retired_lydiadiebolt

Following the weekend’s matches, the first manager’s head hits the chopping block and it is Atlético Madrid’s president Señor Jesús Gil acts as the hangman by firing his manager Señor Asier De la Cruz. He barely lasted seven months in the job! [IMG]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif" alt="smile[/IMG]<P>1st of October 2003<P>Primera Liga - Game 5: Tenerife v Cartagonova<P>Just three days after our famous victory over Barcelona, I need to raise the players for another big effort against fellow promoted club Tenerife, who is currently struggling in 19th position. As I noted in the club previews, Señor Lippi seems to have lost his cheque book because his three signings in the summer have all been Bosman transfers, including goalkeeper José Ceballos from Racing Santander, Numancia’s Argentine striker Pedro Rafael Ojeda and ex-Fiorentina midfielder Fabio Rossitto. To worsen things for the ice-cool manager, star striker Chispa Delgado has fallen out with the club and is on the definite outer, looking for a transfer away from the Islas de Canarias. Losing Mostovoi to retirement was bad enough for Señor Lippi, but things have just gone from bad to worse.<P>Not that there is any such sentiment for my compadre who must be feeling the pressure. I’m bringing my players to make an impact here and continue our unbelievably wonderful run of form. I give Rufete and Michel the night off and introduce Paulo Miranda and the forgotten man, Gustavo Cañizares to the starting eleven. My defenders are asked to tightly mark Ojeda and Pier, the Tenerife captain, while I’m looking to my full-backs to curb the influence of playmaker Hugo Morales. But things become very easy when after just six minutes, Collymore is in the thick of it. Trading the one-two’s with Miranda and Redondo, he bursts his way into the box before landing a telling shot past Ceballos! [IMG]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif" alt="big grin[/IMG] Then on 18 minutes, the Englishman forces Ceballos into dropping a stinging drive and it falls into the path of Morán. The midfielder thunders the rebound in off the post and we’re 2-0 to the good! With my defenders doing their jobs well, we consistently outmuscle Tenerife and set up further opportunities which are not converted later in the half.<P>But it’s a relaxed and happy team talk at the break, with the players trading jokes and high-fiving each other. Once again, there isn’t much to say to them, because they’re walking the talk out there on the pitch. My thoughts stray to Señor Lippi, with whom I’ve developed a good friendship, but I have to remain focused, so everybody gets an encouraging pat on the shoulder as we’re called into action. After the first half, where Tenerife couldn’t even fashion half a chance on Vidal’s goal, I expected them to come out breathing fire, but to my relief, my players continue to control the match. It takes them to the 60th minute mark to finally threaten but my defence does well to put the strikers off their stride. I make a substitution on 67 minutes, with the disappointing Cañizares making way to Oliver (Miranda swaps to the right side). We earn our third goal with a penalty awarded against David Charcos for a push on Redondo, and the striker himself easily converts the opportunity. Collymore and �lvarez almost add to the scoreline later in the match, but we’re extremely pleased with the 3-0 victory on the road! [IMG]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif" alt="smile[/IMG] [IMG]/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif" alt="cool[/IMG]<P>Tenerife (4-4-2): Ceballos; Javi López, Moisés (David Charcos 61), Lussenhoff, Zé Maria; Hugo Morales, Torrado (Juan Luis 67), Rossitto, Nan Ribera (Dani 52); Ojeda, Pier (c).<P>Cartagonova (4-1-2-1-2): Vidal (Moso 87); Ismael, Filipescu, �lvarez, Ballesteros; Couto (c); Miranda, Cañizares (Oliver 67); Morán; Redondo, Collymore.<P>Final score: Tenerife 0:3 Cartagonova
MoM - Fernando Morán

retired_lydiadiebolt

As you might have picked up, Vidal is injured late in the match and when the physios get to work upon him in the dressing rooms, they come up with a serious diagnosis. He apparently managed to twist his knee lunging for a cross and will miss up to three weeks of football. That gives Moso and Arnau the chance to impress me. <P>Speaking of impressed, my mobile phone goes off as soon as I’m in the bus to the airport to go back to the mainland and it’s the representative of the board of directors. They are extremely delighted with the result, and they should be because Real Madrid’s 1-1 upset draw with 16th-placed Espanyol leaves us the only team to have taken full points from the first five matches of the season. It’s a start that is even astonishing me! [IMG]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif" alt="big grin[/IMG]<P>We have a bit of a break until our next match. It is 18 days until we host Celta Vigo at the Estadio Municipal de Cartagena. Speaking of Celta Vigo, it went down to Barcelona on penalties in the European Super Cup played in Monaco. A disappointing crowd of 18,482 saw both clubs hammer each other over the period of 120 minutes, but they couldn’t break the deadlock. In the end, two missed penalties by Sergio and Sergio (I’m not kidding here. Celta has two Sergios on its books) decided the game in Barcelona’s favour.<P>Back in Cartegana in the early hours of Thursday morning, I yawn and check the messages. The board has left me one. They are very pleased with my general performance as manager. Hmm. If they are willing to tell me when they’re happy by the phone (in fact, an answering machine), I wonder what will happen if I fail to live up to their expectations in the future? Also, they still think that Couto should not be a part of the team any longer. Well, the last time I checked, I’m still the poor sod picking the eleven players who go out and represent their precious club and as part of my job description, I’ll pick the eleven players who I think will succeed. If that number includes Couto, then they’ll have to find a way to deal with it.

retired_lydiadiebolt

3rd of October 2003<P>Francisco �lvarez plays the first half in Spain U-21’s 3-0 victory over Albania U-21. He didn’t do very much. Oh well. He’s only 17 and he’s still learning the fundamentals of his craft. What more can you expect?<P>4th of October 2003<P>Today is the day of the final group matches for qualification for the European Championship and several big reputations are on the line. In Group 1, Germany and the Ukraine celebrated their automatic qualification with victories over Luxembourg (3-0) and Iceland (3-2) respectively. Holland completed the clean sweep of Group 2 with a 2-1 victory over Moldova to end the qualification phase with ten wins from ten matches. Giovanni van Bronckhurst and Roy Makaay scored the goals for the Orange Shirts. Russia edged past Slovenia to earn a play-off place with a 2-1 victory over its Eastern European rival in Moskva. Georgia topped Group 3 on goal difference from Poland as Georgia defeated Lithuania 3-1 in Vilnius. Disappointing Yugoslavia defeated Wales 2-0 in Belgrade, but both countries will merely be spectators next summer. As a result of this enforced holiday, the Yugoslav FA relieved Bora Milutonovic of his position.<P>Spain finished second behind Norway who earned direct qualification. The Spaniards will have to fight Switzerland for the qualification to the championship. Spain defeated Albania 2-1 in Tirane, while Norway easily accounted for Northern Ireland 3-0 in Oslo. Denmark finished a point clear of Croatia in Group 5 after the Croats threw away all three points against Armenia, as they conceded an injury-time equaliser in Split. Scotland and FYROM shared the points in a meaningless 2-2 draw in Skopje. Gordon Strachan was immediately fired after the final qualifier. Ex St. Johnstone striker Kiegan Parker, now of Spurs, scored a brace on his debut.<P>The Czech Republic ran away with qualification from Group 6, winning 7 out of 8 games, including a 2-0 victory over Latvia in Riga. Austria earned the right to play Russia with a 3-1 win over Israel in Vienna. In Group 7, Italy and Ireland earned automatic qualification. The Azzurri finished eight points clear of the Irish, while Ireland finished above Belgium on superior goal difference. Belarus, Cyprus and the Faroe Isles were the makeweights in the group. Belarus drew 1-1 with Belgium in Minsk. Ireland comfortably defeated the Faeroe Isles at Landsdowne Road 3-0, while Italy did it even easier against Cyprus, defeating their opponents 4-0.

retired_lydiadiebolt

Roy Hodgson’s sorry time at the helm of England looks set to end after the Three Lions finished second-last in Group 8. To make matters worse, they lost their last qualifying match 2-1 against Estonia in Tallinn, despite Manchester United’s Noel Whelan giving his country the lead. A surprise loss to Slovakia saw Finland surrender the opportunity to top the group, with Bulgaria finishing a point clear. However, both countries automatically qualify. In Group 9, Jean Tigana’s reign as manager of France seems set to end after Les Bleus missed out on qualification for the tournament they won three years ago. Despite boasting players of the calibre like Lilian Thuram, Zinedine Zidane and David Trezeguet, they finished fourth behind automatic qualifier Turkey, who celebrated with a 2-1 victory over Bosnia, and Switzerland, who finished in second and plays Spain in the play-off. France defeated Azerbaijan 4-2 in Paris, but it was too little, too late.<P>The automatic qualifiers:<P>Portugal (host nation), Czech Republic, Italy, Holland, Georgia, Norway, Denmark, Bulgaria, Turkey, Germany, the Ukraine, Ireland and Finland.<P>The play-offs (to be played on the 8th of November 2003 and 12th of November 2003):<P>Croatia v Poland
Russia v Austria
Spain v Switzerland.

retired_lydiadiebolt

8th of October 2003<P>A good young Argentine defender by the name of Marcelo Moya has caught my eye and after Racing makes a bid for him, I feel that the time is ripe to also throw my hat into the ring. Eventually my bid is accepted, and I make a pitch to him about joining the Primera Liga and more particularly Cartagonova. I’ll keep you updated on how we go with this player.<P>10th of October 2003<P>It takes Moya a couple of days to make up his mind, but I’m happy to announce via press release that the Argentine defender will join the club from the 15th of December for £400,000. From the scouting reports and the videos that I’ve seen of him, I can tell you all that he is versatile and can play anywhere across my favoured flat-back four, while his strength and tackling ability makes him a formidable defender. His capacity to set up attacks with his strong passing ability should also add value for money. Perhaps a future Argentine international, but that may be a little optimistic, given the quality already in the Argentine national squad.<P>With money beginning to erode thanks to the big pay packets some of the players enjoy, I decide that a few of the fringe players like Magno and Misrad Hibic should be placed on the transfer list. I consult with my backroom staff and they reluctantly agree with me, although they consider both players to still have a future at the club. Well, I don’t, and they’re taking up valuable wages that could be put to better use. I put out the press releases late on Friday evening, but the media latches onto the story, immediately linking Dutch club AZ, Uruguayan club Defensor Sporting and Portugal’s Académica with Magno. Hibic attracts interest from TeBe Berlin, Vélez Sarsfield and NK Zagreb.

retired_lydiadiebolt

11th of October 2003<P>Alavés is the first to make me an offer for Hibic, bidding £400,000 over six months for the Bosnian international defender. I sold José Tárraga to the Basque club a season ago for a ridiculously low amount and if I can push the asking price up for the Bosnian, I think I’ll be doing well. So, I respond by demanding £575,000 over six months and £150,000 if he adds ten international caps to his collection.<P>13th of October 2003<P>At the start of another week, Wim Jansen tells me that my terms for Hibic are simply too much for the cash-strapped Basque club. But Pontevedra weighs in with a bid of £650,000 for him. I accept the bid, because I think it is a good price for the Bosnian, and the fact that Pontevedra is mired deep in D2B so they won’t be playing us regularly for a while! [IMG]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif" alt="smile[/IMG]<P>14th of October 2003<P>Hibic is reportedly delighted to agree terms with Pontevedra. I don’t much care about him leaving - I’m looking forward to seeing the £650,000 cheque in two months!<P>15th of October 2003<P>Melilla makes a ridiculously low bid of £200,000 for Magno. I want something more substantial and I therefore demand of my counterpart £400,000 after six months and £200,000 after 20 league matches.<P>With little to do until the weekend in terms of playing, I decide to let Luis Sosa, my able right-hand man, take care of the training. In his nightly de-brief, he tells me that Cristian �lvarez has done well so far in training and I should give him a chance in the first team. I would if I could, but I’m frightened that he will attract the attention of other clubs and since he is refusing to sign a new contract, his min. release clause is a ridiculously low amount of just £450,000.<P>16th of October 2003<P>Cádiz wastes my time with a bid of just £130,000 for Magno. <P>17th of October 2003<P>Melilla gives up its interest in Magno. That’s fine by me. I only want clubs that are serious to make bids for him.<P>18th of October 2003<P>I’m contacted by a member of that esteemed profession, a sports journalist, for my views on a rumour apparently started and vigorously circulated by Magno’s agent that a move to Defensor Sporting is set to be concluded. I know of the Uruguayan club’s interest in the Brazilian striker, but I haven’t anything concrete yet from it, so I cultivate the rumour in the hope of generating serious interest in him.

retired_lydiadiebolt

19th of October 2003<P>Primera Liga - Game 6: Cartagonova v Celta Vigo<P>For our sixth match of the season, I decide to make a number of changes to the starting eleven. You might ask, why would I tinker with a winning formula? Well, I haven’t been too happy with the performance of Ismael on the left side of defence, and with Michel and Rufete back to full fitness, they should take over from Miranda and Cañizares. Vidal’s injury leaves me deciding between Arnau and Moso, and I eventually decide to go with the more experienced Francesc Arnau.<P>We make a great start when on 6 minutes, Lacruz and Ballesteros combine for the right back to score his first goal for his new club! [IMG]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif" alt="big grin[/IMG] Eleven minutes later, with our next substantive attack upon Celta’s goal we score our second goal when Couto’s long ball is expertly controlled by Rufete then smashes it past LaÃ*nez! [IMG]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif" alt="smile[/IMG] [IMG]/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif" alt="cool[/IMG] But Couto goes from hero to villain when he gives away a free kick within the range of Roger. His attempt rattles Arnau’s crossbar but it falls at the feet of SantamarÃ*a and the defender subdues the crowd with his first goal of the season. I’m a little angry about our slack defending, but we immediately go back on the offensive and our bright play is rewarded on 29 minutes when Michel’s pinpoint cross is thundered home by Collymore.<P>That brings the crowd back to life again and we continue our attacks upon Celta Vigo’s goal. Unfortunately, Redondo can’t convert the opportunities his teammates set up for him, but I’m fairly happy with the 3-1 score at half-time. So, I’m even more happy when Collymore launches a rocket that flies into the top corner of the Celta Vigo net just sixty seconds into the second half. That makes the score 4-1 in our favour, and surely not even the UEFA Cup champion can rescue that situation! As before, we continue to hammer away at our opponents, not content to sit back on our laurels, but against the run of play, Brazilian international midfielder Vágner somehow manages to break into our penalty box and before Filipescu can dive across to cover him, he arrows a powerful shot that completely defeats Arnau to make the score 4-2 on 58 minutes.<P>But that doesn’t stop our players from going forward and finding another goal and after Celta survives a number of near-misses, Redondo finally puts his name on the scoresheet two minutes into stoppage time with a brilliant long-range effort from Morán’s pass to end the match 5-2 in our favour! [IMG]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif" alt="smile[/IMG] [IMG]/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif" alt="cool[/IMG] We’re ecstatic on the bench and the crowd cannot believe what we’ve done today! The flares light up the afternoon sky as the passionate Cartagonova fans sing and dance in the stadium. It is our sixth victory in a row, and we stand alone, proud at the top of the Primera Liga ladder! [IMG]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif" alt="big grin[/IMG]<P>Cartagonova (4-3-1-2): Arnau; Lacruz, Filipescu, Ã�lvarez, Ballesteros; Michel, Couto (c), Rufete; Morán; Redondo, Collymore.<P>Celta Vigo (5-2-1-2): LaÃ*nez; Roger, Quique Ã�lvarez, Sergio (c), SantamarÃ*a, Bravo; Sergio (Vágner 57), Olivera (Coira 62); Jesuli; McCarthy, Edú.<P>Final score: Cartagonova 5:2 Celta Vigo
MoM - Stan Collymore

retired_lydiadiebolt

After myself and my managerial counterpart give our press conferences, we watch in amusement as Edú addresses a hastily arranged press conference to blast his club for not investing in quality players quickly enough to prevent results like the one he had to suffer through only a matter of an hour or so ago. When confronted by his player’s outburst, VÃ*ctor Fernández takes the surprising step of agreeing with his player, but he notes that there is nothing he can do to improve the quality through the squad until the transfer window reopens. Of course, the words spoken by the Brazilian international striker do not endear him to his teammates. I’m so glad to be the sower of discord in other people’s clubs! [IMG]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif" alt="big grin[/IMG]<P>23rd of October 2003<P>Luis Sosa sees fit to interrupt a nice romantic evening I share with my girlfriend to tell me that Keith O’Neill has done wonderful things in training while I haven’t been looking recently and that I surely must find a way to fit in him the first-team. Excuse me, mate, but when you have the opportunity to remove the word ‘assistant’ from your job description, you can pick the team. Until that occurs, you leave that to me and so far, I can’t fit the rather expensively paid Irishman onto the bench, let alone into the first eleven. But your advice is noted. You can see me type it up on my invisible typewriter! [IMG]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif" alt="big grin[/IMG]<P>24th of October 2003<P>Finally, somebody makes a serious bid for Magno! One of his former clubs, Grêmio, puts together a bid of £400,000 for the out of favour striker. If I can persuade my counterpart to go for the min. release clause, I’ll be happy. If you don’t know, that would mean a bid of £600,000 for the striker.

retired_lydiadiebolt

26th of October 2003<P>Obviously taking some time to weigh the pros and cons for going up to £600,000, Grêmio’s manager finally decides today that he really would like a crack at snaring Magno and so offers me the aforementioned sum of money. With alacrity, I accept the bid.<P>Primera Liga - Game 7: Cartagonova v Real Zaragoza<P>We’ve apparently earned some respect from our whirlwind start to our fight for survival in the Primera Liga, with Real Zaragoza approaching us with respect. Iván Vidal is the only change I make to the team that defeated Celta Vigo last weekend and with a three match road-trip fast approaching, I hope we can pick up another three points. But things go badly for us when Lacruz clatters Peternac inside the area and the referee ignores our appeals to his compassionate side to point to the spot. Vidal does his best to put off Ander Garitano, but the midfielder coolly converts for a 1-0 lead to the visiting team. The crowd is subdued somewhat by this unexpected start to the game and it takes us some time to gather the pace of the game and threaten Real Zaragoza who incidentally play Francisco Jusué, an old boy, in defence. But Morán in particular is wayward and we’re not really threatening our opponents like I know we’re capable of. And it becomes harder when on 38 minutes, Peternac does well to find Iván Rosado advancing into our penalty area and the striker tucks the ball beneath the legs of the advancing Vidal. But the second goal wakes our midfielders and striker and with time running out in the first half, Collymore and Ballesteros combine to set up the master blaster José Redondo who doesn’t let us down. [IMG]/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif" alt="wink[/IMG]<P>It’s a relief to reach the dressing-rooms with the opportunity to talk things over with my players. We’ve been ripped apart at the back too many times to realistically look for victory, but our fight-back in the last five minutes of the half gives me hope we can get that equaliser. And who would score it but Collymore? The English striker takes Filipescu’s long-bomb pass in his stride like an expert then slams a fizzing shot into the bottom right corner of the net just two minutes into the second half! Interestingly, we keep up the pressure with Zaragoza apparently happy to settle for the point, and we’re looking the favourite to score that decisive third goal. But despite the best efforts of Redondo, it won’t come, and Vidal who played a poor first half, does well on a couple of occasions to prevent Zaragoza marching out of Cartagena with all three points.<P>Cartagonova (4-3-1-2): Vidal; Lacruz, Filipescu, �lvarez, Ballesteros; Michel, Couto (c), Rufete; Morán; Redondo, Collymore.<P>Real Zaragoza (4-4-2): Juanmi (c); Placente, Jusué, Paco, Ferrón; Peralta, Garitano (Hierro 73), Acuña, Rodriguez; Peternac, Rosado.<P>Final score: Cartagonova 2:2 Real Zaragoza
MoM - Stan Collymore

retired_lydiadiebolt

After the match, I bring Iván Vidal into my office and castigate him for a poor match where he seemed very unsure of himself. I told him that he needs to find his confidence not just for his own benefit, but for the benefit of the team, because the defenders need his leadership from the back. He apologises for his poor performance after I issue the official warning, and he reassures me that he will try to motivate himself better in the future. That would be a good thing because we have a tough three match sojourn on the road, with games against Deportivo La Coruña, which lies three points behind us in second place, Atlético Madrid, and defending champion Athletic Bilbao, before we return back to the fortress of the Estadio Municpal de Cartagena in 28 days to play Mallorca.<P>Then I’m informed that my physios are worried about the fitness of Filipescu. Our tough-tackling Romanian international apparently twisted his knee during our draw with Zaragoza and my physios will have to rule a line through his name for the next two weeks. He didn’t say anything about it to me during the match, so I hope that he didn’t make it worse. I’ll have the voodoo dolls waving over him 24/7 because his injury leaves a big hole in the defence that I will struggle to plug for the next fortnight. [IMG]/infopop/emoticons/icon_frown.gif" alt="frown[/IMG]<P>A little bit of better news when Magno contacts the club to tell us that he is delighted to have agreed terms with his former club Grêmio. His fact-file: Magno (S C, 29 y/o, BRA/ITA): 21(11) apps, 7 goals, 2 assists, 1 MoM, av. rate: 7.13<P>League round-up<P>In England, Arsenal and Chelsea lead the way with both sides locked on 23 points after 11 games. Arsenal is ahead through superior goal difference. Ipswich Town lies in third place just a point behind. After a promising start, Simon Hunt’s Manchester United has slipped to tenth place, eight points adrift of the leaders. Early tips for relegation from the English Premier League are Portsmouth, Bradford and Birmingham.<P>The chase for the Scudetto is only five matches old in Italy, but Fiorentina is the early pace-setter, sitting three points clear of Juventus with a perfect start - five wins from five games. Juventus, Atalanta and Verona are all together on 12 points, while the twin Milan giants struggle in ninth and tenth position. Napoli, Piacenza, Salernitana and Ancona are the clubs now struggling to avoid relegation, but it is still early doors.<P>In Portugal, the race to the championship is eight games old for most clubs, and it is perennial favourite Porto again leading the charge with 17 points from those eight games. But it leads Espinho only by goal difference. Salgueiros also lurks menacingly a point behind in third place. Aves, Imortal and Vit. Guimarães are the early season candidates for the drop.<P>Finally to Spain, and the surprise packet of the major European leagues must be Cartagonova, who leads the Primera Liga by three points from Deportivo La Coruña. Cartagonova won its first six games of its Primera Liga history before dropping two points against Real Zaragoza on the weekend. Real Madrid lies in third position while pre-season title favourite Barcelona struggles to make much headway early in the season, being fourteenth, although it does have two games in hand. Atlético Madrid, Elche and Tenerife currently sit in the drop zone. Atlético Madrid has already changed its manager this season, but it only has one point to its credit after eight matches.<P>Keep smiling! [IMG]/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif" alt="cool[/IMG]
Dixie Flatline