13:30 Ah, FA Cup final day. As far as sporting occasions go, this is right near the top of the sporting calendar. Everybody has a favourite FA Cup moment, whether it be Ricky Villa’s magic feet or Lawrie Sanchez triggering the greatest cup final shock of all time. Today, Darlington go in search of their own magic moment.

13:40 Kick off is at 3pm, so between now and then we’ll take you through all you need to know about today’s game. Manchester United have had a fairly average season by their standards, finishing 6th in the Premier League and winning the League Cup. The Champions League still eludes Alex Ferguson though, and their semi final defeat to PSG will be the biggest annoyance to the Scot. Still though, two trophies wouldn’t be a bad season!

Darlington meanwhile finished 17th in their first ever Premier League campaign, something which manager David Black considered ‘our league win’. There’s no doubt their aim was just to stay up, and the FA Cup run has been a bonus to them.

13:45 Route to the Final

Manchester United have barely been tested on their route to the final, only facing Premier League opposition once before the semi final when they dispatched Aston Villa at Old Trafford in Round 4. Northampton, Bristol City & Huddersfield were sent packing in rounds 3, 5 and the Quarter finals respectively.

Darlington meanwhile ran a bit of a local gauntlet to reach the semi finals. Trips to Carlisle and Bishop Auckland saw Darlington pick up two wins to reach round 5 where they were given a break from local derbies to face Division 2 Blackpool at Bloomfield Road. After beaing the Seasiders 1-0, it was finally a home tie for Darlington against fierce local rivals and fellow Premier League side Middlesbrough. Steve Gaughan, who we’ll talk more about later, scored the decisive goal that sent Darlington to the semi finals.

Whilst the world wanted a Manchester derby final, there were sighs of relief when the two Manchester clubs were kept apart in the semi final. Tottenham Hotspur, who have since been relegated, were drawn against Manchester United

This left Man City to face Darlington, and another 4-1 scoreline.

An unbelievable spell either side of half time from Darlington and Man City had no answer. Which brings us to today…

13:55 Team news will be with us in 5 minutes, but we know captain Gary Neville & Antoine Sibierski are out injured for Manchester United, whilst defender Leigh Townsend is suspended for Darlington.

Former Manchester United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel:

“I know Gary will be gutted to miss today’s game. He just loves winning and obviously he loves the club. He’ll be in the dressing room getting the lads fired up, but United are so strong, they won’t miss him. Darlington just don’t have the players to hurt them.”

14:00 TEAM NEWS

Manchester United: Barthez, Dyer, P Neville, Stam, Jepsen, Butt, Pelatti, Keane (c), Shearer, Loko, Giggs. Subs: Scholes, Betterton, Curtis, Beckham, Eadie

Darlington: Carlos Germano, Davis, Hughes, Costello, T Blake, Honeyball, Gaughan, Heidenstrom (c), Nevland, Devine, McGivern. Subs: Brazil, Simonsen, Martin, Fedoruk, Le Tissier

14:05 No real surprises in the teams, Manchester United look really strong and are heavy favourites. Darlington opt to give semi final hero Sean Devine the nod over youngster Alex Martin, who has played recently.

14:15 The players are out warming up on the Wembley pitch. Nerves will be jangling!

14:25 The Dangermen

We’ve taken a look at some players today who could decide today’s match

Alan Shearer

With 19 goals and 20 assists, Shearer’s importance to this Manchester United side is obvious. How Darlington’s back 3 cope with the Geordie front man is going to go a long way to deciding the game

Roy Keane

The tough tackling Irishman has dominated so many games in his career – but picks up plenty of cards. Keane keeping his discipline could see the Irishman lift the trophy come 5pm.

Erik Nevland

The former Manchester United striker has been Darlington’s main goal threat all season and has found the net 17 times. With something to prove against his former manager, could Nevland have the last laugh?

Steven Gaughan

Gaughan is 32 and far from a regular in this Darlington side, but has been with them all the way through their journey from Division 3. Part of the Chesterfield squad that made the semi finals in 1997, Gaughan was left out of the semi final against Middlesbrough, and has spoken of unfinished business in the competition. Fate?

14:35 The managers

Alex Ferguson: “I love the FA Cup and playing at Wembley is always special. We’ve been here once already this season to win the League Cup, so that bodes well for us. I’m hoping for a good game but I expect us to win.”

David Black: “It’s been an incredible journey from Division 3 but we’ve got great self belief in that dressing room. Nobody gave us a chance against City but here we are, at Wembley. Obviously we’re underdogs but it’s happened before and it’ll happen again. Why can’t it be us?”

14:45 The players are in the tunnel. This is a World away from Feethams – Wembley is about 7 times the size for starters. Will Darlington freeze or will they rise to the occasion?

14:50 Both managers are suited and booted and lead their teams on to the Wembley pitch. Time for Abide with Me and then the National Anthem. It’s game time.

15:00 Kick off

Darlington get us underway in the 2002 FA Cup Final.

2 mins – Heidenstrom wins a header and it falls invitingly for Lee Hughes to have a strike. Unfortunately that’s not really what he’s known for and the shot goes well over Fabien Barthez’s goal.

6 mins – Both sets of fans are in great voice but there’s not much action on the pitch, as both sides try to gain a foothold in the game.

DARLO4LIFE via Text: “Do the players know it has kicked off?”

footyismint via Text: “Good idea from Darlo to bore everybody into submission!”

11 mins – A corner! Giggs delivers but it goes out before it comes in. This has been a slow burner so far.

14 mins – Darlington’s turn to have a spell of possession, and they too get their first corner. Ryan McGivern swings it in but Jaap Stam is able to head it away.

20 minutes – Remarkably, this is Manchester United’s first shot on goal. Shearer hits it, but he doesn’t get hold of it properly and it’s easy for Carlos Germano.

23 minutes – Alex Ferguson is not happy. He’s in his technical area bellowing at his team to up the ante. David Black will be delighted with this so far.

28 minutes – DISALLOWED GOAL

Fergie’s face is red, so you know something big has happened.

Finally some real action of note. Tim Blake has the ball about 40 yards from his own goal and comes under pressure from Roy Keane. Blake tries to pass the ball off but is bundled to the ground and the ball runs for Alan Shearer, who gives himself half a yard and fires home. Shearer’s wheeling away celebrating in the usual manner but the referee has blown for a freekick against Keane, who is adjudged to have fouled Blake. Shearer and Keane, never shy of saying a word or two, are both furious, but it remains 0-0.

30 minutes – Ferguson is still furious and the Man Utd fans are whistling. It looked a correct decision though…

Former Man Utd & Darlington striker Alex Notman, working for TV:

“It is probably a foul, but sometimes you get away with those. I think there’s an element of experience here from Keane & Shearer going mad – they’ve got the fans up and the game is alive, and that suits Man Utd more than Darlington”

34 minutes – CLOSE

Erik Nevland! No! The Norwegian pounces on a bad touch by Jaap Stam and from just outside the box hits a snap shot that flashes just past the post.

38 minutes – Everything has calmed down a bit now, even Fergie.

42 minutes – CLOSE

It’s Manchester United’s turn to come forward, and Pelatti wins a corner. Giggs whips it in and it’s the dimunitive figure of Kieron Dyer who gets his head on it, but it whistles over the bar. Major questions in the Darlington defence how a man of Dyer’s size got on the end of the corner

44 minutes – YELLOW CARD

Nicky Butt is the first man in the book for a late tackle on Steven Gaughan

HALF TIME

Not a classic but the tension will ramp up the longer thies goes on in the second half.

As the stats show, it’s a fairly even game. That will please David Black more than it will Alex Ferguson

Former Man Utd Goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel:

“That was hard to watch at times. The disallowed goal aside, nothing happened. Darlington will be quite happy but they can’t afford to sit back any more, which I suspect they will.”

The boys in the studio are looking at the disallowed goal again. Keane definitely makes contact with Blake but was the defender already going down? The players are on their way out for the second half.

46 mins – KICK OFF

Man Utd get the second half underway.

47 mins – Alan Shearer tries his luck from way out but it’s over the bar. A sighter.

52 mins – CLOSE

Pelatti has come alive in the second half, playing a sublime ball through to Shearer. The England frontman drills it low and hard but Carlos Germano gets a hand to it and it’s corner. Man Utd are ramping the pressure up. Shearer heads the resulting corner over the bar.

57 mins – Shearer turns provider this time, crossing to the back post where Patrice Loko heads goalwards. Scott Honeyball has other ideas and blocks it behind for a corner. It’s only a matter of time…

58 minutes – The first corner is headed behind by Honeyball again. The second is met by Nicky Butt who should maybe do better but again misses the target.

SUBSTITUTION

There will be no fairytale for Steven Gaughan, who is replaced by Carlton Le Tissier.

59 minutes – GOAL! Manchester United 1 – 0 Darlington (Alan Shearer)

What a goal. He had a sighter just after half time but this time, the ball drops to Shearer just outside the box and it is smashed right footed into the roof of the net. Germano no chance. Darlington hearts broken.

62 minutes – It’s a disaster for Darlington but there’s still time. David Black is pondering a change.

Former Manchester United & Darlington striker Alex Notman:

“It had been coming. Ferguson has clearly had the hairdryer out and it’s worked again. Manchester United will be smelling blood now and will want this finished off as soon as possible to avoid any late drama. What a hit though”

70 minutes – SUBSTITUTION

Here is the change then – young Alex Martin is on, Scott Honeyball is off. Striker for defender, looks like 4-3-3 for the last 20.

75 minutes – CLOSE

Shearer goes close again. This time Loko plays him in but he screws his shot a foot wide of the far post.

77 minutes – CLOSE

Loko to Shearer again, Germano tips round for a corner. It’s all Man Utd, Darlington just can’t get the ball forward. Corner…

78 minutes – Dyer volleys Giggs’ corner goalwards and it deflects behind. Patrice Loko then has a go but it’s over the bar.

81 minutes – GOAL! Manchester United 2 – 0 Darlington (Alan Shearer)

After Patrice Loko sees another shot deflect behind, Giggs’ whips yet another corner in and Shearer heads it home. Game over.

82 mins – SUBSTITUTION

Final change for Darlington as young Mervyn Brazil comes on for an exhausted Erik Nevland.

83 mins – Ryan McGivern rifles a shot goalwards but it is well wide. Sums up Darlington’s day.

86 mins – Sean Devine’s turn to have a shot but it too is wide. Darlington have only managed 4 shots, and zero on target.

87 mins – YELLOW CARD

Sean Devine goes into the book for a foul on fellow Irishman Roy Keane.

GOAL! Manchester United 3 – 0 Darlington (Patrice Loko)

It’s been a sublime second half for Man Utd and Patrice Loko gets the goal he deserves. Roy Keane plays him in and the Frenchman lobs Carlos Germano. Game well and truly over.

88 mins – GOAL! Manchester United 3 – 1 Darlington (Mervyn Brazil)

Late fightback? Don’t bet on it. Devine drills a shot goalwards and Barthez can only keep it out with his legs. Subsitute Mervyn Brazil puts in the rebound for a goal he will never forget. The Darlo fans are singing “We’re going to win 4-3” – well, you never know I suppose

FULL TIME – Manchester United win the FA Cup

The referee calls time on a game that came to life in the second half. Darlington did themselves proud but this time, Goliath won. Their players are crestfallen. Manchester United, meanwhile, are in the mood to party.

RedDevilJeff via Email: “Yeesssssssss! Don’t care who the opposition are, I just love winning”

DarloBill: “Unlucky boys. Proud to be a Darlington fan. Our turn will come.”

The Manchester United boys are partying with their fans. The Darlington players are slumped at various parts of the Wembley turf. Their manager is visiting each of them one by one and consoling them, whilst captain Bjorn Heidenstrom is over clapping the fans. They understand.

Manchester United Manager Alex Ferguson:

“A magnificent second half from us. There were some stern words at half time, and we played much better second half. We didn’t let them settle and in the end, our class told.”

Darlington manager David Black:

“The lads gave it everything, which is all we’ve ever asked. Sometimes it’s not enough, but I couldn’t have asked any more and the fans will agree I’m sure. We’ve achieved so much in a short space of time and we want to make days like this a regular occurence. We’ll learn from this and be better for it, but our congratulations go to Man Utd today.”

17:15 It’s time for Man Utd to collect their trophy. The injured Gary Neville has joined the party, but first the Darlington players need to troop up the famous steps, led by captain Heidenstrom.

Man Utd’s players make their way up to shake hands with Prince Charles, with Keane & Neville bringing up the rear to receive the trophy.

17:30 As Man Utd fans prepare for no doubt a great night on the London dance floors, spare a thought for Darlington, who did themselves proud. Thanks for joining us today, we’ll see you again soon.

It’s March 2002 and as you can gather from the immature title of this post, things have improved a little for Darlo. We’re still in deep trouble though with just a few months to go. Elsewhere, England have a battle on their hands to qualify for World Cup 2002 and there’s the usual array of managerial stupidity. Let’s start with that.

We ended the last post with Darlo & Coventry fighting over 20th in the Premier League. How do you get over that? See you later Gordon…

Coventry decide to go for the main man

This is bad news for me. It’s also bad news for Jack Charlton…

Arsenal opt to poach Ray Harford from Middlesbrough. Well, why not.

Boro bring everything back into a neat package by giving Charlton a route back into the game.

Charlton’s former club Newcastle are not to be outdone, sacking Roy Hodgson

The obvious choice is to bring a real enforcer in

Newcastle are still in no mans land in Division 1, so a change was needed. West Ham decide to fire Harry a few months later.

I didn’t even apply for the job but I’m offered the position

It’s a compliment to be offered the job without even applying but I’ve got a job to finish at Darlo, so thanks but no thanks.

So…I’m a better proposition than big Nev. Great.

Why am I sought after? Well, we’ve only gone on a little cup run! Though we have had to negotiate 3 derbies in 4 rounds

So having gone through all of that (admittedly, it’s been a fairly kind draw) it’s a Semi Final with Man City.

Blimey. In other news, having taken Darren Young from Man Utd in the early months of the season, I’ve had him poached off me too

Urrgghh. I thought these days were behind us but clearly not. Attracting players of any sort of quality is tricky but we’ve found a Spanish right back who is keen to join

A 1-0 win at league leaders Chelsea keeps us out of the relegation zone, but we’ll take a closer look at the tables later.

The League Cup final is nearly upon us

Chelsea are having a great season and Man Utd are always involved. They’re still in the Champions League too

Barcelona and Ajax clashing for about the 5th conescutive season. The Semi Final line up will please Man Utd purely because nobody wants to face Barca.

Barca’s squad is truly ridiculous

Just to keep you up to date, the transfer market has been quiet but three very big moves:

Meanwhile, qualifying for the World Cup has been going on – England came 2nd in their group but negotiated a playoff against Switzerland

It’s a decent turnout for the home nations as Wales join England and Northern Ireland in Japan. England’s group could be worse

The happenings of the World Cup will be in the next update. For now though, here’s the table

Could be looking at the closest title race in years, with just 8 points between 1st and 6th. You wouldn’t rule Man Utd out in this position, especially with a game in hand. Chelsea under Bryan Robson have been consistent, whilst Gerry Francis and his fantastic mullet have Leeds right in the mix. Everton’s game in hand could make it interesting for them too!

We’re just about hanging in there with 33 points. Ridiculous to think winning the game in hand could take us above Liverpool, but winning is such a difficult task for us I wouldn’t bet on it. 17th is the target, the prize money alone will do us wonders. Not that anybody is all that keen to join us…

So, join us next time for Darlington’s FA Cup Semi Final and the scrap continues to stay in the league. There’s the big race for the title and a World Cup – you don’t want to miss that, do you?

We’ve just about sobered up after guiding Darlington to the Premier League. 3 promotions in 4 seasons have seen the club transformed from a tiny Division 3 club to a tiny Premier League club. But how on earth will a club with a capacity of 7000 cope in the big time? Well, let’s see what 01/02 has in store.

Good news to start with anyway

5000 new seats, what a treat. The ridiculous thing is there are only 10,600 seats, so we still have standing at Darlington in the Premier League in 2001. Thug life.

What’s more, we’ve only convinced Rio bloody Ferdinand to come! Watch out league, Darlo are here.

This is as good as it gets though, it doesn’t take long before it all comes crashing down. Look at this joke:

19 days. How did he lose £400k worth of value in 19 days? That’s no pre-season I want to be part of. Oh but it gets worse…

My goalkeeper, who I signed way back in Division 3, is out of contract. He’s wanted out for a while but to get £575k for him is sad. I can’t stop him as he won’t sign a new contract, so I need to find a goalkeeper and quickly.

Other transfers are actually quite subdued

You can always rely on Sunderland for some stupidity, firstly they sack Keegan following relegation (but wait until the eve of the new season)

Who can they get to replace him? WHO I ASK!?

Well, obviously. Sunderland sit 10th in Division 1 after 18 games, Le Tiss starts himself in every game which perhaps isn’t a surprise.

Charity Shield starts the season

To think I laughed when David Beresford made the move, but winning the Charity Shield will make it all worthwhile.

Italy have been thinking of sacking their manager for a while, but Cesare beats them to it and quits.

They appoint the Real Madrid manager which will really open things up a bit

Jose Camacho leaves Betis for Real Madrid as they attempt to break the Barcelona dominance. Then again with Neil Finn in goal, they might be waiting a while.

Back at Darlo and I can’t win. We concede loads and score few, it’s a recipe for awfulness. I have a series of terrible goalkeepers to replace Betterton, including blog favourite Steve Simonsen, but I eventually find Carlos Germano who was released by Sunderland following their relegation, so he’s used to it being terrible. He’s also Brazil’s number one, remarkably.

It takes 10 winless games but in game 11…

It is actually Germano’s debut as well, just to make me feel even more stupid for not signing him sooner. We actually follow this up with a home win against Villa, and a win over Barnsley in the League Cup puts us in the last 16

Tough draw. Here’s the table:

Bryan Robson has really recovered Chelsea, whilst Man City replicate the real life table by taking second. Rather unlike real life, they are managed by Joe Royle and have Dion Dublin up front, but whatever. John Toshack has Everton in 3rd, with enemy number 1 Robbie Keane the star man but he wants a move to a bigger club. No loyalty that kid

The back to back wins do little more than save face, we’re still bottom of the table but just the 4 points from safety. The goals against column is hideous but that’s life, we’ll keep fighting. Hopefully the improvement continues.

So join us next time as we head into the winter months praying for a flurry of goals, but I wouldn’t bet on it.

In the last update, Darlo were just 8 games away from the Premier League. It has become a three horse race between Palace, Forest & ourselves but we hold all the aces, it’s in our hands. Can we see it through? Who will win all the other silverware on offer? Let’s find out

So, could I get Darlo to the Premier League? Goals are still a problem so I am really relying on the defence to keep it tight. It wasn’t vintage, but this is how we finished the season:

Some gutsy 1-0 wins mean that the 2-2 draw at home to Birmingham is enough to secure our place in the top flight. Jubiliant scenes at Feethams as a club with a capacity of less than 8000 will play Premier League football.

I’m not bothered about winning the division, we didn’t win Division 3 or 2 and that didn’t matter either. The challenge to stay in the Premier League will be on another level though. Nevland is the hero, with 24 goals in 50 games, though a lot of credit must go to Heidenstrom

League Cup

The first silverware of the season is won by Man Utd, Patrice Loko at the double.

FA Cup

The FA Cup Semis require replays

The TV companies won’t be best pleased…

Everton stun Man Utd, whilst Leeds battle past Chelsea. It’s an unusual final for CM

Blog favourite Emile Heskey scores as Leeds win 2-0. Unfortunately for them it means Cup Winners Cup for them next season.

Champions League

The Semi Finals looked particularly tasty and as speculated, Ajax cannot repeat their previous feats of reaching the final

PSG are also just beaten, by Barca, meaning it’s an El Clasico final

Former player of the year Sanchez Fernando scores both as Barca win for the third consecutive year. They also win La Liga & Copa Del Rey, so not a bad season. Fiorentina win Serie A, which is proving to be a very open league. Juventus win the UEFA Cup though just to ensure Spain don’t dominate everything.

Premier League

The race was almost won in the last update, and Man Utd prove to be too difficult to catch

Leeds follow up their cup win by securing a Champions League spot, so it’s actually Everton who get the CWC problem. Wolves are the unlikely team in 3rd, whilst defending champions Liverpool finish well short.

Sunderland are relegated to join Newcastle in Division 1. Darlington and Middlesbrough will represent the North East in the Premier League – what were the chances? Barnsley and Leicester also make the drop, despite Southampton’s awful goals against column.

So that’s it, Darlington are in the Premier League. Believe me, it hasn’t always been plain sailing but staying in the league is probably the hardest thing on the game. I’ll need to hit the ground running with some signings but Betterton is out of contract, so I need a new goalkeeper too. Join us next time to see how we get on in the big leagues

It’s March 2001 and other than a slight blip in 98/99 where we couldn’t get straight out of Division 2, things have gone really well at Darlington. To really top things off though, promotion to the Premier League is the next aim and we are just two months away from it being a reality. Elsehwere, Man Utd look odds on for their third title in four years, and Barcelona are gunning for three Champions Leagues in a row. Shall we continue?

For Darlington, we left the last update with the boys top of Division 1 but being chased by Forest and Palace. Not much has changed really, but we’re now just 8 games away. The big changes have been that bigger boys keep taking my things – young Alistair Craig is the first one out of the door

This is a blow because he & Nevland were forging quite the partnership and Devine has struggled with the step up. After much thought and waiting for the right man to be available, we finally get Notman permanently

This is a real coup for us, Notman plays for England Under 21s and has a huge future. We have him for barely one month – 6 games, 2 goals later…

Sunderland again start the bidding, but West Ham offer me Frank Lampard, which is a muh better off for me. Celtic & Blackburn are also in – I stand to lose £500k on his which for a club of our size is a disaster.

What a jerk. Back to the drawing board for the remaining months.

Fortunately for us the football has been pretty good and we’re looking to win this three horse race

My prediction that Palace’s Cup Winners Cup commitments would tire them out have so far proved very inaccurate. They do have Tore Andre Flo though, who is having a great time at this level. A huge 8 games lie ahead.

In the big world, the first cup final of the season is set

West Ham vs the always dominant Man Utd. To make things tougher for West Ham, Real Madrid have nicked their goalkeeper, for some reason

The new Steve Haslam? Probably. I like that he had the choice of Spain’s top 3 clubs. There’s some other transfers too, some more ridiculous than others

The FA Cup has a familiar look to it’s Semi Finalists

Man Utd & Liverpool will have to replay for the right to take on Everton. Man Utd & Liverpool are also still in the Champions League,,,

…though not for much longer. We could have a Barcelona/Ajax final for the third consecutive season, although Real Madrid might have something to say about that

So although the Premier League sides haven’t fared too well against Europe’s elite, it looks good for Man Utd to take back their title. Liverpool, however, are having a nightmare defense of their title

West Ham and Leeds continue to be the closest challengers, but it’s Man Utd’s to lose.

Sunderland are staging yet another great escape, although this is the past so we’re still in the heady days where the side bottom at Christmas couldn’t escape relegation. It looks like 3 from 6 will go down, but don’t ask me to predict who!

In the next update, Darlington will hope to clinch promotion so that they can play alongside these teams on a weekly basis – but can we hold our nerve? Joins us next time to find out.

You’ve been voting in your hundreds (well, maybe) for the last few months and now here we are. The final positions. Your team has 9 positions filled, and now all we need are two centre forwards. Arguably the two players you’ll have the most affection for – these boys have scored the goals that made you look good, but the real question is – can you pick two from the below list?

Perez Munoz Alfonso

Alfonso starts the game as one of the most valuable players around. As a FRLC, you’d be forgiven for thinking Alfonso isn’t an out and out forward, but his goal return is something else. As he starts the game at Real Betis, who whilst not being a bad team, are a world away from Real Madrid, Man Utd or Barcelona. As a result one of these three usually snap him up for a hideous amount of money. The irony is, Alfonso actually started his career at Real Madrid and went on to sign for Barcelona in 2000. Sadly this is where CM’s crystal ball got hazy as Alfonso flopped badly, which is in stark contrast to the game where he scored bucket loads of goals for several years.

Ibrahima Bakayoko

Bakayoko’s career is something of legend. In reality, he was very average and will be remembered for arriving at Everton with a “CM Reputation” and being utterly garbage. In the game however, he is an AM/F C who starts at Montpellier and readily available for most decent clubs. He was a favourite of mine to plug the gap left by a badly injured Alan Shearer at the start of the game – but does he make your team?

Gabriel Batistuta

What can you say about Gabriel Batistuta? The man was a goal machine and CM ensured he stayed that way. Similar to Alfonso in value, but a little bit older, he could only be signed by the true elite, it was difficult to prise him away from Fiorentina unless you were of Barcelona’s ilk. When he declines further down the line, he is truly woeful though and ended up at Notts Forest on the first blog game. Explain that.

Robbie Fowler

I never understood how Robbie Fowler didn’t make more of an impact for England, given that he was utterly lethal for about 10 years. In CM97/98, he’s part of a promising Liverpool team and scores goals for fun. Man Utd usually toss a coin between him and Shearer to decide who to sign in the first season, which is a tough choice. They usually end up as a partnership for England which says it all really.

Thierry Henry

An obvious choice again, but back in 1997, Henry was just a boy of 19 who had only just received his first France cap. Part of the exciting Monaco team, Henry is not the finished article at the start of the game but as long as he receives a run in the side, he will reach his potential and move to an elite club. Monaco have a relatively short shelf life due to their financial situation and as Henry is one of the more valuable assets, he can be available fairly soon – but only if you’re a top club.

Jovan Kirovski

It’s a little known fact that Kirovski was in Man Utd’s youth team, but as he’s from the USA he struggled to get a work permit, and moved abroad to Borussia Dortmund. For some reason, he was given the treatment of being amazing, worth over £7m. In reality, he played 20 games in 4 years and picked up a Champions League medal despite not being involved in the final.

Emil Kostadinov

Kostadinov, whilst not necessarily an obvious pick, was easy to pick up and for a lower division side was a complete bargain. Paul Redfern sums it up nearly here:

Great signing to get you goals in the lower English divisions.

Kostadinov was a regular for the Bulgarian National team and played in Euro 96, as well as the World Cup 94 and then 98. He’s no Stoichkov though.

Andrew Mainwaring

Mainwaring starts at the famous “Non League” meaning he’s available for peanuts and will bang them in for your lower league clubs. He then goes on to bigger and better things, but this guy got me out of Division 3 with Darlo and then moved on to the Premier League. Another must have if you’re in the lower leagues.

Erik Nevland

The boy who never grew up. Except he does grow up and gets better with age. Starting at Man Utd (unless you’re lucky and he’s on a free, inexplicably) they inevitably get sick of having him around as 8th choice and you’ll be able to loan him or maybe even buy him. Give it a few seasons of regular football and he’ll be your top scorer, your main man. I can’t speak highly enough of the Nev, I think only Roy Hodgson has more time for him.

Gifton Noel-Williams

Bit of a strange one to the untrained eye, but anybody who has scrapped in the lower leagues will know the value of this man. Martyn Oakley explains:

You’d pretty much have to start with Watford to afford him in the lower leagues, but a guaranteed regular source of goals and a guaranteed large transfer fee when the big club release clause kicked in… Which it always did!

He’s also a pun lovers dream, so think about that before making your decision!

Ronaldo

Probably the best striker in the game for me. At Inter Milan, he can score a goal a game comfortably and does the same at International level. Unbelievable stats, huge value and in a good team just won’t miss. Age is on his side too. I don’t have enough superlatives.

Greame Tomlinson

Followers of the Darlington game will know how good this boy is. Unfortunately for me, he was soon snapped up by bigger clubs and is now in the Premier League. Starting on a free transfer, he’s a must sign if you’re in the lower leagues, and as long as he is playing, will go on to be worth millions in a few years. Like many above, maybe not the obvious  choice, but I bet most of you have managed him at some point.

Welcome back! Thanks for sticking with us during my short break. The 2000/01 season has a lot to live up to after Darlington’s final day heroics earned us promotion to Division 1. We’re just one rung below the Premier League now and Feethams still only just holds 7000, so that’s going to be interesting. Meanwhile at the top, Liverpool go in search of back to back titles, but Fergie might have something to say about that…

Firstly though let’s talk Darlington, and my first aim is to improve the team rather than stand still. One man for the job then

£500k is a snip for this hero. I’m confident him, Devine & Craig in rotation will be a handful for most defences at this level. With Newcastle in the division along with recently relegated Nottingham Forest & Fulham, it’s not going to be easy to go up but that’s the aim, you’ve got to aim high.

I’ve also found this young lad on a free transfer, wonder if he will amount to much?

The one negative is that Dunn is taken on by Sunderland, who are back in the Premier League under Kevin Keegan (still strange). I’ve upped the value of most of my players to avoid this but neglected with Dunn, which is a shame but it’s not the end of the world

It sounds stupid but I need to sell one player per season anyway to keep us afloat – with no money coming in from ticket sales due to the size of the ground, this is vital. Anyway our cause is helped as Newcastle have some upheaval

Wait for it…

Why!? Anyway, Newcastle turn to Hodgson

Managers dropping divisions then going up divisions, it’s all very odd. Anyway, we actually win 3-0 at St. James’ and it’s all going far too well as we reach the end of October

Palace of course are in the Cup Winners Cup and have missed a load of midweek games, they’re very much a threat to us but hopefully the schedule will catch up with them.

There were some hefty transfers

Whilst the game continues to imitate real life transfers

At all levels, none the less. Ridiculous.

With Wenger being sacked and Jack Charlton making the step up, there’s some what of a merry-go-round in place. So…

Vialli can’t stand it and quits before the season even starts

Step forward, former England captain:

Boro go for Harford (RIP)

No merry-go-round is complete without this man

Spurs need a replacement for Hodgson

Fulham opt for former Liverpool defender Mark Wright.

There’s a Charity Shield to be decided

Rather one sided but James Scowcroft getting a hat trick is a surprise to us all.

One man who is not going anywhere is Glenn Hoddle. After being runner up at Euro 2000, they take out all their frustration on Andorra

Just the dozen then, although they had 8 by half time. I like that he brought on Southgate to shore it up.

Of all that madness leaves the table looking like this

Liverpool are not looking likely to retain their title, as Man Utd have come back strong. Brian Little is working his magic again and sit in second, whilst Gerry Francis is doing a good job at Leeds. Newly promoted West Ham complete the top 4, they’ve stuck with Harry through it all.

Newly promoted Sunderland however are yet to register a win, though it is early days. Southampton are also struggling and are sniffing around my goalkeeper, which is no surpise with 25 conceded. Tottenham haven’t been the same under Jimmy Nicholl, who would have thought?

So join us next time as Darlo continue their journey to the promise land. I’ve got everything crossed for us, mainly beause I want to see if they try to develop Feethams…

Just two polls remain before we finalise our Community XI. We need two central midfielders, and your choices are below. Please select TWO

As ever, here’s something to help you out as we look at the nominees.

Aljosa Asanovic

Asanovic arrived at Derby in January 1996 and for many this was their first encounter with the Croatian playmaker. However, fans of CM96/97 will be very familiar with The Battery (as nobody calls him) as he was a bit of a hero on that version of the game, and that carried over the 1997/98. Even though he was at Derby, in real life he was actually packed off to Napoli so maybe Sports Interactive had it right all along. An AM R/C, Asanovic spends his days setting up Paolo Wanchope for fun, and who wouldn’t want that life?

Marc Emmers

Emmers starts the 97/98 season on a free transfer and is absolutely essential for most teams. Getting him is another matter – interest is high. Quite why Emmers is rated so highly, nobody is really sure. Ok, he played at the 1990 & 94 World Cups for Belgium, and was part of a dominant Anderlecht side in the mid 90s, but did he really require this level of stardom? Paul Redern sums him up neatly:

Class midfielder who scored plenty of goals too. Was still good when he got into his late 30’s.

Josep Guardiola

Before this chap was Pep Guardiola: Managerial genius, he was Josep Guardiola: Midfield genius. At the age of 26, Guardiola and Ivan de la Pena were vital cogs in the Barcelona midfield, with Rivaldo & Figo for company. As Guardiola was at his peak, his stats were ideal for any central midfielder. Little did we know he’d go on to dominate the game from the dugout too…

Bjorn Heidenstrom

I’ve been asked about Heidenstrom constantly since starting this blog and I wasn’t really sure what the fuss was about. Then I started the Darlington game and signed him up and now he’s my hero. He’s also able to cover centre back but this guy’s creative stats are something else – stick him in the centre of the park and let him feed your strikers, he’ll probably get 20 assists. He takes a mean penalty too. A real gem, especially in the lower leagues.

Vladimir Jugovic

This Yugoslav International hung around Italian teams a lot in the 90s and when 97/98 rolled around, he was paired with Pavel Nedved in Lazio’s midfield. As he’d been at Juventus previously, he was rather handy to have around, as one fan said:

Almost impossible to prise away from Lazio (Just like Nedved), you could usually pick him up later in the game if you persisted and remained patient. I loved Vlad almost as much as I did in real life and it was always a pleasure to see his name in Liverpool red. Only just nudged out the very easy to buy Stefano Fiore.

But is that enough to convince you to put Vlad in your team?

Matthew Le Tissier

Matt Le Tissier’s Southampton career has been lauded so much I’m not going to do it again. Back in 1997, Le Tissier was still carrying Southampton to safety year on year, and even got the nod to start the vital qualifier against Italy in February 1997. So when the game was released, Le Tissier’s stock was at an all time high. He was therefore an ideal candidate for most mid table Premier League clubs – Le Tissier’s age and lack of pace/work rate stopping him playing for one of the very elite clubs. He’s extremely loyal though, so getting him was sometimes a challenge.

Neil Mann

This Hull City midfielder is a fiend in Division 3, high average ratings and goal returns. It’s no fluke that he plays for the best team in the division, but he can be prised away for the right price. Martyn Oakley puts it best

Never injured and regular source of goals from midfield. Another who would fit into most Premier League teams but could be picked up to play in the lower league as well.

Micah Hyde

Similar to Mann but playing at a higher level, Hyde is a goalscoring midfielder for Watford. The type of player you’d find at a newly promoted Premier League club, Hyde actually had a couple of nominations for this so he’s obviously touched a few of you. Emotionally, I mean.

Matthias Sammer

Sammer starts the game at Borussia Dortmund, who had of course just won the Champions League. Sammer is the star of the team and is usually headhunted by Europe’s big guns within the first few weeks of a new game. Comfortable in central defence or midfield, or even as a sweeper, he is for my money the best holding midfielder in the game. A great player if you can get him but he’s at the end of his career, so look out for his re-gen!

Tommy Svindal Larsen

Let me tell you a story about Tommy Svindal Larsen (henceforth TSL). This Norwegian midfielder (left AND centre, no flies on this kid) is the #1 player I am asked about. Sickeningly, on the patched version of the game, he has been downgraded somewhat, and not even in the standard database. When I was a kid this guy used to turn up all over the place – actually, normally at Leeds now I think about it, and I’d always curse that I forgot to buy him. Eoin is a big fan of TSL:

The king of midfield pass-masters. Think Paul McStay in his prime. Could also play out on the left if going more conservative. Like Lucic always seemed to play at least an 8. Scandinavian efficiency at work.

His actual career was ok – he got 24 caps for his country, but I’d bet he’s won everything on CM9798 down the years. But does he make your team?

Marciano Vink

Back in 1997, Vink was drifting under the radar a little. Having been a very highly rated youngster, signed up by Ajax in 1993, by 1997 he had moved to PSV via Genoa and was trying to re-build his career. Unfortunately for him, a heavy tackle from Luis Figo curtailed him for the next few seasons. His ability in CM remianed though, as Paul says:

The rock to base your team around if he was available for transfer. Commanded every game, rarely got suspended and weighed in with lots of goals. Absolute class!

Zinedine Zidane

What can I say about Zidane? 9 years before he left the World Cup Final in disgrace, Zidane was about to embark on a season that would culminate in his ascention to super stardom. Playing for Juventus, Zidane won Serie A, reached a third consecutive Champions League Final, scored twice in the World Cup final (in his come country) and to top it off, won the World Player of the Year & the Ballon d’or. Not a bad year? Unsurprisingly, Sports Interactive got this one spot on – Zidane is a superstar.