Welcome! Season 12 is well and truly underway and the CM9798 Academy have got themselves settled nicely in the pack. The Champions League campaign is moving along serenely and I am cautiously optimistic for the months ahead.

That said, the difficult winter is about to befall us. How will we cope?

It’s 3rd vs 4th as Villa turn up at the Arena. Colomba gets us off to the perfect start but the game is turned on it’s head. We’re grateful to Donald MacRonald for scoring an own goal to secure us a point.

Man City. Our bogey team and frankly the best team we play season on season. Carlitos spits in the face of people who don’t want to be cool/can’t defend. A heavy loss.

The Champions League has been kind to us. Red Star ran us close on their own patch but here, they can’t even handle McCallum and Lukic.

Nor can Tottenham for that matter. Alfonso junior misses a penalty but this is a pounding. McCallum has turned into a goal machine.

His second penalty miss in 4 days helps see us exit the League Cup at an early phase. The board are very disappointed. Honestly, I couldn’t care less.

Bottom club Norwich shouldn’t cause us any problems. Alfonso shows great bottle to take a third penalty in a week, only this time he scores. A nervous end is a concern but a win is a win.

Our final Champions League game allows us to rotate the squad having already won the group. I would like to win 6 out of 6 but it means very little really. The backup lads – and McCallum – give a 5 star performance.

Perfect. To the surprise of nobody, Pobeda end with 0 points.

That quarter final draw could be a lot worse. The Scandinavian countries come on strong but I think we can take Brann. You need plenty of Brann in a healthy diet.

Blackburn are our next visitors and our home struggles continues. 2-0 down inside 8 minutes – yes, that is David Trezeguet – and we have to fight back late on thanks to the Scottish goal machine.

Anybody order a 37 minute hat-trick? I don’t know what’s got into him but I like it.

Boxing day is a trip to Hull, pretty much top of my list for worst places to spend Boxing Day. We come up with the goods though and the momentum continues.

Division 2 side Cheltenham visit us for the FA Cup 3rd round. Kanne gets a chance to redeem himself in goal after my comments last time that he is the single worst goalkeeper I have ever had. Instead, he concedes every shot he faces as we let some heavy leads slip only to run out 6-4 winners. You’re a disgrace.

Oh fuck off.

Once again we’re 2-0 down at home, an annoying trait we’ve found ourselves in, but the lads come back in style thanks to McCallum and Les Lunt. Lunty is being courted by a load of clubs and his value is sky rocketing. Which is weird because he rarely does anything of note. Take that, Wolves.

I do hate the trip to Selhurst and it looks like we’ll escape with a point, albeit at the cost of three players. Instead we concede a late goal and lose. A very bad day indeed.

What a treat, Man Utd away in the cup. We briefly have hope at 1-1 but Owen feasts on the bones of terrible defenders and we’re out.

The board don’t like that either. Get a grip lads, I built this house. Birmingham are swatted aside to end January.

We’re ahead at Goodison and clinging on for dear life. As is always the case, once they equalise the roof caves in late on. Massive sigh.

We end with a trip to Sunderland. They are 17th and I’m in no mood to help. Alfonso junior and McBoyaboy get the job done and we end February in good shape.

We have two games in hand having gone three weeks without a game. A lack of FA Cup tie accounts for one of those weeks but other teams being successful and having cup ties and replays got in the way of the others. With that in mind, we sit second but with two games in hand on Man City. I do think they are the best team in the league so I’m not shocked to see them top of the pile.

You couldn’t really rule out any of the top 8. Most of them have beaten us already. With a title race and the Champions League to come next week, you would be a fool to miss it.

Before I leave you for today, here’s our Graduate of the week. Good day to you!

Graduate of the Week

For those wondering, Gary Simpson’s Bolton are 5th in Division 1. This week we’re looking at Gordon Holden. He barely featured for us but has had a varied career since leaving the Arena. Spells at Leyton Orient and Arbroath were quite fruitful but his move to Preston stalled his career.

The fact he now plays for Liverpool would normally make him a success but the Reds are in Division 2. Holden could take his place in history if he helps get them back to the big time but he should remember where he learned his trade