retired_destiny1124

12.5.07
Rangers (1) Arbroath (2)
Rangers- Shota Arveladze 90
Arbroath- Joe Osei-Kuffour 31 Neil Lewis 83
MOM- Joe Osei-Kuffour, Arbroath

Gond shook his head, "Amazing. Simply amazing. We play without injured Schembri, Wolf, Coppinger and Langfield and we somehow manage to beat 'Gers at Ibrox."

"Nobody ever said our depth was bad."

"Well, we both know it is good, but maybe some other people will finally notice. It was a nice way to finish out a strong season at least."

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">********************************************* ************************************************** * Scottish Premier Division - Saturday 12th May 2007********************************************** ************************************************** ================================================== ============================================== 2006/7 Table============================================= ================================================== =Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st C Rangers 38 13 5 2 50 20 11 3 4 35 20 80 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2nd Aberdeen 38 12 3 5 30 25 11 4 3 38 22 76 3rd Arbroath 38 9 4 6 37 28 10 4 5 34 28 65 4th Hibs 38 9 5 5 32 26 8 5 6 26 23 61 5th Celtic 38 8 4 6 29 21 9 1 10 30 31 56 6th Hearts 38 9 3 7 33 25 7 3 9 24 26 54 7th Motherwell 38 8 2 9 30 27 9 4 6 25 17 57 8th Kilmarnock 38 10 3 5 27 24 7 3 10 34 37 57 9th Dundee Utd 38 8 4 6 28 26 5 6 9 32 43 49 10th Dundee 38 9 4 7 42 39 5 1 12 21 34 47 11th Inverness C. Thistle 38 4 3 12 9 28 1 5 13 12 38 23 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------12th R Livingston 38 3 3 13 17 35 0 4 15 13 45 16 </pre>

retired_destiny1124

26.5.07
Arbroath (1) Celtic (1) Scottish Cup Final (Celtic wins on Penalties)
Arbroath- Nicolas Anelka 28
Celtic- Stilian Petrov 44
MOM- Stilian Petrov, Celtic

"It was a gamble- and it did pay off for the most part," offered Gond.

"Yes, but losing Angelo (Schembri) down the stretch hurt us badly," sighed Faramir. "Still it was a good match. Peter (Wolf) and Angelo both badly wanted to play this despite not being full speed and they both played well."

"Another disappointment though, we make both Cup Finals- and lose in both. This wasn't the way I wanted to head into the summer."

"Speaking of that- no long trips Barry."

"What? Have you heard something from Allye?"

"Yes, she says she is very close to finding out the region in Europe where we will need to go. She is pretty sure it is in France, but is looking for another confirmation."

retired_destiny1124

The voice seemed to boom in Allye's ears, yet she knew it was in her mind only and not aloud, "You have done well in seeking the pieces."

She thought back, "The first piece was in plain sight the whole time, it should have been easy for me to find- but I made it more difficult."

"That is often the way of things. We strive for something, but we make our striving more difficult by complicating our own thoughts."

"Does that mean the other pieces will be easier to locate?"

"Maybe. Now that you are more attuned to the pieces, it may well be easier to sense them- or you may sense them from a distance better."

"Well, all I know at this point is I have discovered that the other pieces from the 'magical crystal'- what the locals knew it as- were sent away. I suspect they were sent to Europe, but I have not been able to find out where."

"You are complicating things again Lady. Consider where the ports were- especially the ones popular with this island- and begin your search again there. The clues will be there, the crystal- for good or evil- will not remain hidden. It is too much alike the Rings of Power in that regard."

"Thanks Old Man- I think," sighed Allye as she started walking back to the library for more reading.

***

Faramir picked up the phone.

"I found a clue!"

"Allye?"

"Yes. The Old Man gave me the hint I needed. I am going to get to Europe to search further."

"Where are you going?"

"France. I think the other pieces of the crystal were shipped to Calais."

"Do you want us to come with you?"

"Not yet. But you might want to think about getting a job on the mainland. I think all our remaining searching will be there."

***

"Allye?" Faramir inquired as he heard her breathless voice on the phone. "Where are you now?"

Her laughter was audible, "The shop down the street actually. I just didn't want to surprise you."

"Come on up. Should I get Barry here too?"

"Yes."

***

"Ok, the short story is that I am not sure if one of the pieces of the crystal didn't wind up staying in the Calais area. I will need to look more."

"Well that sounds like a starting point," answered Faramir. "I already gave the Arbroath Board my resignation. They haven't made it public yet- but they will soon. They aren't very happy with me."

Barry Gond spoke up, "With us that is. I also resigned."

A chill come over the room. All of them looked around apprehensively.

"MOVE!" A voice from afar boomed in all of their heads and they tumbled quickly out of the room and out the back stairway from the building. As they looked at each other expectantly- searching each other's eyes for an explanation- a loud explosion rocked the building. The explosion flattened them and they could see the entire second floor of the building was a massive display of flames.

Allye sensed the guiding voice and realized it was the voice from beyond the curtain. "You are not safe yet. You need to leave the immediate area. Somehow your presence has been linked to that of us and our cause. The Dark Lord may not be able to directly penetrate the curtain, but he has been able to influence weak minds on your side of it. They can't directly sense you- so leave the area- move onwards in your search."

Allye quickly conveyed the voice's prompting to Faramir and Barry Gond. They took the explanation without so much as a question, so completely had they become enmeshed in the reality of the venture.

"It's not like we are leaving anything of value behind," stated Faramir. "Let's head for France as quickly as we can. We can grab what stuff we have left at the office and go with Allye."

***

"It's time," sighed Faramir.

Both he and Gond gave a last glance around the office at Gayfield Park.

"I'm going to miss it," simply stated Gond.

"Me too. It would have been fun to play in Champions Cup with the club and challenge the Old Firm clubs this season. I am sure whoever takes over will do well."

"The rumor is that Jim Jeffries will sign a contract soon. We left them pretty well off."

"With the sale of Matt Heath and the purchase of promising Lucas Cornwall- the new management will be graced very nicely. I renegotiated new, better contracts with Nicolas Anelka, Angelo Schembri and Jamie Langfield- so anyone chasing them will have to pay a substantial amount. That, and we left them over 6 Million in the black, so they should have plenty of wiggle room."

"Even from afar, it will be fun watching them- I feel much more affinity for Arbroath than for Dundee United."

"That's the way I feel too Barry. You never know, maybe we will come back this way again some day..."

"It's been fun."

"Come on, Allye's waiting for us to pick her up- we need to get going south."

***

As the three of them drove through Southern England, they all were lost in their own thoughts.

"Allye, are you certain that Calais is the place?" asked Faramir.

She shrugged, "Pretty sure. It's as good a starting place as I can find."

"That may work out well. I put out some feelers on coaching positions. One club that wants to interview us is Calais."

"Coincidence?"

It was his turn to shrug, "I am not sure I believe in them anymore. Still, it would seem to work out well- if they want us to run the club."

retired_destiny1124

The dreamless sleep of the grey clouds seemed more like a prison to Faramir at this point. He flared out and tried to throw off its encumbering embrace, but it seemed to wrap itself tighter around him.

"Lord? Is there something wrong?" asked the pristine voice of Lady Galadriel.

Ceasing his struggles, defeated at each turn to try and free himself, he muttered, "Nay, dear Lady. I just wish to leave this place. It is feeling much more like a prison than a blessing at this point."

He could sense her nod, "I understand your feeling Lord."

He lashed out at her without thinking, "How could you understand this?"

She recoiled at his anger, but returned the thought, "You may not share this thought Lord." With that stinging admonishment she revealed that she held one of the rings of power.

Now he understood her own dilemma- and her own prison. "Forgive me Lady. It is just the foolish thoughts of a mortal man."

She seemed to comfort him, "Nay. It is the thoughts of a trapped warrior- worrying about the fate of his father...and his people."

***

Faramir and Barry Gond returned to the rented automobile where Allye Owen waited.

"Well?" she asked pointedly.

Faramir glanced at Gond, who was desperately trying to avoid the growing grin on his face. "We got the job. They offered positions to both of us."

"See? Told you they would be foolish not to take advantage of a couple of worldly characters," she stated with a smirk.

Faramir laughed at her observation, "Well, the job isn't actually a great one. They were surprised that we were interested."

Gond offered, "Calais is a pretty nice town, even if they seem a bit woeful in their club."

"We will change that," flatly stated Faramir. "Where are you going to start looking Allye?"

"Where else?" she answered. "The churches around here have the most complete records dating back to the times we need to know of. That is my starting point."

retired_destiny1124

"Are we ready?" asked Faramir as they relaxed after the day's practice- the final one before the 2007-08 Calais season would begin.

"I think we have a good squad. It is amazing what you were able to cobble together with a few Euros here- a few Euros there..."

"It helped that we had extensive scouting reports from our time at Dundee United and Arbroath- made the job much easier. Still, I do agree that we look good so far and I think the rest of the Conference is underrating us."

"Maybe so, but remember Calais was last in the National 4 seasons ago- so out of sight, out of mind. Add in the fact that their manager jumped ship to Pau as soon as he got them promoted- and they hire us, well they have a way of looking down their nose until we prove otherwise."

"No problem. I will enjoy demonstrating the brand of football this club has already embraced," smiled Faramir- a little hint of a devilish grin crowding the corner of his mouth.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">********************************************* ************************************************** * Calais Racing UFC - Tuesday 24th July 2007********************************************** ************************************************** ================================================== ============================================== Squad============================================= ================================================== =No Name Position(s) Nat Born Age Caps Gls Wages Expires Value------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Paauwe, Cees GK HOL 11.3.77 30 - - £1.8K 27.6.11 £45K- Ritchie, Ian GK SCO 27.1.82 25 - - £2.6K 15.6.12 £35K- Faure, Sébastien GK FRA 1.5.85 22 - - £130 12.6.10 £18K- Landais, Pascal GK FRA 13.6.79 28 - - £575 15.6.08 Free- Mäkelä, Antti D LC FIN 16.6.82 25 - - £3.4K 15.6.10 £55K- Cedric D RL POR 28.7.81 25 - - £400 21.6.11 £18K- Carmo, Ricardo SW/D C POR 15.8.82 24 - - £1.2K 26.6.13 £45K- Primus, Linvoy D C ENG 14.9.73 33 - - £3.6K 11.6.10 £24K- Schmitt, Olivier SW C FRA 26.11.87 19 - - £300 21.6.09 £18K - Colinet, Philippe D C FRA 27.10.87 19 - - £400 16.6.10 £24K- Kleine, Thomas D C GER 28.12.77 29 - - £1.7K 11.6.12 £40K- Nuno Sousa D C POR 30.1.80 27 - - £475 13.6.11 £30K- Cameron, Colin D C SCO 3.3.88 19 - - £250 12.6.11 £18K- Turpin, Franck D C FRA 27.1.77 30 - - £1.9K 23.5.08 Free - Mofid, Kevin D RC CAN 30.7.82 24 2 - £1.2K 20.6.13 £55K- Joly, Laurent D R FRA 16.6.85 22 - - £150 10.6.10 £28K- Alkhatib, Mounir F RLC FRA 30.8.81 25 - - £90 11.6.11 £26K - Lafleuriel, Baptiste AM/F RL FRA 2.7.81 26 - - £1.5K 11.6.12 £100K- Paralta, João F RC POR 26.10.82 24 - - £3.6K 12.6.10 £120K- Morais, Filipe AM RC POR 26.2.80 27 - - £3.2K 15.6.13 £90K - Phillips, Justin M C ENG 16.10.85 21 - - £925 10.6.10 £30K - Cointe, Benoît M RLC FRA 3.3.81 26 - - £1.9K 11.6.12 £50K - El-Bawi, Durgham DM C NOR 1.6.81 26 - - £375 5.6.11 £18K - Traoré, Dambou D/DM C FRA 27.11.77 29 - - £775 19.6.08 £90K- Vincent, Arnaud D/DM C FRA 14.8.84 22 - - £300 17.6.09 £30K - Ferro, Julien AM RC FRA 29.9.86 20 - - £160 27.6.10 £30K - Heed, Thomas AM C SWE 12.8.80 26 - - £675 5.6.10 £200K - Hugo Viana AM RC POR 15.1.83 24 - - £3.1K 13.6.10 £55K - Ceschi, Fabio F LC ITA 19.1.82 25 - - £900 22.6.12 £130K- Sikimic, Predrag S C YUG 29.8.82 24 - - £3.6K 11.6.10 £180K- Colinet, Guillaume M/S C FRA 5.12.85 21 - - £425 18.6.11 £60K- Tiago Mota S C POR 27.5.81 26 - - £2K 14.6.13 £90K - Gautier, Cyril S C FRA 4.11.85 21 - - £170 21.6.09 £85K- Blanc, Guillaume F C FRA 8.7.85 22 - - £2.2K 28.6.10 £60K </pre>

retired_destiny1124

4.8.07
Calais (5) Martigues (2)
Calais- Linvoy Primus 12 Mounir Alkhatib 26 Joao Paralta 33,83 Thomas Kleine 76
Martigues- Gregory Pujol 4 Benjamin Nivet 42
MOM- Hugo Viana, Calais

"Very up and down match, but we did a superb job of destroying them on corners," observed Gond.

Faramir chuckled, "Not like they have anybody who could match up with Linvoy (Primus) and Thomas (Kleine) in height or strength. I was disappointed in Ian (Ritchie)- he was very nervous and had a poor debut."

"Fortunately his play didn't affect the match result, we were having too much fun on offense today."

"Joao (Paralta) looks to be a very dangerous player up front, much more than I thought he would be. The 1-2 combination of he and Mounir (Alkhatib) looks like it will provide plenty of fireworks."

"They are dynamic, which is good since Predrag (Sikimic) is out for awhile, as is Kevin (Mofid). Don't forget that Hugo Viana had 4 assists today- that was a stellar start for him as well."

"We should have enough depth to get through their injuries. Despite having a smaller club, we have good depth for the level of a National club."

***

10.8.07
Paris FC (0) Calais (3)
Paris FC- None
Calais- Mounir Alkhatib 22 Fabio Ceschi 51 Joao Paralta 58
MOM- Mounir Alkhatib, Calais

"It's nice having a keeper tandem like this," offered Gond.

"Cees (Paauwe) had a nice debut today, the backline was really strong in support of him."

"We didn't miss a stride offensively today. Mounir (Alkhatib) looked very good again."

"Another nice debut too- Fabio Ceschi was very dangerous and deserved more than the one goal he got. Hard to believe Genoa let him go for only 2K."

"This is a much better start than the Board expected isn't it?" grinned Gond.

retired_destiny1124

14.8.07
Calais (5) Gazelec (2)
Calais- Fabio Ceschi 1 Mounir Alkhatib 37 Baptiste Lafleuriel 70,79,90
Gazelec- Gregory Meghni 9 David Voison 80-P
MOM- Baptiste Lafleuriel, Calais

"Colour me impressed," murmured Barry Gond as they reviewed the highlights of the match. "One of the most impressive debuts we have seen."

Faramir nodded, "Especially coming off the bench. That was a pretty dynamic showing."

"It turned a close match into an easy win for us."

***

18.8.07
Valenciennes (0) Calais (1)
Valenciennes- None
Calais- Mounir Alkhatib 66
MOM- Marcel Camara, Valenciennes

"Camara may have gotten MOM honours, but Cees (Paauwe) was the one who really deserved it- he was brilliant today!" exclaimed Gond.

"Have to agree with you on that. If Cees doesn't play great- we couldn't have earned any kind of result- instead we managed to edge them on our goal."

"They were a stronger club than us. It made a big difference when you brought in Kevin Brown for Durgham (El-Bawi), because Durgham was getting pushed around by their forwards and midfield."

retired_destiny1124

25.8.07
Calais (0) Sete (3)
Calais- None
Sete- David Coulibaly 27 Diego Cledy 45,62
MOM- Diego Cledy, Sete

"I agree, I think you have to do it," muttered Gond.

"At least until Ian (Ritchie) has his problems ironed out. He needs to regain his confidence and the best place to do that is for you on reserves. I will use our young Spaniard (Carlos Tomas) as Cees Paauwe's backup for now."

"4 shots on net- 3 go in- he really is struggling."

***

31.8.07
Viry (0) Calais (5)
Viry- None
Calais- Hugo Viana 9 Cyril Gautier 18,21 Joao Paralta 68 Olivier Schmitt 72
MOM- Mounir Alkhatib, Calais

"Hard to believe Bourdelais was so eager to get rid of Mounir (Alkhatib)," said Gond wonderingly.

"He didn't fit in with their convential offense. He fits much better in our free-flowing attacking type of offense."

"Looked that way today. Two assists and he really was all over their midfielders."

"We did what you are supposed to do with 20th placed clubs- beat up on them."

retired_destiny1124

4.9.07
Calais (1) Racing CP (0)
Calais- Dugham El-Bawi 4
Racing CP- None
MOM- Frederic Sabourin, Racing CP

"Good thing we scored early," sighed Gond in relief.

"We didn't put on much of a show after that. We had plenty of shots, but they did a good job making sure those chances weren't good ones or from close in."

"At least we showed determination on the defensive side- and earned the win."

***
8.9.07
Wasquehal (1) Calais (4)
Wasquehal- Jure Primorac 86
Calais- Joao Paralta 12 Antti Makela 41-P Fabio Ceschi 73 Mounir Alkhatib 76
MOM- Hugo Viana, Calais

"That was both an impressive showing and a nice statement on the season," cheerily commented Gond.

"I think the other clubs are quickly noticing that this isn't the weak sister Calais they knew when they were last in the National."

"You want to know the funniest thing? Sammy was here for this one," stated Gond with a smirk.

"He was?"

"His friend, a French journalist, had assured him that the favorites to take the title- Wasquehal- would spank us upstarts. I heard Sammy had planned to do a feature on French football when that happened."

Faramir grinned maliciously, "He went home unhappy then."

retired_destiny1124

15.9.07
Cherbourg (2) Calais (3)
Cherbourg- Cederic Bakari 37 Mohamed Haddadou 78
Calais- Mounir Alkhatib 1 Tiago Mota 42 Justin Phillips 47
MOM- Justin Phillips, Calais

"Another nice debut. Justin (Phillips) did really well in his first Senior exposure," commented Gond.

"He helped trigger the offense, which was a good thing since we didn't play all that well defensively today."

***

22.9.07
Calais (7) Boulogne (0)
Calais- Cyril Gautier 1,10,90 Joao Paralta 21,29 Hugo Viana 58 Thomas Kleine 77-P
Boulogne- None
MOM- Cyril Gautier, Calais

"Our fans really enjoyed that display," declared Gond.

"Why not? We set a club record for goals in a match. That was stellar passing rewarded by excellent shots."

"Not to mention they never managed a shot at our goal."