retired_ron

With the new season almost upon us, Blackburn Manager Rick Boult has been doing somewhat of a dissapearing act to the dismay of the fans and the press. After searching high and low for the talented yorkshiremen, we were finally able to get this statement.

With Boult's defence somewhat keeping them in the division, it seemed strikers would be on the agenda in the summer with the mamjority of the cash going there. As it turned out, 300k was all the manager was given which was seen somewhat as a punishment for the goings on in the previous season.

Players In

Philip Cousins - 35k - Portsmouth -
17 year old midfielder whom will no doubt be pushing for a starting place in the near future
Karl Noon - Free - Free
18 year old striker was on loan last season. Improved greatly and secured a full time deal
James Eyles - 200k - Portsmouth
17 year old striker will be looking to partner Noon in seasons to come
Mario - Free - Free
23 year old Spanish defender with good spead to partner McEveley
Filipe Oliveira - Free - Chelski
21 year old striker should slot straight into the first team with Estoyanoff
Scott Marshall - Free - Free
18 year old english midfielder in the same calebre as Cousins
Ryan Smith - Free - Free
18 year old left sided striker, could also be played out on the left flank
kiran Bechan - Free - Free
22 year old dutch right winger, pick of the free transfers for me, watch this space

Loans In

Joleon Lescott - Man City
22 year old centre half on loan for 3 months looking for first team experience
Joey Barton - Man City
22 year old defencive midfielder will replace Tugay who had retired the previous season


After a cash injection of 500k Boult must have been wondering what he had done to deserve such a fruitless job. He had to look no further than down the road at Goodison Park.

With the fans still upset about Boult's mid season crisis last year, who knows what there reaction will be when they find out this bombshell news. All in all, it could be another turbulant year at Ewood Park

retired_kimberlysmith

Spurs Oke Koke

As the 2004-2005 season ended the 2005-2006 was just beginning as Spurs manager Sam Bouchard relished the prospect of another season at White Hart Lane amongst supporters and players alike. A good first season at the club meant that there was a European spot next year, and with that comes the responsibility on the managers shoulders to succeed. In his first interview since hearing the odds for the next season Bouchard had this to say;

The Spurs manager at this time instructed Martin Jol to press play on the cd player as the press sat and listened to such music.

You put your first team in,
You take your first team out,
In Out In Out, Shake it all about,
You do the oke koke and u throw them out,
That's what it's all about...ohhh!

.....

As the press laughed at Bouchard's efforts the Spurs manager tried to explain.

Transfers Out

Mbulelo Mabizela - Man City - Free

Johnnie Jackson - Aston Villa - Player Exch £0

Goran Bunjevcevic - / - Free

Sean Davis - Leicester - £2.6m

4 Youth Players - / - Free


Transfers In

Ed Brand - Chelsea - £140k

Luke Moore - Aston Villa - Player Exch £0

Anthony Vanden Borre - Newcastle - £2.1m

David Jones - Man Utd - £220k

Scott Carson - Leeds Utd - £620k


An array of talent brought in for an amount of different reasons. Brand is a very young but solid looking right back of the future, snatching him from Chelsea when they didn't really want to let him leave.

Luke Moore was an exchange for Midfield short Aston Villa who took Johnnie Jackson in exchange. This force upfront should help ease the attacking worries that i've faced this season, enabeling me to offer Defoe and Kanoute rests before they can get injured.

Anthony Vanden Borre is a very highly rated defender who was only glad to leave struggling Newcastle to line up with a fellow young Belgium player Vincent Kompany. This aquisation to the Spurs squad will more than strengthen the already strong young defence.

David Jones was under close inspection for a while and it was only recently when Martin Jol spotted an oppertunity for a quick signing for a fraction of his value, that Spurs stepped u and bought him. A Solid young central midfielder with a mix of Paul Scholes' flair with Roy Keane's determination....definatly one to watch for the future.

Scott Carson was the final piece of the rather young puzzle, fitting in as a first class replacement for Paul Robinson. Robbo being only 24 wouldn't be replaced full time however 19 year old Carson has vastly improved over the past 12 months, stepping up well into the Leeds lineup, helping them greatly in the previous campaign.

Bet 365 came out with the odd's for this season's Premier League offering Chelsea at a very high price of 2-1. The Blues were followed by Man United, Arsenal and Liverpool respectivly, but the surprise at the top was Spurs. At 25-1 they'd been seen to have the squad to mount a challenge, and with a bit of luck could pull off a league title.

After opting against joining fellow managers in a round of friendly's at the beginning of August, Sam Bouchard prepared his team for the challenge of French runners up Monaco in the Champions League. The two legged affair pitted Spurs in European competition for the firs time in years to which fans were extatic about.

Wednesday 10th August 2005 - Champions League 3rd Round Qualifying Leg One

Tottenham Hotspur [5]: Defoe(6,15,39,51), Moore(69)
Monaco [0]:

The team were sent out to attack from the back, and that they did. Runs along both wings threw Monaco off as they obviously didn't expect Spurs to be so attacking. A Kanoute run in the second minute gave Monaco the warning they didn't need as the ball pounded off the post and nearly into the way of Jermaine Defoe who was crowded out in the middle of the area. This put the bit between the teeth that Spurs needed as they ran the show completly from start to finish. Long shots from the away side was all that was offered in the form of a comeback to the onslaught on the Monaco goal. A 5 star display from Defoe upfront was all that was needed to kill them off. This lad can be sumed up in two words....'****'Ot'. An gashed leg to Carrick just before half time meant that David Jones could pick up his debut for the club. A good game from Freddie Kanoute meant that he could be brought off with half an hour to spare, giving 19 year old Luke Moore a chance to shine. That he did, getting on the end of a fantastic counter attack 9 minutes after entering the fray. After that, Monaco put 11 men behind the ball....still managing to shoot from the half way line towards the Spurs goal but providing anything but trouble for Paul Robinson in goal. Spurs manager Sam Bouchard was extatic with his players performance so much so that afterwards he took them all out to KFC and then on to his gaff for a drink.....what a nice man.

retired_sweetfitchic

Season one round up

So with the first season done and dusted West Brom fans have to be happy with the overall performance of the boys. The season included a few memorable moments like the 3-2 win at Anfield and reaching the semis of the FA cup, only to lose to Chelsea on penalties. For a team destined for the drop a mid table finish is quite an achievment, and its been acomplished by a squad of no-bodies bought for next to nothing!

And it could have been better had things went WBA's way. Having comfortably held 9th place for many weeks, they were only displaced in the last two games, as Leo Hardy's Man City sneaked in and nabbed the inter-toto cup spot. Ah well stupid competition anyway.

The final two games ended in a 1-0 loss to Man utd, and a 2-1 loss to Spurs as the un-sympathetic Sam Bouchard fielded a full strength side despite having nothing to play for. Saying that though Morris was quoted as saying he was "not overly impressed with a side supposedly making a challenge for the title" he added "they beat us, fair enough, but to be honest we're rubbish".

Transfer News

Lots to tell on this front, mainly the selling of two major assets in return for lots and lots of lovely cash.

Bye Bye Bierofka

Daniel Bierofka, player of the year and fans favourite, had been turning heads all season with his incredible trickery on the left wing. And it was only inevitable that someone would put a bid in. Chelsea did. 15m smackers, offer accepted.

Despite the fans being obviously upset about his departure they have to have faith in their managers ability to make the team stronger with this new found wealth. Suddenly players who had never heard of West Brom had a sudden interest in joining the club. Brazilian star Elano is awaiting a work permit and there is talk of Belozoglu Emre arriving at the Hawthorns, what money can do.

Boro nab Matusovic

With Boro getting a handy cash injection it was well known fact they'd be on the lookout for new players. Liggins obviously thinking back to the Baggies 2-0 win at the Riverside deceided to raid their squad. Offers for Pospech and Matusovic were made, a 9mil offer for Matusovic being knocked back. WBA's top scorer however had an 11mil release clause and despite last minute attempts to get a new contract sorted out, Matu (as we called him ) left for Boro, a sad sight.

Profits

A lesson here on how to make money from footballers. Sign them for 1.4mil and sell for 26mil, not bad!

Other transfers

in

Jiri Koubsky - 325k - Decent looking defender for a small fee

Yuri - 45k - Forward to bolster the squad

Vladimir Ivic - free - Back-up midfielder

Pieter Collen - free - Another defender, strong and good in the air

Robin Faber - 575k - Dutchman found by scout, looks rubbish

Daniel Moreira - 6mil - first major purchase from the bierofka fund, scored 20+ goals in the french first division and has looked promising in pre season.

Jonathan Spector - 650k - A bargin buy from Man Utd, bags of potential.

Luca Carretto - Free - Looks like a great player, but time will tell whether he's as good as he looks

Mike Zonneveld - Good pace and dribbling abilities should make him a worthy replacement for Bierofka.

out

Aside from the two biggies, not much of note happening. A few reserve players left on frees and Earnshaw was offloaded to Pompey.

Looking Forward

Its difficult to call how West Brom will perform this season. If a few of the main transfers go through then it could be a succesfull one. However, with the loss of Matusovic, big Holm will have to have a good season and hopefully Moreira can cut it in this league. But there is always the comfort of having £19mil in the transfer kitty, if things get too bad Morris will simply have to splash the cash, but you'l just have to ask Newcastle fans if thats always the answer...

retired_utyorc

Birmingham City sign there No1 summer transfer target


Birmingham City today announced they have signed there No1 transfer target of the summer, 24 year old Mikael Forssell from Chelsea football club for 4.4 million.


King could not hide his joy as he gave a statment to the press.

King, meanwhile, hopes that his Birmingham team-mates can follow the lead of Forssell and start chipping in with some goals.
He added: "We all know that the problem is that little bit of creativity in scoring a goal. I am aware of it.
"That is one area we are looking at at the present time. But in terms of endeavour, spirit and attitude the players are first class."



Birmingham way into Europe

Yes big Sam Allardyce left us with a chance of European football via the Euro Vase cup (inter-toto cup).

Qtr Final 1st leg

AEL 1
Elia 37
Birmingham City 4
Pahars 42, 45, 90 Savage 51
Man of the Match: Pahars 10/10 Brimingham City
Attendance-9339
Refereed by Kim Nielsen

Well my first game in charge and with Forssell still making up his mind about a transfer to Birmingham City I went for Emile Heskey, Clinton Morrison and Marian Pahars with 3 up front. First half there was not much happening until we gave away a free kick just outside the box. Up steps Elia and hit it in the bottom corner, 1-0 to AEL. Time for the man of the match to put on a show, Pahars pulls us level with a goal after some great play by Savage then 3 minutes later gives us the lead with another sweet goal. Savage also gets in the act with a long range effort and then Pahars seals his hat trick in the last minute of the game to give us a 4-1 Win. I'm more than happy eith my first game.


Qtr Final 2nd leg

Birmingham City 3
Dunn 1, 72 Morrison 45
AEL 0
Man of the Match: Dunn 8/10 Brimingham City
Attendance-19255
Refereed by Kim Nielsen

Again still no Forssell so I stuck with Emile Heskey, Clinton Morrison and Marian Pahars but rested Carter and Savage by giving Dunn and Izzet a game. Another good game for me will Dunn getting us off to a great start in the first minute of the game with a well worked goal. Morrison hit another just before half time with a good solo effort before Dunn got his second of the game after some fine work by Welsh to give us a 3-0 Win.


Semi Final 1st leg

Osijek 2
Mark 72 Novak 75
Birmingham City 2
Morrison 8 Savage pen 64
Man of the Match: Carter 8/10 Brimingham City
Attendance-4809
Refereed by Kim Nielsen

Still no Forssell and the teams fitness starting to show with all these games so soon in the season but again I kept with 3 up front with Emile Heskey, Clinton Morrison and Marian Pahars taking the starting places. We totally dominated this game having both most of the posession and the most shots on goal and Morrison gave us a good start with a goal in the 8th minute to give us a 1-0 lead at half time. Second half was more of the same with Birmingham City being awarded a pen after Pahars was fouled in the area. From there on it fell apart with two quick goals in 3 minutes by Mark 72 and Novak 75.
I can't moan to much with 2 away goals. 2-2 Draw


Semi Final 2nd leg

Birmingham City 4
Savage 32, 90 Heskey 69 Forssell 82
Osijek 1
Primorac 39
Man of the Match: Forssell 10/10 Brimingham City
Attendance-19021
Refereed by Erol Ersoy

At last I had Forssell signed up for selection for he first match as a Birmingham City player and much of the match hype was about that. So I went with Mikael Forssell, Emile Heskey and Clinton Morrison and the lad didn't let me or the fans down with a awesome display. Scoring 1 and setting 2 up. Also on the score sheet was Heskey and 2 for Savage but who cares this match was all about 1 man oh yes and I think one of there blokes got a goal. 4-1 Win.


Final 1st leg

Atalanta 2
Natali 34 Pazzini 40
Birmingham City 0
Man of the Match: Taibi 8/10 Atalanta
Attendance-26502
Refereed by Carlos Davila

Once this draw was made I knew it would be a tough tie and was not looking forward to it. As usual I played 3 up front with the lads Mikael Forssell, Emile Heskey and Clinton Morrison and I was hoping Upson would be able to man mark there danger man Pazzini out of the game. First half it could have been a different story if Emile Heskey goal was allowed in the 15 minute but he didn't time his run right and it was offside. After that Atalanta hit us on the break with some good passes and finished well by Natali then even worse Pazzini had lost Upson and managed to get a shot on goal and scored with it. Second half was alot better by my lads but we couldn't beat there goal keeper Taibi who was on great form. I don't hold out much hope now getting into the UEFA Cup but you never can tell what could happen in the second leg. 2-0 Defeat



Well season 2 is almost on us I give my report soon on my hopes for the season

retired_manmedina

good reports there, i do look forward to reading the updates. KUTGW!

retired_teresa assis

Season 2 – 2005/6

Well it’s my turn to do the predictions this season, apologies in advance for being totally inaccurate. I blame it on doing these before the summer transfer window has ended.

Birmingham City – Manager: Danny King

Danny makes his EPL debut this season, so he’s somewhat of an unknown quantity. The signing of Forsell means the goals shouldn’t be a problem, but repeating last season’s feat of 8th place could be a tough achievement.

League – 10th
FA Cup – 5th round
League Cup – 3rd round

Blackburn Rovers – Manager: Rick Boult

Blackburn were going well last season before Rick went off on his holibobs, before slipping back to 14th. With little to no money available, Blackburn’s squad hasn’t improved a great deal, and with some of the teams who finished below Rovers last season having improved, this season could be tough.

League – 15th
FA Cup – 4th round
League Cup – 4th round

Bolton Wanderers – Manger: David Pagi II

With Pagi last season almost relegating Bolton, it was upto Pagi II to save them in the last 2 games. Despite losing them both, the club survived and Pagi II brought in about 30 players in the summer. This policy could well backfire, and much is being expected of old man Batistuta to score the goals. They should survive the drop, but it could be very close again.

League – 16th
FA Cup – 4th round
League Cup – 2nd round

Everton – Manager: Niall Murphy

Even despite the financial problems, Niall underachieved last season, only avoiding the drop on the penultimate weekend of the season. But a new board and some shrewd signings have left Everton looking a very tidy outfit: Green in goal with the Boumsong-Yobo CB partnership should be hard to break down. With Murphy saying, and I quote “We’ll be tighter than a duck’s arse this season,” expectations are high.

League – 8th
FA Cup – Semi Final
League Cup – Quarter Final

Manchester City – Manager: Leo Hardy

Last year Leo surprised many with his push on at the end of the season, finishing in 9th place and claiming an Intertoto cup place, which looks like turning into a UEFA Cup place. The Intertoto campaign should ensure City start the season flying, but how long before they begin to feel their early start to the season? With some shrewd signings, City look good to maintain their top half position.

League – 9th
FA Cup – 5th round
League Cup – 3rd round

Middlesbrough – Manager: Sir Richard Liggins

After the success of last year, bringing the UEFA Cup to darkest Teeside, almost doing the same with the FA Cup, the pressure will be on Liggins. After only spending a net £10k going into August, Mr Gibson suddenly made an extra £15mil available, with £11mil going on Matusovic. The January-May form of Boro rescued a poor start to lift the club to 10th, and anything less than that will be seen as a disappointment. Also, the defence of the UEFA Cup should provide a stiff challenge. Time to put the pressure on myself.

League – 7th
FA Cup – Semi Final
League Cup – Quarter Final

Portsmouth – Manager: Andy Nielsen

After being unable to make any signings before September 1st last season, Andy did his best in the January window to bring in the players to rescue Pompey from what seemed inevitable relegation. He did that and lifted the club upto 15th, and looks in good shape for a far better 2005/6 season.

League – 11th
FA Cup – 5th round
League Cup – Quarter Final

Southampton – Manager: Rob Steel

Rob’s Saints epitomised mid table blandness last season, finishing 12th and being between 8th and 14th pretty much all season. Despite not having spent a penny during the transfer window, no major players have left and a number of quality free transfers have come in. Despite this, I think more of the same could be in store for the St Mary’s faithful

League – 13th
FA Cup – 4th round
League Cup – 3rd round

Tottenham Hotspur – Manager: Sam Bouchard

Sam had a cracking first season, getting the side into the Champions league qualifiers, and looking almost certain to make the group stages. Add to this a good squad bolstered by a handful of arrivals, and at least £14million burning a whole in the chairman’s pocket, Spurs should be able to match last year’s achievements, and could well do even better.

League – 3rd
FA Cup – Runners Up
League Cup – 4th place

West Bromwich Albion – Manager: Chris Morris

Despite being one of the favourites for the drop, manager Morris directed his team to 11th place, and held 9th position for a long part of the season. But his two star men, Bierofka and Matusovic have left, and despite getting £26million for the pair, will he be able to replace them with the same quality? The pressure will be on Moreira to provide the firepower. Oh, and he must also be praised for bringing back everyone’s favourite, Mike Zonneveld, back into the league. Niall Murphy still has nightmares about that day at the Riverside

League – 12th
FA Cup – Quarter Final
League Cup – Semi Final


Well there we go, good luck one and all

retired_cycleman8

Boring Season Round up!

Season 1 is finished and after a long season, Saints finish midtable and comfortably above the relegation zone.

Highs

Beatin Man City in League Cup 5-0
Reachin Quarters of League Cup

Lows

Losing in Quarters of League Cup
Losing to near on every human manager
Not Qualifying for europe.

So season 2 approaches what can Steel do to change Saints fortune.

retired_hollieo

Top notch Ligs as per. :thup:

retired_abenzing

hi all soz but im new to this all wer to i sign up to join up for the next one would be a gr8 help dudes fanx??

retired_kdanclair

The Season Starts...


Inter-toto Cup 3rd Round 2nd leg

Dundee UTD 2-3 Man City

A close game which City won in the end.

On to the Semis against Galatasaray

Galatasaray 1-1 Man City

This was a very good away result for City who were probably lucky to get this result.

The tie was set up nicely for the next leg.

Man City 1-0 Galatasaray

Man City through to the final with a good home win.

The late goal was brilliantly hit in by Alan Shearer.

Inter-toto Cup Final 1st leg

Slavia (Sofia) 0-2 Man City

An easy and expected win for Man City who now should really qualify for the UEFA Cup...

FA Barclaycard Premiership

Leeds United 1-0 Man City

This was a very poor performance from Man City against the newly promoted Leeds.

Matthew Spring hit the only goal of the game in the first half just before Rob Styles decided to send off Leeds right-back, Gary Kelly.

No real chances created by City, so they deserved to lose, also some very shabby defending.

On the bright side, Thomas Graveson played well when he came on in the second half for Oliseh.

To be fair, the players were very tired off playing in the Inter-toto Cup, and it certainly took its toll.

Man City 1-0 Portsmouth

Andy Nilsen brought his revamped team to the City of Manchester Stadium and will count themselves unlucky not to get a point.

The goal that won the game was scored by new man John Hartson. A cool finish on his debut puts him in the running for a regular first team place above Anelka, Shearer and Simmonetta, but unfortunately he got injured early in the second half. This could damage his first team chances for a game.

New Portsmouth signing Ezquerro on his debut missed a sitter...Nilsen will probably feel frustrated with that.

Overall, the teams should've shared the points. Andy Nilsen clearly wasnt best pleased with the result. Pompey just cant beat City...simple as that

Inter-toto Cup Final 2nd leg

Man City 1-1 Slavia (Sofia) ( Man City win 3-1 on aggregate)

Well Man City qualify for the UEFA Cup after a 3-1 aggregate win over Slavia.

The only team who posed a threat in the competition to City was Galatasaray who were brushed aside. From there on in, it was easy stuff.

FA Barclaycard Premiership

Man City 1-0 Tottenham

This was a very close game throughout with plenty of action. Both teams could have scored about 5 each, but it was the single goal from Alan Shearer who headed in a perfect cross from Shaun Wrigh-Phillips who played his first league game this season.

The City defence stood strong all game and mainly reduced Spurs to long range efforts from Defoe and Davies.

All credit to Sam Bouchard who made some great tactical changes, but it just wasnt to be.



So....a good start but can City keep it up?