Life in Football Manager

It’s mid season and as you may have already read the club is under new ownership, the Americans who claimed to love the club, stating never leave, only lasted 3 years before selling up. I had never seen them in the stands. It must have just been coincidence that it was only last week they made their first visit to the club under my reign and discovered that we were actually playing with a round ball. But even with the new investors, Thomas White says he is not going to cough anything up just yet and there is still massive loans being paid back so apart from personnel nothing has changed and the only funds available are the scraps of the summers budget. Not that I am too worried, I have a massive squad and more players would only upset the current crop. But I am addicted to shopping, I will buy someone who looks good even if I have not use for him, its a curse.

I am pretty pleased with how the team is playing although the three teams that I have been beaten by two of them should have got me the sack, Sheffield United and God Grayson’s Blackpool sunk me away both times. Manchester United were the only other team to upset me. After 20 games I am 4 points a drift of first place Chelsea and still in the Champions League and FA cup. My league cup exit came to came to Derby in the 4th round, a late 93rd minute goal sunk the young guns. The Arsenal approach to the cup failed, the team never really got going and what ever I did wasn’t enough and Derby made sure they showed my team who the men are. I have been using the FA cup and Champions League (at the groups anyway) to play players who haven’t had to many games in the league, the likes of Mota and Carson and so far it has been successful but I think that I will wimp out when it comes to the big guys and I will play the first team.

One thing that I have had problem with though is keeping players, Agger a first team regular, Torje the mini Romanian who is on the verge of breaking into the team and Paul Anderson have all aired their distaste at me wanting to keep them at the club when bids have come in. Which meant that Spurs have taken Paul at a cut price and I haven’t had any return on Torje as both of their contracts end at the end of the season and Espanyol have take advantage. Daniel Agger future is also still in the balance.

The highlight from the first half of the season has got to have been beating the Wenger boys 4-0 at Anfield. It did help that after eight minutes Toure brought down Torres just outside the box. It was deemed a professional foul as he was the last man right in front of the box. Gerrard fired us in the lead three minutes later rifling it on the half volley from a Fabianski parry. We were 2-0 up from the spot before Clichy took an early bath after collecting two cards. It was rumoured that when the guys went in for half time they found him with his rubber ducky and singing to the best of the Spice Girls. Two goals in the second half from Aguero and Torres respectively sealed the game. I was surprised by the gunners tactics though when they went down to 10 men or even 9, instead of going with 3 defenders and playing the midfield battle in the hope for the odd goal. They basically played two flat fours and no strikers giving me all the time in the world to go forward.

While writing I have managed to reach the end of January, I never put a single bid in during the window, but when I have gone 13 games in the league unbeaten, do you really need to change? Although Sissoko departed for £11 million after becoming the latest player to moan. Worldwide, Rosina switched Lyon for Roma for £27 million, Corluka left City for Chelsea netting them £22.5 million and the biggest surprise was Baines making the switch to AC Milan for just over £10 million. So a busy January, not many bargains in those sales though.