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The Managers tirade after the match did not seem to find its mark, the players indifferent to what they though was a respectable result. The Manager left the dressing room wondering what was happening to his new team. He’d tried to instil a sense of pride in them, been fair in selection and put a settled team out on the park, but to be honest the lads out there had not played as if their lives depended on it. Their footballing lives did, as far as the Manager was concerned. The Manager headed to the bar, where he was in for a long night. It was all a bit of a blur, the Manager arguing loudly with several other patrons and generally behaving like a bit of a prat. The Manager had to be escorted home at 3 a.m. after trying to start a fight with some poor geezer who bumped into him.Once home, the Manager headed for his study by the terrace, and opened the drinks cabinet searching for his favourite single malt.

The Manager finally realised he was in serious trouble the next morning when he woke up on the couch in his study and the ice in his glass of scotch had not yet melted. His drinking had gotten out of control and he really needed some help to get himself back on the rails. It dawned on the Manager that his behaviour had been erratic, emotional and boorish over the past couple of months – no wonder he was having trouble motivating the players. Feeling rather sheepish, the Manager dialled the number of a rehab clinic one of his minders had slipped him a few weeks ago. He had meant to toss the card as soon as the minders back was turned, but somehow it had remained in his wallet.

The next few months would be tough both emotionally and from the perspective of keeping the squad together and focussed. There were no matches planned for 3 months, and then only a Friendly against minnows Malta, then nothing again until April. The Manager dialled his assistant Manager, told him to take over for the next week, dialled his media adviser, told him to release a story to cover his tracks, said goodbye to the wife & kids, then dialled a cab. The Manager would use his enforced ’holiday’ to plan some strategies to re-motivate his squad. At least next week he could concentrate on his Liverpool squad once again, hopefully this time with a clear mind.

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The Manager threw himself back into his work, and guided his beloved Liverpool to a commanding lead in the premiership. By the end of March Liverpool were 9 points clear at the top and close to being crowned champions. A series of stunning attacking displays had laid waste to all challengers, as the free scoring reds marched on. The most memorable match was a classic encounter away to Manchester United, once the kings of English football and now looking to challenge again after winning only the Community Shield last season in the past 10 years. Liverpool were 2 goals down after 20 minutes, Fabian Brandy and the veteran RVN catching Liverpools defence sleeping with some crisp first time passing. With nothing to lose, the Manager instructed his players to throw everything at United, and within another 20 minutes it was 2-2. It was going to be one of those games. Just before the break United nabbed another from a corner 2-3 at half time thanks to Kieran Richarson’s powerful header over the top of the disappointing Welsh from Beckhams deliciously curled corner.

More of the same in the second half, with end to end play, both sides realising this games could well decide the championship race. Adriano was the difference in the end, smashing home three wonderful second half goals after coming on for Samba, one on the run from the edge of the area, the second a sublime lob over Steele after being put through by D’Alessandro and another tucked away from the six yard box after Robbens cross to make it 5-3. What a match! Liverpool had conceded more than in any game this season (now 16 from 33 games in the premiership) but had won in style. Adriano,now 28, was enjoying his best ever season for Liverpool, and had won plenty of games off his own boot to record 39 goals from 36 appearances this season, eclipsing past efforts (which had averaged at 0.83 goals per game).

Ratings: Dudek 6; Vaughan 7, Dawson 8, Mexes 8, Welsh 6 (Sub Lescott 7); Gerrard 8; Robben 9, D’Alessandro 8, Farnerud 7 (Sub Kaka 8); Owen 8, Samba 7 (Sub Adriano 10). Subs not used Luzi, Osbourne.

The Manager had been impressed by Beckham, who was trying his hardest to break back into the Managers Emgland Squad – but in reality he had been inconsistent again over the season and was not likely to earn a recall. Brandy had again shown his worth, as had Dawson & Gerrard. Bad news after the match, however. Stephen Gerrard had had a recurrence of his ongoing groin problem and would be out for at least 2 weeks. The Manager hoped this was not a sign of things to come, as Gerrard had been wonderful this season and had a big role to play in the World Cup Finals.

New Wembley, an amazing 92,578 fans turn up to see the clash between England and … um … Malta!!

Darius Vassell was pressing for a recall after a string of supberb performances and 19 leage goals, but still did not break back into the squad, the Manager staying with thoise he had shown faith in to date. Gerrard, Parker and Woodgate were the only injury concerns and missed the game. It would be 50/50 whether they would regain full fitness before the finals, a major blow to the Managers strategy.

The team: Kirkland; McEveley, Dawson, Ferdinand, Mullins; Jenas; Lambu, Webb, Dyer; Owen, Samba.

Subs: Steele, Clement, Giddings, Schumacher, Kay, Croft, Ashikodi, Rooney, Brandy.

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The Manager addressed his players before the game:

“Look guys, I know that things have been difficult in the squad and we have talked about that in the week, but its time to put all that behind us and have a good solid hit out tonight. I cant stress the importance of this match enough. I want you to think of it as a Group match in the World Cup Finals. You still have the chance to make or break your own World Cup campaign with your performance tonight, so I want to see 100% from every one of you. I know you’ll be thinking “its only Malta, just a friendly, but you are wrong, very wrong”. If you want to know how hard I expect you to try tonight, I’ll just say this one thing “how long does it take you to run a hundred metres?”. Think about it. Now go out there and give it your all” ….

The Manager had pulled out one of his infamous motivational brain teasers and he was not too sure how it had gone down, as some of his players had looked a bit perplexed. Some of them had got it, while others were probably thinking “ … about 11 seconds?? …”. Perhaps he should have explained. On well, it was too late now. He had done his best to gee up his players for what should be a stroll in the park no matter how you dressed it up, but 92 odd thousand fans had turned up for a show, so the Manager would do his best to provide one, and hopefully so would his players.

But it was more of a horror show than anything ….

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Englands first half performance was so disjointed and painful to watch, with no flow to the passing, that the Manager was reminded of Liverpools performances under the previous incumbent, Gerard Houllier. Malta were surprisingly well organised in defence and England tactic of playing long balls for Samba to knock down was achieving little. It was scrappy and as the half wore on, the huge crowd became restless. Jenas, Lambu and Dyer were seeing plenty of the ball, but their passing was woeful, leaving Owen & Samba starved of opportunities. Little else happened to half time, a tame effort from Samba the only real opportunity.

The Manager played down his half time address. Rather than tearing into the players he patiently explained what his 100m speech was all about, and asked the players to be more patient and to exploit their superior skill and pace. The problem was, the team was playing with no confidence and without that, even minnows Malta could look competitive.

The same eleven players ran back out for the second half, which picked up where the first left off. The Manager fleetingly wondered whether he had lost the respect of the players, but was sure that they were unaware of his off field problems and equally sure that he had been firm but fair with each of them. The one positive was that Ferdinand & Mullins looked great at the back, and Goma Lambu continued his premier league form into the game, with powerful runs and deft passing. The rest of them looked a bit lost, and after a while, the jeering started.

After 65 minutes the Manager finally lost patience and threw on Giddings, Kay and Ashikodi for Dawson, Croft & Owen. The team did lift briefly, James Kay adding much needed spark in the middle, but overall the team continued to play without aplomb. More changes were made after 70 minutes but again this did little to improve things. By 85 minutes the Manager sat with his head in his hands, his head throbbed, and the more the crowd jeered, the more he shrank back into the dugout.

In the 90th minute Dyer took the ball, swept past two opponents and laod the ball off neatly for Moses Ashikodi, who quickly played the ball wide of his man, and whipped in a cross which deflected off a Malta defender and sent the keeper the wrong way. The ball fell into the path of Samba, who rolled it into the empty net. Silence. Hardly a cheer for a few seconds, then some begrudging applause for the move, which finally broke through the resolute Maltese defence and resulted in a luck winner. 1-0 at full time but by far the worst display by England in recent memory. There was even a moment late in the second half where McEveley almost underhit a backpass and Steele had to scramble to clear from his opponent, who was bearing down with alarming speed.

Ratings:

Kirkland (inj 35) 6; McEveley 6, Dawson 7, Ferdinand 7, Mullins 8; Jenas 6; Lambu 8, Webb 6, Dyer 7; Owen 6, Samba 7.

Subs: Steele 6, Giddings 7, Schumacher 6, Kay 7, Croft 6, Ashikodi 7, Brandy 7.

Danny Webbs first couple of games were looking like a flash in the pan, and Jenas and Croft had disappointed.

The Manager let rip after the game, letting all who had not performed know that their place in the squad was on the line. Privately, he was resigned to going back to the drawing board and finding a tactic that better suited the players available.

retired_brinker317

This is superb :thup: - KUTGW.

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The back page headlines the next day were no laughing matter. An example from the Tele: “Maltese Terror! – England awful against tenacious Terriers”. And so on…

To make matters worse in the following week, the Manager had some bad news about Michael Owen, who had dislocated a shoulder in Training and would miss the rest of the season, including the FA Cup Final & Champs League Semis. Owen would not be fit in time for England’s opening group game in the World Cup Finals, and it would be a risk to include him in the squad – but it was the Managers call, and although Owen at 29 was no longer the goal scoring machine of seasons past, he had added a new dimension to his game in the ability to create goals and was still at the top of his game if paired with a target man.

The Manager spent the next few weeks trying to concentrate on Liverpool’s run in to the end of the season but found that England matters were constantly occupying his actions and his thoughts. Fortunately the league was won in convincing fashion, Liverpool 10 points clear of Utd, the title clinched in a 5-0 drubbing of Spurs, who looked to be on their way to the 1st Division. Adriano carried his inspired form through to the end of the season, bagging yet another hat trick and man of the match performance in the process. Defensively this was Liverpool’s best ever season, conceding only 17. D’Alessandro was the stand out player over the season, bagging 20 goals from AMC, his style and form reminiscent of John Wark’s brief time at the club in the 80’s.

Adriano inspired Liverpool breezed through the Champs League Semi’s 9-2 on aggregate over a disappointing Inter, Robben and Farnerud outstanding in the middle of the park. Liverpool would once again meet Manchester United in the Final, hopefully in a repeat of last years final which the Reds had won convincingly.

The FA Cup final followed, Liverpool cruising past an outclassed Reading 3-0 and earning accolades all round.

The England squad for the upcoming friendly against Norway was to be decided, and the Manager was relieved to see Gerrard and Parker available. But there was a tough decision to make, the Friendly being just 3 days after the Champions League Final, and plenty of spots available that would normally be filled by Liverpool and United players. The Manager did not want to risk tiring the players or risking injury with such a busy schedule – they were bound to be well and truly spent after the Champs League Final – and so removed all players likely to be involved in the Final from his squad. The Manager hoped this would not be too unsettling, but at leat it gave some others the chance to shine, and changes were clearly required after the Malta disaster.

Out went :Kirkland, Steele, Dawson, Ferdinand, Welsh, Gerrard, Owen, Samba & Brandy, and in came Wright, Hoult, Ashley Cole (available again after long term injury and some good recent form – more good news on the injury front), Terry, Hearn; Dean Ashton and Darius Vassell.

It would be a new look England in more ways than one. But first things first, there was a date with destiny in Berlin with Manchester United to be taken care of ….

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Liverpool had knocked Manchester United and Arsenal from the pinnacle of English and European football in 2003 and hadn’t looked back. Uniteds demise had been complete and yet they were always challenging just when you were looking to write them off. They had pushed the Reds in the domestic competition for the last 2 seasons and made consecutive Champs League finals, so they were once again a force to be reckoned with – youngsters Kieran Richarson and Fabian Brandy heralding a second coming for the Red Devils.

It turned out to be the most bitter of defeats for Liverpool, who handed United their first real trophy for 10 years after a unusually flat performance in a tight game. Brandy was the hero for United, latching onto a Veron through ball in the 68th minute and rounding Kirkland with ease. Liverpool had tried to throw everything at them after that, but United were too strong at the back and Samba & Adriano both lacked their usual finishing finesse, both putting good chances wide. Liverpool had pounded United season after season, but now the tables had turned and the Manager headed into the week in a foul mood.

The Manager knew he had not put his usual amount of thought into the game and had paid the ultimate price. He had a feeling his stint as England boss may well end after the World Cup, whatever the outcome.

New Wembley. The well fancied Norway to provide pretty stiff opposition and an unusual looking England line up, with too many changes for the Managers liking. Still it would be interesting to see how some players responded to being thrown a lifeline. The Manager was keen to try his new 4-4-2 tactic as well, which he was sure would better suit the team.

Two teams would again play 45 minutes each.

1st half: Robinson; Cole, Woodgate, Terry, Mullins; Lambu, Croft, Dyer, Kay; Rooney, Ashikodi.

2nd Half: Wright; Clement, McEveley, Schumacher, Giddings; Parker, Jenas, Webb, Hearn; Vassell, Ashton.

After 90 minutes it was 0-0, a tight but uninspiring game with few clear cut chances. England had again struggled and to be fair were outplayed by an aggressive Norway outfit, well led by Carew & Gamst Pedersen. England were far from disgraced, but were limping into the World Cup Finals – not what the Manager had in mind when he took on the role. The team were booed off, with Vasell coming in for special attention from the fans after blasting two clear chances over in the last 20 minutes when put through by Giddings and Parker.

James Kay had looked the part, the Young Player of the Year creating plenty of drive, but there were few other positives and the Managers plans were in tatters. Jenas, croft & Webb had disappointed, and there was little joy to be had from the performances of the strikers.

Well, there was nothing to do now but start planning for the finals and head off to camp with the squad neat week - but first there were a few decisions to be made. That night, the Manager sat quietly in his study and glanced over at the drinks cabinet – he was sure he had a nearly full bottle of Laphroiag in there somewhere …

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4 a.m.. A half empty bottle of Laphroaig, the dim glow of a laptop, an empty glass on its side on the floor next to the Managers chair, and the Manager, old cold ….

The Manager work with a start as his neighbour shut their car door at 6 a.m. the Manager rubbed his eyes, looked around, tried to get up out of his study chair, decided against it, and instead woke his laptop and surveyed the decisions he had made last night:

The squad:

GK: Kirkland (Liverpool), Steele (Man Utd), Robinson (Blackburn).

D: Cole (Arsenal), McEveley (Inter), Ferdinand (Man Utd), Woodgate (Barcelona), Dawson (Liverpool), Terry (Chelsea), Mullins (WBA), Giddings (Blackburn), Welsh (Liverpool).

M: Parker (Inter), Gerrard (Liverpool), Schumacher (WBA), Lambu (Millwall), Webb (Newcastle), Croft (Man City), Dyer (Newcastle), Kay (Blackburn).

F: Owen (Liverpool), Samba (Liverpool), Brandy (Man Utd), Rooney (Everton), Ashikodi (Millwall), Vassell (Aston Villa).

The squad had a nice balanced look to it, with plenty of experience and a few young faces to keep everyone on their toes. Beckham, Smith, Heskey, Clement and Lampard were the main omissions, but really there were no surprises, the Manager had been clear on who would or wouldn’t be going from the start.

Owen (Liverpool), Lambu and McEveley would be in the squad even though their injuries may keep them out until the knock out stage in China. There was also a bit of a cloud over Parker, who had struggled all season with injury. It was a big risk, but one the Manager was prepared to take as they were key members of the plans he had drawn up in the middle of the night. The Manager was a little worried that the injury prone Gerrard, Webb & Dyer were also a big part of his plans, but he only hoped that luck was for once on their side and that the squad had sufficient depth to cover any losses, although if you took out Lambu, Gerrard, Parker, Webb and Dyer things were looking pretty thin in midfield. The Manager just hoped his tactics clicked in time for the first group game.

Anyway, it was off to Beijing today where England would attempt to knock holders Australia off their rather unlikely perch. Anything could happen in the World Cup Finals, as Australia had proven in 2006. This time the established powers were likely to be challenged by the holders, China, South Korea, USA and Tunisia.

retired_step85pal

Great stuff! :thup:

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The first couple of days in camp were quite good, with spirits high and pale blue sunny Beijing skies. The hype leading up to the finals had been unbearable, but, now, locked away from the press, the Manager started to believe again. The England squad had some of the best talent in world football – the trick was to get them to play as a team, something that the media failed horribly to understand. Here is a sample from last night press conference:

Clive Waterhouse (Telegraph): “Pete, your preparation for the finals has hardly been ideal, and critics have suggested that the teams you have put on the park to represent England are the worst they can remember – do you really believe you can turn the side around?”

Pete Best: “Sod off Clive, next question ….”.

A gasp or two, stunned silence for a while, then muted sniggering as the Manager winks at his old sparring partner – furious scribbling from the local Beijing correspondents ….

Pete Best: “No, seriously Clive – what sort of question is that? Of course we can and of course we will – I have faith in the players I have selected, but it will take time for them to come together as a team. England has the depth of talent to bring the World Cup home, make no mistake. On our day, we can match it with the best of them. I’m not over stating our chances. I believe we can do it or I would not be here – but if we are good enough to make it to the final, and that is a big if, as we will need plenty of luck and we will have to play the game of our lives, that’s for sure.”

And on it went for another half hour, the Manager fending off all sorts of questions designed to rile him and question every decision he has ever made as England boss – but the Manager knew it was all just part of the game. The real work was ahead.

The news the next morning was disastrous. Kieran Dyer had broken down in Training and would be on his way home. The Manager had tried to console the lad but he was too upset to really talk, it all coming out in the press the next day as the Newcastle tyro considered giving the game away. The news got worse. Jay McEveley had had a setback in his recovery and was now unlikely to be fit even if England made it through the latter stages, something the bookies had severe reservations about. New doubts were also cast over Scott Parkers recovery from a knee injury, and suddenly the Managers selection policy was looking none too clever.

China v Jamaica, the opening game, and a sea of red and a wall of noise greeted the Chinese, 3rd favourites to lift the trophy behind Brazil and France, as they ran out to commence their campaign. China were impressive, strolling to a 2-0 victory and matching it physically with the Jamaicans and eclipsing them technically. Li Bin impressed in midfield, creating both goals in a hard running display.

The Manager woke to the following headline:

“ENGLAND NO HOPE OF CHINESE TAKEAWAY”. A typically colourful effort by The News of The World summing up the countries pessimistic view of Englands chances after seeing a true team display from the much improved Chinese outfit.

The Manager would do his best to prove them wrong. Samba & Brandy were working well together in Training, and looked favourites to edge out the more experienced Rooney in Englands opener tomorrow night ….