retired_amyslack

Season 10 (2010/2011) Continued

It was clear from an impressive set of results in December that the sales that Brig had made had not been fatal to his team – 6 league games played, 6 league games won, 18 goals scored and 2 conceded. With Hull losing their last three games of the month Calhoun’s team had now opened up a 9-point gap at the top. They also had time to make further progress in the FA Cup, winning 1-0 at Macclesfield in the 2nd round. Wayne Purser was proving to be an absolute natural playing as a withdrawn forward and had notched 20 goals in just 23 starts. Peter McDonald was equally prolific with 18 goals to his name so far. The two loan centre backs well rock solid, Theodorou looking particularly impressive. The unheralded Peter Payne had stepped into Clarke’s shoes in a way that surprised his manager and young Northern Irish prospect Gareth Hamilton was a pretty decent replacement for McGroarty.

January would prove to be a very interesting month indeed for Brig Calhoun as his new club began to catch the attention of the footballing world. His team were unbeaten in their four league games, setting two club records in the process – their 2-0 defeat of Wigan at the start of the month was their 8th successive win and the 6-0 thumping of Doncaster gave them a high-scoring record. The latter game was an exhibition of how well the team could play when it all clicked. The entire team looked supremely confident, from front to back. Wayne Purser and Lee Bullock ran the show, Purser scoring a hat trick. The way in which Calhoun was coaxing such impressive performances from previously unregarded players was catching the attention of other clubs and the manager was constantly fending off transfer bids for his top performers. However, he could do nothing about the decision of loan signing Theodorou to accept an offer from Leeds – fortunately he had earlier signed centre back David Kennedy from Cardiff for £500K and he went on to add Malawian international Tamika Mkandawire from Colchester for £220K. His team also had a good FA Cup run going, beating First Division leaders Charlton 4-1 and them getting past Wolves 2-0 to get to the 5th round. They did taste defeat though with his second string losing on penalties to Kidderminster in the Vans Trophy. But the biggest news was his appointment by the FA to the position of England manager. By the time that Sven-Goran Eriksson decided it was time to retire he had taken the national side to great success. An appearance in the 2002 World Cup Final was the pinnacle but his team had reached the Semi Finals of the last two European Championships and the Quarter Finals and Semi Finals of the last two World Cups. The FA approached Calhoun with some trepidation given his stormy relationship with them in the past, but Brig put all of that behind them when he accepted the job.

There were further change to the Brighton squad during February as Calhoun cashed in on some assets and used the money to buy replacements. Young defender Mick Saunders was sold to Charlton for £950K, a highly inflated sum as far as Brig was concerned. In came Nuno Mata from Ross County for £400K as a direct replacement on the right and John Kennedy from Aberdeen for £725K to give further cover in the centre of defence. When the manger learnt that he would be losing keeper Stamatopoulos to Leicester in the summer he picked up Paul Smith from Colchester for £500K. Progress continued unabated on the pitch with three wins in the league although they did experience an unexpected reverse at Leigh RMI, losing 3-2. But there was some excuse for that defeat as Calhoun was resting his key players in anticipation of their 5th round FA Cup tie at Old Trafford. And an epic encounter it turned out to be as the Second Division side came within seconds of recording a historic upset. Brighton acquitted themselves superbly against Manchester United and took the lead when new boy Nuno Mata converted a penalty shortly before half time. They had several good chances to extend their lead and Brig was desperate to see another goal go in as he was convinced that United would score. As the game entered stoppage time it looked like his premonition would be wrong – but no, it was not to be. Substitute full back Wayne Evans, making only his 4th appearance of the season, scored a dramatic equaliser with virtually the last kick of the game.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">********************************************* ************************************************ English Second Division - Wednesday 2nd March 2011********************************************** ***********************************************Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st BRIGHTON 33 13 2 1 42 9 13 3 1 36 13 83 2nd Hull 34 13 0 5 34 19 6 6 4 22 21 63 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3rd Wycombe 34 12 2 4 27 13 6 5 5 16 16 61 4th Boston Utd 34 11 1 4 30 19 7 5 6 22 24 60 5th Stockport 34 9 5 3 29 14 7 4 6 27 22 57 6th Mansfield 34 7 3 7 33 34 10 2 5 27 27 56 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</pre>

retired_amyslack

Season 10 (2010/2011) Continued

March was a hectic and memorable month for Brighton and for Brig. The month began with their FA Cup replay at home to Manchester United. Calhoun’s side put in a fantastic performance and inspired by the unheralded Wayne Purser, they recorded a stunning 3-0 defeat of the Premiership side. This set up a Quarter Final meeting with another Premiership side as they were drawn to play Newcastle at St. James’s Park. The Magpies were suffering a dreadful season, sitting 17th in the table when they met and manager Gordon Strachan was under intense pressure. A dour encounter ended scoreless enabling the seasiders to have another crack on home ground. The second game was much more open and this time it was midfielder Lee Bullock who pulled the strings, urging his team on to a 2-0 win and a place in the last four. With such an unbelievable cup run to distract them it was no great surprise that their league form suffered, caused in part by Brig’s decision to rotate his players. With such a healthy lead in the division, promotion was virtually assured and the manager was quite happy to make changes to the playing personnel. They lost two and drew one of their five league games but still ended the month nearly 10 points clear of their nearest rivals.

March also saw Brig take charge of his first competitive games for England. His dual role meant that he had to offload some responsibility for team matters at Brighton to his assistant in order to meet his England responsibilities. When Eriksson made the shock announcement that we was retiring, England were in the early stages of qualification for Euro 2012 and sat in second place in their group.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">********************************************* ************************************************ European Championship Qualifying - Saturday 12th March 2011********************************************** ***********************************************Gro up 3Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Ireland 4 2 0 0 5 1 1 0 1 2 1 9 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2nd ENGLAND 3 2 0 0 4 0 0 1 0 1 1 7 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3rd Bulgaria 3 1 1 0 5 2 0 0 1 1 2 4 4th Georgia 3 0 0 1 0 2 1 0 1 3 4 3 5th Luxembourg 3 0 0 1 1 3 0 0 2 1 7 0 </pre>
Brig didn’t make any drastic changes to the international squad and stalwarts such as Kieron Dyer, Rio Ferdinand, John Terry, Michael Owen and Wes Brown still featured. The biggest surprise was the inclusion of 18-year-old Lee Andrews who had made such a big impression on Calhoun in his Derby days. His first game in charge featured a trip to lowly Luxembourg and he was pleased to get a comfortable 5-0 win. A few days later he had a tougher test with a trip to Georgia and was disappointed with the resulting 0-0 draw.

Calhoun’s first, and as things turned out, his only season in charge at Brighton would end in dramatic fashion. Firstly a 3-0 win at Rotherham at the start of the month ensured that the Division Two tile was secured. In fact Brig’s team would go on to win 6 further league matches in April and May, losing just their final game of the season, and they established a new points record for the division. But the real drama was reserved for the FA Cup. The final four featured the manager’s previous club and as fate would have it the two were kept apart in the Semi Finals with Brighton drawn against Sunderland and Derby taking on Arsenal. At that point the Black Cats headed the premiership, although they would be overtaken by Liverpool before the season was out. A tense and nervous encounter at Villa Park failed to produce any goals, even after extra time, and a penalty shootout took place. Sunderland compounded a lacklustre afternoon by contriving to miss their first four spot kicks - Brighton somehow kept their nerve to convert two of theirs and history was made as they reached the FA Cup Final. But who would their opponents be? The other Semi was equally tense, bur Arsenal it was who went through with a narrow 1-0 win. Calhoun had mixed feelings about that – on the one hand he would have loved to meet his ex-employers but on the other he knew just how strong his former team was.

The leadup to the final provided further drama, not to say controversy, when recent signing John Kennedy shocked the football world by punching a match official in their 1-0 win at Bristol Rovers. The centre back was vilified in the press, received a 6-month ban and had his contract immediately terminated by Calhoun. The manager also had some injury worries prior to the big game with Purser and MacDonald both struggling to regain fitness after receiving injuries. Thankfully they both recovered and he was able to field his strongest eleven. That would feature 19-year-old centre half Neil Turner who was on loan from Arsenal and had been outstanding in the Brighton defence since his arrival. Fortunately, Brig had ensured that he was eligible to both play in the cup and play against his full-time employees. The Arsenal lineup also featured two former Derby players that Brig knew well – Kalle Sone and Anestis Anastasiadis.

The Final itself wasn’t a classic but it will long be remembered for the final result. Brighton shocked their more illustrious opponents when they took the lead on 14 minutes through Lee Bullock. Twenty minutes later Danny Higginbotham doubled their advantage and the watching millions throughout the world sensed a huge upset. Arsenal came back strongly in the second half and Dennis Rommedahl pulled a goal back with a stunning strike from distance. The drama increased when Brighton centre back David Kennedy received his second yellow card with 15 minutes remaining but Calhoun’s team somehow clung on to achieve a historic victory.

When Calhoun looked back on a momentous season he singled out several players in his Brighton squad for particular mention. Wayne Purser had been a vital figure playing as a withdrawn striker. Peter MacDonald was superb up front and finished as the club’s top scorer. Late arrival Nuno Mata made a superb right wingback and Danny Higginbotham was equally impressive on the left all season. Young Turner was a rock in defence and Lee Bullock pulled the strings in midfield. Once again the manager had done what he did best – taken a squad of unregarded and underperforming players and transformed them into a formidable team, as the league table demonstrated.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">********************************************* ************************************************ English Second Division - Sunday 29th May 2011********************************************** ***********************************************Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st C BRIGHTON 46 18 3 2 51 12 17 3 3 44 18 111 2nd P Wycombe 46 17 2 4 37 16 9 6 8 31 26 86 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3rd P Luton 46 15 3 5 40 21 10 4 9 25 26 82 4th Hull 46 16 1 6 44 26 8 7 8 29 31 80 5th Stockport 46 12 5 6 36 23 10 5 8 42 35 76 6th Boston Utd 46 15 3 5 40 23 7 7 9 30 40 76 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------7th Wigan 46 11 6 6 32 17 9 5 9 37 34 71 8th Notts Co 46 10 7 6 49 41 9 5 9 46 45 69 9th Mansfield 46 9 4 10 42 44 11 4 8 36 39 68 10th Millwall 46 9 9 5 34 23 8 5 10 23 33 65 11th Southport 46 12 5 6 39 29 6 6 11 27 37 65 12th Ipswich 46 13 5 5 41 27 5 5 13 29 47 64 13th Chesterfield 46 9 10 4 32 26 7 3 13 40 47 61 14th Rotherham 46 7 4 12 31 32 10 5 8 33 29 60 15th Leigh RMI 46 11 5 7 41 39 5 4 14 20 42 57 16th Crewe 46 9 5 9 39 41 7 3 13 27 40 56 17th Barnsley 46 11 4 8 31 26 4 6 13 35 48 55 18th Bristol Rovers 46 12 1 10 40 31 3 8 12 22 34 54 19th Coventry 46 8 9 6 27 23 4 8 11 25 34 53 20th Peterborough 46 11 6 6 37 28 3 4 16 15 36 52 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------21st R Colchester 46 9 7 7 33 26 3 4 16 17 42 47 22nd R Burnley 46 7 5 11 22 30 5 3 15 12 35 44 23rd R Doncaster 46 9 5 9 33 34 1 8 14 14 37 43 24th R Swindon 46 4 9 10 23 35 4 5 14 14 39 38 </pre>
English clubs performed well in Europe too with Man United reaching the Semi Finals of the Champions League and Blackburn were the losing finalists in the UEAF Cup. Liverpool regained their Premiership title but Derby finished in a disappointing 6th place. Unsurprisingly Brig was voted the Division Two Manager of the Year. But he had little time to reflect on his achievements as in early June he had to name an England side to face Bulgaria. Again there were no major surprises in the squad and with Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard wearing the captain’s armband the gained a fine 5-2 win. Scott Parker scored twice inside the first ten minutes to get the team off to a flying start and Michael Owen of FC Bayern celebrated his 100th cap with a fine hat trick.

When Calhoun took on the England job he insisted that he be allowed to continue in his position at Brighton as he was unwilling to leave the club in the lurch. But with promotion gained in such impressive style and history made with the FA Cup win, Brig now felt that the club was in very good shape – it was certainly financially secure. He was now of the view that he couldn’t do justice to his country if he continued to stay at the club, and with a heavy heart he tendered his resignation to Chairman Dick Knight.

mrsevans7177

Your flying along with this one Bob, KUTGW :thup:

retired_amyslack

Thank you bartley, it’s not going too bad I must admit

Season 11 (2011/2012)

Calhoun was now firmly focused on his task of taking England to the finals of Euro 2012 but he still had time to note that Brighton tempted John Hartson away from Ipswich to take over as their new manager. The former Wales and Celtic striker had taken over at the Tractor Boys less than a season earlier and Brig was not convinced that he was the right man for the job. But that was no concern of his now and he turned his attention to the task in hand.

With just two games remaining in the qualifying group, England sat a point behind Ireland with both countries assured of a playoff place at worst. The two would meet in what would almost certainly be the group decider in September and even though the game would be played in Dublin, Calhoun was confident of getting a win. His last game was at home to Luxembourg, virtually a guaranteed three-pointer as far as Brig was concerned.

A few days before the showdown, Ireland had a good 2-1 win in Bulgaria to keep the pressure on the English. The heart of the Irish side had been together for a long time and were highly experienced internationals. Keeper Shay Given would be winning his 130th cap, Robbie Keane his 110th, Damien Duff his 100th and John O’Shea would break the 90 mark.

England stunned the Lansdowne Road crowd by scoring from the penalty spot inside the first five minutes. Neither side was dominant for the remainder of the first half but when Scott Parker made it 2-0 just before the break the Irish had a tough task on their hands. A goal from Chelsea striker Ray Boyce, on as a substitute for Owen in the second half, killed the game off and England ran out 3-0 winners. Ireland’s campaign was now over and all they could do was sit and watch as England played their final game in early October.

Despite the absence of Steven Gerrard with injury and Joe Cole through suspension, England had no difficulty in securing a 5-0 win over Luxembourg to ensure their qualification. Ray Boyce scored a hat trick with Nigel Baines and Scott Parker completing the rout. On completion of the other qualifying games it transpired that Ireland would not face the agony of a playoff as the qualified as one of the best of the second-placed teams.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">********************************************* ************************************************ European Championship Qualifying - Wednesday 12th October 2011********************************************** ***********************************************Gro up 1Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Q Germany 8 4 0 0 14 2 3 1 0 13 2 22 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2nd Pl Sweden 8 2 2 0 9 1 1 0 3 2 8 11 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3rd Hungary 8 2 0 2 5 5 1 1 2 3 10 10 4th Iceland 8 2 0 2 6 6 0 1 3 2 8 7 5th Latvia 8 2 1 1 7 8 0 0 4 2 13 7 Group 2Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Q Croatia 10 4 0 1 10 3 5 0 0 11 0 27 2nd Q Belarus 10 4 0 1 8 6 4 0 1 14 6 24 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3rd Belgium 10 4 0 1 17 1 2 0 3 13 8 18 4th Austria 10 3 0 2 9 8 2 0 3 3 8 15 5th Armenia 10 1 0 4 4 12 0 0 5 1 14 3 6th San Marino 10 1 0 4 2 14 0 0 5 2 14 3 Group 3Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Q England 8 4 0 0 14 2 2 2 0 9 1 20 2nd Q Ireland 8 3 0 1 8 4 3 0 1 6 2 18 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3rd Bulgaria 8 2 1 1 10 5 1 0 3 4 8 10 4th Georgia 8 2 1 1 3 2 1 0 3 4 11 10 5th Luxembourg 8 0 0 4 1 11 0 0 4 1 14 0 Group 4Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Q Finland 10 4 1 0 12 5 3 1 1 9 6 23 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2nd Pl Czech Republic 10 4 1 0 14 1 3 0 2 7 5 22 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3rd Yugoslavia 10 3 2 0 7 1 2 1 2 7 5 18 4th Israel 10 1 2 2 6 9 1 0 4 4 12 8 5th Faroe Islands 10 1 0 4 6 14 0 4 1 5 10 7 6th Moldova 10 1 1 3 6 7 0 1 4 5 13 5 Group 5Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Q Holland 8 4 0 0 15 1 2 0 2 4 5 18 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2nd Pl Russia 8 4 0 0 11 1 1 1 2 8 10 16 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3rd Turkey 8 4 0 0 11 4 1 0 3 2 11 15 4th Slovenia 8 2 1 1 7 3 0 1 3 2 9 8 5th Cyprus 8 0 1 3 2 8 0 0 4 1 11 1 Group 6Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Q Ukraine 8 4 0 0 11 2 2 0 2 8 12 18 2nd Q Portugal 8 4 0 0 17 2 1 1 2 4 6 16 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3rd Greece 8 3 1 0 11 4 1 0 3 8 13 13 4th N.Ireland 8 2 0 2 8 6 1 1 2 5 8 10 5th Albania 8 0 1 3 8 12 0 0 4 1 16 1 Group 7Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Q Spain 10 4 1 0 13 2 5 0 0 17 2 28 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2nd Pl Scotland 10 4 0 1 13 4 2 2 1 8 6 20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3rd Norway 10 3 1 1 10 5 2 0 3 7 8 16 4th Bosnia 10 2 1 2 11 7 1 2 2 4 9 12 5th Lithuania 10 2 1 2 5 5 1 0 4 3 11 10 6th Malta 10 0 0 5 0 16 0 0 5 0 16 0 Group 8Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Q Romania 8 4 0 0 15 2 3 1 0 8 4 22 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2nd Pl Denmark 8 3 0 1 10 3 2 0 2 8 7 15 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3rd Azerbaijan 8 2 2 0 8 6 1 1 2 4 11 12 4th Slovakia 8 1 0 3 3 6 1 0 3 4 10 6 5th FYROM 8 0 1 3 3 8 0 1 3 1 7 2 Group 9Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Q Italy 8 4 0 0 11 1 4 0 0 13 3 24 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2nd Pl Wales 8 3 0 1 10 6 2 0 2 8 5 15 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3rd Poland 8 2 1 1 5 3 2 0 2 8 7 13 4th Switzerland 8 1 0 3 5 8 1 1 2 3 7 7 5th Estonia 8 0 0 4 2 14 0 0 4 0 11 0 </pre>

retired_amyslack

Season 11 (2011/2012) Continued

The playoffs produced three further qualifiers in some thrilling games. Wales triumphed in the Battle of Britain, beating Scotland on away goals after a late Rob Earnshaw goal gave them a 3-3 draw at Hampden. Denmark beat Russia 5-4 overall and the Czech Republic beat Sweden 3-1.

When the draw was made for Euro 2012 England were placed in Group 1 with hosts and World Cup holders France, defending champions the Czech Republic and Finland – a tough group by anybody’s standards. As the domestic season came to a conclusion Brig began finalising the 23-man squad that he would take to France for the championship.

The Premiership had been won by outsiders Manchester City who finished two points clear of Sunderland and ten points ahead of the cross-city rivals United. The appointment of former Arsenal and Crystal Palace boss Arsene Wenger had finally paid off, much to the joy of fans starved of success. A disappointing 12th place finish for Derby saw manager Steve McLaren given the sack and replaced by Wolves manager Brian Kerr. Brighton survived their return to Division One with a 17th place finish and a final day win saw Hartlepool avoid the drop into the Conference.

When Brig named his squad the biggest surprise was probably the exclusion of scoring legend Michael Owen but there were still plenty of experience in the team.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">********************************************* ************************************************ England - Saturday 26th May 2012********************************************** ***********************************************Nam e Position(s) Born Age Caps Gls Wages Expires Value--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Baines, Nigel AM RC 16.1.85 27 36 9 £65K 1.6.16 £18.5M Barry, Gareth D/DM LC 23.2.81 31 26 2 £60K 15.6.16 £5M Bridge, Wayne D/DM L 5.8.80 31 12 - £60K 2.5.14 £5.5M Buxton, Lewis D C 10.12.83 28 1 - £60K 22.6.17 £4.5M Cole, Joe AM LC 8.11.81 30 83 26 £65K 4.6.15 £12M Curtis, John SW/D RC 3.9.78 33 20 - £47K 2.6.13 £1.6M Dittmer, Tim GK 1.9.84 27 19 - £14.25K 19.6.14 £5.25M Dunn, David AM C 27.12.79 32 12 - £43.5K 23.6.13 £1.7M Dyer, Kieron DM RC 29.12.78 33 66 11 £55K 9.6.13 £2.6M Ferdinand, Rio D C 7.11.78 33 100 9 £95K 28.6.14 £2.7M Gerrard, Steven DM RC 30.5.80 31 46 4 £60K 19.6.15 £9.5M Griffiths, Scott S C 4.6.87 24 - - £15K 14.5.15 £7.75M Hargreaves, Owen D/DM RLC 20.1.81 31 101 2 £60K 14.6.16 £6.5M Lee, Tommy GK 3.1.86 26 31 - £18.75K 19.6.16 £4.6M Livermore, David D/DM LC 20.5.80 32 - - £35K 21.6.14 £2.7M Moore, Stefan S C 12.8.83 28 2 - £44K 16.5.15 £7.75M Nolan, Kevin DM C 24.6.82 29 7 2 £60K 17.6.15 £8M Parker, Scott M C 13.10.80 31 44 9 £60K 15.6.14 £4.6M Piper, Matthew F RC 29.9.81 30 50 8 £45K 18.6.15 £7.25M Reid, Paul D C 18.2.82 30 10 - £70K 30.4.15 £6.5M Smith, Alan S C 28.10.80 31 35 8 £60K 13.6.14 £9.25M Tolley, Shane F C 15.10.84 27 1 - £19.75K 19.6.15 £9.5M Welsh, John D/DM RLC 10.1.84 28 1 - £16.5K 17.6.16 £3.2M </pre>
The tournament opener against the hosts saw Calhoun’s England side perform outstandingly well to gain a 2-0 win with Piper and Moore both scoring in the second half. After the Finns and the Czechs played out an entertaining 2-2 draw, England were in pole position in the group after the first round of matches. In their next game an unchanged side were taken all the way by a determined Finland, the game ending 1-1 with Moore on target once more. In the other Group 1 game France recovered from their poor start with a comprehensive 3-0 win of the Czech Republic. In the decisive final game England were held to a goalless draw against the Czechs but a 3-0 win For France ensured that the hosts won the group with England qualifying for the Quarter Finals as runners-up.

England took on Italy in the Quarter Final with Calhoun fielding a number of his former players. His team established a 2-0 lead inside 20 minutes with Tolley and Livermore getting the goals. But the Italians fought back bravely and scored twice in the second half to take the match into extra time. With no further scoring the tie was decided on penalties. Tommy Lee saved the third of the Italian’s spot kicks and when captain for the day Kevin Nolan fired his home England were into the Semis.

There they faced Croatia and in a dominant display they ran out 3-0 winners. Scott Griffiths opened the scoring with his first international goal in the first half. Captain Ferdinand added a crucial second late in the game before Man of the Match Joe Cole scored again in stoppage time. With France having a good 4-2 win over Portugal in the other Semi, the two teams that opened the tournament would end up closing it as well.

The Final took place in the magnificent Stade de France in front of a crowd of some 80,000 but that’s where the England dream came to an end. Having taken an early lead through Stefan Moore the wheels came off when both Kevin Nolan and keeper Tommy Lee were red-carded in a furious 5-minute period. France equalised from the penalty spot after lee’s dismissal and the teams went into half time tied. Unbelievably, Moore scored again shortly after the restart but the hosts took full advantage of their numerical superiority and scored three times to win 4-2.

As the team returned home to a hero’s welcome, Calhoun took some time to re-asses his situation. Much as he had enjoyed the experience and the honour of managing his country, he had found the experience as frustrating as it was satisfying. He missed the day-to-day involvement with the playing squad that came with club management. After several weeks consideration he made his mind up that what he really wanted was to take another crack at managing a league team and he resigned from the England job.

shannon2007

Well done, another stage completed \o/

retired_confal2

Unlucky to have two players sent off in the final. Interesting squad you took to the Euro, with more than a fair share of over-30s, and it seems to have worked quite well.

Roll on 2012/13

mrsevans7177

John Curtis, David Livermore :eek:

It's a miracle you got through the group stages

As Dave said, unlucky with the final - better luck with 2012/13

retired_amyslack

Thanks chaps

Season 12 (2012/2013)

His opportunity to get back into club management was not short in coming. Almost as soon as he made it known that he was back in the job market he had several offers come his way. But one offer caught his interest above the rest – the Nottingham Forest job. They were a team with a proud history and they had come close to returning to the top flight several times in the last 10 or 12 seasons, but on each occasion they had lost out on automatic promotion and failed to make it through the playoffs. They had just lost manager John Taylor to Oldham and at the start of August 2012 Brig Calhoun took over at the City Ground.

He found a well-run club with money in the bank, a decent stadium and a loyal set of fans. With 44 senior players on the books the squad was a bit large for Calhoun’s liking but, as was his habit, he wanted to take a good look at his resources before he made any changes to the personnel. The team had already completed a pre-season tour of Belgium before he joined and the results had been rather disappointing but he had ten days or so before their league opener.

By the end of his first month in charge the new manager had made quite an impact on the team. Based on what he had seen in training he promoted several players from the reserves into the first team, giving them playing time straight away. He was rewarded by some sterling performances, three straight league wins, a victory in the League Cup and a managerial award. He also unloaded one player who was definitely surplus to requirements. Midfielder Danny Pugh, who for some bizarre reason was on a £33,000 a week contract, moved to Crystal Palace on a free transfer.

There was no stopping his team in September as they won all six of their league matches and made progress in the League Cup by beating Premiership QPR 3-2. Their winning run established a new club record and Calhoun once again won the managerial award. Their run included a 2-0 win over former club Brighton, and Brig was sad to see that in the season since he left his team was almost unrecognisable with the majority of the players he knew having been sold on and he was not optimistic that they would last another season in the First Division. As far as his own players were concerned, the new man had worked his usual magic, turning journeymen into highly effective competitors. He employed his favoured tactical formation and, helped by an eye for spotting how to get the best out of a player, his team responded superbly. Thus far the star of the show was undoubtedly the experienced Paul Ifil. Brig was deploying the 32-year-old on the left side of midfield and he was both scoring and creating goals galore. Former Forest youngster Michael Dawson had returned to the club last season after stints at Sunderland, Birmingham, Dundee and West Brom and under the tutelage of Calhoun was beginning to look like he might at last perform to his undoubted potential. Defensive partner Adam Peacock, languishing in the reserves when Brig arrived, was as solid as a rock, Jamie McCunnie was making a terrific wingback and striker Mark Thomas was finding the back of the net regularly. But the players that typified the Calhoun gift of footballing alchemy were James Williams and Adam Saunders. Williams, nominally a centre back, was asked to patrol the area in front of the back four and was proving to be a natural. Saunders was a young player who considered himself to be a holding player but Brig pushed him into a more advanced midfield position with great results.

October saw Forest’s 100% league record broken with draws at Grimsby and Bolton but their other four league games were all won leaving them three points clear of Port Vale. The top two had opened up quite a gap over the chasing pack and at this stage of the season it looked like a two horse race for the title. Calhoun did get one piece of bad news however – midfield star Paul Ifil was approached by Aston Villa and agreed a contract with them. The £950K compensation that Forest would receive when the move went ahead in December was scant consolation for the loss of such a key player. But Brig refused to be downhearted and set about looking for a replacement for the departing player.

A hectic November saw Calhoun’s team go from strength despite losing their unbeaten record in the league and losing several key players for various periods through injury. Williams, McCunnie, Dawson and Peacock all picked up knocks but Brig was able to get the best out of their replacements and his team marched on. Their unbeaten record went in a 1-0 defeat at Wrexham a week after their televised top of the table clash with Port Vale had ended scoreless. But it was in the League Cup that they really made their mark. In the 3rd round they faced Premiership side Middlesbrough at the City Ground and they rallied from two goals down to square the tie and force extra time. After a 30-minute stalemate the game was decided in a thrilling penalty shootout with Brig’s team triumphing 6-5. They then travelled to Old Trafford to face Man United for a place in the Quarter Final. Once again they fell behind but a fantastic second half recovery saw them run out 3-1 winners. Towards the end of the month Brig was approached by former employers Derby who asked him to replace the sacked Brian Kerr but he refused point blank stating that he was planning to take Forest to the heights that Derby had once scaled.

December was a busy month at the City Ground as Calhoun took steps to keep his team’s excellent run of form going. There was a significant amount of transfer activity as Brig cashed in on some tempting offers and used the proceeds to strengthen his squad. Paul Ifill went to Villa as arranged and generous offers were accepted for Jamie McCunnie and Jamie McMaster that brought in over £5.5M. Having lost three of his best performers the manager set about obtaining some replacements and six players came in, five permanently and one on loan. Despite the outlay he still showed a profit of some £3M overall and the upheaval didn’t seem to upset his team’s results. They moved into the League Cup Semi Finals with a 2-0 win over fellow promotion challengers Port Vale and continued to keep winning in the league. Their only upset was a 4-2 defeat at home to Watford, just their second league defeat of the season.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">********************************************* ********************************************** English First Division - Tuesday 1st January 2013********************************************** *********************************************Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Nottm Forest 25 11 1 1 35 15 8 3 1 19 6 61 2nd Port Vale 26 8 1 3 20 6 8 5 1 22 7 54 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3rd Leicester 26 8 1 3 18 9 7 4 3 29 18 50 4th Cardiff 26 9 4 1 29 3 4 2 6 10 12 45 5th Bristol C 25 9 3 2 25 8 4 2 5 11 14 44 6th Aston Villa 20 6 2 1 16 6 7 2 2 15 12 43 </pre>
Meanwhile former employers Derby, having failed to tempt Calhoun to return to Pride Park, had employed former Blackburn, Walsall and Charlton manager Rudi Voller as they continued to fight relegation.