retired_mollymay

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Roonaldo:
cheers facman. hopefully should have an update coming soon, with euro 2004 details and MAYBE even some transfer goodness <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
looking forward to it

retired_exoticpanther33

Sat 12th - Tues 15th June

Euro 2004

First Round of Group Matches

England got off to a flying start, defeating Switzerland 4-0 All the goals came in the first half, from Ashley Cole (6), Kieron Dyer (9) and Wayne Rooney (20, 45). None of the goals were anything special, but it was a straightforward, efficient victory for England, and just the sort of start manager Eriksson would have been looking for.


Round-Up:
<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Group A Group B Bulgaria 0 - 1 Wales England 0 - 4 Switzerland Greece 0 - 1 Italy Spain 0 - 2 GermanyGroup C Group D Belgium 3 - 3 Turkey Holland 0 - 2 France Denmark 0 - 2 Portugal Sweden 1 - 2 Czech Republic</pre>



Wed 16th - Sun 20th June

Euro 2004

Second Round of Group Matches

England record another fine win, beating Spain 3-2. England went two goals up in the first half, through James Beattie (6) and Joe Cole (13). Spain pulled one back a minute after half time through Diego Tristán. The game was killed off in the 61st minute as Wayne Rooney scored his third of the tournament, beating two players as he ran half the length of the pitch with the ball at his feet, before finishing past Canizares from a narrow angle.


Round-Up:
<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Group A Group B Italy 2 - 0 Bulgaria Germany 3 - 0 Switzerland Wales 1 - 3 Greece England 3 - 2 SpainGroup C Group D Portugal 2 - 0 Belgium Holland 1 - 1 Czech Republic Turkey 1 - 1 Denmark France 2 - 0 Sweden</pre>

retired_exoticpanther33

Sat 19th June

Today, I received my beginning of season briefing from the board. They informed me that Wayne Rooney had been voted last season's Everton Player of the Year by visitors to evertonfc.com. They told me that they felt Wayne was a vitally important player in our squad, and that I should do my best to keep him happy. Like I didn't already know that(!). They said that our slice of the Sky TV contract for broadcast rights was £12m - a figure which brought a smile to my face. £3.1m was to be payed as dividends to shareholders - which was mixed news - less money for transfers, but it meant the club must have turned a healthy profit last season - something which I like to think I played at least a minor role in.

Now, the important part, at least from my point of view. I was told that I was to be given £11.75m to spend in the transfer market, but that I would be able to supplement this through any departures from the squad.When I asked what percentage of any transfer fees raised would go into the kitty, they told me that around 10% would be kept back to help cover running costs etc, but the rest I could do with as I pleased. This too was good news, as I knew there were a fair few clubs sniffing around some of my less needed players. Especially Watford, for some reason. Finally, they said that they had been delighted with my performance last season, and wanted more of the same, stating that a "respectable position" in the Premiership was the minimum needed in the coming campaign.

I could live with that.



Mon 21st - Wed 23rd

Euro 2004

Final Round of Group Matches

England fell to their first defeat of Euro 2004, losing to Germany in Lisbon, through goals from Miroslav Klose (4) and Kevin Kuranyi (90). England will feel hard done by in losing a match in which they had just as many chances, but James Beattie and Michael Owen (surprisingly recalled in place of the on fire Wayne Rooney) spurned a host of second half chances.


Round-Up:
<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Group A Group B Bulgaria 4 - 2 Greece Germany* 2 - 0 England* Wales* 1 - 0 Italy* Spain 2 - 1 SwitzerlandGroup C Group D Belgium* 2 - 0 Denmark France* 2 - 0 Czech Republic Turkey 1 - 4 Portugal* Holland* 1 - 0 Sweden</pre>

* = Team Qualifies for Quarter Final


Quarter Final Draw<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> England vs Italy Wales vs Germany Holland vs Portugal France vs Belgium</pre>



Thurs 24th - Sun 27th June

Euro 2004

Quarter Finals

England were given a tough draw in the last eight, against the previous tournament's Runners-Up, Italy. Eriksson's men however, stuck to their task admirably, and took the lead after just 4mins. A Beckham corner was headed straight at Buffon by Wayne Bridge, but the world's most expensive goalkeeper could only parry the ball into the path of Paul Scholes, and the ginger assassin responded by his first goal in an international match for over 2 years. England continued to press, but could not find another goal in a first half which they dominated. The second 45 mins was controlled by Italy, but they could not break down England's stubborn resistance, led by the tigerish Steven Gerrard, and England progressed to the Semi Finals.


Round-Up:
<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> England 1 - 0 Italy Wales 0 - 4 Germany Holland 0 - 1 s Portugal France 0 - 0 p Belgium</pre>

Shock of the round comes as Belgium defend valiantly for 120 mins against France (they had one shot on goal to France's 26) and force a penalty shootout. Belgium successfully convert all their spot kicks, and William Gallas balloons his over the bar to send the Champions crashing out of the tournament.


Quarter Final Draw<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> England vs Belgium Germany vs Portugal</pre>



Wed 30th June - Thurs 1st July

Euro 2004

Semi Finals

England had been given the semi final draw they must have been hoping for, and did not waste the opportunity. They took they lead after just 14mins after Belgium keeper Geert De Vlieger fumbled a Joe Cole cross, and Wayne Rooney was on hand to grab his fourth goal of the tournament, joining Thierry Henry at the top of the scoring chart. Seven minutes before half time, and the lead was doubled. Joe Cole sprinted onto a fine flick on from James Beattie (after an excellent long ball from Steven Gerrard) and calmly rounded the goalkeeper to finish into an empty net. In the second half, Belgium started to come back into the game a little, but their mini revival was ended when after 61mins, their influential left winger Thomas Buffel was sent off for stupidly kicking out at Gerrard. England's travelling support celebrated wildly at the final whistle, as their team reached the final of a major tournament for the first time since that hallowed day in 1966.


Round-Up:
<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> England 2 - 0 Belgium Germany 1 - 3 Portugal</pre>

England and Portugal would face off in the final of Euro 2004 after the host nation recorded yet another fine victory, this time against Germany, who had been in such dangerous form throughout the tournament. Goals from Ricardo Quaresma and Hélder Postiga (2) saw the Portuguese through to the final, despite a late consolation goal for Germany, through a Christian Ziege freekick.



Thurs 1st July

I was back at Goodison today, to welcome in our clutch of new signings, and parade them to the assembled media. Daniele Bonera, Deco, Mehndi Mahdavikia and Boumsong had all been snapped up on free transfers under the Bosman ruling, while we had paid £4.5m for gigantic Norwegian striker John Carew.



Sun 4th July

Euro 2004

The Final

To the bemusement of an entire nation, and the wider footballing community, England manager Sven-Göran Eriksson once again dropped the tournament's joint top scorer Wayne Rooney to the bench in favour of out-of-sorts Michael Owen, and once again, the gamble failed to pay off as they lost 0-2 to host nation Portugal. Second half goals from Pauleta and Tottenham's Hélder Postiga sealed the victory for the Portuguese, and sent the partizan Lisbon crowd berzerk. It was Portugal's first major final, and they grabbed the opportunity with both hands. For England's part, they did have chances to score, but Owen and Beattie's lack of true form resulted in only one of their combined 11 efforts being on target. Even with his team trailing in the second period, Eriksson left Rooney on the bench. When he finally was allowed to make an appearance, it was with only 2mins left, and far too late for the Everton wonderkid to make an impression. Although he did manage to get off only England's second shot on target, a 25 yard effort that was well saved by goalkeeper Ricardo.
<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">England 0 - 2 Portugal Pauleta, 54 Postiga, 65</pre>

retired_lizm5285

see Sven, leave out Rooney, and u loose

retired_exoticpanther33

Fri 9th July

Today, something of a shock at Goodison. Despite being vital to the side's success last season, young Spanish midfielder Mikel Arteta was today sold to Chelsea. Now, after seeing him perform so well last season, the last thing I wanted to do was let Mikel go, and when Chelsea came in with a £10m bid a couple of weeks ago, they were promptly told where to go. But, Abramovich being Abramovich, they kept coming back, each time improving their bid. Eventually, they made a bid of £16.5m plus 40% of any future transfer fee. Now, at this point, I had to think long and hard. Finally I decided that, given the signing of Deco 8 days ago, Mikel was unlikely to receive the amount of first team football a player of his calibre deserves (not that Chelsea is necessarily the place to go for that). Also playing on my mind was the fact that the money from the transfer would more than double my current budget for bringing players in. With these things in mind, I telephoned Chelsea and gave them my permission to speak to the player. With the amount of money available at Stamford Bridge these days, negotiations were brief, and Mikel signed for the London side this afternoon.

Also today, Toffees "Legend" Duncan Ferguson signed for newly promoted Watford for £325k. Duncan was no longer anywhere near a first team spot here, and, despite not wanting to leave, understood that at £35k p/w, he was not a player I was going to keep around for sentimental reasons. Watford also snapped up veteran keeper Nigel Martyn on a free AND made a £1.5m offer for Li Tie, which was accepted. (Told you they'd been showing interest(!) )


Fri 16th July

The players today returned to Bellefield for pre-season training. Those who had been on England duty were excused some of the more rigorous exercises, but not for too long, as I wanted to make sure my entire squad was up to my levels of fitness, not those of Mr Eriksson. (Whose judgement I have come to question a little after he dropped Wayne for the final)


Wed 21st July

Another surprise today, as new signing Daniele Bonera left the club, only 20days after joining. Arsenal had come in with a bid of £5.5m plus 50% of any future fee. Now, I knew that Bonera had what it took to become a truly great player, but also knew that he wasn't there yet, and was unlikely to be a mainstay of the first team, due to the quality of Yobo and Boumsong. With this in mind, I felt that the Arsenal deal was best for everyone, as the 50% sell on clause could bring in a large sum of money in the future, if the player fulfils his potential.



Fri 23rd July

Pre Season Friendly

Bradford City 0 - 4 Everton

Starting XI
Wright, Naysmith, Hibbert, Boumsong, Yobo
McFadden, Morgan, Nyarko, Deco
Todorov, Carew

I rested Rooney and put Davis on the bench for the match today, and Mahdavikia was unable to play due to a slight groin strain. Boumsong, Deco and Carew however, made their Everton bows in an easy victory over Bradford. We left it pretty late to start scoring, but were always in control - which was pleasing, given that we had only recently returned to training, and Bradford had begun theirs a week earlier. The goals did not start to come until I made several changes. The resistance was finally broken in the 62nd minute by Daniel Braathen (on for Deco at half time). The Norwegian received the ball on the edge of the box from Nyarko, jinked to the side of a defender, before curling a delightful right footed shot past the goalkeeper.

Braathen doubled the lead just 6mins later, latching onto a pull back from Todorov to hammer home from 10 yards. The third was scored by Joseph Yobo, who headed in a James McFadden outswinging corner from the left hand side. The final touches were put on a good win by late substitute Sean Davis, as he volleyed into the top corner from 20 yards, after good work from Craig Garside down the right. The only concern after the match was a slight knock to John Carew, but it didn't seem to be anything serious. (He was withdrawn at half time as a precaution).



Sat 24th July

Recently, I have had scouts watching Scott Parker playing in Charlton's pre season matches. Today I was informed through a friend that Newcastle had made a £5m bid for the player, matching a release clause in Parker's newly signed contract with relegated Athletic. I decided that the player was someone I wanted at the club, and made a similar bid. Contract negotiations would take place on Monday.



Mon 26th July

Today I met with Scott Parker and his agent, and was told that Spurs, Liverpool and Kaiserslautern had also made bids, along with Real Sociedad, who want to take the player on a year's loan, with a view to a permanent transfer. Along with Bill Kenwright, I made the player a generous contract offer, and stressed to him that he was a player I would love to have at the club for the long term future.



Tues 27th July

Pre-Season Friendly

Norwich 2 - 1 Everton

Starting XI
Turner, Colbeck, Garside, O'Hanlon, Yobo
Braathen, Mahdavikia, Nyarko, Brown
Todorov, Symes

I sent out a more or less reserve side (with one or two exceptions) in the first half against Norwich, and unsurprisingly found myself 2-0 down at halftime to goals from Mark Robertson and a Mark Rivers penalty. I changed almost the entire team at half time, only Yobo and Braathen remaining on the pitch (the Norwegian moving from the left wing to central midfield). The second half performance was much improved, and Braathen grabbed a goal (his third of the pre-season). A wonderful 50 yard pass from Wayne Rooney (making his first appearance) was nodded on by McFadden and Braathen took one touch before finishing well past Joe Lewis in the Norwich goal. We kept pushing, but unfortunately couldn't find an equaliser - but at the end of the day, the results are not the important thing in games like this.

retired_exoticpanther33

Fri 30th July

Today I received several derisory bids of £1.2m for Tony Hibbert. I don't know if they'd heard from some source that he had some sort of release clause in his contract, or that I was looking to offload him, but i either case they were mistaken - the bids were rejected out of hand and the parties involved (Birmingham, Villa, Leeds) were informed that further approaches would not be welcomed.



Sat 31st July

Pre-Season Friendly

Chester 0 - 1 Everton

Starting XI
Wright, Naysmith, Hibbert, Boumsong, Yobo
McFadden, Mahdavikia, Davis, Deco
Rooney, Carew

A full strength side was fielded for this friendly against local side Chester, with Sean Davis and Wayne Rooney making their first starts of the pre-season as I started to work the squad towards full fitness. In the end, the match was settled by Deco's first goal for the club, just 2mins into the match. Mahdavikia moved down the right hand side, wriggling past two defenders to cross into the area. Carew rose well above the centre backs and nodded down for the Portuguese international to volley home from just 8 yards. For the rest of the match, we bombarded the Chester goal, having chance after chance to increase our lead, but, somewhat worryingly, we were unable to do so. It has also not escaped my attention that our two first choice strikers have thus far failed to score - hopefully this will change as fitness levels rise.



Tues 3rd August

Li Tie became the third Everton player this summer to sign for Watford today (for £1.5m) when his application for a new work permit was granted. I also made loan bids for a few players, who I wanted to have a look at over the coming season before deciding whether or not to sign them on a more permanent basis.



Thurs 5th Aug

Pre-Season Friendly

Charlton 0 - 2 Everton

Starting XI
Wright, Naysmith, Hibbert, Boumsong, Yobo
McFadden, Mahdavikia, Davis, Deco
Rooney, Carew

Again the side started at full strength against a Charlton team including Scott Parker, who was still considering the offers from ourselves, Liverpool, Tottenham, Kaiserslautern and Real Sociedad. The game was won by one goal early in the match, and one near the end. The first came after 8mins, when James McFadden received the ball out on the right, and, using his first touch, cut in on the first defender's blind side, and accelerated towards goal. As he entered the penalty area, he turned Luke Young inside out twice, before blasting his shot into the top corner past the helpless goalkeeper - It was a strike that would certainly have won goal of the month, had it not been scored in a "meaningless" pre-season friendly.

Despite having the majority of the play, we were unable to double our lead until the 85th minute, when John Carew flicked the ball out to the excellent McFadden, and the young Scot crossed first time for Wayne Rooney to fire his volleyed shot wide of the goalkeeper and into the back of the net from 15 yards, breaking his pre-season duck. A decent win overall, against a Charlton side who will be expected to gain promotion back up to the Premiership in the coming season. McFadden especially was in fine form - a constant menace down the left hand side, taking the ball past opposition players for fun.



Mon 8th Aug

Today I was delighted to welcome to the club Mikael Forssell and Massimo Donatiwho signed on season long loans from Chelsea and AC Milan respectively - with a view to permanent transfers if they impress sufficiently during the course of the season.



Tues 10th August

Pre-Season Friendly

Bristol Rovers 0 - 2 Everton

Starting XI
Wright, Naysmith, Hibbert, Boumsong, Yobo
McFadden, Mahdavikia, Davis, Deco
Rooney, Carew

Our penultimate pre-season friendly, and the first that I would treat as a proper game (e.g no mass substitutions). Bristol Rovers perhaps provided sterner opposition that I had been expecting, and managed to hold us at 0-0 until the 52nd minute. McFadden, once again on sparkling form, was the one to break the deadlock, as he got himself on the end of Mahdavikia's cross, and headed home.

Despite vastly superior possession, and the constant thread of McFadden marauding down the left wing, the score remained at 1-0 until 3minutes into injury time. Daniel Braathen (on as a half time substitute for the below par Deco,) received a fine through ball down the centre from Rooney, strode into the penalty area, rounded substitute goalkeeper Ryan Clarke and finished into the empty net. Another passable victory, enhanced by the continued good form of McFadden and Braathen, and the fact that the entire team came through unscathed.

retired_mollymay

pretty decent pre-season results against good opposition - good luck for the season opener

retired_exoticpanther33

side note: i'm currently 12 games into the second season, and my players are driving me up the wall!

for some reason this season, pretty much all of my team seem to have lost their ability to finish.

i'm gonna go and throw some football boots at them :p