Nadessico

all i'm gonna say is i hate u lol

it cost me 20 mil to make a team that can challenge for europe and u've done it with 2 signings in 1 season lol

i'm gonna have to start reading on tactics

TopToffee

i can't account for it tbh.

the only thing i can come up with is that a couple of players for some reason are ridiculously good in this save game (Cahill, Arteta and Beattie spring to mind - don't know if they have some random attributes that have ended up really good this time or what ) and i'm also found a formation that seems to work relatively well.

i'm not expecting to do as well this season nor are the board, who are only looking for a "respectable position"... i'd be happy with a UEFA Cup spot and a couple more good cup runs. Qualifying from my group in the CL would also be nice, although i don't expect to go much further.

mind you, a couple of the signings you'll read about soon might help me out a little

TopToffee

Friday 15th July

Our second friendly of the week, this time against Ankaraspor, would see a new look Everton defence starting, with only Tony Hibbert remaining from last season - Huth coming in for Stubbs. Other than that, the XI was the same as the previous match. Substitutions are again going to feature prominently as I looked to improve the fitness of my squad.


Friendly

Ankaraspor 0 - 3 Everton

Starting XI
Martyn(c), Hibbert, Huth, Bonera, Ball
Deisler, Arteta, Parker, Cahill, Kilbane
Beattie

Second Half
Turner, Hibbert, Stubbs(c), Bonera, Pistone
Hopkins, Seargeant, Luccin, Osman, McFadden,
Bent

Another straightforward win today for Everton on their Turkish tour. They were made to work a little harder than they did on Tuesday, but still had far too much for their opponents to deal with. The opener came on 27mins, James Beattie grabbing control after a loose touch from a Ankaraspor defender, jostling his way past another, and striking a firm shot past the keeper.

The score remained the same until 70mins. Peter Luccin took control in midfield, slipping a pass square to youngster Christian Seargeant. The 16 year old turned and, with team mates perhaps in better positions, struck a powerful shot, which buried itself in the top right corner of the Turkish side's goal. The third goal came after a horrible mistake by Ankaraspor goalkeeper Ozcan Murat. Receiving the ball from a defender, and with Marcus Bent closing quickly, he tried to round the oncoming striker. Unfortunately, his feet were not nearly quick enough, and Bent snatched the ball away, and was able to finish into an empty net.

"Another decent run-out," declared Everton manager Jamie Mellor post-match, "The lads played well together, and obviously the substitutes who came on at half time did brilliantly too. Christian Seargeant had a lot of responsibility placed upon him today - he was essentially asked to perform Mikel Arteta's creative role for the second half, and he rose wonderfully to the challenge. He's a player who I'm really looking forward to watching this season, to see how he develops."

OMDave

Enjoyable start :thup:

Luccin is a class player in real life, and Everton could do much worse to bolster their midfield. Best of luck

TopToffee

cheers mate - nice to know at least a couple of people are reading and enjoying :thup:

Luccin would probably be in my starting XI, except that Parker is just playing ridiculously well - could be some time before the French man gets a chance tbh.

TopToffee

to anyone who's waiting for the next installment of this, sorry about the delay - gotta get a bit of the game actually PLAYED then written up... hopefully some new stuff should appear within the next couple of days

Nadessico

don't lie u just went awol like me lol

TopToffee

Sunday 17th July

Friendly

Konyaspor 0 - 5 Everton

Starting XI
Turner, Hibbert, Huth, Bonera, Ball
Deisler, Arteta, Parker, Cahill, McFadden
Beattie

Everton finished their tour of Turkey in style, with a match that was effectively over in the first half an hour. The visitors started at pace, and were ahead as early as the 3rd minute. The Turkish side's goalkeeper came well outside his penalty area to collect a back pass, then tried to clear. However, his sliced kick only found James Beattie, and the England international advanced to the edge of the box, and fired low past the despairing keeper.

The lead was doubled just 3mins later, a great long ball from Tony Hibbert finding the head of Beattie, whose knock down was met by Tim Cahill. The Australian took two touches, and dispatched his finish emphatically into the top corner. Everton's third arrived on 12 mins, a beautifully weighted through ball setting Beattie free, and allowing him to round the goalkeeper and tap into an empty net for his second of the match.

Incredibly, the scoring run continued on 27mins, a Tim Cahill flick on finding Sebastian Deisler unmarked at the back post, and the German made no mistake, burying a solid finish low into the corner. The rout was completed just 4mins later, with the finest goal of the bunch. Mikel Arteta received the ball from McFadden about thirty yards out, turning neatly before firing a viciously curling, dipping shot into the top right corner, giving the goalkeeper absolutely no chance.

The rest of the game played out without further score, despite repeated Everton attacks. After the game, Everton manager Jamie Mellor had the following comments, "Obviously, I'm delighted with the scoreline today, but as I've said before, it's really about getting the players match fit. They're looking sharper with every game, now we've got to head back to England for our last three friendlies - and we really can't wait for the season to start. This break away has really helped our squad to bond, and it will serve us well throughout the season."



19th July

Transfer Rush

A busy day today at Goodison Park, with the club unveiling two new signings. Firstly comes Argentine goalkeeper Sebastián Saja for £4m. The 26 year old is seen as the immediate successor to Nigel Martyn, who is looking to move into more of a coaching role, after a long, distinguished career. Saja broke into the national squad at the end of the previous season, and has been linked with several top European sides.

Second, and more of a surprise, is Tottenham centre back Ledley King. After Spurs' woeful season last time round, and in the wake of a falling out with manager Martin Jol, King had requested a transfer away from the club. It was widely rumoured that he would become the second Spurs defender of recent years to make the short trip to Arsenal, but Everton boss Jamie Mellor swooped in and secured the player for £5m + Richard Wright.

"I'm absolutely delighted to welcome to Goodison two players of the calibre of Sebastián and Ledley. We have some fine young goalkeepers at this club, but with Nigel taking more of a backroom role this season, we needed someone for the here and now, and Sebastián fits that bill absolutely perfectly," said Mellor, "And of course, we have Ledley - a player whom I believe has the ability to become one of the truly great central defenders in world football. Both players I'm sure will serve this club with distinction, and I look forward to working with them."

TopToffee

Wednesday 20th July

Despite only having been back in the country for two days, our first friendly on English soil was already upon us. Norwich, having been relegated the previous season, were eager for preseason matches against Premiership opposition to get them ready for a promotion push, and we were only too happy to oblige.

This would be a step up in quality of opposition for us (compared to the Turkish tour), and I looked forward to seeing how we stood up to it. I had a full squad to choose from, including our two recent signings - both would start as I quickly looked to get them integrated with the rest of the squad.


Friendly

Norwich 0 - 2 Everton

Starting XI
Saja, Hibbert, King (c), Bonera, Ball
Deisler, Arteta, Parker, Cahill, McFadden
Beattie

Things did not start well for Everton today at Carrow Road, with star striker James Beattie picking up a strained shoulder just ten minutes into the match, and having to be replaced by Marcus Bent. The lack of their usual target man upfront could explain Everton's somewhat lacklustre performance today, although it could also be something to do with their hectic travel schedule over the last 72hrs. Despite starting with a full strength side, it was not until the 73rd minute, that the Premiership side finally took the lead.

From a Norwich throw in, Seb Deisler got up above Luke Daley, and nodded the ball to James McFadden wide on the left. The young Scot cut inside, and lofted a delightfully weighted ball over the top of the defence to the onrushing Marcus Bent. Bent took a single touch, before letting fly from the edge of the area - his powerful shot beating Rob Green at his near post, and flying into the back of the net.

The score did not stay at 0-1 for long though, as Everton seemed to have discovered their cutting edge. Scott Parker, playing a more advanced role since the half time withdrawal of Mikel Arteta, fed the ball thru to Marcus Bent upfront, but he was quickly dispossessed. The loose ball fell to Peter Luccin, who squared to Parker, about 30 yards out. As he did so many times last season, Parker looked up, and unleashed a crashing drive with his right foot, which flew into the top corner, before the Canaries' goalkeeper even moved. A rash of Everton subsitutions followed, and the rest of the game played out without notable incident.

"The lads have done really well today," stated Jamie Mellor in his post match interview, "Obviously losing James so early on was a great blow, but Marcus has stepped in and done really well, bagging a goal for us. The two new boys, Ledley King and Sebastián Saja have both had good games. Ledley was a rock at the back, and a good chunk of the reason why Sebastián didn't have much to do. But what he did have to deal with, he did comfortably."



Friday 22nd July

In the friendly on Wednesday, James Beattie's injury made it clear to me that we are lacking of any real high quality backup upfront, so with that in mind, and with around £6m remaining in my summer warchest, I tabled a £5m bid for Spartak Moscow's highly rated young Argentine striker Fernando Cavenaghi. I was fairly optimistic of succeeding until later in the day, when I was told that Real Madrid had matched our offer for the player. With this in mind, I started to at least think about alternative targets.


Monday 25th July

The bid that I made on Friday for Cavenaghi was yesterday accepted by Spartak Moscow, and the player flew in for talks today. I put forward the terms that we were offering, and told the player of the plans I had for the future - plans I hoped he would be a part of. I was determined that I would not be held to ransom over the contract - despite Real Madrid's interest. With the meeting over, the player left to fly to Madrid for talks with them. I wasn't holding my breath.

TopToffee

bad news i'm afraid.... save game seems to have corrupted - or at least it won't load at any rate....

was working yesterday, and haven't loaded it since either

will try again tomorrow, see if it works... but not holding out too much hope.