retired_blondielovespink

Season's started well. Our goalscoring was once again impressive, even against the better defenses. Our defence however, was utterly suspect. It caused me to make a change of tactics again, necessitated all the more when Danish Striker, who was banging home a goal a match, went on the injured list for a month. I picked up an Italian AM (R/L/C, bonafided 2 footed player) in the offseason. He's been a super-sub. Bring him in after the half and watch him go. A terror on the flanks, hopefully as time goes on his passing skills will improve and make him as good in the center as on the wings. He makes me wonder if he's the ponytail's regen, to be honest. I also picked up an Australian/English D/M(C) in the offseason, (playing in Ireland!). He's been a great find as well. Very good tackling, determination, heading and jumping skills, good workrate and pace as well, and can mark either zonally or man as well as anyone. What he was doing languishing in Ireland I don't know. Picked him up for 150k, an absolute steal.

I don't have a holiday break in this season to speak of. So I'm going to play until Jan 3rd, and then do a full update. Why January 3rd? Well, there's a special match that day...

Auxerre vs Toulouse, at Stade de l'Abbe-Deschamps. [IMG]/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif" alt="cool[/IMG] Yeah, "It's just another match." That's what I tell the media, anyway. [IMG]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif" alt="big grin[/IMG]

On the Super Eagle front, we've played 2 friendlies. 1 against traditional whipping boys Ghana (5-1 slaughter, of course). And the other against Spain, in Lagos. Spain scored 1st through their super forward early on, as we looked scared of the famed red and blue at first. But we got our legs under us and came back strong after the goal. We fired back with our Super Forward bolting off the left to equalize just before half, and then I subbed in a forward at half, and he beat the keeper to a cross, headed it home, and gave us a 2-1 lead. Spain threatened a few times, but we really played a marvelous 2nd half and dominated most of the play. The 2-1 win was well deserved. Next up is Ghana, then South Africa. The FA's expectations are "qualify for the World Cup." That ought not be too difficult to do. More difficult is the task I plan to undertake. Making the team young enough to compete in 2010 and yet keep winning.

retired_blondielovespink

The last line should read, "Next up is ZAMBIA, and then South Africa." I even went and editted it, but it didn't take. [IMG]/infopop/emoticons/icon_mad.gif" alt="mad[/IMG]

retired_blondielovespink

Auxerre, 1st half, 06/07 Season

The season started with a match away at Bastia. They seemed to forget that we were only one season removed from the top-flight, and it showed in the beating we put on them. 2-0 was the final, but the game was never in doubt. Goals by my South African from the attacking midfield spot and Super Dane cemented a fine win. But the next match was even more satisfying. Our home opener against Laval, and the Knight who says... slammed home 2 PKs and a header to give us a rousing 3-1 win that had our fans in song. The third match of the season was against fellow promoted side Caen, but we showed them that we were the more likely of the two to continue in the First Division, as we pasted them as well with a 4-1 slaughter that had their fans jeering. Super Dane made his mark again with 2 goals. We were off and running.

The run to begin the season was 8 unbeaten, also including a 3-0 thrashing of PSG in front of our faithful. 5 wins and 3 draws in the first 8. Marseille brought us rudely back to earth with a 0-3 beating in front of our own fans. Super Dane has already hit for 9 goals by the match before. But he injured himself following his 9th goal for a month due to strained ankle ligaments. This forced the change of tactics I talked about, as the Knight, despite his hat trick, has not been consistent, and has himself spent a couple stretches out with injuries (he's 32 now, and lacks the pace to threaten 1st Division defenses, though if he can get in the box, he's a deadly as ever in the air). This forced me also to call up a Bosman signing of mine I had not even mentioned previously, as I did not think he'd be playing this season. An Italian striker I signed from Como, also a powerhouse in the air, but with almost as much pace as my Danish Striker. I inserted him into the lineup and hoped.

He has been solid. Not as much of a goal scoring threat as I'd like, but great at winning aerials and knocking them down for others to finish. My Italian midfielder has been a chief beneficiary of his donations, as he has scored 8 goals, most in the 2nd half off the bench. We played Lyon, in Lyon, on October 28th, trying to come out of a stretch of form that was possibily our worst of the season so far (1 lackluster win over Sochaux, 2 draws, both 3-3 draws against teams with weak attacks, and the 0-3 drubbing vs Marseilles I mentioned previously). The game was wild. We scored first through my South African in the 4th minute. The retaliated with 2 goals, then we fought back with a goal of our own through one of my less heralded strikers (I call him Samurai). They went up again in the 60th minute, but then a cross from my Italian midfielder found one of their defenders and went into the net for an own goal to equalize in the 62nd, and it ended a 3-3 draw. That bit of luck, along with the return of Super Dane to the lineup, was all we needed to start off on another fine run of form. 14 in a row unbeaten in all competitions, 10 in a row in the League.

That brings us to my revenge match. Toulouse visiting the Stade de l'Abbe-Deschamps. Toulouse was last years bridesmaid as well. This season they are looking up from 10th spot in the table. The current manager has also forsaken much of my fiscal responsibility, wages are now upwards of 41k a week for some players. My highest current wage is 25K, as I offloaded the last of the 30,000 a week club from my predecessor's reign. But I have one of my Nigerian teamers coming in next season for 29k. Super Dane, who had been jettisoned by Toulouse after I left and I picked up on a Free, along with my veteran Defender whom I picked up last season from Toulouse as he was languishing on their bench, a frequent Toulouse captain in my days in the Purple and white, took a moment to look across the match and smile at one another. "Just another match, right boss?" My eyes glinted, "Sure, whatever you say."

The lads knew this match meant a bit to me. They came out and didn't let the muddy field stop them from moving the ball crisply around the park. My central midfielder laid a ball nicely to my South Afircan, playing this match on the left flank, and his cross found my little Italian, who rammed home his 8th goal of the year to give us a 1-0 lead. In the 61st minute, Super Dane got his revenge. My Italian striker laid off a header for him, and the Dane rocketed it past my old Czech keeper to give us a 2-0 lead. They got a consolation goal on a fine run from midfield in the waning minutes. But we had ourselves a fine 2-1 win. The board sent it's regards afterwards. Saying they appreciated the "excellent" 2-1 victory and were "delighted" in my general performance as manager. My latest foreign keeper, From Russia with Love, played a fine match to preserve our win.

The media called us rank outsiders and said they were dubious we could continue our form. I corrected their opinion. I told them I was quietly confident of our chances of success. Both fans and board reacted with pleasure to my remarks. It'll be a dogfight to the wire, as always. But if you look at the table, you can see why I have a measure of confidence.

retired_blondielovespink

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> ************************************************** ********************************************** French First Division - Tuesday 2nd January 2007********************************************** ************************************************** ================================================== ============================================== 2006/7 Table============================================= ================================================== =Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Auxerre 20 6 3 1 22 15 6 4 0 22 10 43 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2nd Lyon 20 9 2 0 21 5 4 2 3 11 8 43 3rd Guingamp 20 9 1 0 20 7 3 3 4 10 12 40 4th Bordeaux 21 6 2 2 21 13 4 5 2 18 17 37 5th Marseille 20 6 2 2 17 6 4 2 4 10 10 34 6th Monaco 21 5 3 2 15 10 5 1 5 17 12 34 7th Châteauroux 21 6 5 0 21 10 3 2 5 18 21 34 8th Lens 20 5 2 2 12 7 5 2 4 9 15 34 9th Paris-SG 20 5 4 1 16 8 3 2 5 13 17 30 10th Rennes 21 3 3 4 12 17 5 2 4 13 9 29 11th Bastia 19 6 1 3 17 10 2 3 4 12 14 28 12th Toulouse 20 6 3 1 16 5 1 3 6 11 18 27 13th Nantes 20 5 1 4 17 15 1 4 5 13 23 23 14th Sochaux 20 4 0 6 13 18 3 2 5 17 23 23 15th Caen 18 3 1 5 13 18 3 3 3 11 7 22 16th Le Mans 20 4 1 5 20 18 1 4 5 11 19 20 17th St-Etienne 21 3 5 3 13 12 1 2 7 11 21 19 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------18th Lille 21 1 5 5 19 26 2 4 4 14 15 18 19th Laval 21 0 5 5 7 15 2 0 9 7 21 11 20th Sedan 20 1 2 7 7 19 0 1 9 6 27 6 </pre>

retired_clintcooke

suppose you are doing alright.

Congrats so far.....

retired_tam5868

You seem to be doing just fine [IMG]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif" alt="big grin[/IMG]...

Is the Auxerre youth system still awesome. In my French game every season they seem to have about 15 players in their squad younger than 20 [IMG]/infopop/emoticons/icon_eek.gif" alt="eek[/IMG] with at least 5+ being promoted each year and quite a few turn out to be fantastic...

When you have conquered with Auxerre you should go and join one of the newly promoted National clubs with few players... [IMG]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif" alt="smile[/IMG]

retired_blondielovespink

ghostwriter,

Auxerre sold off most of its quality players from the beginning of the game before I got there. All I have from the original side are their fullbacks. Plus all the quality coaches that they had were gone, other than the assistant. So I've had to rebuild the whole system as well as make the team competitive again.

Since I already brought a team up from the National, I'm intending on moving abroad after I've seen Auxerre safely into Europe. So I'll stay through this season, and then start looking for a move next. Actually there's a team languishing in Division 3 in England I have my eye on as my next possible reclamation project. But that'll depend on who or what is open at the time. The board likes me, so I'm not in a hurry to jump ship like I was at Toulouse.

retired_blondielovespink

Auxerre 06/07

Heartbreak. If you would have told me at the beginning of the season I would qualify for Europe and win a major domestic Cup competition, I'd have said, "Great!" Sometimes, the way something happens is just as important as what happens. We were, of course, sitting at the top of the league at the break after avenging myself on Toulouse. But January was a nightmare.

We got dumped in the League Cup 2nd Round by Caen, at their stadium, 1-2. We then drew Lens and Lille (who went from Champion's League to relegation in 1 season!). Both at home in matches we ought to have won. Then we followed that up with losses to Chateureaux and Bordeaux, and Lyon had passed us into 1st. From February to April, we had a good winning streak that saw us back into 1st place (albeit Lyon had matches in hand on us). We righted ourselves with a visit to Caen in the French Cup. We administered a thorough 4-0 shellacking of them, with a brace from my Italian Striker. I trotted out a virtually identical side (reserves and backups it may have been, they deserved to show they could do it again) and administered a 4-1 league beating on them 4 days later, the combined 8-1 win in their stadium brought a measure of pride to my side.

Then Lyon came to call, we scored first, and I was thinking we'd win for sure. We had a 2nd goal disallowed, and I got nervous. In the 67th minute, they levelled, and I said "We'll take a point, not the best result, but it keeps us on level." Then, in the last minute, our right back reaches a little with his foot inside the box. Their midfielder takes the opportunity to trip on a blade of grass and the referee buys the dive. They score on the PK, we lose 1-2. [IMG]/infopop/emoticons/icon_rolleyes.gif" alt="roll eyes[/IMG]

The next match was our return trip to the Stadium Municipal to play Toulouse. The little Italian scored 2 goals, and Super Dane set up a third for Samurai. The Toulouse fans were jeering their side as we trotted off 3-0 winners. And immediately after the match, my successor at Toulouse received a vote of confidence. [IMG]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif" alt="big grin[/IMG]

Two matches later, Paris SG finishes off our title hopes with a 1-4 thrashing of us. We ran the table in the League the rest of the way. The highlight being a visit to Nantes to face their French International keeper. We rang in 2 quick goals. Then the game became a joke. One of their defenders committed a foul, pulling down our striker just outside the box. He was red carded as last man. Our left winger struck a thunderous free kick to make the match 3-0. And I decided to keep attacking. 3 more goals followed. My Italian striker picked up another brace, Super Dane a goal, even my Aussie/English midfielder got in the act. A 6-0 thrashing, in Nantes.

We won the League Cup with a 3-0 win over Guingamp, their keeper being red carded for bringing down Super Dane. He scored a brace, giving him 21 for the season, and the fans sang my praises after the match. But it wasn't enough to catch up again with Lyon. They won the league by 5 points. and Ever since the transfer market reopened, they've been buying star players for 10-12 million a pop. That's more than my whole budget, and they only give me half of that for transfers. I picked up a 4th keeper from England, and a 4th defender. That's all I could legitimately afford. I think I may have blown my best chance at overcoming a side that's dominated France.

We finished 2nd, and won a cup, and we return to the Champion's League. So the season isn't a loss by any stretch. The board is delighted in me. The fans love me. I'm now ranked #2 in France (behind Lyon's manager), with a world-class ranking. I'm #62 world-wide (good). But for all that, the season tastes like ashes, and I'm doing a lot of "Mighta, coulda, shoulda." Maybe next year we'll knock the door down. We'll see.

retired_blondielovespink

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> ************************************************** ********************************************** French First Division - Saturday 19th May 2007********************************************** ************************************************** ================================================== ============================================== 2006/7 Table============================================= ================================================== =Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st C Lyon 38 15 2 2 34 11 11 4 4 31 19 84 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2nd Auxerre 38 12 5 2 39 23 11 5 3 40 20 79 3rd Lens 38 13 3 3 38 13 9 4 6 18 22 73 4th Châteauroux 38 12 6 1 36 19 8 2 9 30 32 68 5th Guingamp 38 15 3 1 34 11 3 6 10 15 25 63 6th Bordeaux 38 12 3 4 36 20 5 7 7 22 32 61 7th Monaco 38 10 6 3 29 18 6 4 9 26 26 58 8th Rennes 38 8 6 5 25 21 7 6 6 24 21 57 9th Toulouse 38 10 5 4 31 14 6 3 10 29 34 56 10th Marseille 38 9 5 5 30 18 6 4 9 17 21 54 11th Paris-SG 38 9 8 2 34 15 4 4 11 24 39 51 12th Nantes 38 8 5 6 33 33 5 6 8 28 41 50 13th Bastia 38 9 3 7 31 24 4 7 8 23 28 49 14th St-Etienne 38 7 7 5 24 20 4 6 9 29 38 46 15th Le Mans 38 8 3 8 31 27 2 6 11 17 35 39 16th Caen 38 6 3 10 24 36 4 5 10 18 26 38 17th Sochaux 38 5 3 11 28 38 4 3 12 20 38 33 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------18th R Sedan 38 8 4 7 21 23 1 1 17 8 41 32 19th R Lille 38 4 7 8 39 43 2 6 11 21 35 31 20th R Laval 38 4 5 10 17 26 2 3 14 13 41 26 </pre>

retired_holden

Better luck next season shawn [IMG]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif" alt="big grin[/IMG]

KUTGW!! [IMG]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif" alt="big grin[/IMG]

Are you still with the Super Eagles?