[retired_kotikaka]

Rob, anychance in gettinginto the game tonight to take some notes and get my report done

[retired_abubaker]

The Rovers Record - Things get a little better!!!!!

After a terrible October, Hepburn was hoping things could not get much worse and gladly they improved during November. They came away with three draws and and a win in the league and a super win the Carling Cup. Things were suddenly looking better at Ewood Park. Hepburn had them put in extra training, tactics the lot and this extra training has paid off for him. Here is how October went for the Rovers:

Premiership

Man City v Blackburn Rovers - (A) Sun 1st October 2006

With morale low within the ranks, Hepburn had to take his men to the City of Manchester stadium to face David Johnston's improving Man City side. A game of few chances, saw Blackburn open the scoring after only six minutes through Benni McCarthy only to be pegged back by an equaliser by Samaras who has been on fire for City this season. it turned out to be a bit of battle after that with both teams trying hard with not a lot of quality football being played. Joey Barton got his marching orders but Blackburn failed to capitalise and in fairness City should have won the game.

Final Score - Man City 1 v 1 Blackburn
Goals - Man City - Samaras (20)
Goals - Blackburn - McCarthy (6)
Sent Off - Joey Barton (Man City)
Att - 47978
MOTM - Giorgas Samaras (Man City)


Premiership

Blackburn v Middlesborough - (H) Wed 4th October 2006

It was back to Ewood Park as Blackburn faced Middlesborough and what a poor game it was. Boro dominated large parts of the game and Blackburn finally got going in the last fifteen minutes but were unable to convert any of the few chances they had. Again not a lot of quality football was played but it was another point to boost the morale in the Rovers dressing room.

Final Score - Blackburn 0 v 0 Middlesborough
Att - 26698
MOTM - Brad Freidel (Blackburn)


Premiership

Blackburn v Wigan - (H) Mon 16th October 2006

A game Blackburn really should have won but they found Chris Kirkland in inspired form. Benni McCarthy put Blackburn ahead but only a few minutes later Henri Camara grabbed an equaliser. Blackburn had their chances to find a winner but were unable to get it and had to settle for a point.

Final Score - Blackburn 1 v 1 Wigan
Goals - Blackburn - McCarthy (17)
Goals - Wigan - Camara (25)
Att - 26690
MOTM - Ryan Nelsen (Blackburn)


Premiership

Liverpool v Blackburn - (A) Sat 21st October 2006

Hepburn took his team to Anfield hoping rather than expecting and set his team out to try and grab a point. Blackburn caught Liverpool on a bad day then as nothing seemed to be going right for the Reds. They created a few great chances in the first half and boy were they made to pay for it in the second half as three second half goals gave Blackburn a memorable win. Pedersen opened the scoring with a sensational goal and then Nonda added number two and then Ryan Nelsen poured salt into the Reds wounds with a third. A sensational second half performance from Blackburn and a huge three points for them to build upon.

Final Score - Liverpool 0 v 3 Blackburn
Goals - Blackburn - Pedersen (52), Nonda (71), Nelsen (84)
Att - 44357
MOTM - Ryan Nelsen (Blackburn)


Carling Cup Third Round

Barnsley v Blackburn - (A) Wed 25th October 2006

An easy game for Rovers in the Carling Cup as they faced Barnsley who were not much worse than Atromitos. They grabbed an early goal from the penalty spot through Ooijer and then Nonda quickly added a number two to put every Blackburn fan's nerves at ease. Nonda added a third just before half time to put the icing on the cake. Hepburn rang the changes in the second half and they coasted to victory.

Final Score - Barnsley 0 v 3 Blackburn
Goals - Blackburn - Ooijer (pen,13), Nonda (18,41)
Att - 13840
MOTM - Shabani Nonda (Blackburn)


Premiership

Blackburn v Chelsea - (H) Sat 28th October 2006

A superb, hard fought performance to deny Chelsea the win here. With the quality Chelsea had on show they dominated the game but Blackburn looked composed at the back and looked dangerous on the break. Rovers rode their luck at times and Freidel made some good saves but Blackburn were well worth their point.

Final Score - Blackburn 0 v 0 Chelsea
Att - 31267
MOTM - Frank Lampard (Chelsea)


A great month for Rovers who were starting to play well and fight for everything in order to get up that table and aiming high!!!!

[retired_lilylovesyou10]

The Manc Update

So its back into the action as Citeh aim to continue their good form that sees them sitting safely in mid-table. First off was a game against Rouchie's West Ham that the Ass Man had to take charge of.

Premiership

Manchester City 2 - 0 West Ham

With the ass man in charge for this game I thought we would have no chance, especially with the bug in the game whereby Carlos Tevez scores all the time. But it was City who exploited the games bugs with Samaras adding to his already impressive goal tally for the season. Dabo made it 2-0 and 3 points for Man City.

Man City Scorers: Samaras (24), Dabo (47)
Attendance: 47356
MotM: Samaras (Man City)

So a nice win for the ass man there but now that I am back in charge I'll need to do something special to take anything from league leaders United in the Manchester derby.

Premiership

Manchester United 5 - 0 Manchester City

Not much to say about this game excpet, bawlocks. I guess I should have adopted a much more defensive style here but I reckon I would have had no chance either way. Sorry to the fans for a poor display in an important Manc Derby.

Man Utd Scorers: Saha (16), Scholes (28, 71), Vidic (35), Rooney (76)
Attendance: 76183
MotM: Ronaldo (Man Utd)

A disasterous derby game there and to top it off winger Silberbauer is out for 3 months now with a hip injury. But we are still in 8th place, so it could be worse.

Premiership

Portsmouth 2 - 2 Manchester City

Next up is Steff's Portsmouth in a game that sees us 7-4 underdogs. Can we bounce back from the drubbing at United? Kanu aims to make it another defeat for City after 26 minutes but a wonderful City counter attack sees Corradi grab the equaliser 4 minutes from half time. Only 2 minutes into the second half and Fernandes makes it 2-1 for Portsmouth. But Samaras adds another to his tally and grabs the draw after 66 minutes. A pretty even game with lots of action.

Portsmouth Scorers: Kanu (26), Fernandes (47)
Man City Scorers: Corradi (41), Samaras (66)
Attendance: 20279
MotM: Isaksson (Man City)

Next up is a chance to progress to the semi final of the league cup and its Middlesbrough away.

League Cup Quarter Final

Middlesbrough 4 - 2 Manchester City

As evens favourites we stood a good chance of progressing to the semi final of the cup. But our poor defence ended that chance with Middlesbrough scoring 3 goals in the first half. A decent comeback from City in the second half but Downing made it 4-0. Now in all-out attack mode City managed to make the last 30 minutes tense for all Middlesbrough fans with Distin and Corradi making it 4-2.

Middlesbrough Scorers: Viduka (10, 30), Pogatez (33), Downing (60)
Man City Scorers: Distin (66), Corradi (71)
Attendance: 35022
MotM: Downing (Middlesbrough)

An unfortunate exit from the cup with a very good chance to go all the way, but its ok, I am still happy with our current form.

Premiership

Manchester City 4 - 1 Middlesbrough

A chance now for some quick revenge as Middlesbrough have to come to Manchester in the league. But its Baros who continues the goals for Boro after only 35 seconds. This was a wake up call for City though and only 1 minute later Dabo grabbed the equaliser and Sinclair made it 2-1 at half time. With 58% possession in the first half City were looking comfortable, and just to make it easier for us Middlesbrough were reduced to 9 men with Riggot and Baros seeing red in the second half. Sinclair made it 3-1 before Samaras scored a penalty in the last minute.

Man City Scorers: Dabo (2), Sinclair (38, 66), Samaras (Pen 89)
Middlesbrough Scorers: Baros (1)
Sent Off: Riggot (48), Baros (61)
Attendance: 47983
MotM: Corradi (Man City)

A nice revenge win there as we maintain our comfortable mid-table position with bottom team Watford coming to town next.

Premiership

Manchester City 2 - 0 Watford

City go into the game as heavy favourites but the first half was fairly dissapointing with City not being able to turn possession into goals. But it was Sinclair who won the 3 points with 2 wonderful goals in the second half.

Man City Scorers: Sinclair (61, 83)
Attendance: 44179
MotM: Sinclair (Man City)

More bad news on the injury front as Darius Vassell picks up a fractured rib and will spend 2 months on the sidelines.

Premiership

Tottenham 2 - 0 Manchester City

Next up is another away trip and its Rob's Tottenham who will play hosts. Despite a fairly even game it was Spurs who showed the class by finishing their chances. A sign that perhaps City deserved more from the game was that Spurs' goalkeeper Robinson was awarded with the man of the match award.

Tottenham Scorers: Defoe (18), Berbatov (50)
Attendance: 36242
MotM: Robinson (Tottenham)

So yet another human manager game coming up with another away trip this time to Sandy's Villa.

Premiership

Aston Villa 0 - 0 Manchester City

About the only good thing to take from this game was City's first clean sheet in a long time. But it really was a poor game, but even.

Attendance: 40886
MotM: Richards (Man City)

So that final league game for the session saw us sitting nicely in 8th place. And we will finish the day with yet another away game against Sheffield Wednesday in the FA Cup 3rd round.

FA Cup 3rd round

Sheffield Wednesday 0 - 5 Man City

So yet another clean sheet for City but more importantly a nice 5 nil win to take us into the 4th round of the cup. The first half was pretty boring with City only have 2 shots on target but 3 goals. The second half was a bit more lively with another 2 goals and Simek seeing red for Sheffield in the last minute.

Man City Scorers: Corradi (5, 71), o.g. (35), Distin (37), Dabo (61)
Sent Off: Simek (92)
Attendance: 23109
MotM: Beasley (Man City)

So a very nice way to end the session by hammering Sheffiel Wednesday and progressing to the next round of the cup. Looking forward to seeing who we will get.

[Curvature]

Havent updated in a while but they will be more frequent now.

Tottenham have been on a good run as of late and are climbing the table in hope of Champions League football next season.

Tottenham 4 Everton 3
Attendance 36248
Man Of The Match Jermaine Defoe 8
Berbatov opened the scoring after 9mins, Cahill made it 1-1 on 16mins and then spurs went quiet and Beattie made it 2-1 to Steve's blues, the lead didnt last long and Defoe would score again on 33mins then Lescott scored an own goal on 44mins to make it 3-2 and right on halftime Beattie scored again. 2nd half wasnt so good until right at the death when Defoe slotted home on 90mins to seal the win.

UEFA Cup Group A

Tottenham 2 Espanyol 0
Attendance 32911
Man Of The Match Luka Modric 9
Dimitar Berbatov had a great chance to put spurs ahead with only 19mins played from the penalty spot but he blasted it wide . Defoe opened the scoring on the half hour and spurs never looked back Berbatov then made up for his earlier miss with a lovely 35yard strike on 85mins to give them a well earned win and put them top of the group.

Fulham 1 Tottenham 3
Attendance 22459
Man Of The Match Ekotto 8
Collins John opened the scoring for fulham on 27mins 2mins later Defoe made it 1-1, on 51mins Berbatov put spurs ahead with a cracking strike from 40yards, Lennon then sealed the win on 64mins with a tap in from the corner.

Tottenham 1 Reading 0
Attendance 36248
Man Of The Match Jermaine Defoe 8
Defoe scored the only goal in this one and it came on 34mins,he almost made it 2-0 on 66mins but from a great save by Hahnemann.

West Ham 1 Tottenham 2
Attendance 35484
Man Of The Match Reto Ziegler 7
Berbatov opened the scoring after 23mins in this tight game Ashton made it 1-1 on 72mins, Konchesky saw red on 85mins and Maduro scored from the resulting penalty to give the away side the 3points, Rouch was said to be very unhappy with the ref after this one after he gave away the penalty stewards and police had to hold him back from landing one on the ref stay tuned to see what the fa have to say about this one.

Transfers
Steven Naismith has joined West Brom on loan for 3months

Bolton 1 Tottenham 2
Attendance 28472
Man Of The Match Anthony Vanden Borre 8
Berbatov opened the scoring just before halftime in this quiet one Defoe was then sent off on 64mins for 2 bookable offences and Nicolas Anelka made it 1-1 on 69mins, Zaccardo sealed the win with 3mins of extra time played at the end.

Tottenham 3 Portsmouth 3
Attendance 35862
Man Of The Match Dimitar Berbatov 8
Kanu scored with only 22secs on the clock as Portsmouth came out flying, Berbatov made it 1-1 after only 2mins he would then score on 54mins to give spurs the 2-1 lead but that didnt last long as Arshavin scored on 59mins to tie it up again Benjani would then give steffs side the edge before McBride would break the pompey fans hearts and score late on to give each side a share of the points.

UEFA Cup Group A
AZ 1 Tottenham 4
Attendance 15298
Man Of The Match Dimitar Berbatov 9
AZ opened the scoring on 19mins through Dembele then spurs took over and killed AZ off Defoe got spurs rolling on 27mins and then a Berbatov double on 34 and 36mins before Vanden Borre sealed the easy win on 48mins.

Middlesbrough 2 Tottenham 1
Attendance 26951
Man Of The Match Emmanuel Pogatetz 8
Tottenham would slip up in this one Pogatetz put spurs ahead on 12mins with a own goal he would then help Viduka to score on 54mins with a lovely timed pass from midfield to set viduka on his way then Mendieta would seal the win from the spot on 69mins, Perry had locked the team in the locker room after this one and was said to be very angry at the defending during this game.

Carling Cup Quarter Final

Liverpool 2 Tottenham 0
Attendance 45192
Man Of The Match Peter Crouch 8
Peter Crouch ended Tottenhams cup run with 2 first half goals his first coming on 13mins again with spurs terrible defending evident, his second was on 22mins and Robinson was to blame he came out to get the ball from Alonso and miss timed the pass and crouch rounded him to slot home.

Tottenham 4 Watford 1
Attendance 35170
Man Of The Match Jermaine Defoe 8
Seems the extra training helped before this game Zaccardo put spurs up 1-0 on 10mins but Bouzza made it 1-1 on 51mins before 3 late goals sealed the win, Defoe on 80 McBride on 84 and Jenas on 89mins sealed the win.

Aston Villa 4 Tottenham 4
Attendance 42565
Man Of The Match Gonzalo Higuain 9
I took my side to Villa park hoping to upset sandy's young villians but he had other ideas McBride opened the scoring on 4mins and Defoe made it 2-0 on 6mins Higuain would then make it 2-1 on 17mins, Jenas made it 3-1 to us and we was coasting or so it seemed Petrov made it 3-2 on 47mins and a min later Agbonlahor made it 3-3 Jenas made it 4-3 to us again before Higuain made it 4-4 on 85mins to give us both a share of the points.

Tottenham 2 Man City 0
Attendance 36242
Man Of The Match Paul Robinson 8
Dave brought his Citeh to WHL looking for the upset but sadly for him it didnt happen Defoe opened the scoring on 19mins and Berbatov made it 2-0 on 50mins. Daves side kept coming forward but for Robinson keeping them out they may of scored a few.

Wigan Athletic 1 Tottenham 2
Attendance 25106
Man Of The Match Paul Robinson 8
It was the double act of Berbatov and Defoe again earning spurs the 3points in this one, Berbatov opened the scoring on 32mins then Heskey would make it 1-1 before Defoe pounced on a terrible back pass and rounded the outcoming wigan keeper and slot home.

Tottenham 2 Portsmouth 1
Attendance 28631
Man Of The Match Jermaine Defoe 8
Defoe continues to add to his seasons tally when he opened the scoring on 42mins in this one he then made it 2-0 on 56mins before Benjani made it 2-1 and gave them a glimmer of hope but they just couldnt break down the spurs defence.

Tottenham 4 Liverpool 1
Attendance 36252
Man Of The Match Christian Zaccardo 9
Jermaine Defoe made it 1-0 after only 2mins Dawson then scored for liverpool to make it 1-1 with a silly own goal,Berbatov got spurs back in the lead on the hour and he furthered the lead on 70mins to make it 3-1 Jenas would then made it 4-1 on 88mins to earn 3 very well earned points.

Transfers
Eddie Johnson goes to Dave's Man City on loan for the rest of the season
Per Ciljan Skjelbred goes to Steff's Portsmouth on loan for the rest of the season

Chelsea 2 Tottenham 0
Attendance 42338
Man Of The Match Jermaine Defoe 10
Michael Ballack opened for Chelski on 38mins Vanden Borre has a chance to level it from the spot but was well saved by Cech, John Terry then made it 2-0 on 75mins and thats how this one ended.

Fa Cup 4th Round

Tottenham 7 Hartlepool 0
Attendance 28313
Man Of The Match Jermaine Defoe 10
Defoe had fun in this one scoring 5 goals he opened on 8mins Berbatov then made it 2-0 on 15mins Defoe added another on 16mins and another on 20mins then he scored his best of the lot on 45mins Modric then scored no6 on 48mins before Defoe ended the game on 53mins with a cracker 40yard strike, Hartlepool who arent enjoying the best of seasons went home with nothing and the caretaker manager who was probably lined up to take the job full time probably wont get a look in now.

Tottenham 3 Blackburn Rovers 1
Attendance 35117
Man Of The Match Jermaine Defoe 8
Andy's Rovers came to WHL looking to upset the spurs good run as of late but Tottenham had different ideas Defoe opened on 29mins and then Ekotto scored from the spot on 61mins Berbatov made it 3-0 on 69mins before McCarthy scored nothing more than a consilation goal for the visitors.

Stay tuned for more from WHL

[retired_kotikaka]

November update

Sheffield Utd 1 - 2 Aston Villa
this was a close encounter with Gareth Barry scoring a wonder goal to make it 1-0 but Li Tie scored straight away to equal the score. In the second half only Angel converted a shot to make it 2-1 to villa.

Aston villa 1 - 2 Portsmouth
Steff brought his hard fighting Pompey to Villa Park and won this game with a goal from Benjani and a Cahill own goal, the only consolation was that Gareth Barry scored even tho he has signed to leave for Hamburg in January.

Charlton 2 - 1 Aston villa
Boring game with Angel scoring my only goal of the game


December Update

Aston villa 0 - 2 Boro
What a dismal performance from my team, absolute shi**.Stewart downing and Mssimo Maccarone scored for Boro to make it an easy win for the crappest team in the premiership.

Aston Villa 3 - 2 West Ham
Im glad to say i beat Paul Rouch's West Hame after going 3 - 0 up with goals from Higuain and 2 from Dagoberto. Coker then scored in the 83rd minute and Tevez made it a nervy end by scoring in the 87th.

Newcastle 5 - 2 Aston villa
Tony left and Newcastle became good. 5-2 what can i say a total goal fest. Dagoberto got 2 for Villa and dyer scored 3 with Emre and MArtins getting the others. It was a good game with loads of goals.

Aston villa 3 - 2 Watford
Watford took the lead in this one with a Marlon king goal but then villa turned on the skill with Nakamura scoring a scorcher then juan Pablo angel scoring 2 in 2 minutes. Marlon King scored a consolation goal with the last strike of the game.

Aston Villa 1 - 1 Arsenal
Well this was a bit of a boring game with only 4 shots on target in the 90 minutes and it ended up a 1-1 draw with Angel scrambling 1 home and then robin Van Persie scoring in the 80th minute to make it 1-1.

Aston Villa 4 - 4 Spurs
Rob brough his side to Villa park hoping to upset my young villians but I had other ideas, McBride opened the scoring on 4mins and Defoe made it 2-0 on 6mins Higuain would then make it 2-1 on 17mins, Jenas made it 3-1 to Spurs and they were coasting or so it seemed Petrov made it 3-2 on 47mins and a min later Agbonlahor made it 3-3 Jenas made it 4-3 to us again before Higuain made it 4-4 on 85mins to give us both a share of the points. Fantastic game

Man Utd 1 - 3 Aston Villa
Total embarasment. Sloppy perfomance and screamed at the players !!!

January Update

Duda joined Aston Villa from a free Transfer and Garry O'Connor completed his move to Villa park.

Aston Villa 0 - 0 Man City
this game turned out to be a real bore with neither team creating many chances

(FA Cup) Morcambe 0 - 5 Aston villa
Garry O'Connor scored a hatrick in this game with a header and a shot with either foot, the erfect hatrick and he also set up Gonzalo Higuain with his goal to make it 4-0. Morcambe then went on to score an own goal which ended the game 5-0.

Bolton 0 - 1 Aston villa
Gonzalo Higuain was the only difference in this game with him scoring the only goal.

Aston Villa 2 - 0 Wigan
I was extremely happy with this performance with Higuain once agains coring the opener and Garry O'Connor scoring the second. Since Garry joined the team it has helped greatly linking up the play.

(FA Cup) Chelsea 2 - 3 Aston Villa
Villa took the lead with a Nakamura penalty abd then Chelsea scored two goals in quick sucession to make it 2-1. in the dieing minutes chelsea went 3-1 up but Dagoberto scored a late consolation


Transfer Gossip.

Villa have been linked with a number of players in the january transfer window with Pettigrew searching for a centre back to partner Cahill and Ridgewell. Michael Dawson from Tottenham seems to be his number one target.

[retired_kotikaka]

Tranfer News
Aston Villa have completed the signing of Ashley Young for 3.8 million, Young will join Villa in the summer.

February update

Aston villa 1 - 2 Liverpool
This game started off great with Steven Davis scoring a great goal in the 22nd minute. Villa hung on till half time but in the second half Liverpool came out flying and scored in the 52nd minute then the 72nd minute to make it 2-1. Alsonso got sent off in the 80th minute when he decided to kick Gonzalo Higuain !

Everton 0 - 1 Aston villa
A pretty boring game with Steve moaning non stop about his team being crap, but a minute of magic when Gonzalo Higuain scored in the 49th minute to win the game.

Fulham 2 - 2 Aston Villa
Aston Villa didnt show up for this game in the first half with Radinzki scoring a double by beating the defenders with his blistering pace. Pettigrew gave the team a rollocking at half time and in the second half Garry O'Connor came and scored on the 66th minute with Angel getting Villa a point by heading one in 2 mionutes later.

Aston Villa 2 - 2 Chelsea
It was a very entertaining game with Garry O'Connor opening the scoring in the 30th minute sliding one past Peter Cech. Frank Lampard then hammered one home in the 40th minute to make it level at half time. In the second half chelsea really dominated with essien scoring in the 50th minute with a scrappy goal. Villa stole a point in the dieing seconds with Gabriel Agbonlahor scoring.

Reading 1 - 3 Aston villa
All i can say is Shunsuke Nakamuira is amazing. In the 17th minute he scored a cracker of a free kick from 25 yards which was the only goal in the first half. He was a man playing under no pressure and then again in the 50th minute he hammered an absolute stunner in the back of the net in the 50th minute. Freddy Adu tried to out do him by scoring a goal from the edge of the box to make it 3-0. Reading then actually went forward and with their first chance Dave Kitson scored in the 80th minute and thats how the game ended.

[retired_pjscott64]

West Ham enter a brave new era – The rouchie years

As we enter December West Ham are still maintaining mid table respectability/mediocrity and are lacking the consisteny required to progress further up the table at the moment

West Ham Vs Tottenham – Saturday 3rd December

Rob Perry brought his high flying spurs to the Boleyn and the visitors dominated the early exchanges and were rewarded with the opening goal through Berbatov mid way through the first half. Wet Ham rallied after the setback but couldn’t grab an equaliser before the break. The second half saw the hammers pressing for the equaliser and eventually Dean Ashton duly obliged and netted the equaliser for the home side. The game continued to ebb and flow until the controversial penalty that was awarded to the spurs 6 minutes from time and resulted in Paul Konchesky getting an early bath. Maduro converted the debatable penalty and all three points went to the visitors.

Final Score : West Ham 1 Spurs 2
West Ham Scorers : Ashton (72)
Spurs Scorers : Berbatov (23) Maduro (Pen 84)
Attendance : 35484
Man Of The Match: Reto Ziegler (Spurs)

Aston Villa V West Ham – Wednesday 6th December 2006

A wet Wednesday under the lights which Villa started as if their arses were on fire! Higuain, scored an early opener and Dagoberto added another 2 by the 26th minute and west Ham were showing signs of shell shock! The Hammers team awoke but the damage was already severe, with the Villa manager Sandy Pettigrew looking relaxed and confident. West Ham left it late to begin the revival, waiting until the 80th minute for Nigel Reo-Coker to pull one back, but then 2 minutes later Carlitos Tevez made it 3-2 and ensured a very nervous finish for Villa and their manager, but the hammers failed to complete what would have been a memorable comeback and a 2nd successive defeat against fellow clan managers was the result, Paul Rouch left with very little in the way of bragging rights for this thread :thdn:

Final Score : Aston Villa 3 West Ham 2
West Ham Scorers : Reo-Coker (80) Tevez(82)
Villa Scorers: Higuain(8) Dagoberto (12, 26)
Attendance : 41479
Man Of The Match: Dagoberto (Villa)

Man City Vs West Ham –Saturday 9th December 2006

Matches against fellow clan members are like buses, you wait ages for one and then three come along at once! Dave Johnson and the citizens of Man City completed a horrible sequence of results for West Ham and their Manager with goals from Giorgos Samaras and Ousmane Dabo sealing a comfortable 2-0 win for the blues. Paul Rouch is undoubtedly looking like the prize mug in this clan at the moment

Final Score : Man City 2 West Ham 0
Portsmouth Scorers:Samaras (24) Dabo (47)
Attendance : 47356
Man Of The Match: Giorgos Samaras (West Ham)

West Ham Vs Villareal – Wednesday 13th December 2006 – UEFA Cup Group Stage

After a poor run in the league, the welcome diversion of the UEFA cup beckoned and tough opponents in the form of Villareal. West Ham demonstrated the style and passion that had been strangely absent in the last few games completely putting the Spaniards on the back foot! The reward came on the stroke of half time with a great goal from Nigel Reo Coker. Marlon the Mekon added to that strike in the second half an d Ashton put the game beyond doubt a few minutes from the final whistle. Villareal pulled a consolation goal back in injury time with Nihat getting the goal. A good win a nd a much needed confidence boost for the hammers!

Final Score : West Ham 3 Villareal 1
West Ham Scorers : Reo- Coker (45) Harewood (51) Ashton (86)
Villareal : Nihat (90)
Attendance : 30971
Man Of The Match: Nigel Reo-Coker (West Ham)

West Ham Wigan – Saturday 16th December 2006

This game was all about one man, Marlon the Mekon was awesome as he tore the Wigan defence singlehandedly. A first half hatrick from the big man put the game beyond Wigan and the Hammers strolled to a much needed league victory :cool:

Final Score : West Ham 3 Wigan 0
West Ham Scorers: Harewood(21, 41, 45)
Attendance : 34215
Man Of The Match: Marlon Harewood (West Ham)

Liverpool Vs West Ham –Saturday 23rd December2006

A trip to Anfield was next on the agenda and a forgettable first half was followed by 4 goals in the second. Liverpool grabbed the opener 5 minutes after the restart when the beanpole Crouch struck home. Lee Bowyer put West Ham back on level terms on 69 minutes and the Hammers seemed to grab the ascendancy in play and were rightly ahead after Israeli International Yossi Benayoun scored on the 81st minute. Liverpool were fortunate though to equalise in injury time to grab a share of the points

Final Score : Liverpool 2 West Ham 2
West Ham Scorers : Bowyer (69) Benayoun (81)
Liverpool Scorers : Crouch (50) Aurello (90)
Attendance : 39555
Man Of The Match: Hayden Mullins (West Ham)

Chelsea Vs West Ham –Tuesday 26th December2006

Just the one goal seperated these two teams in the end and the Premiership Champions were far from convincing. Defender John Terry grabbed the winner in the 16th minute and West Ham were unable to break through the blue defensive line to get back in to the game

Final Score : Chelsea 1 West Ham 0
Chelsea Scorers : Terry (16)
Attendance : 42318
Man Of The Match: Andrea Barzagli (Chelsea)

West Ham Vs Blackburn–Saturday 30th December2006

Another game against a fellow clan member. This time it was Andy Hepburn and his Blackburn looking forward to taking home the three points! He was soon disabused of that notion thoughwith Nigel Reo-Coker scoring just before the quarter hour, and Carlitos Tevez doubling the home sides advantage on 36 minutes. Robbie Savage got himself sent off in the second half and James Collins converted the resulting Penalty. Blackburns increasing frustration resulted in David Bentley joining Savage I the dressing room after getting the second red card of the day 7 minutes before the end. A great victory for the Hammers and a small measure of esteem restored to the Manager

Final Score : West Ham 3 Blackburn 0
West Ham Scorers : Nigel Reo-Coker (14) Tevez (36) Collins (Pen 48)
Attendance : 34401
Man Of The Match: Nigel Reo-Coker (West Ham)



A mixed month for the hammers as they fell to a number of defeats in the league but qualified for the knock out stages of Europe top of their group! Nigel Reo-Coker was a runner up in the goal of the month competition for his strike against Blackburn. West Ham join the 3rd round of the FA Cup in January against Sheffield United who are coincidentally their first league opponents of the new year!

[retired_pjscott64]

West Ham enter a brave new era – The rouchie years

A new year and the Hammers still failing to convince any one of their top 6 ambitions, the cups look like the teams best hope

Sheffield United Vs West Ham– Monday 1st January2007

A bore draw notable only for the aggressive style of the blades which caused the early withdrawal of both Dean Ashton and Javier Mascheranos. Paul Rouch was fuming after the game and described the Sheffield United players as animals, and stated that he was worried for the state of his players health with the FA cup fixture coming up, demanding more referee protection against the aggressive style of play!

Final Score : Sheff Utd 0 West Ham 0
Attendance : 26055
Man Of The Match: Chris Morgan (Sheff Utd)

West Ham Vs Sheffield United – Saturday 6th January 2007 – FA Cup 3rd Round

Graham Poll must have listened to the West Ham Managers outburst on new years day as there was zero tolerance for the Blades bullying style of play today, 4 minutes after Marlon the Mekon scored the opener Phil Jagielka conceded a penalty and was dismissed. Paul Konchesky failed to score from the spot and the score remained at 1-0 to the Irons. Phil Jagielka was followed 6 minutes later by Mark Delaney, the Blades second red card of an increasingly dark day, leaving the visitors to play the remainder of the game with 9 men. It was no surprise Nigel Reo-Coker grabbed a second just before the break, and another after the interval, earning himself the man of the match accolade. Bobby Zamora completed a sweet day with the 4th goal 7 minutes before the 90, leaving the team looking forward to the 4th round draw :thup:

Final Score : West Ham 4 Sheff Utd 0
West Ham Scorers : Harewood (31) Reo-Coker (44, 59) Zamora(83)
[b]Attendance : [/b25282
Man Of The Match: Nigel Reo-Coker(West Ham)

West Ham Vs Charlton – Saturday 13th January 2007

A return to the league and a visit form London rivals, Charlton. West Ham wasted no time in setting their stall out, grabbing the opener in the 2nd minute through Lee Bowyer. Dean Ashton doubled the advantage on the quarter hour and Charlton were on the ropes! Paul Konchesky finished the game off as a contest before half an hour had elapsed! Charlton added to the self destruction when Nengomashe got himself sent off on 40 minutes. Lisbie pulled one back for the addicks mid way through the 2nd half, but it was too little too late for the visitors

Final Score : West Ham 3 Charlton 1
West Ham Scorers:Bowyer (2) Ashton (15 Konchesky (28)
Charlton Scorers:Lisbie (78)
Attendance : 35484
Man Of The Match: Yossi Benayoun (West Ham)

Newcastle Vs West Ham– Saturday 20th January 2007

A poor start by West Ham let the Toon take the lead in the 3rd minute when Gardner slipped one in past a sleeping defence. Harewood restored parity on the half hour and then Benayoun gave hope to the travelling faithful that this could be their day when he put the hammers ahead! Sadly Kieron Dyer cut short the celebrations just 2 minutes later and equalised for Newcastle. An evenly contested second half was settled with a late strike from Gardner and sent the home fans home happy with the 3 points while the travelling Hammers fans were left cursing their ill fortune

Final Score : Newcastle 3 West Ham 2
West Ham Scorers : Harewood (30) Benayoun (38)
Newcastle Scorers : Gardner (3, 88) Dyer (40)
Attendance : 51476
Man Of The Match: Nigel Reo-Coker (West Ham)

West Ham Vs Hull – Saturday 27th January 2007 - FA Cup 4th Round

West Ham were poor in this game and Hull dominated in large spells, fortunately a penalty opportunity was duly converted by Paul Konchesky, and the West Ham defence held firm to squeeze out a 1-0 win and ensure safe passage to the 5th round of the cup

Final Score : Hull 0 West Ham 1
West Ham Scorers: Konchesky(Pen 37)
Attendance : 20866
Man Of The Match: Robert Green (West Ham)

Yet again the lack of consistency was evident for West Ham, failing to wina at Newcastle and only just scraping past lower league opposition in the cup. On the positive side, West Ham are still in the cup, and Europe, and still competing in the league, if only we could string a decent run of result s together!

[retired_rover2clover]

Toffee's stuck!!

Well the news from the Everton camp is not good, well, it would have been extremely good actually but due to a crash the only team to suffer from the restart where of course Everton, pre-crash, Everton had easily moved out of the relegation zone into 15th place in the league, won a couple of games on the trot, kept clean sheets and where moving swiftly towards a safe midtable position..........but as always, crashes go against the club!

Instead, I am now considering resigning as manager of Everton to take up a new position, one where I can start from the very beginning of the season instead of taking a squad of very demoralised players to try and win games, this showed up a lot as despite domination of a lot of games and seeing one shot after another on the opposition goal, the ball wouldnt land in the back of the net and this (post crash) hast cost us and taken a lot of enjoyment away!



Anyway.....to the bits you want to see, the results!!


Tottenham 4 - 3 Everton

Pre crash Rob won this game in more than deserving fashion, post crash it was a lot closer! This time round the Everton players decided to give it a go and gave them a cracking game, lots of goals and how the game went on it could have been a win for Everton if they had finished their chances better but like the pre-crash game, a goal in the 90th minute secured the win for Spurs, I think Rob's got this 90th minute lark sorted, he keeps doing it to teams!! :-)

Scorers: Beattie(2), Cahill


Everton 1 - 2 Watford

So here it begins, the post crash decline, a game that was dominated just like last time resulting in a loss, pre crash win of 2 or 3 nil ended up with a loss because of inept finishing of course! Love this stuff!

Scorers: Beattie


Everton 0 - 0 Man City

Dave brought his Citeh crew to Goodison and again like pre crash, we kept a clean sheet, I was well pleased with that of course, just a shame that the 2-3 goals we scored last time didnt exist this time round, so another 2 points dropped!

Scorers: None


Wigan 1 - 0 Everton

Of course, it doesnt matter how much you dominate the play and how many shots on goal you have, it takes just 1 shot to go in, Wigan proved that here with that old fans favourite Heskey!

Scorers: None


Everton 2 - 0 Liverpool

This just proves one thing, it doesnt matter how **** your team has to be doing, if its a local derby, the form book gets thrown out of the window. A great game for the Everton faithful, a deserved win without a doubt, a goal from Beattie started the run of the game, it was that second goal we had to wait ages for, one chance after another went begging and after enough of this and the game closing to an end you get the feeling, come on Liverpool score that flipping goal cos you aint had a damn shot for ages......but then the Aussie popped up in the box to head home minutes from time, oh the joy!

Scorers: Beattie, Cahill


Chelsea 2 - 0 Everton

An early 15-20 minute domination spell by Chelsea saw them get two goals in quick succession, however, after this things started to bounce the other way a bit but unfortunately, they missed the barn door on so many occassions the fans were starting to sue for injuries caused by the Everton strikers!

Scorers: None

Everton 0 - 0 Blackburn

I knew that training session with Jonny Wilkinson was a bad idea but it seemed so good at the time, I would just like to apologies to Everton county council for all the footballs that ended up on their streets........on second thoughts, I hope the people of Everton are happy for their yearly supply of footballs!

Scorers: None


Sheff Utd 0 - 1 Everton

Oh how they lauged! The wanted man by Chelsea Mr Hibbert was the difference between the teams here, the right back scored a deserved goal which there should have been more of, however, there wasnt so lets just hope this adds a bit of value to him should he go to the billionaires!

Scorers: Hibbert


Charlton 2 - 2 Everton

So your thinking, but your results don't seem that bad! I wish that was the case! A drew here is probably about right, both teams have good chances to bury the ball, just didnt have the right equipment to do so!

Scorers: Lescott, Beattie


Everton 1 - 2 Newcastle

Van Gaal has been doing some impressive work at Newcastle but he showed none of it when he came to Goodison, but then, he did, he showed that, even if your not in a game, you can quite easily win it, let the opposition have that many shots until they know they definately cant score, then kill the game with 2 goals out of nowhere.........now if only I can find that tactic!

Scorers: Cahill


Arsenal 4 - 0 Everton

So your thinking, ha deserved, what a thrashing, I was thinking it too but if it wasnt for the fact that we had more shots than Arsenal! But, our request to the FA to increase the size of the goals was turned down minutes before the game!

Scorers: None


Leicester 3 - 2 Everton FA Cup

You know things are going bad for you when you get kicked out of the FA Cup at the early stages, how Leicester won this is beyond a miracle but fair play to them really, hope they go on and win! No really, I mean it, if they use that tactic they can score amazing goals past anyone!!

Scorers: Beattie

Everton 0 - 1 Man Utd

So a 1 nothing loss to Man Utd doesnt sound too bad does it! Well thats what I thought aswell, so I fully credited my Assistant Manager who took charge for this game, having looked at the highlights, its another game that could have been won against one of the top 4 but inept defending led the mighty Rio in to score!

Scorers: None

Bolton 1 - 1 Everton

This assistant manager seems to be pretty good! Although he didnt manage a win here he seems to know what he is doing! Beattie was injured for this I noticed and a weird line up was given with Hleb as a centre forward, but, he didnt lose so well done for him despite an orthodox style of choosing a lineup!

Scorers: Hleb

So the club now sits proudly in 19th place, come on!! A couple of wins could take them out of relegation with some minimal breathing space, there are limited games left now until the end of the season and the two wins have to come in the next two games, must win games vs M'boro and Watford, who are bottom of the league. If they don't win........read on!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Im suprised the board havnt made my job insecure yet, although I planned to resign in 2 games time after the Middlesborough and Watford game, I have given the squad enough time to get used to tactics and their team mates and they just dont want to learn! What makes this worse is, I wont be at the next session, so I hope the person in question does what I've asked them to do in terms of resigning as Everton!

A new challenge should make my interest grow again in the game, if this is where I wanted to start, the lower leagues of England.....or possibly Europe! Who knows! You will just have to wait and see! But im looking forward to a new challenge!

[retired_abubaker]

The Rovers Record - It's going from bad to worse for Rovers!!!!

Well the month of November was absolutely shocking for everyone concerned with Blackburn as they crashed to defeat after defeat and registered only one goal during the month. They have slipped down the table and are looking to be heading for a battle against relegation if they keep playing the way they are. Hepburn is starting to come round to the idea that real life is not the same as a computer game!!! Here is the latest from Ewood park.................


Premiership

Blackburn v Aston Villa - (H) Sat 4th November 2006

They started the month with a home game against Sandy Pettigrew's Aston Villa and it was a game of few chances as both teams seem to battle it out in the middle of the park. Villa grabbed the only goal of the game just after half time through new signing Higuain and it proved enough to seal the win. Blackburn created a couple of chances but fans were left puzzled as to why they were so cautious against a team they should be beating at home at least. They seemed content to soak up the Villa pressure instead of pressing forward in search of goals. Poor performance from the Rovers here.

Final Score - Blackburn 0 v 1 Aston Villa
Goals - Villa - Higuain (49)
Att - 29043
MOTM - Higuain (Aston Villa)


Carling Cup

Manchester Utd v Blackburn - (A) Wed 8th November 2006

Utd fielded a much weakened team and yet still managed to dominate a Blackburn team at full strength. Blackburn were woeful for most of the game and Utd should have won by more than the 2-1 scoreline suggested. A goal either half was good enough although Savage did pull one back with a wonder strike from the edge of the box. Utd breezed to victory and Hepburn had a load of thinking to do before their next game against Charlton.

Final Score - Man Utd 2 v 1 Blackburn
Goals - Man Utd - Kruys (24), Saha (54)
Goals - Blackburn - Savage (56)
Att - 76174
MOTM - Craig Cathcart (Man Utd)


Premiership

Blackburn v Charlton - (H) Mon 20th November 2006

The Rovers' poor form continued with yet another loss, this time at home against Charlton, a side Blackburn should really be beating quite easily. Again Rovers sat back and no one really pushed forward. Charlton took advantage of that and grabbed a goal and were never in any danger of conceding. Hepburn's tactics were baffling and the fans booed the players off the pitch at full time. A game of little quality and yet another defeat for the Rovers!!!!!

Final Score - Blackburn 0 v 1 Charlton
Goals - Charlton - Sorondo (71)
Att - 26382
MOTM - Gonzalo Sorondo (Charlton)


Premiership

Newcastle v Blackburn - (A) Sat 25th November 2006

It really could not get any worse than this performance at Newcastle. Woeful is too good a word as they were just completely mince, especially defensively. It was school boy defending for most of the game although they managed a few shots on goal but Shay Given was in superb form to deny them when called upon. This was not acceptable from Blackburn and Hepburn was starting to feel the pressure!

Final Score - Newcastle 3 v 0 Blackburn
Goals - Newcastle - Martins (19), Ameobi (76), Ooijer (og,86)
Att - 51397
MOTM - Titus Bramble (Newcastle)


Premiership

Blackburn v Arsenal - (H) Wed 29th November 2006

This was a one sided game if ever I saw one as Blackburn were played off the park by a rampant Arsenal side led by Thierry Henry. It was just wave after wave of attack from Arsenal and Blackburn had to batten down the hatches as it was constant. For all their pressure it is unbelievable they only came away with one goal from the game. Blackburn never even managed a shot at goal which against should give Hepburn great cause for concern. The gunners threatened to run up a cricket score but Freidel denied them and poor finishing also denied them.

Final Score - Blackburn 0 v 1 Arsenal
Goals - Arsenal - Van Persie (32)
Att - 31274
MOTM - Tomas Rosicky (Arsenal)


November is a month Hepburn may just want to forget for the rest of his life. It has been really tough and with more important games coming up lets see if Hepburn can stop the rot and start winning football matches again.