retired_amyslack

May 2006

With two games left to play the race for 5th place was a three-way fight between ourselves, Spurs and Newcastle. We opened the month with a tough game at home to league leaders Chelsea and then a week later we closed the season with a trip to relegated Leeds. Newcastle faced Aston Villa and Blackburn whilst Tottenham took on Arsenal and Fulham in two difficult London derbies.

The stadium clock showed 90:25 when the deadlock was broken against Chelsea and it was Didier Drogba that got the goal. Prior to that we had made most of the running, forcing Petr Cech into action with such effect that he was the recipient of the Man of the Match award. I couldn’t help but feel frustrated to be denied at least a point with such a cruel defeat. The win allowed the Blues to retain their Premiership title and a win for Newcastle took them above us into the top five. Spurs fought out a thrilling 4-4 draw at Highbury, scoring twice in the last minute to steal an unlikely point.

In our final game at Leeds we quickly established a two-goal lead through Sibierski and Aghahowa, the Nigerian scoring again before the break to give us a 3-0 lead at half time. Elsewhere Spurs were a goal down at Fulham but Newcastle led Blackburn by the same scoreline. Paul Bosvelt scored our 4th on the hour to complete a comfortable win and at full time we waited to hear the news from Ewood Park and White Hart Lane. Neither game produced any further goals however and our last-second defeat the previous weekend ended up costing us our 5th place finish.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Pos | Inf | Team | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | C | Chelsea | 38 | 29 | 4 | 5 | 93 | 32 | +61 | 91 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | Man Utd | 38 | 24 | 12 | 2 | 73 | 25 | +48 | 84 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Arsenal | 38 | 23 | 8 | 7 | 79 | 41 | +38 | 77 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Liverpool | 38 | 22 | 10 | 6 | 76 | 37 | +39 | 76 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | Newcastle | 38 | 19 | 10 | 9 | 50 | 27 | +23 | 67 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | MAN CITY | 38 | 20 | 6 | 12 | 71 | 42 | +29 | 66 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | Tottenham | 38 | 18 | 9 | 11 | 53 | 47 | +6 | 63 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Birmingham | 38 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 47 | 39 | +8 | 54 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | Fulham | 38 | 15 | 9 | 14 | 42 | 50 | -8 | 54 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | | Portsmouth | 38 | 13 | 11 | 14 | 42 | 51 | -9 | 50 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | | Blackburn | 38 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 41 | 49 | -8 | 49 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | | Southampton | 38 | 13 | 8 | 17 | 40 | 46 | -6 | 47 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 13th | | Aston Villa | 38 | 13 | 7 | 18 | 38 | 43 | -5 | 46 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 14th | | Everton | 38 | 11 | 10 | 17 | 53 | 66 | -13 | 43 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 15th | | Charlton | 38 | 12 | 6 | 20 | 40 | 55 | -15 | 42 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 16th | | Bolton | 38 | 10 | 9 | 19 | 38 | 59 | -21 | 39 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 17th | | Leicester | 38 | 11 | 6 | 21 | 38 | 61 | -23 | 39 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 18th | R | Leeds | 38 | 6 | 7 | 25 | 22 | 71 | -49 | 25 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 19th | R | West Brom | 38 | 4 | 11 | 23 | 27 | 60 | -33 | 23 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 20th | R | Burnley | 38 | 3 | 8 | 27 | 25 | 87 | -62 | 17 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>
Whilst disappointed not to have made the top-five I was still pleased with our final league position and with the fact that we would have European football to look forward to next season. There had been some excellent individual performances throughout the team and I was delighted to see full backs Ben Thatcher and Danny Mills chosen for the Premiership Select.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Name | Apps | Gls | Ast | MoM | Pas | Tck | Drb | Sh T | Av Rat| | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Shaun Wright-Phillips | 24 (2) | 3 | 9 | 5 | 74% | 2.78 | 8.84 | 61% | 8.00 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Freddy Grisales | 15 | 12 | 3 | 3 | 83% | 2.07 | 1.31 | 58% | 7.93 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Stephen Ireland | 9 (3) | 2 | 3 | 3 | 82% | 0.83 | 0.31 | 62% | 7.83 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Ben Thatcher | 33 | - | 1 | - | 74% | 3.75 | 0.95 | - | 7.61 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Danny Mills | 41 | - | 1 | 1 | 79% | 4.08 | 1.51 | - | 7.56 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Julius Aghahowa | 10 (5) | 9 | 2 | 1 | 83% | 1.10 | 1.93 | 54% | 7.53 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Claudio Reyna | 29 (1) | 6 | 8 | 2 | 85% | 1.33 | 0.33 | 64% | 7.53 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Joey Barton | 41 (1) | 1 | 3 | 4 | 79% | 3.11 | 0.83 | 52% | 7.48 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Paul Bosvelt | 40 (4) | 7 | 9 | 2 | 84% | 1.29 | 0.40 | 51% | 7.41 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Güiza | 31 (3) | 21 | 7 | 4 | 85% | 0.91 | 2.49 | 72% | 7.38 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Robbie Fowler | 5 (1) | 3 | - | - | 90% | 0.85 | 0.42 | 58% | 7.33 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Sylvain Distin | 40 | - | 1 | 1 | 78% | 2.33 | 0.46 | - | 7.33 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Willo Flood | 9 (12) | 6 | 8 | 1 | 84% | 2.38 | 1.11 | 52% | 7.29 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Tomas Sivok | 10 (8) | 1 | - | - | 83% | 3.25 | 0.44 | 38% | 7.28 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Richard Dunne | 30 (3) | 3 | 2 | 1 | 74% | 2.58 | 0.35 | - | 7.27 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | David Sommeil | 32 (1) | 1 | 1 | - | 78% | 3.03 | 0.22 | 18% | 7.27 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Andrea Gasbarroni | 21 (15)| 3 | 10 | 1 | 75% | 2.34 | 3.10 | 55% | 7.25 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | David James | 43 | - | 1 | 2 | 52% | - | - | - | 7.21 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Shaun Goater | 7 (3) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 85% | 0.54 | 0.67 | 50% | 7.20 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Antoine Sibierski | 33 (3) | 8 | 12 | - | 74% | 0.88 | 3.06 | 60% | 7.19 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Stephen Jordan | 12 | - | - | - | 75% | 2.26 | 0.17 | - | 7.17 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Trevor Sinclair | 21 (2) | 2 | 4 | 2 | 77% | 1.52 | 2.71 | 62% | 7.09 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Mikkel Bischoff | 9 (2) | - | 2 | - | 74% | 1.73 | 0.20 | - | 7.00 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Nourredine Naybet | 11 (3) | - | - | - | 74% | 2.88 | 0.09 | - | 7.00 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Bradley Wright-Phillips | 6 (4) | - | 1 | - | 79% | 1.35 | 2.70 | - | 6.80 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Kasper Schmeichel | 9 | - | - | - | 44% | - | - | - | 6.67 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Jon Macken | 0 (3) | - | - | - | 95% | - | 3.83 | - | 6.67 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>

retired_amyslack

Season 3

June/July 2006

We had seven players representing their countries in the World Cup during the summer - Shaun Wright-Phillips, Julius Aghahowa, Claudio Reyna, Freddy Grisales, Richard Dunne, Jon Macken and Nourredine Naybet. On the contract front we agreed new deals with Paul Bosvelt, Mikkel Bischoff, Antoine Sibierski, David James and David Sommeil, Richard Dunne made his planned move to Southampton and we released Geert De Vlieger, Shaun Goater, Robbie Fowler and Jon Macken along with three youngsters. Our only squad additions over the summer were the arrival of half a dozen youngsters from the Youth Academy. Striker Guiza was voted the Fan’s player of the year after his 21-goal haul last season.

Despite making a healthy profit the Board only allowed me £1.4M in transfer funds but they did decide to add a further 7,000 seats to the stadium. Despite limiting me financially the Chairman also called for a high profile signing, indicating that he would make further funds available for the right player. I decided to test his resolve with a £4M offer for Chelsea striker Mateja Kezman. He agreed to fund the deal but the move fell through as we failed to gat a work permit approved. Emboldened by the Chairman’s positive attitude I worked out a deal with Fenerbache to bring former Maine Road legend Nicolas Anelka back to Manchester. I also managed to persuade Mr. Wardle to sign defensive midfielder Timmy Simons from Club Brugge and centre back Mladen Krstajic from Schalke 04.

Having qualified for the Inter-Toto Cup I decided that this would be the perfect pre-season warm-up programme and did not arrange any other matches. We started off with a 3rd Round tie against Israeli side Hapoel Tel-Aviv with the 1st leg played in Manchester. I also decided to experiment with a slightly different formation, moving away from the use of two wingers to a narrower three-man midfield, allowing me to play with two strikers. The visitors created a number of reasonable chances so I was pleased that we kept a clean sheet. Considering that the players were adjusting to a new formation we played fairly well and Guiza scored both of our goals in the 2-0 win. In the second leg it was Aghahowa who provided the goals, scoring both goals in our 2-1 win to send us into the Semi Finals with a 4-1 aggregate.

We faced a challenging tie against Spanish side Betis in the Semi Final and were dreadfully unlucky to lose the 1st leg in Spain 2-0, their second goal coming deep in stoppage time. A goalless draw in the home leg brought our brief European adventure to an end but after our taster I was more determined than ever that to achieve at least the same again this season.

retired_amyslack

August 2006

Our league campaign began with a trip to Southampton and I was delighted with our comfortable 4-0 win. Aghahowa got us off to a sparkling start with a smartly taken goal inside 20 minutes and Grisales doubled our advantage before half time. The Colombian extended our lead with 20 minutes remaining and Anelka came off the bench to wrap the game up in stoppage time.

After our flying start to the campaign it was a huge disappointment to play so poorly in our first home game of the season, barely scraping a 1-1 draw against Leicester. We got back on track with a good 2-0 win at Birmingham though, with Aghahowa and Anelka getting the goals.

Next up was a visit from Fulham and a very impressive 4-1 win with Guiza scoring twice and Grisales and Aghahowa also on the scoresheet. 19-year-old Stephen Ireland was a star in the centre of midfield and the lad clearly had a bright future ahead of him. The players seemed to be adjusting well to the new formation and one of the distinct advantages was that it allowed me to deploy two strikers and still use a holding midfielder in front of the back four.

For our final game of the month at home to Portsmouth I rested the midfield trio that had played so well in the previous game and brought in Sinclair, Bosvelt and Sibierski as well as rotating Anelka from off the bench to play up front. My general plan was to use the strength of the squad as much as possible and I felt that I had three really good strikers so I wanted them all to get their fair share of match time. I also wanted to make sure that Timmy Simons was used as he had impressed thus far and would definitely be pushing Barton for a regular start. We put in another good display with Sinclair doing well in midfield, Guiza getting another brace and Bosvelt adding the 3rd in our 3-0 win.

I was very pleased with our start to the season and particularly happy to see Stephen Ireland winning the Young Player of the Month award.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Pos | Team | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | Man Utd | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 3 | +8 | 15 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | MAN CITY | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 2 | +12 | 13 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | Liverpool | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 5 | +5 | 11 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | Chelsea | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 5 | +6 | 10 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | Arsenal | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 3 | +4 | 10 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|</pre>

retired_kristinb9184

I'm guessing the quotes are Big Ron's!!!

retired_amyslack

Actually Will they are all Keeganisms

September 2006

I now had a pretty good idea of my preferred lineup with our new formation. Despite my misgivings David James remained first choice keeper with young Kasper Schmeichel waiting in the wings. Ben Thatcher and Danny Mills were automatic choices at full back with David Sommeil and new signing Mladen Krstajic in the centre. Joey Barton and Timmy Simons will battle out the anchor position in front of the defence with Tomas Sivok as backup. We are well served in midfield with Shaun Wright-Phillips, Freddy Grisales and Stephen Ireland probably the strongest trio. But with the likes of Reyna, Bosvelt, Sinclair, Willo Flood, Sibierski and Gasbarroni all in the squad we have a fair amount of depth. Up front perm any two from Guiza, Anelka and Aghahowa with Bradley Wright-Phillips also available.

In our opening game of the month at Charlton, a Monday evening TV encounter, we came away with a draw in a match that we should have won. Stephen Ireland gave us the lead after 20 minutes but we were pegged back on the half hour. We were creating some good chances but not taking advantage of them but we re-took the lead close to half time when Sommeil headed home a corner. However the home side found another equaliser from a free kick and despite exerting significant pressure we just couldn’t find a winner.

The next weekend we hosted Everton and I was pretty happy with our 3-1 win, all of our goals coming in the first half. Simons got us off the mark with a header from a corner and then Aghahowa added our second. Simons was on target again with a beautifully struck free kick to put us well in charge. We lost Ireland with a knee injury but it was nothing serious and he should be fit in a week or so.

It was squad rotation time for the Tuesday evening visit of Chester in the 2nd round of the League Cup and it took us quite some time to get into our stride. We eventually ran out 3-1 winners with goals from Sibierski, Bradley Wright-Phillips and Distin and we were then drawn away to Charlton in round three.

Our first defeat of the season came in a disappointing performance at Arsenal where we lost 2-0. We were so poor in the first half that we failed to register a shot on target and went into the break a goal down. After a suitably scathing team talk we looked a lot better in the second half. We missed a golden opportunity to equalise midway through the second half when Simons had his penalty attempt saved and a second goal conceded late on sealed our fate.

Wigan were the visitors for our final game of the month and once again we struggled to get going in the first half. The introduction of Willo Flood for the injured Sinclair at half time had an immediate impact, the young Irishman scoring the opening goal within a minute of the restart. Confidence boosted, we were a different team from then on and dominated play and Flood scored his second of the game with 15 minutes remaining to seal the 2-0 win.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Pos | Team | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | Man Utd | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 4 | +15 | 24 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | Chelsea | 9 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 22 | 9 | +13 | 22 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | MAN CITY | 9 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 21 | 7 | +14 | 20 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | Everton | 9 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 20 | 12 | +8 | 16 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | Arsenal | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 3 | +8 | 16 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|</pre>

retired_amyslack

October 2006

A 1-0 defeat at Newcastle was a disappointing way to start the month as once again we looked listless in the first half and only started to play a bit when I gave the lads a rocket at half time.

After a break for World Cup qualifiers we put in a much better performance in the televised home game against newly promoted Crewe, racking up a four-goal lead by half time. Grisales, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Sommeil and Krstajic were the scorers with Gasbarroni adding a final goal in the second half for a thrilling 5-0 win.

We kept our momentum going in our next match at Aston Villa as we raced into a two-goal lead inside the first ten minutes. Guiza broke his 7-game drought with the opener after 2 minutes and five minutes later Freddy Grisales doubled our advantage with a sweet volley. The home side pulled a goal back with 20 minutes remaining but we sealed a good win when Guiza scored his second in the 75th minute. The only negative was that Danny Mills and Nicolas Anelka both picked up knocks that may rule them out for a game or two.

Apart from the enforced changes I sent out as strong a side as I could at Charlton in midweek in the 3rd round of the League Cup as I still reckoned that this competition offered us our best chance of a trophy. Guiza was on target again when he opened the scoring in the 3rd minute and was denied a second ten minutes later by an offside decision. Unperturbed, he scored one that counted just before half time to send us into the break with a good 2-0 lead. The home side struck back on the hour but a goal from Aghahowa five minutes later dashed their hopes of further recovery and sent us through to the next round with a 3-1 win.

Second place Chelsea were the visitors in our final game of the month and our biggest crowd of the season so far witnessed a pretty even game. A goal from Claudio Pizarro after 20 minutes proved to be enough to win the match for the visitors but the fact that Petr Cech was later voted Man of the Match says much about our level of play. A draw would indeed have been a fair result but there are many times in football when you don’t get all that you deserve.

I couldn’t help but be pleased with our league position but neighbours United remained unbeaten and Arsenal would overhaul us if they won their games in hand and Newcastle would be breathing down our neck if they did the same.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Pos | Team | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | Man Utd | 13 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 31 | 11 | +20 | 33 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | Chelsea | 13 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 30 | 12 | +18 | 32 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | MAN CITY | 13 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 29 | 10 | +19 | 26 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | Arsenal | 11 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 16 | 4 | +12 | 24 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | Newcastle | 12 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 18 | 8 | +10 | 23 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>

retired_puly1364

Thought you brough this to an end, but you'll never know in FMS section! Good luck for upcoming season!

retired_amyslack

Tanel, I never seem to manage to finish any story properly but I'm going to keep this one going a little longer.

November 2006

The month began with a trip to Old Trafford for the first Manchester derby of the season as we looked to inflict a first league defeat on our neighbours. We fell behind to a goal from Brazilian midfielder Juninho after quarter of an hour but stuck to our task well and didn’t allow United to get away from us. On balance I felt that we were the better side and despite losing Grisales when he received a second yellow card with 15 minutes remaining we continued to search for an equaliser. United keeper Tim Howard denied us on several occasions with some fine saves and we were kept at bay and lost 1-0.

Before the midweek visit of Birmingham in the League Cup 4th round we lost Aghahowa with a knee injury so his place was taken by Anelka with Flood replacing the suspended Grisales. We took the lead through Gasbarroni after quarter of an hour but then lost the influential Wright-Phillips to injury 20 minutes later. Shrugging off this disappointment we extended our lead through Anelka a few minutes before half time. The visitors reduced the deficit within five minutes of the restart but a late goal from substitute Joey Barton tied up the win and put us in the draw for the Quarter Finals. Sods law said that we were drawn against rivals United but at least we got pulled out of the hat first and would play at home.

We had Danny Mills suspended for the visit of Crystal Palace so Bischoff came in at right back and Grisales returned to midfield. A controlled performance saw us a goal up at half time through Guiza with the excellent Anelka adding two more after the break to give us a good 3-0 win.

In our match at Liverpool we were on the back foot from the moment that Grisales received his second yellow card inside 20 minutes to leave us a man short. Harry Kewell put the home side in front on the half hour but as in our game at United earlier in the month we worked hard to stay in the game, forcing Kirkland into some fine saves. We even struck the woodwork in the second half but couldn’t find an equaliser. A late goal from Morientes killed us off and I felt that the 2-0 defeat was a harsh result although I was very annoyed at Freddy for getting himself sent off twice this month.

Our final game of the month was the League Cup Quarter Final at home to United and we found ourselves a goal down after just 30 seconds when Calamity failed to deal with a 30-yarder from Roque Santa Cruz. But Timmy Simons got us back on terms after quarter of an hour and five minutes later Sommeil put us in front with a shot that any striker would have been proud of. However the visitors struck back on 24 when Santa Cruz scored his second of the game and it was back to square one. The lads were clearly up for this one though and Anelka put us back in front before half time. We continued in the same vein in the second half and Nicolas elevated himself to cult status when he score three times in the second period to give us a fantastic 6-2 win and send the fans wild. The £1.2M in gate receipts set a new club record and I began to feel that after a result like that maybe our name was written on the cup.

United continued to set the pace in the Premiership and remained unbeaten but despite another two league defeats we still hung on to a top-five place.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Pos | Team | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | Man Utd | 16 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 37 | 13 | +24 | 42 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | Chelsea | 16 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 40 | 18 | +22 | 38 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | Arsenal | 14 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 21 | 8 | +13 | 30 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | MAN CITY | 16 | 9 | 2 | 5 | 32 | 13 | +19 | 29 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | Liverpool | 15 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 27 | 16 | +11 | 29 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>

retired_amyslack

December 2006

Danny Mills was serving another suspension for the visit of Tottenham so Bischoff came in at right back. On the left Stephen Jordan had displaced Ben Thatcher after some dynamic displays and he kept his place. It was a competitive and even affair with both keepers kept busy and neither side could find the net with the game ending scoreless.

Mills returned for the trip to Bolton for our 3rd televised game in succession but Guiza was absent with a groin strain so Aghahowa was recalled in attack. We recovered well from conceding an early goal and struck back to score four times before half time. Anelka bagged a brace with Simons and Gasbarroni also on target. We failed to reach the same heights in the second half and the home side pulled a goal back but we remained well in front and ran out 4-2 winners.

During the next week we were hit with a series of injuries with Grisales, Simons and Krstajic all joining Guiza in the treatment room. The most serious was the groin strain suffered by our Serbian centre back who would be out for several months. He had been in superb form since his arrival and would certainly be badly missed. So for the visit of Blackburn I brought Distin in to defence and Barton took the holding role. Anelka kept his excellent form going with two goals inside the first 20 minutes. In the second half Aghahowa got in on the act with a double of his own to secure a fine 4-0 win.

Before the visit of Southampton we were hit with another long-term injury when Bradley Wright-Phillips suffered a serious groin strain. During a rather dull encounter we were forced into three enforced substitutions as Mills, Sinclair and Sommeil all left the game at various stages. After a goalless first half we fell behind on the hour mark but rescued a point with a late goal from Anelka. The injury to Mills turned out to be a calf strain and would likely miss the rest of the month.

Mills and Sommeil weren’t fit for the trip to Leicester so Bischoff played at right back and Naybet came in to the centre. Last season’s Premiership strugglers had surprised many with their good form and sat in mid-table. They had the better of the first half and took the lead on the half hour but Aghahowa sneaked an equaliser on the stroke of half time. We looked much better after the break and Aghahowa scored his second on the hour with Gasbarroni wrapping up our 3-1 win ten minutes later. Man of the Match Gasbarroni had been a revelation in midfield when given his chance and had another excellent game.

The visit of Birmingham on Boxing Day was a frankly dire affair with barely a chance created in the first 45 minutes. A triple substitution shortly after the break improved matters slightly but it was no great surprise when the game ended as a bore-draw.

For our trip to Fulham at the end of the month we had Naybet and Aghahowa away on international duty but with Guiza fit enough to start up front. Once again we were second best in the first half, falling behind after 20 minutes but the impressive Gasbarroni equalised on the half hour. We looked much sharper in the second half but found the home keeper in great form. We finally got the winning goal late in the game when substitute Flood tapped-in after Roy Carroll had saved from Anelka.

United finally lost their unbeaten record but still headed the table and we were still holding on to our place in the top five.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Pos | Team | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | Man Utd | 22 | 16 | 5 | 1 | 48 | 18 | +30 | 53 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | Chelsea | 23 | 16 | 4 | 3 | 50 | 20 | +30 | 52 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | Newcastle | 23 | 13 | 8 | 2 | 36 | 17 | +19 | 47 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | MAN CITY | 23 | 13 | 5 | 5 | 46 | 18 | +28 | 44 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | Arsenal | 22 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 35 | 15 | +20 | 43 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | Liverpool | 23 | 12 | 6 | 5 | 39 | 26 | +13 | 42 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | Everton | 23 | 12 | 2 | 9 | 42 | 30 | +12 | 38 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | Aston Villa | 23 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 23 | 24 | -1 | 33 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | Tottenham | 23 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 29 | 29 | 0 | 28 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | Leicester | 23 | 8 | 4 | 11 | 33 | 36 | -3 | 28 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | Blackburn | 23 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 27 | 32 | -5 | 28 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | Charlton | 23 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 35 | 42 | -7 | 28 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 13th | Bolton | 23 | 5 | 9 | 9 | 29 | 36 | -7 | 24 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 14th | Birmingham | 23 | 6 | 6 | 11 | 28 | 40 | -12 | 24 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 15th | Fulham | 22 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 33 | 49 | -16 | 24 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 16th | Wigan | 23 | 6 | 4 | 13 | 24 | 35 | -11 | 22 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 17th | Portsmouth | 22 | 4 | 9 | 9 | 21 | 31 | -10 | 21 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 18th | Crystal Palace | 23 | 6 | 1 | 16 | 23 | 47 | -24 | 19 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 19th | Southampton | 23 | 3 | 9 | 11 | 28 | 45 | -17 | 18 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 20th | Crewe | 23 | 0 | 8 | 15 | 15 | 54 | -39 | 8 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>

retired_amyslack

January 2007

I had to make quite a few changes for the New Years Day trip to Portsmouth and we were on the back foot for long periods of the game. David James turned out to be our saviour, saving a penalty in the first half and making some stunning saves in a frantic closing stage. By that time we were defending a one-goal lead established by Distin with a header from a corner after 25 minutes and we were mighty relieved to hold on for the win. Unfortunately we lost Guiza for several weeks with fractured ribs and also picked up several yellow cards to rule out three more players for the next match.

Suspensions and injuries meant big changes for our FA Cup 3rd round tie at home to Watford. Despite this we were totally in charge and ran out 3-0 winners with Shaun Wright-Phillips scoring twice and Anelka adding the 3rd.

Once again some changes were required for the 1st Leg of our League Cup Semi Final at Newcastle. 20-year-old Chinedum Onuoha had been called up from the reserves and was filling in expertly for Mills but I didn’t have many options up front and with Aghahowa suspended and Guiza and Bradley Wright-Phillips injured I did not have a striker on the bench. Having had a good feeling about this competition after our fantastic win in the last round I had a totally different feeling at the end of the game. Not only did we play very poorly, losing 3-0 and having Bischoff and Gasbarroni injured.

I had to ring the changes again for the visit of Charlton in the Premiership and despite making most of the running we were caught on the break in the first half and then kept at bay by an inspired keeper to lose 1-0. A couple of days later I learnt that we would be losing Danny Mills in the summer after he rejected our offer of a contract extension and opted for a move to Villarreal in Spain instead. On the same day Naybet made a shock decision to retire immediately leaving us short of cover in central defence.

Next up we travelled to London to face Spurs in the 4th round of the FA Cup and with Anelka suspended we once again had no attacker on the bench. Had 17-year-old forward Daniel Sturridge not suffered a broken leg when playing for the Under-18s then he would certainly have been called up to the first team after scoring at a rate of a goal a game for the youngsters. Having established a two-goal lead by half time it was disappointing to concede twice in the second half, the 2-2 draw adding a replay to out already busy schedule.

Over the next few days I moved to fill some of the gaps in the squad, bringing in the experienced centre back Stephane Henchoz on a free transfer and loaning young Spanish defender Pique from neighbours United for three months.

We knew that if we had any chance of overturning the three-goal deficit in the 2nd leg of our League Cup Semi Final then we needed an early goal. The stadium clock showed just two minutes when Anelka obliged with a header from a Grisales cross. David Sommeil gave us real hope on the half hour when he powered home a Gasbarroni corner. Freddy Grislaes came within the width of the crossbar of getting a remarkable equaliser before half time as we cranked up the pressure. Five minutes after the restart we did draw level when Grisales smashed home a penalty and it was game on. But we just couldn’t quite complete our recovery and no further goals were forthcoming in normal time, not in the extra 30 minutes, so we faced the penalty shootout lottery. We had our first three kicks saved by Newcastle keeper Steve Harper but the Magpies were equally profligate and we won by scoring two to their one.

We had a few weary looking players for the trip to Everton for our televised league match but I have to say that I was hugely impressed with our fighting spirit. Having conceded an early goal we struck back through Anelka, a fit again Guiza and Gasbarroni to go into the break 3-1 up. We then had to contend with injuries to Mills and Sinclair, a fightback from the home side that saw them draw level, and the dismissal of Distin in the 84th minute. But a last minute goal from Sommeil with a headed corner gave us a gutsy 4-3 win and delighted our travelling support. The news on Sinclair and Mills was less welcome, the midfielder diagnosed with strained knee ligaments and the full back with a calf strain.

Our final action of a hectic month was our FA Cup 4th round replay at home to Spurs and the crowd enjoyed a classic cup-tie. We took the lead after 12 minutes through Gasbarroni but then Jermain Defoe struck twice in the next ten minutes to put his team in front. The superb Gasbarroni got his second on the half hour to square the game and we were even-stevens at half time. There were no further goals in the next 45 minutes and once again we faced extra time. We managed to avoid the penalty lottery when the impressive Grisales scored with a stunning 25-yarder just minutes before the end of the extra period.

Although our league form had suffered a little in a hectic month I was delighted to have come through two extremely tough cup-ties and I was really looking forward to our appearance in the League Cup Final and a chance of some silverware.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Pos | Team | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | Man Utd | 27 | 20 | 5 | 2 | 57 | 23 | +34 | 65 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | Chelsea | 27 | 18 | 4 | 5 | 55 | 25 | +30 | 58 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | Newcastle | 27 | 15 | 10 | 2 | 42 | 20 | +22 | 55 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | Liverpool | 27 | 16 | 6 | 5 | 52 | 26 | +26 | 54 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | MAN CITY | 26 | 15 | 5 | 6 | 51 | 22 | +29 | 50 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | Arsenal | 24 | 14 | 7 | 3 | 42 | 16 | +26 | 49 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>