retired_jeja111

26th January, 2005

We were coming up to the 2nd leg of the League Cup semi final and we were already 3 goals down without scoring an away goal, so we needed a comprehensive win to just stay in this one and reach the final against what looks like being Newcastle.

It would be very tough....

League Cup, Semi Final, 2nd Leg
Aston Villa vs. Middlesbrough

Well I'm not going into much detail for this match because there's not much to say. We pressed forward pretty hard but their defence was very up to it and we were unable to break through...

Aston Villa out of the League Cup at the Semi Final stage...

Aston Villa 0
Middlesbrough 0

EPL, Game 25
Tottenham vs. Aston Villa

This would be an extremely tough match against a Tottenham side who have gotten themselves into a clear 5th position with a good run of form and could significantly close the gap with another win here.

This proved the case in the fine weather when Kanoute broke free and put them in the lead in under 10 minutes putting us on the backfoot already. They kept coming at us with a lot of intensity and we were using a lot of gas to (nearly) hold them off as shown at half time with numerous players carrying niggling injuries and needing assistance on the sidelines while we had also had a total of 5 yellow cards handed out. Just as we thought we had the half time whistle and just a 1 goal disadvantage, they took advantage when Robbie Keane put in a 2nd to effectively i think, seal the match.

Throughout the 2nd half they came at us even harder and we had no real chance of getting back into the game as they simply wouldn't let us back in. The score finished 2-0 though and we had lost to a far superior side on the day.

Surprisingly we stayed 3rd on the table as Man Utd were unable to beat Palace at home.

Tottenham 2
Aston Villa 0

The transfer window had come and gone and we hadn't signed anyone although as you can see there was quite a bit of activity with Man Utd signing Gallas and Chelsea signing Ronaldinho. Liverpool also managed to sign USA striker Landon Donovan.

EPL, Game 26
Aston Villa vs. Man Utd

This would be a huge game not only because it is 3rd (us) vs. 4th but because we will find out where we stand pretty quickly. There was some media mudslinging with Sir Alex suggesting his side would win easily and I was positive that I wouldn't let this get to my players (considering the thrashing they gave us at Old Trafford earlier on in the season) so I replied echoing his confidence but in my side this time. I wanted to stand right up to these guys...

I was determined to make them pay for their pompous decision to leave Van Nistelrooy and Rooney on the bench but Smith proved his worth after only 5 minutes when he fired home their first from close range....

I had noticed that we had started going downhill on a form slide for some reason. Our players just seemed very flat and something was missing from our earlier form and soon we were down a 2nd goal through Q. Fortune. My failure to secure any signings during the transfer period and our being active in all periods have also contributed to the squad tiring quicker than they normally would have...

In the 2nd half we were unable to fight back although we did have more possession and we able to at least push them. Although our reversal in form was slightly worrying considering our next two matches were against Chelsea and Liverpool, and we could easily see ourselves out of 4th place if we lost both of them...

Aston Villa 0
Man Utd 2

EPL, Game 27
Chelsea vs. Aston Villa

Another tough game for us particularly with our fledgling form and injuries which saw Solano and Cole out for 2 and 3 weeks respectively.

The match was being played with a lot of intensity and early on we looked up to the challenge although we were on the back foot. However after half an hour they broke through with 2 goals in the space of 2 minutes from Drogba and Duff respectively. This was extremely frustrating and put us in danger of losing 4th position as Tottenham had come within a point of us now and had a game in hand on us.

Into the 2nd half and Ballack scored early on to seal the win for them and further secure our plunge. Injuries and fatigue were getting to us and we were in real danger of plummeting down the table through the last 10 games...

I was amazed at how quickly our fortunes turned around after only a few games ago it looked like we had all but secured a Champions League place.

Chelsea 3
Aston Villa 0

We had a much needed break to follow before facing Liverpool in a weeks time. I'm hoping we can reverse our form slump right there....

retired_jeja111

10th February, 2005

During training on the 8th, Juan Angel came to me and told me that he was suffering some personal problems. I had known this for a while but he told me he was really feeling very badly at the moment, his morale had been affected and inturn his performances had started to drop. So I decided to give him a leave of absense for a few weeks to sort himself out....i knew this was a huge risk with Cole already out for a few weeks but I was hoping he would come back with better morale and better ready to contribute to the side...

EPL, Game 28
Aston Villa vs. Liverpool

I had gone into todays game with some fresh players from the reserve side, specifically Stephen Cooke on the right wing, Luke Moore up front and Stuart Bridges and Steven Foley-Sheridan on the bench. With our usual wingers out (Berger and Cooke on the wings), Hitzlsperger was going to have to take a lot of the attacking load...

...and he duly accepted the load on the 7th minute mark when he fired home a ball from outside the box passed Dudek to put us one up.

The Villa crowd had recognized the importance of this game and they had come along to support us, packing out the house on this saturday afternoon. Following the early goal we settled in much better than the previous two outings and even pressed forward for a 2nd which we could have gotten with some more industrious finishing. However we did well in the end to go to the break holding onto the lead we had gotten early and I was quite happy with the performance to that point.

Into the 2nd half and they were really coming at us...but we held them off for a time and I was very proud of the boys efforts....that was until Sinama-Ponglle hit home an equaliser only 5 minutes from time to undo all our good work and force the draw.

The result stood and we had dropped out of the top 4 for the first time in a long while. Tottenham now were 1 point ahead of us with a game in hand after a great run of form on their part corresponding with a shocking run of form from us.

Aston Villa 1
Liverpool 1

Our form was now LLLX and we had deservedly dropped out of the top 4. Although with 3 weeks off until the next PL fixture I was hoping to have a full squad when we visit Palace on March 5.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | | Arsenal | | 27 | 21 | 4 | 2 | 69 | 19 | +50 | 67 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | Chelsea | | 27 | 18 | 5 | 4 | 56 | 20 | +36 | 59 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Man Utd | | 27 | 13 | 11 | 3 | 38 | 20 | +18 | 50 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Tottenham | | 27 | 15 | 4 | 8 | 50 | 34 | +16 | 49 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | Aston Villa | | 28 | 13 | 9 | 6 | 48 | 34 | +14 | 48 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | Southampton | | 27 | 11 | 9 | 7 | 31 | 25 | +6 | 42 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | Liverpool | | 28 | 9 | 14 | 5 | 32 | 28 | +4 | 41 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Newcastle | | 26 | 11 | 7 | 8 | 33 | 27 | +6 | 40 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | Middlesbrough | | 28 | 11 | 7 | 10 | 43 | 44 | -1 | 40 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | | Fulham | | 27 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 33 | 35 | -2 | 37 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | | Birmingham | | 26 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 32 | 33 | -1 | 34 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | | Blackburn | | 27 | 8 | 8 | 11 | 35 | 35 | 0 | 32 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 13th | | Charlton | | 28 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 32 | 46 | -14 | 28 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 14th | | Norwich | | 28 | 6 | 10 | 12 | 24 | 42 | -18 | 28 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 15th | | Bolton | | 26 | 6 | 9 | 11 | 25 | 37 | -12 | 27 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 16th | | Portsmouth | | 28 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 32 | 50 | -18 | 26 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 17th | | West Brom | | 28 | 5 | 10 | 13 | 23 | 37 | -14 | 25 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 18th | | Man City | | 27 | 3 | 12 | 12 | 32 | 54 | -22 | 21 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 19th | | Everton | | 26 | 5 | 5 | 16 | 31 | 50 | -19 | 20 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 20th | | Crystal Palace | | 26 | 3 | 8 | 15 | 25 | 54 | -29 | 17 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>

Looking at the table above, I figured that Tottenham after their recent run of 7 straight victories (including us) were now our main threat for the last Champions League place...so here are both of our runs home. First, them;

A Bolton
H Arsenal
A Man City
H Fulham
A Everton
H Charlton
A Birmingham
H Blackburn
A Middlesbrough
H Newcastle
A West Brom

And now, our run home...

A C Palace
A Southampton
H Bolton
A Norwich
H Portsmouth
A Arsenal
H Man City
A Fulham
H Everton
A Charlton

Out of the top sides only Arsenal we both have still to have in the season. It looked very even and it may go down right to the wire, but firstly I was hoping that Bolton beat them to cancel out their game-in-hand on us.

Damn early season form creating high expectations...now I will feel disappointed if we don't make the CL...

retired_jeja111

15th February, 2005

Well that was basically the snippet of what appeared in the paper the next day after I announced it at training.

Finally I had gotten the wage budget close to the actual budget! I was only 2,000 p/w over the 230,000 p/w demanded of me. And when looking at the budgets of the other teams looking for CL spots we are damn-well on a shoe-string. Financially though the club was making money, we were up for the year with a balance of 7.1M even though I had spent a couple of million of transfers. This was probably due to the fact that the club didnt have any loans outstanding - so, financially, the club was in good shape....

....but maybe if they gave me some of that money to strengthen the squad then we wouldn't be slipping away due to the small squad we have!

I also used the situation to announce that I was delighted with the form of Dennis Gentenaar after joining the club as our new first choice goalkeeper (average of 7.87 so far).

I am always on the search for new transfer targets and with Everton in the relegation zone, should they be relegated, two targets for me will be James McFadden and Tim Cahill.

I was starting to develop a final shortlist for players to chase during the offseason which may or may not get more ambitious depending on us making the Champions League or not. Here is a quick rundown of potential targets...

FA Cup, 5th Round
Southampton vs. Aston Villa

To be perfectly honest I'm not really phased whether we progress or not. Because Arsenal, Chelsea and Man Utd are still in the draw and it's unlikely we'll beat either of them if we come up against them (going by past experience).

This was a significant match because it was the first time we actually broke out the grey strip!

The first half was fairly uneventful as both teams lumbered along. I got the feeling that Soton, in 6th position in the League, were gearing themselves up for a run to the Europe spots as well so they were holding back like us.

Into the 2nd half and Beattie broke the deadlock right after with a decent header from a corner. However, only 2 minutes later young Luke Moore equalised after finding an open net from a Vassell cross.

In an effort to get things going and to avoid the "dreaded replay" I decided to push forward with all my might in an effort to try and win the match...but it backfired when Svensson socred off a corner in the last 10 minutes....

Aston Villa out of the FA Cup.

Southampton 2
Aston Villa 1

With us out of the League Cup and FA Cup, and (obviously) not competing in Europe this season, all we had left to concentrate on was the run home of 10 matches which was a good thing, although it was a downer obviously that we were out of both cups....

Looking like a grandstand finish to the season...

retired_embartl

The usual mid to end of season slump for Vila that ends many a fans hopes Ah to be fair there were tough games there - and with no cup competitions should be all focussed on reverting the form as soon as possible. Come on Villa

retired_jeja111

After our quite lengthy (and fully needed) break it was back in business and a crucial (as everything was from now on) trip to Palace who were sitting in last place....(from now on I'll outline Tottenham's results concurrently to mine or anyone else who enters to the CL race).

EPL, Game 29
Crystal Palace vs. Aston Villa

Palace were dead last at the moment but only 5 points from safety so they had a lot to play for. As the game started I could see they looked slightly weak and there was opportunities for us to get a vital away win...

Gerardo Torrado scored his first goal for the club after 10 minutes and he couldn't have picked a better way to do it, with a first-touch volley from 40 yards after a Palace defender headed it out of the box in his path...I had bought this guy to give me stability and hard working-ness in the midfield and he comes out with that volley! What a way to mark his return from a while off with international duty and injury!

Scoring an early goal in an away match can sometimes be a curse. But the players kept at it and didn't get complacent, and they performed well in the face of a resurgent Palace. After a half hour though my wingers, reformed in their partnership, partnered up again this time when Solano fired a ball across the park to Barry who fired it past the goalkeeper to give us a healthy 2 goal buffer.

We looked to have survived until half time with our lead and we did, though just before half time we managed to extend it through Barry being involved agian, and linking up with Vassell.

I had the rare pleasure of being able to take Cole off at half time to give him a rest as I enjoyed the players finding a little form once again.

They managed to get a goal back after an hour but things weren't looking overly threatening so I didn't think much of it. However, after an hour they snuck another one back and suddenly the score was on 3-2 and they were coming at us late....

...however Thomas Hitzlsperger hit a brilliant volley from many yards out to match Gerardo Torrado's from earlier on in the match, and the win was sealed.

C Palace 2
Aston Villa 4

Tottenham 1
Arsenal 1

After Tottenham's draw with Arsenal, we have regained 4th position on goal difference (Tottenham no longer have a game on us, either).

Man City 0
Tottenham 1

EPL, Game 30
Southampton vs. Aston Villa

After Tottenham's away win we really needed to follow it up and at least not lose this one...but Soton were sitting up there in the table as well, they had beaten us in the FA Cup and it wouldn't be easy.

Our confidence and form seemed to be back at a high level though, and we attacked the game and took it right up to them...taking the lead after a quarter-hour after Barry crossed to Cole who headed it in to give us the lead.

We really seemed to be up for the occasion, we were pressing well through the wings and Barry was involved again when he let Hitzlsperger open up and fire up a volley after 25 minutes to give us a 2-0 lead.

We managed to hold off until half time, and then into the 2nd half we were looking quite comfortable. I was extremely pleased with the side holding a lead away against a side in the top 10, seemingly quite comfortably.

However with 15 minutes to go they managed to break through our defences and get a goal back and they shattered that sense of comfortableness. They stretched us late, though the defence held on to record a well fought away win, our 2nd in a row.

Southampton 1
Aston Villa 2

EPL, Game 31
Aston Villa vs. Bolton

We were looking to attack Bolton from the outset and that's exactly what we did....and it didn't take long for us to break though with Cole latching onto a cross from Solano on 10 minutes and firing it in.

After our goal we were playing confidently and dominating posession, but we were unable to break through....

....into the 2nd half and it was Solano and Cole who linked up once again to give us a 2 goal buffer....after this we were doing comfortably, and we got a 3rd when Vassell pounced on a rebound from a Cole shot to effectively seal the match for us.

Following this Bolton never really challenged us and we cruised to a good victory...

Aston Villa 3
Bolton 0

I had gotten word that Arsenal were tracking Gareth Barry but there was no way I was interested in selling.

Tottenham 2
Fulham 2

Tottenham finally slip up and now we have a 2 point buffer on them. Which may come in handy because we have Arsenal coming up before too long while they don't play any of the top teams for the rest of the season...

retired_jeja111

EPL, Game 32
Norwich vs. Aston Villa

As with every match for the rest of the season it was an important one...another away win would be vital to us.

It wasn't looking good early though as our over-enthusiasm may have gotten to us as they pounced early putting us behind. However our confidence was high against a lower side despite them taking the lead early and we surged forward, two goals from Hitzlsperger and then Cole within 2 minutes of eachother giving us back the lead which we held until half time.

In the 2nd half they never really challenged our lead, and when we went ahead with a 3rd thanks to Cole, the win was sealed.

Just when we thought the game was over though they nabbed a goal back in stoppage time which caused a bit of fuss but we held on without too many problems.

Norwich 2
Aston Villa 3

Everton 0
Tottenham 1

Tottenham won away as well so they keep within 2 points of us. But with Man Utd's failure to get a win at Fulham we have now drawn level with them, though their goal difference is better than ours by a bit.

EPL, Game 33
Aston Villa vs. Portsmouth

Portsmouth are in the relegation zone and came to Villa Park determined to get some points and this came through as they surprised us a little and went ahead through Yakubu after 20 minutes.

However two awesome volleys from distance from Hitzlsperger cancelled them out and gave us the lead.

Just as we thought we had the game won they equalised through Lua Lua in the last quarter hour, and despite a late charge we couldn't get a winner....a bad slipup conceding that last goal which has given Tottenham an opportunity to get back level with us, AND we have Arsenal away at Highbury coming up next...

Aston Villa 2
Portsmouth 2

EPL, Game 34
Arsenal vs. Aston Villa

This was the match that really made me realise our defensive frailties. We played quite well in parts but they pacy attack just ran us ragged and in the end we were left for the killing.

There was just nothing they could do wrong in the 2nd half..after levelling the match at 3-3 after being 3-1 down I thought we were in with a chance but after that they just blew us away.

And we were humiliated. To give a goal-by-goal rundown would be depressing, suffice to say that Henry single handedly destroyed us with 5 goals.

Arsenal 9
Aston Villa 3

Our morale has been destroyed. The media are having a field day with my defence and have launched into them with venom, their morale has gone from "superb" to "very poor" in one match.

Facing the media was quite a chore - Tottenham had beaten Blackburn at home 2-1 and with our goal difference destroyed they now sat equal with us on points but above us on g/d with a match in hand.

I felt we probably needed to win ALL of our remaining games to have a chance of qualifying for the CL.

EPL, Game 35
Aston Villa vs. Man City

What we needed was to bounce back and well. Not only for confidence reasons but to restore our battered goal difference after the hammering at the hands of Arsenal, which was potentially terminal to our season...

Man City were in the relegation zone and this would prove a good chance for us to regain a little form. And it worked out that way.

Juan Angel was back into the first team after being outsted by Vassell for a time after Cole and Vassell had played that well that both got called up to the English squad. However Angel got our first goal to set us on the way, the 2nd came from an own goal from them and Cole took the third early in the 2nd half.

Aston Villa 3
Man City 0

Tottenham thrashed Charlton at home 3-0 as well so they reclaimed their third spot with just 3 matches left (4 for them). Although looking at the draw left, 3 of their 4 remaining games were away while 2 of our remaining 3 were...

Tottenham's run home

A Middlesbrough
A Birmingham
H Newcastle
A West Brom

Our run home...

A Fulham
H Everton
A Charlton

Here's an updated table:

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | | Chelsea | | 35 | 24 | 7 | 4 | 69 | 24 | +45 | 79 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | Arsenal | | 35 | 23 | 8 | 4 | 87 | 32 | +55 | 77 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Man Utd | | 34 | 17 | 13 | 4 | 53 | 25 | +28 | 64 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Tottenham | | 34 | 19 | 7 | 8 | 61 | 39 | +22 | 64 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | Aston Villa | | 35 | 18 | 10 | 7 | 68 | 50 | +18 | 64 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | Liverpool | | 35 | 13 | 17 | 5 | 41 | 30 | +11 | 56 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | Southampton | | 35 | 14 | 12 | 9 | 41 | 32 | +9 | 54 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Newcastle | | 35 | 14 | 11 | 10 | 43 | 37 | +6 | 53 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | Fulham | | 35 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 44 | 43 | +1 | 48 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | | Blackburn | | 35 | 12 | 9 | 14 | 47 | 43 | +4 | 45 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | | Middlesbrough | | 35 | 11 | 9 | 15 | 49 | 59 | -10 | 42 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | | Birmingham | | 34 | 8 | 15 | 11 | 38 | 44 | -6 | 39 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 13th | | West Brom | | 35 | 8 | 14 | 13 | 34 | 42 | -8 | 38 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 14th | | Bolton | | 35 | 8 | 12 | 15 | 32 | 52 | -20 | 36 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 15th | | Norwich | | 35 | 7 | 13 | 15 | 29 | 51 | -22 | 34 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 16th | | Charlton | | 34 | 8 | 8 | 18 | 36 | 58 | -22 | 32 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 17th | | Everton | | 35 | 7 | 7 | 21 | 44 | 67 | -23 | 28 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 18th | | Portsmouth | | 35 | 6 | 10 | 19 | 35 | 61 | -26 | 28 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 19th | | Crystal Palace | | 35 | 6 | 10 | 19 | 36 | 70 | -34 | 28 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 20th | | Man City | | 35 | 4 | 14 | 17 | 36 | 64 | -28 | 26 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>

Look at our goals conceded!

retired_jeja111

As we head into the last 3 matches for the season, the final stage, the pressure was mounting between us and Tottenham for the last Champions League spot and there was a huge amount at stake. We now sat in 5th position.

On the last saturday in April, we would both face tough away matches which could determine a lot of what the final placings are. We were away to Fulham who were sitting 9th, and Tottenham were away to Middlesbrough who were sitting 11th.

My new goalkeeper, Dennis Gentenaar from NEC in Holland, was proving to be a bit inconsistent as he would produce a brilliant performance one day then allow 9 goals through the line into the net as he did against Arsnel (to be honest though he isn't to blame it was the back 4 that day).

EPL, Game 36
Fulman vs. Villa

It was a wet day in London and they came at us early, quick and hard, catching us on the back foot as they went through Legwinski grab an early lead after 5 mins, and this was exactly what we didn't need.

We fought off their initial attack period and worked ourselves into the game, consoled by the fact that Boro had gone up 1-0 early on against Tottenham as well, in their game being played concurrently to ours. As we fought it out we got ourselves into a good position and eventually it was Juan Angel who gave us the equaliser 5 minutes before half time. I was quite happy with the way we were playing and before the half was up we got an added bonus with their defender Ian Pearce being sent off.

Looking over my half time notes I was told also that Tottenham have had a player sent off, infact it was Ricketts only 3 minutes after he scored the equaliser...

The 2nd half though was a distinct change in fortune for us. They scored a goal in the 88th minute to break open a game that was drifting along, but we were able to get a late late late equaliser through sub Steven Cooke to put it back to 2-2.

I got word through that Tottenham had gotten a late winner over Middlesbrough though, so they go 2 points ahead of us with 1 game in hand and I fear that unless they slip up and lose a couple we have lost the fight for the last Champions League place.

Fulham 2
Aston Villa 2

Birmingham 1
Tottenham 1

With 2 games now left for both of us they sit 3 points clear of us with a goal difference of 23 compared to our 18...

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| 3rd | | Man Utd | | 36 | 18 | 14 | 4 | 56 | 25 | +31 | 68 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Tottenham | | 36 | 20 | 8 | 8 | 64 | 41 | +23 | 68 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | Aston Villa | | 36 | 18 | 11 | 7 | 70 | 52 | +18 | 65 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>

Our Champions League hopes were almost totally killed off after Tottenham beat Newcastle 1-0 at home. With one game to play for them, and two for us, they are 6 points ahead and now 6 on goal difference. We'll need to win both games gaining 6 goals up in the process while they lose their last game which is away to West Brom....

Meanwhile, Leicester and Reading have been promoted to the EPL, while Wigan, Leeds, Brighton and West Ham are in the playoffs...

EPL, Game 37
Villa vs. Everton

We needed to win this one and win well...

We came at them attacking attacking and attacking some more and it didn't take long, only 5 minutes, for Angel to get on the end of a cross from Torrado and put us ahead one goal after only 5 minutes.

We kept at them and after 20 minutes we had another when Cole crossed to Solano who headed it in.

They had gotten one back shortly before half time but they never really threatened our lead and we got the goal back shortly after half time to restore our 2 goal lead. In the last 10 minutes Angel headed in to complete his hattrick and give us a 3 goal lead and cut their goal difference lead over us to only 3, so if West Brom managed to beat them on the last day we would have a chance to nab them...

Aston Villa 4
Everton 1

EPL, Game 38
Charlton vs. Villa

and concurrently...

West Brom vs. Tottenham

This was the last game of the year. For us to get into the Chamions League we would need to win, Tottenham lose and us make up 3 goals goal difference on them in the process. It would be tough but not entirely out of the question. Charlton were having a poor season and sat in 15th place.

Our match started off slowly and I had assigned a staff member to give me updates on the Tottenham/Brom match....

....West Brom go ahead after 5 minutes!

Unfortunately just as I was handed that paper Charlton went ahead through a corner to break the jubilant mood....we didn't lose confidence however and we kept at them....and it only took 7 minutes for Juan Angel to get the equaliser just on 13 minutes...

....meanwhile in an eventful match at The Hawthorns, Brom had gone up another goal only for Tottenham to equalise....2-1 to Brom after 10 minutes....

Before half time though they got a 2nd. And although Brom upheld their end of the bargain by beating Tottenham, Charlton got a 3rd and we were soundly beaten in an extremely frustrating match. We could have had it but we weren't good enough.

Charlton 3
Villa 1

So after being in 4th place for most of the year we squandered it and finished 5th. Here is the final table, at least we are in the UEFA Cup next season *sigh*....

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | C | Chelsea | | 38 | 27 | 7 | 4 | 77 | 25 | +52 | 88 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | Arsenal | | 38 | 26 | 8 | 4 | 99 | 35 | +64 | 86 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Man Utd | | 38 | 20 | 14 | 4 | 59 | 25 | +34 | 74 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Tottenham | | 38 | 21 | 8 | 9 | 66 | 43 | +23 | 71 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | Aston Villa | | 38 | 19 | 11 | 8 | 75 | 56 | +19 | 68 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | Southampton | | 38 | 16 | 12 | 10 | 46 | 36 | +10 | 60 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | Liverpool | | 38 | 13 | 20 | 5 | 44 | 33 | +11 | 59 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Newcastle | | 38 | 15 | 11 | 12 | 45 | 39 | +6 | 56 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | Fulham | | 38 | 14 | 13 | 11 | 50 | 45 | +5 | 55 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | | Blackburn | | 38 | 12 | 11 | 15 | 47 | 46 | +1 | 47 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | | Birmingham | | 38 | 9 | 17 | 12 | 43 | 51 | -8 | 44 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | | Middlesbrough | | 38 | 11 | 9 | 18 | 51 | 65 | -14 | 42 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 13th | | West Brom | | 38 | 9 | 14 | 15 | 36 | 46 | -10 | 41 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 14th | | Bolton | | 38 | 9 | 13 | 16 | 36 | 57 | -21 | 40 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 15th | | Charlton | | 38 | 10 | 9 | 19 | 43 | 64 | -21 | 39 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 16th | | Norwich | | 38 | 7 | 14 | 17 | 31 | 57 | -26 | 35 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 17th | | Man City | | 38 | 5 | 16 | 17 | 38 | 65 | -27 | 31 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 18th | R | Everton | | 38 | 7 | 8 | 23 | 48 | 75 | -27 | 29 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 19th | R | Crystal Palace | | 38 | 6 | 11 | 21 | 39 | 76 | -37 | 29 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 20th | R | Portsmouth | | 38 | 6 | 10 | 22 | 35 | 69 | -34 | 28 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>

So as you can see, Everton, Palace and Portsmouth relegated and Chelsea win the title after Arsenal led most of the year....

Overall our season was good but we conceded way too many goals... to come in the next update I will conduct my squad evaluation and chase my summer targets as the offseason kicks into gear...Thank you for following me this first season...

retired_bootcamp_nat

Nice work on the first season. Bad luck about the CL spot but UEFA's a good platform to build on. KUTGW :thup:

retired_embartl

Arse fecking Spurs. However, should try and look at it from seasons beginning expectations and 5th is a good finish :thup: At least it's one form of Europe. A few more players and hopefully a more sustained crack next season round. What the feck happened in that Arsenal match though :eek:

retired_provrb7

I would say concentrate on the defense next season because you did let in way too many goals to be challenging for top positions but the goals for column looks good :thup: I'll be looking forward to season 2..