Hello, and welcome back to the final part of my experiment to take a promo picture and make a squad to compete in Champ Man 97/98.

We’ve steadied ourselves in the league, got to the final of the League Cup and an FA Cup Quarter Final tie against Man Utd awaits.

We’ve beaten them in one cup tie already this season, but that was then, could we do it again?

Since then they’ve signed Alan Shearer to play up top with Scholes, who cancels out Limpar’s opener. Berg fouls Hirst in the box just before half time and he coolly slots past Schmeichel from the spot. Beckham digs deep late on to equalise but in the final minute, right back Gary Charles is the unlikeliest of hero’s prodding home a goal mouth scramble and Fergie is furious and demands 25 minutes of injury time…

Confirmation of all the quarter final results and our ‘cupset’.

Leicester for us in the semi-final

Another injury blow – poor John’s season is probably over.

Sinton takes up left wing duties against Liverpool and nil-nil against the league leaders shows how far we’ve come as a side.

I take it all back….

Transfer deadline day comes and goes. Nothing unusual there unless you are David Seaman.

Would explain Arsenal’s late bid for Tim Flowers, but you aren’t going to find me selling my best player 2 days before a cup final.

Talking of which, we’re off to Wem-ber-ley!

Chelsea are 2pts and 2 places below us in the league and have Zola suspended but I’m expecting a tough day.

Andy Ritchie has other ideas, clearly…

Paul Stewart set up Ritchie for the 3^rd from the bench, which allowed me to take the mick and bring on Grob for the final 5 minutes. Andy Sinton (?) lifts the cup in front of a jubilant crowd and Mr Murdoch is extremely happy!

Reminding the players that the season doesn’t end here, it’s a semi at Anfield. I will say this now, I hate facing Kasey Keller in any save, so to squeeze past his team is very satisfying.

Liverpool in the final in May – blimey.

Between now and then though we have a lot of league games to get through, starting with a draw against Spurs with a switched up team.

Platt was a deadline day signing for £300k from Arsenal. Bargain.

Man Utd get their cup defeat revenge with no reply.

Hirst, against his old club, takes the match ball and the plaudits next.

Hirst again and new Captain Fantastic Sinton on target.

Villa up next and we can’t find that second goal and Stan the Man punishes us for it.

It’s getting tight at the top!

With our cup exploits, the league games are piling up – 2 days later its Derby so it’s another chance for the back-up players to put themselves in the frame for a cup final spot.

Andy Sinton is the difference in our penultimate game.

Bizarrely, everyone plays their last game on the Saturday, apart from us and Newcastle who play on the Sunday – it’s a boring nil-nil, but thankfully no injuries and a chance to ease Mark Wright back into action after a lengthy injury lay off.

And this is how the table finishes, 6^th is not bad for us considering how the season started. Liverpool held off a fightback to claim the Premier League title.

At the bottom, confirmation of the trap door, Everton down on goal difference – probably selling Ferguson to Leeds was not a good move for them?

So, here we are, another cup final, this time the FA Cup, for my band of brothers and a chance to deny Liverpool the double.

120 minutes can’t separate us. Ian Butterworth stands tall in defence, but we can’t penetrate a team with Steve Harkness in defence. Liverpool had a goal disallowed for offside in the 82^nd minute and my head was in my hands. We need to go again the following Wednesday.

It takes only 8 minutes for Lee Stuart Sharpe to slot past Friedel to get the replay alive and kicking before Leonhardsen squares matters for Liverpool.

Hirsty gives us the lead at half time as he finishes off a ball over the top.

Paul Ince drives home in the second half to make it 2-2. With four minutes to go Andy Sinton plays in Hirsty to puts us in front and I bring on Pearce and Sherwood to shore things up at the back and when Ritchie puts us 4-2 up I bring on John Salako for the last couple of minutes.

Jubilant scenes at the final whistle as my merry gang of footballers claim their second cup triumph in this thrown together season.

Here’s the stats of the season, no surprising Tim Flowers getting the highest average rating, but what a revelation Ian Butterworth has been!

Decent goal return from the front 3 – oh for that Durie injury…

Here’s a quick round up of the European finals before we take a look at France 98

Grasshoppers knocked Chelsea out in the semi-finals

Arsenal unlucky in the EUFA Cup final

While Barcelona edge a classic at the Nou Camp. The Fons not being cool.

Despite doing the cup double, I only have Tim Flowers and Anders Limpar representing me in France.

Flowers starts the first two group games but England crash out after 3 draws and Limpar’s explots from the bench do no better for Sweden.

Spain overcome Norway in the final thanks to a solitary goal from Pep Guardiola and Australia beat Holland on penalties to claim 3^rd place.

So what have I learnt from my second blog of throwing a random selection of players together? Well, without signing anyone, I’m quite a good cup manager, but league title success eludes me, so maybe it’s time for a crack at that – but not with this team, no one seems that keen on sticking around.

No, I’ll be giving it a crack with the last Liverpool team to win it before Coronavirus – hope you join me next week as I’m really looking forward to this short save….