retired_amyslack

July 2001

My name is Roberto Nomátes and I am a very happy man. There are several reasons for my blissful state. For a start I have recently left my boring job as a cashier at Banco De Andalucia. That was just after I had deposited a large sum of Euros into my account there. Not that the money will stay there for long. I expect to spend most of it on a very interesting acquisition – a controlling interest in my local football team, Motril C.F. I have been an avid supporter of Motril all of my life and I will shortly live out my fantasy by taking charge of the club, courtesy of El Gordo.

El Gordo – The Fat One. The biggest lottery in the world. And I have won one of the prizes. I am a man of simple tastes and live alone in a small apartment. With no wife or family Motril C.F. is my life and I can’t think of anything else that I want to spend my money on. My negotiations with the club chairman José Antonio Murado are at an advanced stage and I expect to reach a successful conclusion shortly.

Motril is a town in Andalucia, midway between Almeria and Malaga and close to the famous city of Granada. The football team plays in Group 4 of Division 2B in the Spanish league and plays at the 6,000 capacity Escribano Castilla stadium.


Author’s Note
I am playing CM01/02 version 3.9.68 with the latest data update from SI.

If you would like to know more about the town of Motril then have a look at this.

It you want to learn a bit more about the structure of the Spanish league then look at
this.

retired_amyslack

The negotiations have taken longer than I had expected, but I have finally reached an agreement with Senor Murado. I now have a controlling interest in the club but I have agreed that Murado will stay on as chairman as I have no interest in the business side and I want him to continue to look after the finances. My dream is to manage the club, and part of the agreement is that I will replace the current manager Juan Carlos Hontoria. This has proved to be the major obstacle and I have had to pay off Hontoria's contract as well as purchase the stadium and buy out Murado. This leaves me with very little money to bring in new players. Still, I will have to cope as best as I can - the important thing is that I am now in charge and I can start to live my dream.

My first action as the new manager is to meet the staff and start to get to know them.

Motril C.F. Staff
Assistant Manager - José Manuel Ortega, 44, Spanish
Coach - Jaime Mora, 60, Spanish
Scout - Alfonso Sanz, 48, Spanish
Scout - Ricardo GarcÃ*a Ruiz, 55, Spanish
Physio - José Carlos RodrÃ*guez, 37, Spanish

On first acquaintance I am not very impressed by the coaching staff. Ortega doesn't seem too interested in working to develop the younger players and Mora is far too old fashioned for my taste. The scouts seem quite capable and understand the need to seek out youth players, loan signings and free transfers. I am impressed with RodrÃ*guez who is a modern thinking physio and works very well with the players. I feel that one of my first priorities will be to improve the coaching staff and perhaps get another physio in to work with José Carlos.

After a couple of training sessions I feel able to sit down with the coaches and take a run through of the squad.

Motril C.F. Playing Squad

José Carlos Ortigosa Burgos (Burgos) - GK, 29, Spanish
Burgos had joined Motril at the start of last season from a local amateur club. The coaches like Burgos and he does look like a reasonable keeper but probably will not be first choice this season.

José Luis MartÃ*nez Márquez (José Luis) - GK, 29, Spanish
José Luis has been brought in just before my arrival, again from a local amateur club. He will be the starting keeper and Burgos will be keeping the bench warm.

Abraham Pérez (Abraham) - DRC/DMRC, 21, Spanish
Abraham is another player who has just arrived at the club. He joined from the Racing Club de Santander B team. I see little to impress, except perhaps for his fitness.

Fabián Bruzón(Fabián) - DR/MR, 31, Argentinean/Spanish
Fabián has been at Motril for 5 seasons and is viewed as a useful backup player.

José Antonio Mateos - DR, 31, Spanish
Another new recruit from amateur football, he has shown little to impress in training.

Sergio Cuevas - DC, 22, Spanish
Joined recently after being freed by second division U.D. Almeria, Sergio is another player who has not impressed so far.

Juan Antonio Pérez Maldonado (Juan) - DC, 17, Spanish
Juan looks quite strong for a youngster and has decent pace but may be a bit too young to be a regular starter.

José Manuel RodrÃ*guez Cortés (PÃ*a) - DC/DMC, 30, Spanish
PÃ*a is another new addition from U.D. Almeria and he looks quite strong but doesn't exactly seem to have a biting tackle. A possible starter, depending on the tactics to be employed.

Carlos Rivera - DMC, 23, Spanish
He started his career at Motril 5 seasons ago and was transferred to first division club Rayo Vallecano but spent most of his 3 seasons there loaned out to second division clubs. He rejoined Motril just before my arrival. Definitely one of the stronger players he will be one of the first names on the team sheet.

Diego López Santos (Diego) - MR, 27, Spanish
Diego is an experienced player, having played at a variety of second division clubs for the last 8 seasons. Another new face at Motril but looks likely to be a regular starter.

José Masegosa - MR, 28, Spanish
Another new face from amateur football, he may well be challenging Diego for the right midfield spot.

Francisco Javier GarcÃ*a Cabrera (Francis) - ML, 25, Spanish
Yet another new recruit from second division Polideportivo Ejido, Francis is speedy but apart from that doesn't seem to have much to offer.

Cristian Iván Murúa - MC, 20, Spanish
He looks like an honest hard-working player but with little else to offer.

Igor Arenaza - AMR/AML, 27, Spanish/Basque
Another very experienced player with 8 seasons at a variety of second division clubs. In training he has looked skilful and tricky on the ball. He seems to have an eye for goal and will definitely be in the starting line-up.

José Miguel Zurita - AMR, 21, Spanish
Yet another new face from the amateur ranks, he has been quite impressive in training and is probably the best passer of the ball in the squad. A probable starter, depending on tactics.

Alexis Jiménez Medin (Alexis) - FR/FC, 18, Spanish
Alexis has not shown any great ability in training and is highly unlikely to get many opportunities to play.

Rodolfo Andrés Orife - FR/FL/FC, 24, Spanish
Yet another recruit from amateur football, he looks good in the air and is quite a strong lad. He is naturally two-footed and looks like a definite starter up front.

Javier Guerra - FL, 19, Spanish
Another player that looks like a hard worker but with little else to offer. Unlikely to see much action this season.

Diego MartÃ*n - SC, 26, Spanish
He has had 3 or 4 seasons switching between amateur and second division sides. Strong and hard working, he will definitely be given a chance to show what he can do.

Sergio Larreina - SC, 26, Spanish/Basque
Another quite experiences player with half a dozen seasons in amateur and second division football. Unlikely to be first choice but will probably get a few chances to prove himself.

Having completed my review, I turn my attention to my priorities on the playing front. It was clear that the weakest area of the squad was definitely the defence, so I have tasked the scouts with finding some new defenders as their top priority.

With less than two weeks before the first league match of the season and the closure of the transfer window, there is very little time available. I have been able to strengthen the backroom staff to my satisfaction. José Manuel Ortega has agreed to step down as Assistant Manager and take on a coaching role. This has enabled me to bring in Ignacio MartÃ*n Esperanza, a 37 year old Spaniard, as my new Assistant.

I have also been able to bring in two more coaches - Aitor Arregui (30, Spanish/Basque) and Juan Carlos MandÃ*a (34, Spanish). In addition I have signed a second physio, Mario Iglesias (36, Spanish).

Unfortunately my only success on the playing side is the acquisition of Victor Bertomeu (Victor), a 24-year-old right sided defender, on a free transfer. I tried for several other players, including an Italian central defender on loan, but they all accepted offers from other clubs.

So I will face my first match in charge with a squad that I feel is very weak defensively and with no left-sided defender available at all. I have decided to play a fairly traditional 4-4-2 formation with the following line-up.


<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> Rodolfo Andrés Orife Diego MartÃ*nIgor Arenaza Diego José Masegosa José Miguel ZuritaAbraham Carlos Rivera(c) PÃ*a Victor José Luis</pre>


In defence I am asking Abraham to play out of position on the left side. Carlos Rivera is not a natural central defender and prefers a defensive midfield position. I am also asking Diego and Masegosa to play as central midfielders when both of them would prefer to play on the right side of midfield. So I have four players operating outside of their favoured positions and I am not too optimistic

crazyvols@comca

Hope you don't have any Motril headaches...hahaha.

retired_amyslack

August 2001

Sunday 19th
The first match of the season is at home to Ceuta. It is almost a full house as over 5,900 fans turn out to cheer on the new manager and the team. We get off to a nightmare start and all of my worst fears are realised as we go into the halftime break 2-0 down. However, a spirited fight back in the second half sees us get back on level terms with goals by Arenaza and Orife. Unfortunately, Orife was injured shortly after scoring and will be out for a couple of weeks with strained knee ligaments. Diego Martin looked as though he had snatched a dramatic winner, but his header was disallowed because of an offside decision.

Wednesday 22nd
Still looking to strengthen the defence, I make a bid to Barcelona B for Luis Miguel Carrión, a 22 year old defender who can play anywhere in the back four. The €200K offer is accepted and the player will join during the next transfer window in mid-December.

Sunday 26th
For our next match we head west along the coast to Cadiz and I plan keep the side unchanged apart from bringing in Javier Guerra in place of the injured Orife and replacing the disappointing Zurita on the right side of midfield with Fabián. The match ends in a 1-0 victory and I am very pleased with the team's performance. The defence was very solid and restricted Cadiz to just two shots on target. Unfortunately there is another injury as PÃ*a suffers a twisted knee and will be out for 3 weeks.


September 2001

Sunday 2nd
With another enforced change required because of injury, 18-year-old Juan comes in to central defence to replace PÃ*a for the next match at home to Écija. We have another good turnout with over 5,500 spectators and give them something to cheer about with a good 2-1 victory. Javier Guerra gets both of the goals and performed very well. José Luis has an excellent game in goal and the young central defender Juan is also outstanding. I am certainly being given reason to alter some of my first impressions of the squad. One opinion I have not changed is that Igor Arenaza does look very good and he has been our most consistent performer so far. This win takes us into third position in the table. As the top four will go in to a series of promotion playoffs then that's the kind of position that we will want to still be in at the end of the season, but there is an awful long way to go before then.

Monday 3rd
The scouts have recommended a young French player called Kévin Jacmot (AML/FL, 17) and he accepts our contract offer and will join in the next transfer window in December.

Saturday 8th
For our next match we have a short hop along the west coast to the busy city of Malaga, a popular arrival point for tourists visiting the Costa del Sol where we wil be playing the Malaga B team. The day before the match we get some fantastic news - in the Spanish Cup 1st round we have drawn at home against the famous Barcelona. The match won't be played until December but the town is already buzzing with anticipation.

Orife is now back in full training after his knee injury but he is not yet fit enough to even claim a place on the bench so he won't be travelling with us.

The match itself is a big disappointment as we suffer a 2-1 defeat and our brief unbeaten start to the season is over. It is particularly annoying that the winning goal is a deflected free kick and poor Carlos Rivera is credited with an own goal. On the plus side, Igor Arenaza had a splendid game, scoring our only goal.

Sunday 16th
Rivera's bad luck continues as he picks up a bruised rib in training and will miss our next match at home to Torredonjimeno. Orife now looks fit enough to start and I decide that he will replace Diego MartÃ*n who will be on the bench. PÃ*a is also back from injury but I decide to risk having him start because of Rivera's injury.

I am very pleased that we bounce back from our defeat and register a 1-0 win. The best part is that almost the whole team play very well, the only relatively poor performance coming from Javier Guerra. Orife scores the only goal and looks like he has never been away. I am also pleased that PÃ*a comes through his first match back unscathed. I am slightly concerned that Igor Arenaza seemed to tire quite quickly - I will be relying on him a lot this season and I hope that his fitness won't let him down.

Thursday 20th
I have been receiving regular bids for Burgos, our backup keeper. I am very tempted to accept but the fact that I don't have another keeper in the squad prevents me from doing so. It would be just my luck for José Luis to pick up an injury and leave us exposed. I don't have another keeper lined up for the next transfer window so I reluctantly refuse the offers.

More injury news just before our next game when Diego MartÃ*n twists a knee in training and will be out for 2 to 3 weeks. I was all set to play him instead of Javier Guerra but this means that Javier will keep his starting position.

Sunday 23rd
We head west once again for the next game, but this time inland to the town of Zafra, near the Portuguese border, where we will be playing Diter Zafra. The match is low in quality but high in excitement, as both sides look to attack and there must be close to 30 goal attempts in total. Diter Zafra are two goals up after 25 minutes but Javier Guerra pulls one back before half time. The sides continue to trade scoring opportunities in the second half but Guerra manages to grab an equaliser 20 minutes from time. In the dying minutes of the match it looks as though the home side have a late winner but fortunately for us the goal is disallowed for offside and it ends 2-2. And just think, Javier Guerra wouldn't have started the match if Diego MartÃ*n hadn't been injured and he goes and scores two vital goals.

Tuesday 25th
Over the last few weeks I have been negotiating with several players whose contracts will expire next summer and I have agreed extensions with Diego, Abraham (who has been playing very well as my out of position left back), Diego MartÃ*n, Fabián, PÃ*a and Guerra.

Sunday 30th
And so we approach our final game of the month, a home match against Cacereño. We have another 5,000 plus crowd who see us dominate the match yet struggle to score. We have to wait until the 64th minute before Igor Arenaza breaks the deadlock and that is enough for a 1-0 win. Unfortunately Diego gets a bruised shin during the match and will be sidelined for 10 days.

So the month ends with us having played 5 league matches with 3 wins, a draw and a loss, giving us 10 points. We lie in 6th position but it is tight at the top and we are only 3 points off 1st place. Our top performers have been Arenaza, Orife, Victor, Masegosa, José Luis and, most unexpectedly, Guerra. The 19-year-old forward is our top scorer with 5 goals.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">********************************************* ********************************************** Spanish Second Division B - Sunday 30th September 2001********************************************** *********************************************Group 4Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Cartagonova 7 3 1 0 11 5 2 1 0 8 3 17 2nd Linares 7 4 0 0 10 1 1 1 1 5 5 16 3rd Algeciras 7 2 1 0 4 2 2 2 0 5 3 15 4th Melilla 7 3 1 0 9 0 1 1 1 3 3 14 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------5th Betis B 7 2 1 1 9 5 2 1 0 7 5 14 6th MOTRIL 7 3 1 0 6 3 1 1 1 4 4 14 7th Ceuta 7 2 2 0 6 4 1 2 0 7 4 13 8th Extremadura 7 2 0 1 7 4 1 1 2 5 10 10 9th Jaén 7 1 2 1 4 2 1 1 1 6 6 9 10th Sevilla B 7 1 2 0 6 5 1 1 2 6 8 9 11th Torredonjimeno 7 1 0 2 5 6 1 1 2 2 5 7 12th Málaga B 7 2 1 0 6 3 0 0 4 1 12 7 13th DÃ*ter Zafra 7 1 1 1 5 5 0 2 2 4 6 6 14th Écija 7 0 2 1 4 5 1 1 2 2 4 6 15th Ciudad de Murcia 7 1 1 1 5 3 0 2 2 3 5 6 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------16th Moralo 7 1 3 0 6 4 0 0 3 2 8 6 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------17th Mérida 7 0 1 3 2 7 1 2 0 1 0 6 18th Jerez 7 1 1 1 3 3 0 1 3 2 10 5 19th Cádiz 7 0 2 2 1 3 0 2 1 3 4 4 20th Cacereño 7 1 0 2 5 6 0 0 4 0 9 3</pre>

retired_destiny1124

Nice start to this one BobBev-- look forward to following along on it

retired_amyslack

October 2001

Sunday 7th
Our first match of this month takes us along the west coast once more just past Gibraltar to Algeciras. I expect this to be a tough game, especially as it is the first time this season that we are playing a team above us in the league. This will give us a good indication if we will have the ability to mix it with the best teams in this division and challenge for the playoffs. I am trying to play an unchanged team whenever possible but the injury to Diego means that I have to re-shuffle midfield so I decide to give Zurita another chance. He looked good in pre-season training but failed to impress in his first match so let's see if he can make the most of his opportunity this time.

We put in a very good performance against Algeciras and although they have slightly more of the possession we certainly create far more scoring opportunities. The home keeper plays very well to keep us at bay, and when he is beaten by a header from Masegosa the woodwork gets in the way. We eventually make the breakthrough with a deflected free kick that goes down as an own goal, but it is enough to give us a 1-0 win and lift us to 4th in the table. Once again the whole team performed well although Zurita continues to disappoint managing only a yellow card and a dead leg that will keep him out for a week.

Sunday 14th
Diego is fit for our next match where we entertain Sevilla B at the Escribano Castilla. A 2-0 win does not fully reflect our dominance if the game. Once again we faced a keeper at the top of his game and a series of excellent saves, and the woodwork, denied our strikers. When we did get the ball in the net it was ruled out for offside. The breakthrough finally came in the 74th minute when Fabián got his first of the season. It was well deserved as he had been rampaging down the wing to great effect. Orife made the game safe with a goal just before the end of the match. Again, the most pleasing aspect was that there was not bad performance by anyone in the team.

Sunday 21st
Our next match sees us on the road again, travelling northwest to Almendralejo to play Extremadura. This was an extraordinary match that makes me believe that the gods of football are alive and well and living in Motril! The home side took an early lead and then had no less than three goals disallowed because of offside decisions in the first 25 minutes. Even worse from their perspective was that the decisions all involved non-scoring players who were deemed to be interfering with play. Extremadura played extremely well and dominated the possession, making it very hard for us to get into the game at all. The generous refereeing and a fine display in goal by José Luis enabled us to reach the break just one goal down. We saw a bit more of the ball in the second half and Arenaza scored an equaliser on 66 minutes with a powerful shot. I would have gratefully settled for the draw and brought on Diego MartÃ*n in place of Javier Guerra just a few minutes from time. I was amazed and delighted when he picked up a mis-hit goal kick to slot home his first goal of the season with literally the last kick of the match. So we ended up with an undeserved 2-1 victory and climb to third in the table.

Sunday 28th
Our last match of the months sees us back at home facing Ciudad de Murcia, a side currently in the bottom four of the division. This was a frustrating match that ended scoreless. We dominated the play but were unable to break down a very stubborn defence and failed to create many scoring opportunities.

This was another very successful month for the club as we played 4 league matches and gained 10 points with 3 wins and a draw and we have climbed into the playoff positions. I am absolutely delighted with how the squad have been playing and my early fears about our defensive capabilities have been unfounded so far. In fact we have one of the best defensive records in the league with only 8 goals conceded in 11 games.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">********************************************* ********************************************** Spanish Second Division B - Sunday 28th October 2001********************************************** *********************************************Group 4Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Cartagonova 11 4 1 0 12 5 5 1 0 17 6 29 2nd Linares 11 6 0 0 16 2 2 2 1 9 8 26 3rd Betis B 11 4 1 1 16 8 3 2 0 10 6 24 4th MOTRIL 11 4 2 0 8 3 3 1 1 7 5 24 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------5th Ceuta 11 3 3 0 11 6 3 2 0 12 7 23 6th Melilla 11 4 1 1 13 3 1 2 2 3 5 18 7th Málaga B 11 4 2 0 11 5 1 0 4 3 13 17 8th Sevilla B 11 2 3 0 10 8 2 1 3 10 11 16 9th Algeciras 11 2 1 2 6 6 2 3 1 8 9 16 10th DÃ*ter Zafra 11 3 1 1 9 6 1 2 3 9 11 15 11th Jaén 11 1 4 1 4 2 1 2 2 9 10 12 12th Extremadura 11 2 1 2 9 7 1 2 3 7 13 12 13th Torredonjimeno 11 2 0 3 11 11 1 2 3 5 9 11 14th Écija 11 1 2 3 9 12 1 1 3 4 8 9 15th Jerez 11 2 1 2 7 6 0 2 4 2 11 9 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------16th Mérida 11 0 1 5 3 12 2 2 1 4 4 9 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------17th Ciudad de Murcia 11 1 2 2 7 7 0 3 3 3 8 8 18th Cacereño 11 1 0 4 6 10 1 1 4 3 11 7 19th Cádiz 11 0 4 2 5 7 0 2 3 5 9 6 20th Moralo 11 1 3 1 7 7 0 0 6 3 16 6</pre>

retired_amyslack

November 2001

Sunday 4th
For our first match in November we travel to the northwest to a town called Jerez de los Caballeros in the province of Extremadura. This not THE Jerez, famous for its Sherry - that is a town called Jerez de la Frontera in Cadiz province. Jerez de los Caballeros is renowned for the quality of the cured ham (Jamón Iberico) produced there and we plan to take a short shopping trip before the match to stock up on this wonderful delicacy.

Jerez are not one of the strongest teams that we will face so I decide to give Francis his first start of the season in midfield and rest Diego. Diego is playing out of position in central midfield and, although he has been performing pretty well there I wanted to take a look at Francis and see how he would do. He will also be out of position, as he prefers the left side of midfield but I will play him left centre midfield and see how he does.

As it happened, the home side were a bit stronger then I expected but we took an early lead through the excellent Arenaza. Midway through the first half it looked as though we had doubled our lead when Guerra got the ball in the net but his effort was ruled out for offside. Young Javier took exception to this and his rather over-vigorous appeal ended up with him receiving a yellow card. I know that he is only 19 but he is going to have to learn to control his temper. However, just a couple of minutes after that incident we did go 2-0 ahead when Arenaza got his second of the match. The home side worked hard to get back into the match and they created some good scoring opportunities but had problems in getting the ball on target. They did pull one back with about 20 minutes to go but we managed to hang on for a 2-1 win.

Francis played quite well and I will probably let him have a run of a few matches to see how he settles. José Luis had another steady game in goal and José Masegosa played very well in central midfield. Even though he is playing out of position I have been very impressed with his contribution this season and he is definitely one of our top performers. But man of the match was undoubtedly Igor Arenaza with his two goals taking him to six for the season.

Tuesday 6th
I have been following up on a player that the scouts have recommended, Suat Usta (Sweeper/DC, 20, Turkish/Dutch) who was recently released by Eindhoven (EVV not PSV!). He has accepted our contract offer and will join in mid-December.

Sunday 11th
Our next match is at home to Moralo who currently occupy one of the bottom four relegation places so I decide to rest the young striker Guerra and give Diego MartÃ*n a game. We record a satisfying 3-1 win that takes us up to second in the table. This was another solid performance with the whole team playing really well, although I was a little surprised by the number of scoring opportunities that Moralo created. With better finishing it could have been much closer. Fabián opened the scoring early in the first half and Diego MartÃ*n had several chances to extend the lead but couldn't find a way past the visiting keeper and it was still 1-0 at half time. Moralo surprised us by grabbing an equaliser 10 minutes into the second half but we restored our lead a few minutes later when Abraham got his first goal of the season from a free kick. Diego MartÃ*n made it safe with a well-deserved goal five minutes after that and some 5,300 fans went home happy.

Sunday 18th
Our next match has us heading east along the coast to the town of Cartagena in the province of Murcia to take on the league leaders Cartagonova. This will be a big test for us as they have been on top of the table for the whole season and are probably the strongest team in our division. The fact that they had their first defeat of the season last weekend gives us some encouragement, but frankly I will be happy to come away with a draw.

At the start of the match Cartagonova are all over us and they take the lead in the first minute. They have the ball in the back of the net twice more in the first ten minutes but luckily for us both efforts are ruled out for offside. They continue to dominate play for the remainder of the half and I am grateful to go in at the break just one goal down. We start to play a little better in the second half and Diego MartÃ*n grabs an equaliser in the 75th minute. Just as it looks as though we will hold on for the draw the home side get their second of the match in stoppage time and we head home disappointed.

Thursday 22nd
I have been looking for another scout to strengthen the scouting team and I think I have found a good one when Eduardo GarcÃ*a González agrees to join us from Cercedilla. We have to pay out €95K but if he can find some good players then I think that he will be well worth the money.

Sunday 25th
We face another crunch match, this time at home to second-placed Linares. This was a match packed with excitement and controversy. It was one of those matches that a neutral spectator would have loved, but it did my blood pressure no good at all. Straight from the kick off both sides were going forward looking for goals. The visitors scored first with just three minutes on the clock. Within a minute we equalised when a run and shot by Arenaza was deflected in off a Linares defender. The remainder of the half saw both sides create lots of chances but no further goals were scored. Just before half time we saw the controversial dismissal of a player from each side. Firstly the Linares captain received a second yellow card. This was followed almost immediately by our own Orife being dismissed for an innocuous push on a Linares player. In the second half the teams continued with their attacking approach and we took the lead through Diego Martin on 63 minutes. Linares got a deserved equaliser ten minutes from time but Arenaza put us back in the lead just a minute later and we held on for the 3-2 win.

Orife gets an automatic one-match ban for his red card but we immediately appeal as I felt that the dismissal was very harsh. Unfortunately the ban is upheld and he will miss our next match.

All in all November was not a bad month with 3 wins and 1 defeat from our 4 league matches. Given that we played two of the stronger teams in the league and more than held our own it was a good indicator of the strength of the team.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">********************************************* ********************************************** Spanish Second Division B - Sunday 25th November 2001********************************************** *********************************************Group 4Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Cartagonova 15 6 1 0 17 7 5 2 1 21 11 36 2nd MOTRIL 15 6 2 0 14 6 4 1 2 10 8 33 3rd Betis B 15 4 3 1 19 11 5 2 0 18 10 32 4th Ceuta 15 5 3 0 16 7 4 2 1 15 11 32 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------5th Linares 15 7 0 0 17 2 3 2 3 14 14 32 6th Algeciras 15 3 2 2 8 6 4 3 1 12 11 26 7th Melilla 15 5 1 2 15 5 2 3 2 5 6 25 8th Sevilla B 15 4 3 0 16 10 2 3 3 13 14 24 9th DÃ*ter Zafra 15 4 2 2 12 10 2 2 3 12 13 22 10th Extremadura 15 4 1 2 16 7 2 2 4 9 16 21 11th Málaga B 15 4 4 0 11 5 1 1 5 5 16 20 12th Jaén 15 2 4 1 7 4 1 3 4 10 14 16 13th Torredonjimeno 15 2 0 6 15 18 2 2 3 8 10 14 14th Jerez 15 3 1 3 11 9 0 3 5 4 15 13 15th Ciudad de Murcia 15 1 2 4 11 14 1 4 3 7 9 12 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------16th Écija 15 1 2 5 11 16 2 1 4 8 12 12 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------17th Mérida 15 1 1 6 4 15 2 2 3 5 12 12 18th Cacereño 15 1 0 6 8 15 2 2 4 5 11 11 19th Cádiz 15 0 6 2 9 11 0 2 5 5 13 8 20th Moralo 15 1 4 2 9 12 0 0 8 4 20 7</pre>

Mike..

Looking good Mr NoMates

retired_bbcarr

good job both story and results wise so far, bob. perhaps promotion is realistic this year :thup:

retired_amyslack

Thanks for the comments guys

December 2001

Sunday 2nd
Our first match in December is against Real Jaén who are located in the town of Jaén which is almost directly north of Motril. They are in mid table and we are confident of a decent result. We do need to be careful of their two strikers, however, as they are both highly regarded.

The game ends in a 1-1 draw which is probably a fair result given the balance of play. Diego MartÃ*n opens the scoring for us after 20 minutes but the home side equalise in stoppage time at the end of the first half. As Francis hadn't been too impressive in midfield Diego was back in the starting line-up but he suffered a horrendous injury in the first half and will be out for 6 months with a broken leg.

Monday 3rd
I make an offer for midfielder José Manuel RodrÃ*guez Romeo (known as Rodri for short). The 25 year old has been transfer listed by Badajoz B and after some negotiation a fee of €130K is agreed. He agrees a contract and will another player who will join in the forthcoming transfer window.

Sunday 9th
We are also away from home for our next game - in fact we have to travel to another country. We are playing Melilla in the town of the same name. Melilla is located on the southern tip of Morocco and is one of two autonomous Spanish cities in that country (the other is called Cueta). We make a six-hour ferry crossing as we can't afford to fly from Malaga.

Two goals by Diego MartÃ*n are enough to give us a 2-1 win and take us up to second in the table. Unfortunately Javier Guerra is sent off in the last minute for a petulant kick at an opponent and will get at least a one-match ban.

Monday 10th
We begin our preparations for the Cup match at home to Barcelona. They are unlikely to play their strongest team but whomever they field it will undoubtedly be our hardest match of the season. I am hoping that we can give a good account of ourselves and avoid a very heavy defeat. My mood is not improved when I get notification that Javier Guerra has received a nine-match suspension for violent conduct. I feel that I have to give him an official warning for his dismissal as losing him for nine games is a huge blow. He reacts very badly to our conversation, claiming that he has been treated unfairly. I have to remind myself that he is only 19 and he clearly still has a bit of growing up to do.

Wednesday 12th
There was a full house at the Escribano Castilla stadium for the visit of the famous Barcelona. In the dressing room before the match there was an atmosphere of nervous tension as the players waited to go out on to the pitch. For all of them this was one of the biggest matches in their career. I told them to go out and do their best and no matter what the result, if they gave it their best effort then there would be nothing to be ashamed of.

As expected, Barcelona did not field their strongest eleven but it was still an awesome line-up for our boys to face. They did play young goal scoring sensation Javier Saviloa and he proved to be a handful indeed. It looked like we may be facing a rout as he scored two goals in the first 18 minutes but we managed to steady things and created a few chances ourselves. Unfortunately we weren't able to get the ball in the net but we did deny the mighty Barca any more goals. All things considered a 2-0 defeat was not a bad result and the team can be proud of their performance.

Saturday 15th
A few days after the Barcelona match the winter transfer window opened and our signings started to arrive. In total four players come in to the squad.

Luis Miguel Carrión (D/RLC, 22 Spanish) from Barcelona for €200K
Kévin Jacmot (AML/FL, 17, French) Free
Suat Usta (Sweeper/DC, 20, Turkish/Dutch) Free
Rodri (MR/MC, 25, Spanish) from Badajoz for €130K

Having received several offers for Fabián I decide to let him go and he moves to Linares for €26K.

Wednesday 19th
We have another league match to play at home to Betis B, who are currently lying fifth in the table. I want to try out some of the new signings so Luis Miguel Carrión will start at left back and Suat Usta will play at centre back. Unfortunately Rodri has picked up a slight knock in training so he will not start but I put young Kévin Jacmot on the bench. I move PÃ*a from central defence to central midfield to see how well he plays there and allow José Masegosa to move from central midfield to his preferred position on the right. I also move Abraham from left back where he has been playing out of position all season, into central midfield. I am concerned that I may be making too many changes at the same time and I hope that this won't backfire on me.

As it happened I needn't have worried as the changes worked out better that I could have imagined and we had a comfortable 4-1 win. The debutants played well and the players that were moved into their more favoured positions all had good games. Orife put in an excellent performance with two goals and the only bad news was an injury to Jacmot after I brought him on in place of Arenaza to give him a run out. He has a broken toe and will be out for about two weeks. Luckily we have the Christmas break and will not play again until January 6th.

With two wins and a draw in our three league matches in December we maintain second place in the division.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">********************************************* ********************************************** Spanish Second Division B - Wednesday 19th December 2001********************************************** *********************************************Group 4Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Cartagonova 18 7 2 0 21 8 6 2 1 23 12 43 2nd MOTRIL 18 7 2 0 18 7 5 2 2 13 9 40 3rd Linares 18 9 0 0 22 4 3 3 3 17 17 39 4th Ceuta 18 5 3 1 17 9 5 2 2 17 12 35 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------5th Algeciras 18 5 2 2 10 6 5 3 1 14 12 35 6th Betis B 18 4 3 2 20 13 5 2 2 21 18 32 7th Sevilla B 18 5 4 0 20 13 3 3 3 14 14 31 8th Extremadura 18 6 1 2 20 8 2 3 4 12 19 28 9th Melilla 18 5 1 3 15 7 2 4 3 5 7 26 10th Jaén 18 3 5 1 10 6 2 3 4 12 15 23 11th DÃ*ter Zafra 18 4 2 3 12 11 2 2 5 12 15 22 12th Málaga B 18 4 5 0 13 7 1 2 6 7 20 22 13th Ciudad de Murcia 18 3 2 4 15 14 1 5 3 9 11 19 14th Torredonjimeno 18 2 1 6 18 21 2 3 4 10 15 16 15th Écija 18 1 3 5 14 19 3 1 5 10 14 16 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------16th Cádiz 18 1 6 2 11 12 1 3 5 7 14 15 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------17th Jerez 18 3 2 4 12 11 0 4 5 7 18 15 18th Mérida 18 1 2 6 7 18 2 2 5 6 17 13 19th Cacereño 18 1 1 7 9 17 2 2 5 6 13 12 20th Moralo 18 1 4 4 10 16 0 0 9 5 22 7</pre>