir.”

“Why, just tell me why Pascal.”

“You wouldn’t understand sir.”

“What’s with this sir nonsense?”

“Again, that’s something you wouldn’t understand.”

“Try me”

“Well sir, I’m not Pascal McIntosh.”

“Huh?”

“You heard me sir, I’m not Pascal.”

“Are you mad?”

“No sir.”

“But you look like Pascal. Look like Pascal…”

“But, sir, do I act like Pascal/”

“No. but people do change. Maybe you just need a rest/”

“I do sir, and that’s why I’m leaving. I’m tired of being someone I’m not.”

“But…”

“But nothing sir. I’m moving on with my life. I’m reclaiming my identity and then I’m moving back to the United States.”

“You’re utterly mad…”

“I may sound deranged sir, but the truth is often stranger than fiction.” At this point I handed the chairman a book. “Here read this and you’ll understand.”

“The Metamorphisis by Kafka?”

“That’s right sir.”

“The truth, preposterous.”

‘It is crazy sir, but it’s the truth.”

“You know Pascal, I’m glad you’re leaving. We don’t need a loon managing this club. Where are you going to coach now?”

“Men’s soccer at the University of Arkansas-Little Rock.”

“You’re not only crazy, Pascal. But a fool as well. Get out of my office!”

As the door closed behind me, I heard the thud of the book against the door. The sound hung in the air, seeming to symbolize the whole futile endeavor. I don’t know if I can go back to my proper time-line, but I will, at lest attempt to make this one my own.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">********************************************* ************************************************** * English Premier Division - Sunday 23rd May 2010********************************************** ************************************************** ================================================== ============================================== 2009/0 Table============================================= ================================================== =Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st C Leeds 38 16 2 1 43 17 8 2 9 21 25 76 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2nd Everton 38 11 6 2 33 19 10 4 5 17 12 73 3rd Man Utd 38 12 6 1 31 12 7 8 4 31 23 71 4th Dover 38 12 3 4 33 12 9 4 6 27 16 70 5th Tottenham 38 14 2 3 30 10 5 9 5 21 23 68 6th Liverpool 38 10 4 5 28 21 7 5 7 28 23 60 7th Arsenal 38 7 7 5 29 22 9 3 7 32 28 58 8th Southampton 38 10 5 4 23 15 5 7 7 18 21 57 9th Nottm Forest 38 7 10 2 16 11 6 3 10 17 22 52 10th Watford 38 8 5 6 29 24 6 4 9 27 30 51 11th Charlton 38 8 7 4 23 18 5 3 11 17 29 49 12th Blackburn 38 9 5 5 16 15 4 4 11 11 19 48 13th Derby 38 7 5 7 25 24 4 7 8 18 22 45 14th Bolton 38 7 6 6 25 25 3 8 8 14 22 44 15th Fulham 38 8 5 6 24 22 4 3 12 17 32 44 16th Ipswich 38 8 6 5 22 20 1 8 10 16 33 41 17th Chelsea 38 7 3 9 26 30 4 4 11 25 46 40 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------18th R Sunderland 38 4 5 10 17 22 1 9 9 7 24 29 19th R Birmingham 38 4 10 5 18 19 1 3 15 6 33 28 20th R Hull 38 3 7 9 15 25 0 11 8 13 23 27 ************************************************** ********************************************** Dover Athletic - Sunday 23rd May 2010********************************************** ************************************************** ================================================== ============================================== 2009/0 Senior Club Stats============================================= ================================================== =No Name Apps Gls Con Pens Asts Yel Red MoM Av R--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1 Abiven, Olivier 56 0 44 0 0 0 0 2 7.41 17 Alves, Alessandro 6 (20) 2 0 0 1 0 0 1 6.58 32 Arphexad, Hugues 19 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 6.84 - Balfour, Stevie 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---- 12 Barraud, Eric 11 (1) 1 0 0 1 3 0 1 6.58 30 Bataille, Laurent 13 (11) 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 6.71 - Brown, Colin 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---- 7 Cunningham, Kevin 22 (9) 5 0 0 0 2 0 1 6.84 6 Diawara, Patrice 47 2 0 0 0 7 2 6 7.64 - Duriez, Philippe 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---- 14 Fernandez, Alain 22 1 0 0 4 3 0 0 7.41 - Fischer, Pierre 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---- 10 Foulon, Fabien 47 (2) 13 0 0 5 1 1 1 7.20 24 Gatumel, Hervé 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---- 3 Guérin, Nicolas 35 2 0 0 4 5 0 0 7.23 20 Hughes, Andrew 5 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 7.00 25 Irvine, James 24 (10) 8 0 0 8 2 0 3 7.21 - King, Gary - - - - - - - - ---- - Lacombe, Laurent 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---- 19 Llop, Guillaume 15 (10) 6 0 0 3 2 0 2 7.36 - McAlpine, Scott 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---- 9 McCann, Andy 24 (9) 8 0 0 2 1 0 0 6.82 - McKenzie, David 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---- 15 McLaughlin, David 3 (4) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.71 22 McLaughlin, Graeme 29 2 0 0 3 5 0 1 7.59 33 McMillan, Scott 24 (3) 4 0 1 (1) 6 4 0 3 6.63 - McPherson, Craig 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---- 28 Miller, John 30 (6) 5 0 0 8 4 0 1 6.89 16 Mitchell, Scott 50 14 0 5 (5) 6 0 0 5 7.22 5 Murray, Graeme 30 2 0 0 0 10 0 1 7.70 - Neil, Stephen 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---- - O'Donnell, Mark 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---- - Orr, Graham - - - - - - - - ---- - Oumouri, Gilles 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---- - Paoli, Franck 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---- - Poueys, Daniel - - - - - - - - ---- 46 Reid, John - - - - - - - - ---- 13 Renard, Frédéric 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---- - Robert, Bruno - - - - - - - - ---- 4 Robertson, Stuart 24 (7) 3 0 0 5 4 0 1 6.77 - Soulas, Pierre - - - - - - - - ---- 8 Thomson, Ian 46 1 0 0 3 9 1 0 7.46 - Tissot, Jacques 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---- 21 Tréguer, Olivier 10 (4) 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 7.00 - Trivino, Jean-Marc - - - - - - - - ---- - Troussier, David 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---- - Vasseur, Daniel 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---- - Watson, David - - - - - - - - ---- 23 Wilson, Andy 10 (11) 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 6.43 </pre>