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I’m told after the game is finished that Stan Collymore won’t join the club on loan because we already have two players on loan at the club. I can’t afford to buy the volatile striker, so I need to put that ambitious move on hold at this stage.

Justin Wilson then proceeds to strain his groin in training (so he says, anyway) and he’ll miss three weeks, ruling him out of the start to F1 Power’s inaugural season in the Conference. In the meantime, I sign Ronnie Wallwork from Manchester United for £450,000 to bolster our defence.

And that’s a good thing since Heinz-Harald Frentzen damages his shoulder in training and misses two weeks through injury.

I accept a friendly invitation from Stoke City to take them on at the Britannia Stadium two days before we’re due in Portugal to play Sporting Lisbon B. I look at the calendar and think it’s a bit tight, but I’d like to bed down the squad as much as possible, so I decide to throw caution to the wind and take Stoke up on their challenge.

F1 Cup, Semi-Final: F1 Power v Cartagonova

With Villeneuve stepping off the plane at Heathrow only 24 hours ago from being with the Canadian team in Costa Rica where they lost 2-0 thanks to Paulo Wanchope, he sits on the bench. Montoya is away with Colombia for their international clash with Argentina while Javier Margas is with Chile for their game with Ecuador. The only new player in the starting eleven is my latest acquisition, Ronnie Wallwork, who fills in at centre back for the injured Justin Wilson.

Wallwork’s first contribution is a good one, too, as he comes forward from deep to set up Michael Schumacher, and the captain doesn’t let us down, firing a bullet header past Trujillo for the first goal of the game. We double our lead on 16 minutes when Fernando Alonso is on hand to tap in a poor punch clear by Trujillo, but Cartagonova scramble back into the game on 40 minutes when Mariano shrugs off his marker long enough to fire past Filan. But two minutes into the second half, we make the game safe when Pitcher’s corner is headed thunderously past Trujillo by Michael Schumacher, beating Manzano to the ball. I make some substitutions on 55 minutes, but that is really the end of the game - nothing happens after that!

F1 Power (4-3-1-2): Filan; Trulli, Coulthard (da Matta 55), Wallwork, Button; Raïkkonen (Humphreys 55), Alonso (Verstappen 55), R. Schumacher (Barrichello 55); Pitcher; Riedle, M. Schumacher (c) (Villeneuve 55).

Cartagonova (4-4-2): Trujillo; Biri, Manzano, Tárraga (c), Leo; Cordón (Algar 46 (Quillo 54)), Mariano, Franch (Rufo 41), GarcÃ*a; Garzón, Manolo.

Final score: F1 Power 3:1 Cartagonova
MoM - Fernando Alonso

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After S.P.A.L. beats Linense in the other semi-final, Linense revenges itself on Cartagonova, winning 2-1 in the race for third place.

F1 Cup - Final: S.P.A.L. v F1 Power

Although technically classed as the away team, we dominate this game with another great performance. The scoresheet probably doesn’t reflect the extent to which we control this game, but two goals in the space of nine minutes to first David Coulthard and then Jacques Villeneuve means we cruise towards a well-deserved victory by the time the referee blows for full time. Michael Schumacher seemed a little bemused by the fact his fellow German Riedle wasn’t beside him, as I took the opportunity to rest some of my squad and give others (like Jacques) a run-out in the lead-up to the season. Mark Webber does alright in the attacking midfield role, while Ronnie Wallwork runs the defence impressively, marring his performance only through picking up a needless booking for giving the referee too much lip. But all in all a satisfying performance in a satisfying pre-season - our first ever!

S.P.A.L. (4-4-2): Pierobon; Mignani, Airoldi (c), Di Giorgio, Kemp (Mela 59); Mistretta (Bertagnon 53), Agazzone, Mauro (Temelin 19 (Di Somma 66)), Longhi (Logarzo 53); Rossi (Contini 66), Bruno.

F1 Power (4-1-2-1-2): Filan; da Matta, Coulthard, Wallwork, Button; Alonso (Heidfeld 61); Raïkkonen, R. Schumacher; Webber (Barrichello 61); Villeneuve, M. Schumacher (c) (Humphreys 61).

Final score: S.P.A.L. 0:2 F1 Power
MoM - Andrea Pierobon

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The one thing I have learned out of the pre-season so far is that I’m woefully short of cover for Button on the right side of defence. Frentzen and Fisichella are the only other players who like to delude themselves they can play there, but they are not much chop so I think I need to delve into Max and Bernie’s generous transfer kitty to see if I can score me a good right back. I have a few potential candidates, so we’ll see how I go, shall we?!

We suffer a bit of a blow a few days later when Michael Schumacher damages his elbow in a training mishap against David Coulthard. He’ll miss ten days, meaning he will be touch and go whether he leads out the troops for our first competitive fixture against Leigh RMI.

I sign Chris Willmott of Wimbledon, a 22 year old defender capable of playing in the centre or on the right for a price of £90,000.

Friendly: Stoke v F1 Power

We take on the mighty Stoke from the Second Division and triumph 1-0 thanks to a strike after 29 minutes from Juan Pablo Montoya, on as a substitute for Karl Heinz Riedle, who twists his knee and will miss the start of the season with a ten day injury. We could have had more goals if Villeneuve in particular could hit the target, but on this day, the Canadian international couldn’t hit a cow a$$ with a banjo. Still, I am happy with our preparations to date, and this result tops off the cake.

Stoke (3-5-2): Harrison; Mohan (Iwelumo 34), Gunnarsson, Petty; Clarke (Frain 61), O’Connor (Thomas 21 (Collins 53)), Fear (c), Kavanagh, Risom; Dadason, Gudjonsson (Thorne 54).

F1 Power (4-1-2-1-2): Filan; Trulli, Coulthard, Margas, Willmott; Wallwork (Heidfeld 54); Räikkönen, Schumacher (Barrichello 54); Pitcher; Riedle (c) (Montoya 24), Villeneuve (Humphreys 54).

Final score: Stoke 0:1 F1 Power
MoM - John Filan

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Friendly: Sporting Lisbon B v F1 Power

I send out many players I would consider second stringers for our last game of preparation before the season begins properly. With players like Alan Mohan, Jovan Kirovski, Ricardo Quaresma, and Mbo Mpenza in the side, our hosts are certainly no pushovers, so it’s more to our credit that we hold out until the 89th minute before we concede the first and only goal of the game, to Vargas. We have our own chances to win the game, too, especially from set-pieces where captain for the day Javier Margas is especially potent at corners. So, even though we lose the match, I think there are plenty of positives to be drawn from the game as we look forward to playing Leigh RMI on the first day of the season.

Sporting Lisbon B (5-2-1-2): Santos (c); Ricardo (Lourenço 46), Magalhães, Santamaria, Marco, Quaresma (Spehar 58); Mahon, Horvath; Vargas; Kirovski, Mpenza.

F1 Power (4-1-2-1-2): Firman; Trulli (da Matta 63), Coulthard (Heidfeld 63), Margas (c), Willmott (Button 63); Wallwork; Webber (Alonso 63), Barrichello; Humphreys (Verstappen 89); Montoya (Räikkönen 89), Villeneuve.

Final score: Sporting Lisbon B 1:0 F1 Power
MoM - Nuno Santos

While I’m in Lisbon, I’m visited in the hotel by Adolfo and his agent, who inform me that the young Spanish forward has agreed to his £100,000 move from Segunda Liga B side Linense. Then Mark Hughes phones to say that he’s prepared to leave Everton to sign the deal I had put forward to him previously, worth £140,000 to Everton. It took some intense negotiation because Sparky wanted a relatively considerable wage to come to the party, but I’ve managed to talk him down a little bit, and I think the 36 year old veteran with a glittering career including Manchester United, Chelsea and Barcelona behind him would add something to our squad, like the capture of Riedle did earlier.

Unfortunately, Adolfo doesn’t last too long on the training track before he injures himself by straining his groin in training. He’ll miss a month, which gives him a lot of time to work on his English.

After much negotiation with the government bureaucracy, Bernie manages to procure a conditional work permit for Nigerian international Taribo West, and the defender finally makes his move to F1 Power.

I’m forced to offer Sir Frank Williams an improved contract after Sunderland target him as a scout for the Premier League club.

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So, after a blaze of publicity and several testing games in our pre-season, it’s time to show English football that we’re ready for the ‘big time’. This is our first step in reaching Max and Bernie’s stated goal of reaching the crème de la crème of Europe and I hope to ride their coattails to my own personal fame and fortune.

But we can’t let us get ahead of ourselves, since we need to be promoted out of the Conference at basically our first attempt. So we need to begin well.

Conference - Game 1: F1 Power v Leigh RMI

We dominate the first half with 14 shots on goal (with 11 on target), but until almost the last kick of the half I feel as though we haven’t converted our dominance. Geoff Pitcher gives us an early lead on 8 minutes, but after Jason Solomon is sent off just before half-time for two yellow card offences, Fernando Alonso sets up Jacques Villeneuve and the Canadian ex-Williams and BAR driver slams home his first goal of the season! We carry on our dominance in the second half, but Leigh have a good keeper in David Felgate and he keeps us out for the whole of the second half. That is the only disappointing aspect of the game - we could have, and perhaps should have, thrashed Leigh by about four or five goals to nil. We settle, however, for an opening day 2-0 win.

F1 Power (4-3-1-2): Filan; Trulli, Coulthard, Margas (c), Button; Räikkönen (Humphreys 67), Alonso (Verstappen 67), R. Schumacher; Pitcher; Villeneuve, Montoya.

Leigh RMI (4-4-2): Felgate; Solomon (s/o 45), Wallace, Verity, Scott; Critchley, Bonner (Kielty 80), Reid, Ridings; D’Jaffo (Briscoe 59), Black (Mason 9).

Final score: F1 Power 2:0 Leigh RMI
MoM - Kimi Räikkönen

We end the opening round in third position, with Geoff Pitcher, Räikkönen and Jacques Villeneuve gaining positions in the first team of the team of the week.

I’m given a selection headache with both Riedle and Michael Schumacher returning to full fitness after injury, but with Villeneuve opening his account and Montoya unlucky not to, it will be difficult to justify dropping them for the two Germans.

Sir Frank Williams turns down Sunderland by signing a new contract with F1 Power.

Margas’ usefulness in his loan spell is suddenly severely curtailed after he strains his groin in training with Chile and will miss three weeks.

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Conference - Game 2: F1 Power v Yeovil

Taribo West and Michael Schumacher make their debuts for the injured Margas and Montoya respectively. The game is similar to our first match against Leigh in that we dominate the 90 minutes from start to finish, but this time we manage to take advantage of our chances. A simple move involving Ralf Schumacher leads to Geoff Pitcher shooting home on 6 minutes, then Alonso doubles our lead on 17 minutes after advancing from deep. Villeneuve threads a ball through the Yeovil defence and Ralf Schumacher converts it excellently on 42 minutes, then Pitcher scores a free kick from 25 yards in injury time at the end of the half. The second half is a little more sedate affair, and Yeovil gain a measure of consolation on 55 minutes when John Filan concedes his first goal for the club to Crittenden. But Michael Schumacher restores our four goal cushion on 64 minutes with his first goal on his debut and that is that.

F1 Power (4-3-1-2): Filan; Trulli (Wallwork 70), Coulthard, West, Button; Räikkönen (Humphreys 70), Alonso, R. Schumacher; Pitcher; Villeneuve, M. Schumacher (c).

Yeovil (4-4-2): Pennock; Tonkin, Steele, White, Skiverton; Patmore (Poole 61), Way, Crittenden, Thompson (c); Tarrant, Eyjolfsson.

Final score: F1 Power 5:1 Yeovil
MoM - Geoff Pitcher

Pitcher is named in the team of the week’s first eleven.

Conference - Game 3: Hayes v F1 Power

Our first game on the road and our first midweek game, and the combination is harsh upon us as we go down to our first defeat of the season. It begins brightly, too, with Ronnie Wallwork, in for the tired Alonso, scores on 3 minutes. But veteran midfielder Gary Swann equalises on 10 minutes and from there on it is somewhat of an arm-wrestle, but on the whole Hayes has the better of it in the first half. John Filan is much more busy than he has been in the last two games, while Michael Schumacher contrives to waste the few chances we create in the first half. I finally tire of our captain’s inability to hit the target and replace him with Montoya on 64 minutes, but we can’t grip this game by the scruff of the neck and Swann bobs up with the winner late in the second half to give Hayes all three points. Bernie Ecclestone relays to me the disappointment of the board with the result, and suddenly we’re six points behind conference leader Dagenham & Redbridge, even though we have played a game less.

Hayes (4-4-2): Cobey; Tilbury, Davidson (Davies 57), Balmer (c), Wraight; Barnes, Flynn (Goodliffe 51), Swann, Moore; Telemaque, Hateley.

F1 Power (4-1-2-1-2): Filan; Trulli, Coulthard, West, Button; Wallwork; Räikkönen, R. Schumacher; Pitcher; Villeneuve, M. Schumacher (c) (Montoya 64).

Final score: Hayes 2:1 F1 Power
MoM - Gary Swann

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Conference - Game 4: F1 Power v Northwich

With Villeneuve in the USA with the Canadian international squad, Riedle is allowed to make his debut along side Michael Schumacher, while Fernando Alonso returns at the expense of Wallwork and Ritchie Humphreys takes over the left flank from the tired Kimi Räikkönen. On 31 minutes, our on-loan winger floats a cross over the Northwich defence to where Riedle is lurking and the German veteran shows our strikes how it’s done with a powerful and unstoppable header! Riedle should have had his second on 53 minutes, except Michael Schumacher can’t quite hold his run long enough to avoid the off-side trap, but it matters not as Riedle deservedly scores his second goal on 74 minutes when Ralf Schumacher reaches the by-line before crossing brilliantly to cut out the keeper and Riedle nods home.

F1 Power (4-3-1-2): Filan; Trulli, Coulthard, West, Button; Humphreys, Alonso, R. Schumacher (Verstappen 83); Pitcher; Riedle (Montoya 83), M. Schumacher (c).

Northwich (4-4-2): Key; Laurie, Burke, Robertson, Gaunt; Duffy (Norris 70), Brabin, Devlin, Holcroft; Cooke, Quinn (c) (Kimmins 64).

Final score: F1 Power 2:0 Northwich
MoM - Karl Heinz Riedle

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Conference - Game 5: Doncaster v F1 Power

Our second away game of the season comes just two days after our win over Northwich, so there are some wholesale changes made to put out a fresh team on the park. Trulli, Button, Alonso, Humphreys, Ralf Schumacher and Riedle all make way for Heidfeld, Willmott, Wallwork, Räikkönen, Verstappen and Villeneuve. It is the latter who scores our only goal of the game on 7 minutes when he heads home a beautifully weighted cross from Michael Schumacher to give us an early lead. But at home, Doncaster is not an easy side to push over and again John Filan is kept busy in the first half, and with just a minute go before the break, we concede the equaliser courtesy of a Tilson corner being headed home by Paterson ahead of Coulthard. We do better in the second half creatively, but we fail to capitalise on our good work. With Michael Schumacher tiring late in the game, I give the veteran Mark Hughes a go up forward to see if he can bring any spark to the game, but he unwisely chooses the wrong options that reduces the percentages of scoring a goal to win the game and we have to settle for something that the board is not happy with and it is our away form that is letting down our challenge for instant promotion to the League.

Doncaster (4-4-2): Richardson; Shaw (Barnard 42), Walling, Hawkins, Marples (c); Stuart (Tilson 36), Paterson, Larusson, Atkins (Price 53); Marsh, Halliday.

F1 Power (4-1-2-1-2): Filan; West, Coulthard, Heidfeld, Willmott; Wallwork; Räikkönen, Verstappen; Pitcher; Villeneuve, M. Schumacher (c) (Hughes 64).

Final score: Doncaster 1:1 F1 Power
MoM - Jacques Villeneuve

Jacques Villeneuve is named the Conference player of the month for August. Kimi Räikkönen takes out the young player of the month award.

Conference - Game 6: F1 Power v Kettering

But Villeneuve is not in our team to play Kettering at home - he’s with the Canadian squad again for another World Cup qualifier. I again swap over a lot of players, with Trulli, Button, Alonso, Räikkönen, and Ralf Schumacher coming back into the first eleven. On 12 minutes, Geoff Pitcher finds Ralf Schumacher motoring into the penalty area and the German winger doesn’t let us down with the opening goal of the game. Our next goal doesn’t come until the 69th minute (though not through lack of trying) when Räikkönen lofts an inviting cross into the area and Michael Schumacher scores with a brilliant bicycle kick. John Filan is not completely bored in goal with Kettering looking to get something from this game, but in the end we prevail 2-0 which moves us back up to fifth with a game in hand.

F1 Power (4-3-1-2): Filan; Trulli, Coulthard, West, Button; Räikkönen, Alonso, R. Schumacher; Pitcher; Riedle, M. Schumacher (c).

Kettering (4-4-2): Wilson; Gibbs, Vowden, Ridler, Matthews (Norman 85); Slawson, Duffield (Smith 73), Lenagh, Hudson (Ridgeway 67); McNamara (c), Watkins.

Final score: F1 Power 2:0 Kettering
MoM - Michael Schumacher

Keep smiling!
Dixie Flatline

Shermanez

Brilliant idea Dixie, and well executed to!

retired_embartl

Excellent Start Dixie, nice idea too

* Determined not to fall 20 pages behind this time :p *