Raptor

Excellent

I remember when we were kids me and my mates were all motorsport nuts (I still am ) and we often played F1-football, being out fav drivers on the footy pitch. This is much like it.

retired_deljo

brilliant

retired_lydiadiebolt

Thanks very much guys for your very positive response to this story!

As you might tell from my interests, football and Formula One are right up there, so I thought I'd give it a go (once I figured out how to use the pre-game editor!).

I'm keen to keep this going as long as possible, but since we're based on modified game data, I'll give the usual warnings that it may junk on me at any moment and then I'll be left hanging (as will you, my loyal readers and followers! ).

By the way, I apologise to fans of Nicolas Kiesa and Zsolt Baumgartner. I started the game before Baumgartner got a drive with Jordan, and since I based my statistics on the starting grid for the Australian GP at the beginning of the season, that's why you'll find Pizzonia rather than Kiesa in my team.

Also, I've tinkered a little bit with the drivers' ages. Since many of them (like Michael Schumacher, Villeneuve, Panis, Frentzen to reel off a few) are in reality in their 30s, I wanted to make sure I have a few productive seasons with them, so I've reduced their ages by a few years, as part of taking artistic licence!

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Spin, spin, spin! Round, round, round he goes!

Filan, Pitcher and Räikkönen make it into the first eleven of the team of the week, while the Schumacher brothers sit on the bench.

Conference - Game 7: Chester v F1 Power

We make this game very difficult for us as none of my strikers can hit the target at all. We fashion ten chances through the 90 minute game, and only one shot is on target. But we make it count as Michael Schumacher scores on the hour mark to put us 1-0 up. Chester keep John Filan very busy through the game, but the ability of the Chester forwards to find enough space to test Filan makes me very nervous, especially after Schumacher, snr, gives us the lead. But Filan is a good keeper and keeps a clean sheet to give us our first away victory of the season and in our history. Deservedly, he claims the man of the match award.

Chester (4-4-2): Wilkerson; Doughty, Woods, Spink (Ruscoe 72), P. Beesley; Croft (M. Beesley 52), Richardson, Carden, Blackburn (c); Finney, Wright (Robinson 72).

F1 Power (4-1-2-1-2): Filan; West, Coulthard, Willmott, Button; Wallwork; Räikkönen, Verstappen (Villeneuve 59); Riedle, M. Schumacher (c).

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

I give Jos Verstappen a stern talking to after he failed to make an impact during the 59 minutes he played. It culminates in my first official warning of the season. The former Dutch driver for Arrows, Minardi and countless other teams apologises for his poor performance and says he’ll motivate himself more for future games. He’ll have to do that in the reserves at this stage.

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I sign Gary Heath from Chesterfield to become my new assistant manager in the lead-up to our crucial game against the leader Dag & Red.

Conference - Game 8: F1 Power v Dagenham & Redbridge

This is probably our most important game of the season so far, since we’re taking on the top team in the Conference. So it’s important to get off to a good start, which is why I’m very pleased to see Michael Schumacher score spectacularly with a brilliant bicycle kick. Dag & Red look to hit back immediately with the dangerous Junior McDougald looking for and finding Walton in the box, but Walton can’t force Filan into a save. Villeneuve misses with a volley on 30 minutes, then on 44 minutes, Filan makes his first save of the game when he parries Hawes’ shot. Into the second half, Forbes wastes a good opportunity to test Filan on 53 minutes, but the keeper does well to stop Shipp scoring on 66 minutes. Villeneuve wastes another opportunity to make the points safe on 70 minutes and Filan is again called into action on 80 minutes to stop Brennan scoring the equaliser. On 85 minutes, Michael Schumacher eases the pressure with a testing shot of Roberts, while Fernando Alonso, pulling the strings from midfield, also does his best to double our lead but without success.

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

Dag & Red (4-4-2): Roberts; Naylor, Coll, Cole, Goodwin; Walton, Brennan (c), Hawes (Payne 53), Forbes; McDougald, Shipp.

Final score: F1 Power 1:0 Dag & Red
MoM - Fernando Alonso

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The victory, our third in a row, pushes into third place, four points behind new leader Stevenage, with Dag & Red in second place now.

Alonso is named in the team of the week’s first eleven, while Filan is the keeper on the bench.

Conference - Game 9: Forest Green v F1 Power

We play our catch-up game on a Wednesday evening in Forest Green and we make it count in a big way. Michael Schumacher sets us on our way after 7 minutes when Räikkönen picks up Wallwork’s good defensive work and sends a cross into the box for the captain to head home. We continue to maintain pressure on veteran keeper Nigel Spink and we’re rewarded on 38 minutes when we gain a corner which Geoff Pitcher puts into a position for the returning Javier Margas to rocket past the veteran. We enter the break at 2-0 and it takes until the 80th minute to add to our lead, despite our best efforts to score goals previously. I replace Villeneuve with Riedle on 73 minutes, and the substitution pays handsome dividends. He collects Pitcher’s long ball, slaloms his way through the Forest Green defence and blasts past Spink. Three minutes later, Pitcher makes it 4-0 when he collects Ralf Schumacher’s low cross and lobs it over Spink! Michael Schumacher provides the book-end for the scoring when our captain heads home Margas’ square ball into the top right corner of the net! :cool:

Forest Green (4-4-2): Spink; Drysdale, Cousins, Clark (c), Hedges; Sullivan, Thomas (Campbell 88), Forbes, Bennett (Norton 61); Bryan, Foster (Smith 70).

F1 Power (4-1-2-1-2): Filan; Trulli, Coulthard, Margas, Button; Wallwork; Räikkönen, R. Schumacher; Pitcher; Villeneuve (Riedle 73), M. Schumacher (c).

Final score: Forest Green 0:5 F1 Power
MoM - Geoff Power

Understandably, the board of F1 Power, headed by Mr Max Mosley as chairman, are satisfied and very pleased with this performance, and I’m congratulated by the esteemed Director of Football, Bernie Ecclestone, for a great result.

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Conference - Game 10: Morecambe v F1 Power

Unlike the last game, which was a football exhibition, this is more a workmanlike performance. Michael Schumacher, however, continues his scoring run with the only goal of the game on 40 minutes. That makes it five consecutive games where the captain has scored at least one goal. In fact, Michael is the only player to put a shot on target, since he has all three of ours (out of nine), while Morecambe don’t create a chance at all. So that actually makes it five games since John Filan conceded a goal, and 496 minutes of game time since Doncaster Rovers scored. That’s statistics I can live with!

Morecambe (4-4-2): Smith; Williams, Hardiker, Hall, Fensome; Lyons, Brown, Walter, Dowe (c); Milner (Eastwood 61), Ceraolo.

F1 Power (4-1-2-1-2): Filan; Trulli, Coulthard, Margas, Button; Wallwork; Räikkönen, R. Schumacher (Alonso 73); Pitcher (Humphreys 73); Villeneuve, M. Schumacher (c).

Final score: Morecambe 0:1 F1 Power
MoM - Kimi Räikkönen

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Since that’s the tenth game of the season, it’s time to put up the ladder:

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Stevenage 10 4 1 0 14 5 4 1 0 6 1 26 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2nd F1 Power 10 5 0 0 12 1 3 1 1 9 3 25 3rd Dag & Red 10 4 1 0 11 7 3 0 2 7 6 22 4th Kingstonian 10 4 0 1 9 4 3 0 2 8 5 21 5th Hayes 10 3 2 0 10 6 3 1 1 10 7 21 6th Southport 10 3 2 0 6 1 2 2 1 6 5 19 7th Scarborough 10 2 3 0 3 0 2 2 1 5 4 17 8th Forest Green 10 3 0 2 5 8 2 1 2 7 10 16 9th Hereford 10 3 0 2 11 9 1 2 2 6 7 14 10th Doncaster 10 2 2 1 5 3 1 2 2 3 4 13 11th Dover 10 2 1 2 6 6 2 0 3 5 6 13 12th Telford 10 4 1 0 6 1 0 0 5 3 9 13 13th Kettering 10 2 1 2 6 6 2 0 3 3 5 13 14th Leigh 10 3 1 1 7 6 1 0 4 4 10 13 15th Chester 10 3 0 2 7 2 0 2 3 4 8 11 16th Morecambe 10 1 3 1 4 4 1 2 2 1 3 11 17th Nuneaton Borough 10 0 1 4 4 10 3 1 1 4 1 11 18th Hednesford Town 10 0 0 5 5 10 2 2 1 7 5 8 19th Northwich 10 1 0 4 3 8 1 1 3 2 5 7 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------20th Boston Utd 10 1 1 3 2 4 0 2 3 2 9 6 21st Yeovil 10 2 0 3 3 4 0 0 5 6 15 6 22nd Woking 10 0 2 3 1 6 0 0 5 3 12 2 </pre>

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So our run of five wins on the trot means we’re just a point behind Stevenage and guess who we play next?!

After the game I’m glad to see Rubens Barrichello sign a new contract that will keep him here for four seasons. I’m also happy for Mark Webber, who is called up to Australia’s squad for the game against Morocco. Maybe he really is Formula One’s answer to Harry Kewell?

Keep smiling!
Dixie Flatline

retired_lydiadiebolt

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Raptor:
Excellent

I remember when we were kids me and my mates were all motorsport nuts (I still am ) and we often played F1-football, being out fav drivers on the footy pitch. This is much like it. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Well, you know which driver is my favourite driver!