retired_mtneil2

Hi Dogs was just wondering if it would be possible to join your clan, Ive played champ manager and now this football manager game since was available on my amiga 1200 but never really thought to play it online, well im now bored of playing alone and wanted to make friends that shared the love of this game with me, please let me know if you need another keen player, thank you.

retired_edkimbal

The session was of course marred by some bizaare bug making me accidently resign...

Eileeno671

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by bell:
The session was of course marred by some bizaare bug making me accidently resign... <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

is being stupid a bug in FM now ?

retired_l27579

Surprise Apponitment at Bramall Lane
There was a huge crowd today in front of the Sheffield United Administration Building, mainly consisting of members of the press and a group of loyal fans. All were gathered in anticipation of the club Chairman's long awaited declaration on the identity of the secret 'new manager'.

Many names were rumoured to take the post after last week's resignment by previous manager Neil Warnock. Apparantly the 55 year old manager couldn't resist the offer to manage K-League minors Kunjang College and declared the move to be a "once in a lifetime offer". We wish him luck on his adventures from now on. Many managers have been linked with the newly availible Sheffield United managing post, including Mr. Terry Venables, once legendary manager of many.

Club chairman Derek Dooley made the anticipated declaration at lunch time, but this declaration was in no way what anyone had expected. The local kebab shop delivery boy was brought out in front of the croud and presented as the "new manager" of the Sheffield Club. Whilst everyone was shocked deeply the rather confused doner-monger could just about make the following declaration:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>I am shocked at the attention us kebab boys have been getting lately from different clubs from around the country, but I guess the magical taste of kebab persuades everyone in this country. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

when asked how he was offered the job, the 25 year old Doner boy simply replied:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>I was to deliver 3 portions of shish kebab to the chairman as usual at around lunch time. When I got there the Chairman was in quite a panic and asked me if I knew anything about football, I told him reluctantly that I'd won 35 pounds from a weekend multiple bet once and planned to do it again sometime. I guess the answer satisfied him well. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Nobody can give any reason for this shock appoitment, but then again Sheffield United are known for their inconsistancy and we guess this is just another Temporary solution to stir up some attention. The plan has worked well so far, but will Sheffield United somehow pull off a miracle and use this attention to their advantage or will they simply sink to the bottom as is expected of them after this dubious signing. We're all to see.



--:**:--

Pre-Season Dealings and Purchases
Pre-season was quite chaotic as the players met their new manager who to their surprise was quite young and inexperienced compared to what they were expecting. The first move that new Boss Mr.Karakurt made was to give away assistant manager and defensive midfielder Stuart McCall for free to Stoke. This happened on the first day of appointment and Mr.McCall stated rather bluntly:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>I'm happy I managed to escape this loony bin in time, I don't know what the board were thinking but Sheff Utd is going to smell like a doner sandwich with extra onion sauce <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

talk about controversy.

Two other signings were made rapidly a few days later... former Hungarian International Zsolt Dveri was bought in on a free transfer as well as Iraqi Attacking midfielder Nashat Akram. When asked to issue a comment on the situation, Mr.Dveri stated rather enthusiastically:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>igen, igen, me heppi tu bi heer <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Mr. Akram was unavailible for comment as he had a rather tight scedule involving getting to the training ground in time to meet his new boss.

A new, unknown Italian coach was brought into the club as an assistant manager to replace Mr.McCall since Mr.Karakurt needed someone to ask for advice on the basic logic of Managing a team in general. The Italian was convinced upon being offered a free round of Doner kebab every Monday, Thursday and Sunday.

Danny Cadamarteri, Paul Shaw, Emanuele Gabrieli and Ashley Ward were also sold because they were apparantly:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Too old to move a muscle, or too young to think wisely <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

not a decision that was respected my most fans, but that's the world of football management to be honest.

on the 16th of july Sheffield United secured the signing of peter weatherson for 10k from morton, the Irish forward stated he was looking forward to his spell at the club. Along with him, Sheffield also managed to sign Antti Sumiala, ex Finnish international forward. The front line at Sheffield UTD seems more than adequate at the moment.

* * *

The beginning of August saw the signing of young Iraqi Attacking Midfielder Nashat Akram, this 19 year old had impressed Turkish manager Emir Karakurt a few months back when Mr.Karakurt bet that he'd "manage to dribble past 6 people" in the Iraq vs. Saudi Arabia match. He was proved wrong but was still impressed by the young iraqi.

Young greek midfielder Karakatsanis was to join 3 days later as Paul Thirwell was anounced on sale.

The first 3 games of the league weren't very bright, but Sheffield United managed to play all three without a Loss. Drawing their first two games 1-1 and 0-0 respectively and grabbing their first points against a strong Watford side with a late Quinn header.

What the future holds for this young team remains to be seen but it sure isn't the start the fans hoped for, let's sit back and see if Mr.Karakurt will indeed warm up with the fans.

The Sheffield Telegram

retired_gallant_pat

fantastic intro Azmo, mines going to follow.

retired_jls258

This is from memory because I'm not yet into the habit of taking down results etc. Hopefully the next one should be better.

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The start of the new season saw a shock managerial appointment, with rookie manager Blaine Emmett coming in for Billy Davies (who had resigned following a row with the board). This position had been occupied by big names such as David Moyes

and Craig Brown in recent years, so it came as a shock to most fans when Emmett was appointed.

Emmett was issued with the brief of maintaining a respectable position and freshening up the playing squad, which the board believed to have gone somewhat stale; the cause of the disagreement with ex-gaffer Davies.

Emmett's first move was to bring in experienced fullback Rufus Brevett from West Ham for a nominal. On the transfer, he said "We're short of cover in that area, only young Ciaran Lyng can really play there, so bringing in Rufus will provide us

with good depth and he'll bring in plenty of experience too, having played at the top level for so long."

Loan moves were also made for promising youngsters, with Neil Mellor and Jon Ostemobor arriving from Liverpool and David Jones and Paul Tierney arriving from Manchester United. All 4 players were signed up for the length of the season, taking up the full allowance of 4 long term loanees.

Matchday 1
The opening day of the season saw Stoke travel the short distance up to Deepdale. The usual buzz created by the start of the season was soon to be amplified by a fantastic match.

Debuts were handed to Rufus Brevett, Neil Mellor, who started up-front alongside Northern Irish international David Healy, David Jones who lined up in midfield with former Man City man Dickson Etuhu. Jon Ostemobor slotted in beside club captain Chris Lucketti at the back while Paul Tierney sat out the game with an injury he had picked up before joining the club but had not prevented him in passing his medical.

The rest of the team looked familiar to the PNE faithful, the line up in full: Lonergan, Alexander, Ostemobor, Lucketti, Brevett, Lewis, Etuhu, Jones, Daley, Healy, Mellor.

Strikes from Etuhu, Healy (2), Mellor and Daley saw Preston ease past Stoke 5-2, much to the delight of the North End fans, who had expressed some disapproval to Emmett's appointment in the build up to the game.

Matchday 2
The game against Watford was postponed to a later date due to international call ups. Winger Eddie Lewis and centre half Claude Davis were in action as the USA faced Jamaica. Lewis' team were the eventual winners by 2 goals to 1.

Matchday 3
The following Saturday saw PNE make the trip to Portman Road to face Joe Royle's Ipswich side. A solitary goal in the opening five minutes from Ian Westlake was enough to decide the game. The team was unchanged from the opening game, other than Brian O'Neil coming in for the injured David Jones.

Matchday 4
The next week, Preston welcomed Chris Campbell's West Ham side to Deepdale. In what was potentially a tricky tie, the Lilywhites took an early lead through ex-Hammer Neil Mellor. The lead was soon doubled, when within 5 minutes David Healy struck past Walker. This gave PNE a comfortable margin which West Ham never really threatened. The result was put beyond doubt halfway through the second half, when Mellor grabbed his second.

(The side saw David Jones return for Brian O'Neil and Tierney come in for Brevett).

bigmacx

Well, well, well what have we here. It seems UFMIG is back once again and to shock you all I have decided to manage the mighty Cardiff City FC.

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South Wales Echo
Bluebirds appoint unknown Welshman.

In a shocking decision Bluebirds chairman Sam Hammam relieved Lennie Lawrence of his duties and within hours the new man for the job was appointed.

The Echo can now exclusively reveal that the new Cardiff City Football Club manager is, Lee Marlow.
Who?!, I hear you cry but fear not readers this man has great experience of playing a Football Management Simulation game over the internet!!

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South Wales Echo
Changes afoot under Marlow

With the newly appointed Bluebirds boss having been at the club for only a matter of weeks he certainly seems keen to settle in.
Mr Marlow will now officially release a statement on the new Cardiff signings.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">•Lasse Staw from Fredrikstad for £190k. – Goalkeeper.•Peter Van Vossen on a free transfer. Left Wing/Forward.•Winston Bogarde on a free transfer. – Defender•Willie Mclaren from Airdrie for £40k. – Left Winger.•Frank De Boer on a free transfer. – Defender.•Sam Parkin from Swindon for £350k. – Striker.•Abel Xavier on a free transfer. – Right Back•Trond Erik Bertelsen from Haugesund for £50k. – Left Back.•Isaac Okoronkwo on a free transfer. Defender.•A world class keeper will be signing at the end of the season accompanied by a top quality striker in January.</pre>

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bigmacx

7th August 2004
Coca Cola Championship
Cardiff City (0)0 Vs Gillingham (0)1
We dominated this game really but it was just a lesson in finishing in the end.
We had far more chances but just couldnt score and then in the 80th minute they took their only one.
A very poor peformance from the Bluebirds.
Cardiff MOM - Boland.
Marlow Rating - 5.
__________________________________________________ __________

10th August 2004
Coca Cola Championship
Rotheram (2)2 Vs Cardiff City (0)0
Proctor put the home side ahead five minutes before half time.
They got their second on the half time whistle.
The second half was pretty much all Cardiff, but again we were unable to take our chances and their keeper played a blainder.
Cardiff MOM - Xavier.
Marlow Rating -6.
__________________________________________________ __________

14th August 2004
Coca Cola Championship
Cardiff City (1)1 Vs Sunderland (2)2 [Serpicio]
An early goal from Sunderland gave them the advantage from the off and they doubled that lead after 20 minutes.
We managed to pull one back before half time through Alan Lee though.
With us getting alot of play in the second half w were unlucky not to sneak an equalizer, coming close on several occasions.
Cardiff MOM - Lee.
Marlow Rating - 6.
__________________________________________________ __________

17th August 2004
Coca Cola Championship
Stoke (0)0 Vs Cardiff City (1)1
With Cardiff now in desperate need of some points we faced a tricky away victory to fellow strugglers Stoke.
'Super' Sammy Parkin gave us the lead with a controlled finish inside 15 minutes.
We dominated the second half but just couldn't grab a second goal.
Overall a very good peformance to give the Bluebirds our first win of the campaign. Very encouraging peformance.
Cardiff MOM - Kavanagh.
Marlow Rating - 8.
__________________________________________________ __________

21st August 2004
Coca Cola Championship
Cardiff City (0)0 Vs Ipswich (0)0
A very tight and tense game throughout against mid-table Ipswich with both side creating few chances and the game being played mostly in the centre of the park.
Cardiff MOM - Warner.
Marlow Rating - 7.
__________________________________________________ __________

25th August 2004
League Cup - Round One
Grimsby (Lg.2) (0)0 Vs Cardiff City (1)2
Van Vossen fired us ahead after just 5 minutes in his first game upfront for the Bluebirds.
Super Sammy Parkin doubled our lead on the hour after following in on a great strike from Javanagh.
Overall a top quality peformance and also out third cleansheet in a row.
Cardiff MOM - Parry.
Marlow Rating - 9.
__________________________________________________ __________

28th August 2004
Coca Cola Championship
Burnely (0)0 Vs Cardiff City (1)1
Van Vossen gave us a dream start, slotting the ball come cooly after just 15 seconds.
In the second half we created plenty but just couldn't finish anything.
Still, held on for a comfortable win and also our 4th cleansheet in a row in all competitions.
Cardiff MOM - Langley.
Marlow Rating - 7.
__________________________________________________ __________

retired_abess

A Love Supreme
Pre-season Editorial

So we're here again ready for another season of under-achievement. When I say "ready" I'm afraid all I'm referring to is the fans. The club appears to be in turmoil. The resignation of Mick McCarthy came as a massive blow to the club's loyal supporters, and the lack of an explanation is an insult to the tens of thousands of Sunderland fans that turn our week after week, home and away. Mick seemed genuinely happy at the club, and has made himself a firm favourite with the fans in a relatively short time. Now he's gone and we don't know why. We deserve to be told the full story. Doubtless we will eventually find out, but in the meantime rumours will emerge and these can't be healthy for a club looking to push for promotion to the Premiership.

The bookmakers must have made a pretty penny on the who-would-take-over bets. We were hopeful it wouldn't be someone like Howard Wilkinson or George Graham but when the new manager was introduced at that press conference we'd have settled for either of those two footballing dinosaurs. When Jim Bristow came onto the stage we thought he was part of a security team for our beloved chairman. The three seconds of silence when it was announced that this man was to be our new manager was even louder than wave of noise that errupted when everyone in the room realised what was happening. And it got worse. This wasn't just some unknown foreign coach that they're foisting on us. No this man has NO experience whatsoever of managing a professional or semi-pro club. He's never played the game above park level either. So why bring him in? Bob Murray says that it's a combination of Bristow's experience at running a business and his ideas for running a team combined that made him the only suitable candidate for the job. Did he expect us to believe that. I'd find it easier to swallow a bowling ball than that notion.

So what can we, the fans do about this? Well the Echo has been inundated with letters questioning the appointment, and the only subject even coming close to the popularity of this topic on the BBC's 606 programme is Cardiff fans bemusement at the hiring of that Marlow bloke as Bluebirds manager. Ultimately though Bristow is going nowhere until he messes it up on the pitch. If we're bottom of the table in October then I can't see his position remaining tenable. And if we're doing well........well I'll eat my hat.

Keep the faith.

The Editorial Team

Eileeno671

Current League Table

Here are the standings to date