Bagpuss

May 2009

Blackpool away was first up this month and we easily beat them 4-1 which being they are bottom was not that surprising. Two goals from Tipton, and a goal each from Nolan and Scholes saw us edge a bit higher up the table.

Everton at home was next and we easily beat them 3-1 thanks to a pair of goals from Gomez and a third from Ronaldinho, his first for the club. We an still finish as high as 4th in the table but that is unlikely we can't drop any lower than the 8th spot we are already in so a Euopean place next season is guarnteed.

Man Utd at Wembley in the FA Cup Final was next and we lost ot them 1-0 after Stephen Blake was sent of in the 2nd minute for chopping Ruud Van Nistelrooy down, naturally Ruud scored from the penalty. We still played very well despite having fewer men and were actually unlucky not to win, a ankle injury to Fletcher 10 mins from time with no subs left didn't help matters.

Blackburn at home was the last game of the season and we beat them 1-0 in a very one sided game. Nolan scored our goal as we finished the season in 6th spot, which considering our early form is quite some acheivement.

Bagpuss

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">********************************************* ************************************************** * English Premier Division - Sunday 17th May 2009********************************************** ************************************************** ================================================== ============================================== 2008/9 Table============================================= ================================================== =Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st C Newcastle 38 12 7 0 40 14 13 5 1 30 13 87 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2nd Man Utd 38 11 6 2 31 12 11 4 4 26 17 76 3rd Liverpool 38 14 4 1 36 9 6 6 7 20 23 70 4th Arsenal 38 14 4 1 33 5 6 5 8 26 27 69 5th Wigan 38 10 5 4 31 20 9 4 6 25 20 66 6th Carlisle 38 12 4 3 38 23 6 6 7 27 25 64 7th Chelsea 38 10 8 1 32 11 6 6 7 18 20 62 8th Everton 38 10 4 5 25 16 7 7 5 20 20 62 9th Stoke 38 7 6 6 18 17 9 4 6 17 20 58 10th Wolves 38 11 4 4 30 17 5 4 10 20 29 56 11th Bristol C 38 11 3 5 26 19 4 5 10 18 26 53 12th Leeds 38 10 5 4 22 12 4 4 11 20 34 51 13th Charlton 38 7 9 3 27 17 5 5 9 27 26 50 14th Tottenham 38 8 3 8 20 25 4 9 6 25 27 48 15th Bradford 38 5 9 5 14 14 2 5 12 9 20 35 16th Crystal Palace 38 4 4 11 21 31 3 7 9 14 28 32 17th W.B.A. 38 4 6 9 19 30 2 5 12 18 37 29 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------18th R Sheff Wed 38 7 3 9 18 31 1 1 17 9 44 28 19th R Blackburn 38 5 2 12 19 28 2 4 13 9 26 27 20th R Blackpool 38 2 4 13 17 38 1 4 14 11 35 17 </pre>

Bagpuss

Summer Transfers and Seasonal Expectations

Jordi Hoogstrate joins Lyon for £3.5 million
Richie Foran joins Trabzonspur for £950k
William Bald joins from Liverpool for £725k
Robert Douglas joins Middlesborough for £375k
Klever Manuel Chala retires
Florian Thorwart joins from Dortmund on a free transfer
Paul Scholes retires
Darius Vassel joins Tottenham for £3.6 million
Christian Poulsen joins from Schalke 04 for £3.5 million
Robert Huth joins Werder Bremen for £1.8 million
Kiegan Parker joins Orlando Pirates for £3.3 million
Diego Tristan joins on a free transfer
Daniel Van Buyten joins MKE Ankaragucu for £1.4 million
Jamie Carragher joins from Liverpool for £850k

As you can see quite a few players left the club over the summer especially several strikers, an area where there is quite a surplus. 7 players left and 2 retired whilst i signed 5 new players which will cut down the squad size a bit and also earned us quite a bit of money.

The board failed to increase the stadium as i had asked but did give us undersoil heating. The wage bill has climbed considerably over the summer down to our success and players needing contracts renewing.

The aim for this season is to build on last years progress and therefore to finish in the top 8 this season. The UEFA Cup aims are to get to the 3rd round at the very minimum.

Bagpuss

August 2009

First up this season is a home tie against West Ham.We easily won the match 5-0 after a very impressive display today. A Jeffers hattrick and goals from Nolan and Ronaldinho helped us to a flying start this season.

Fredrik Risp joins from Gillingham for £5 million, and Stuart Collins join from the youth team.

Leeds away was next and we managed to get a 2-2 draw against them after a clsoe game. Two goals from recent signing Diego Tristan helped us to a point after Leeds had taken an early 2-0 lead.

Everton at home was the last match of this short month and we only managed a 1-1 draw despite having 18 frigging shots. Dida was on good form in goal for Everton as only Middleton's effort went in. We finished the month in 6th spot after a reasonably good start.

Bagpuss

September 2009

Charlton were first up this month and we dominated the match yet only managed a 2-2 draw. It was a fair result really being O'Shea was sent of in the first half. McNaughton and Nolan were the scorers today as we remained at the top end of the table.

Steaua Bucharest was next in the UEFA Cup at home and we managed to draw 1-1 despite easily dominating the game. We had loads of shots yet only Ronaldinho's free kick went in.

West Brom was next and we managed to beat them 1-0 away. Having switched the standard formation to 4-4-2 attacking i reverted back to my preferred 4-3-1-2 formation which the team is used to. Tipton scored the goal today as we remained at the top end of the table.

Peterborough were next and we easily dominated the game beating them 5-1 at home. Two goals from Jeffers and goals from Toure, Nolan and Tipton helped us to a thumping victory. We finished the month in 4th spot in a good position in the table.

Bagpuss

October 2009

Steaua Bucharest was first this month in the UEFA Cup, we managed to win this away match 5-1 easily going through with a 6-2 aggregate win. Goals from Clare, Jeffers, Stevens and two from Tipton started this years European Campaign.

Bristol City away was next and we easily dominated them winning the game 1-0. Ronaldinho scored our goal as we maintained a decent run of form in the league. Having discovered the annual wage bill is £40 million i have transfer listed a few players to try and cut back on expenditure somewhat.

Tottenham away was next and we beat them 2-0 to hit 2nd place in the table. Jeffers and Duff scored the goals as we ran rings around the Tottenham defence easily coasting to a 2-0 win.

Boston Utd sign Michael Dickinson for £450k and Neil Mellor joins Watford for £550k as i sell off a pair of unused strikers.

Osijek at home in the UEFA Cup was next and we easily controlled the game with massive amounts of possession. Unfortuantly we did only manage to score one goal from all our chances and that was scored by Toure.

Newcastle away was next and we managed to edge them out of the game and won it 2-1. It was a good result as Newcastle had the better of the football but thanks to goals from Nolan and Duff we won the match.

Fulham in the league cup was next and we defeated them 2-1 away. It was a dull match and goals from Jeffers and Tipton saw us into the next round. We finished the month top of the table on goal difference from Chelsea.

Bagpuss

November 2009

First up this month was Bradford and we beat them 2-1 at home to remain top of the table. Jeffers and Poulsen scored the goals today. Several bids have come in for Clement so i'll see if i can get a price suitable to me and then he'll probably be sold.

Osijek away was next in the UEFA Cup and this time we played worse than last time but won the match 2-0. Goals from Nolan and Duff eased us into the next round. Everyone refused to pay what i asked for Clement so currently he'll be here a bit longer but i do intend to lose a defender.

Crystal Palace away was next and we won the match 3-1 despite being outplayed by Palace. Goals from Middleton, Jeffers and Tipton made it 11 wins a row for the club a new record.

Derby away in the League Cup was next and we easily out shot them 4 shots to 1, winning easily 3-1. Goals from Fletcher, Jeffers and Michael Stewert eased us lazily into the next round.

Chelsea away was next and we were completely out played and out fought. Still we won the mtach 2-1 thanks to goals from Nolan and Diego Tristan as we set a new unbeaten record of 18 matches in a row.

Dortmund at home was next in a pretty even match in the UEFA Cup. We won the match 3-1 thanks to goals from Clement, Jeffers and Nolan. A good result in the return away leg and we'll be thorugh to the next round.

Wolves were the last match this month and we beat them 3-2 at home with ease after a good performance. Goals from Diego Tristan, Fletcher and Jeffers helped us to victory. We finished the month top of the table by 2 points over Chelsea.

Brian Shelly joins Blackburn for £425k.

Bagpuss

December 2009

Aston Villa away in the league cup was first this month and we managed to defeat them after a very close match.We won 2-1 thanks to goals from Diego Tristan and Simon Buxton, Gomez got himself sent off near the end of the match hindering his chances of a run in the team.

Liverpool away was next and in a very good game we emerged with a point each after a fair 1-1 draw. Damien Duff scored our goal late on equalising Michael Owen's 12th minute strike.

Dortmund away was next in the UEFA Cup and we lost the game 3-2 but won 5-4 on aggregate. It was a very open, exciting match that Dortmund had marginally the better in justified by their win. Toure and Jeffers got our goals as we progressed to the next round.

Wigan at home was next and we extended our league unbeaten record to 20 after a dull 1-0 win. Jeffers scored our goal his 10th league goal of the season and his 54th league goal for the club.

Man Utd away was next and we managed tolose our unbeaten record as we lost 3-1. Jeffers scored our goal but Diego Forlan scored a 7 minute hattrick early on killing the match dead.

Torkel Wahl-Olsen joins Aston Villa for £2 million after never fitting in with the squad. Mark Summerbell jons Wolves for £600k after being the longest serving member of the original Squad i started with, he spent 10 years at the club and at the age of 33 still has a few years left but not with us.

Stoke at home was next and despite dominating the match we only got a 0-0 draw out of it. We should of scored at least one goal if not more but Stoke keeper Gareth Williams had an excellent day.

West Ham away was next and we returned to winning ways in style thumping West Ham 5-0. Two goals from Jeffers, and goals from Fletcher and Ronaldinho plus a own goal saw us stop our minor down turn in form.

Aston Villa at home was the last match this month and we totally dominated thematch with 74% of the possession yet we once more failed to score drawing the match 0-0. Jerzy Dudek had an excellent day in goal for Villa. We finished the month top of the table on goal difference from Chelsea but with a game in hand on them.

Bagpuss

January 2010

Tottenham were fist up this month and we beat them 2-0 thanks to a pair of goals from Tipton. It was a pretty even match but our superiour strikeforce allowed us to get the win.

Charlton away was next and we wonit 3-1 very easily after scoring all 3 in the first 15 ninutes. Two goals from Tipton and the third from Nolan set us up fr an easy canter to the 3 points.

Derby away in the FA Cup was next and we maintained our 100% win record against them beating them 4-2. Two goals from Tipton, who is in a awesome run of form, and goals from Jeffers and Duff eased us into the next round.

Arsenal at home was next and we beat them 1-0 after a hard tackling tough match. The goal was scored by Nolan early on in the second half as we played our catch up game over the rest of the league.

Neil Clement joins AC Milan for £5.5 million mainly because i hit the wrong button but i was looking at cutting the number of defenders anyway and he was the highest paid.

Leeds at home was next and we got a 1-1 draw after a scrappy match. It was a fair result with Middleton scoring our goal. I am looking for a few cheap low wage players for the future being i seem to have over reduced the squad size.

Scott Bell joins from Peterborough for £1.5 million and should be a good prospect for the future

Everton away was next and we managed to beat them 2-0 despite not really getting into the game. Goals from Middleton and Tipton saw us pick all 3 points today but we lost Ronaldinho for 3 months with a groin injury.

Arsenal at home in the League cup semi was next and we managed to beat them quite easily 3-1. Goals from Jeffers, Duff and Simon Buxton helped us set up a nice return leg for a place in the Final.

Bradford at home in the FA Cup was next and we easily beat them 2-0 after a very simple dominant performance. Fletcher and an own goal were the scorers today as we finished the month in top spot 3 points ahead of Chelsea.

Bagpuss

February 2010

Ashley Woodley joins from Aston Villa for £3.8 million.and is another promising prospect for the future.

Bristol City was first up this month and we totally dominated them winning the match 1-0 at home. It was a disappointing scoreline especially as the goal came from Tipton after Bristol City had there keeper sent off.

Aston Villa away was next and we beat them in another easy victory after a good deal of possession and dominance in midfield. We won 4-2 thanks to two goals from Jeffers, a goal from Tipton and a own goal.

West Brom at home was next and we managed to win after yet another walkover game. This time goals from Middleton and Tipton saw us easily win 2-0 preserving our fine run of form.

Peterborough at home in the FA Cup was next and we managed to easily beat them 3-0 progressing to the quarter finals once more. Two goals from Jeffers and a third from Tipton steered us on our way.

Peterborough away was the last match this month and we managed to scrap a 2-1 win after Toure was sent of for two yellows and Peterborough put up a fight. Middleton and Tipton scored our goals as we finished the month top by 6 points over Chelsea.