Here we are again, a new working week and a stellar cast of Champmaniacs hoping to help you through it. Leading the charge this Monday morning is Matt with AFC United. What can they win this season?
Happy Monday to you. It’s October, Billie Joe from Green Day has woken up, we’re creeping into autumn, and all the leaves are (David) Brown, but he’s still in the summer of his career.
We snared the fake treble last season, of Charity Shield, Uefa and League Cups, but I have a feeling we’re on the road to recovery.
AUGUST
No Charity Shield defense for us this season, so we’re straight into european action, and the Champs League qualifiers in Poland
We win the home leg 2-0 and we’re in the financial pacemaker of the Group Stages
The league campaign starts promisingly against old foes Leeds
SEPTEMBER
We’ve got a few young regens creeping into the squad to keep things fresh. Pitcher is the Guv’Nor reincarnated and looks to fill the hole left by Juan Seba. Iwan Bowen is a young Sparky and looks handy enough. Chedli is Fab B reborn – we’ll see.
£750,000 thank you very much
I decide to invest that £750k wisely.
The pundits are not impressed – Alan Hansen thinks we should be putting our trust in youth, not superstars on their last legs – ‘You’ll can’t win anything with Giggs’ he proclaims…
Hmm, maybe he has a point. Mark Wilson will have enjoyed getting one over his old club.
OCTOBER
Arsenal may have had the measure of us, but Derby are no match. Almost no match anyway.
Whilst we started brightly in Europe, Bayern are a sterner test than Steau
Our defense of the League Cup ends early. We may have had the measure of Derby in the league, but they rout us in the cup. Alan Hansen seems to be loving it.
NOVEMBER
We looked a cert to pick up some more valuable winnings in Bucharest until our Danish Keeper has a mare and Fab Jnr fails to stop the spot kick
Aston Villa has become a tough test in this save, but we make hard work of it for ourselves
It’s far more straightforward when Owen and Brown are in a Hungary mood
DECEMBER
Our league form is sparkling this season and mostly down to our dependable defensive duo
However, sometimes even that is not enough and Fergie has the beating of us once again. Roy Carroll is no Richard Wright though…
Somehow we’re top of our Champs League Group and qualification is in our own hands, but missing Kremer through suspension and injury, Bayern have too much for and our chances of making the quarters are hanging by a thread
Regardless, it’s just enough for us to creep through as one of the best runners up. Juventus won’t be an easy draw mind
We can put Old Lady worries to the back of our mind til March, and back to the bread and butter stuff
JANUARY
Derby are another team making strides in this save and they halt our FA Cup hopes far too early. Micky Rattle sounds like a 70’s glam rocker….
Out of both domestic cups, our salvation could be the league now
FEBRUARY
February is meant to be the month of romance, but there’s no love lost against Arsenal
Or Palace. Are we on the Brink of great things though?
MARCH
We’re into the business end of the season now and local rivals roll over. Will the title be Sealed With a Kiss or will there be Too Many Broken Hearts?
Well, it was almost the latter in the second minute against Juventus, but thankfully Kremer found his spot saving gloves and Brown makes things all sqaure in the first leg.
Back in Turin we’re in control through two of the Class of ’92, but Larsen’s double makes the last 5 minutes squeaky. Dortmund will be our foes in the semi’s.
In the league, I’m getting a but sick of Derby now…
Still, they get their own comeuppance in the League Cup Final as Ronni Frizen bests Micky Rattle.
APRIL
180 minutes and a german side separate us from a return to the Champions league final. Dwight ‘Yorke’ Guttierez, once of this parish, does his best to get revenge for being cast off, but Brown, Beckham and Wellens lay down a marker for the second leg.
While it’s great in germany, it’s less so in Stockport
With the games coming thick and fast over the Easter weekend, a changed front two of Bowen and Tomlinson see us through against G Nev’s Villa
Time for that semi-final second leg, and Michael owen is the man for the moment
Our final opponents with be group mates Bayern Munich, so that won’t be as easy I’m sure. Before that though, the matter of the title race and we stutter away to Chelsea
MAY
Just when we need to keep our nerve, Man Utd roll into town and blow us away
Have we blown it?
A weaker team may have collapsed behind an advertising hoarding, but not us, that drubbing by United, pushes us to win our last 3 league games, all 3-1…
Those lovely 9 points are all we need to wrap up the league, with the Liverpool game actually being the game that we sealed it in, at Anfield, lovely stuff eh Alan?
Was it ever in doubt? We’re back on top baby!
At the bottom, Sunderland, Barnsley and Palace all leave us…
…to be replaced by the returning Belinda, Sheffield Wednesday and the much missed Newcastle.
It’s an all Merseyside derby in the FA Cup and Liverpool take the title after a replay. The legend TSL missing out.
Liverpool go one better and add the CWC to the FA Cup,
Whilst Florence reigns over Madrid in the Uefa Cup
That just leaves the matter of the Champions League to be settled as we square off against Bayern Munich.
I recognise no-one in the Bayern line up, but see lots of defiance in ours.
It’s all looking like penalties when I throw Nevland and Giggs on in the second half of extra-time and Giggs scores a late, late winner to make Alan Hansen eat his words once again. Mario Loja punching the ground in dispair will be an enduring image for the ages. name on the trophy indeed…
So just like Man Utd in 2008 in real life, we bring home a League and European trophy, cementing our status as top dogs in Manchester.
We’ve let a few guys go though, as the youngsters try to blend with the guys from our Division 3 heyday. Wallwork was never going to get in front of Hall and Duncan and Colin Love was a pale imitation of David Platt. Shane Agana is Lee Sharpe revisted, so high hopes for him and Martial ‘Laurent Blanc’ Badiane.
John O’Kane was a steady rightback, but we’re well covered there now
David Brown had a decent enough season in front of goal. I’m going to carry on and get him to 400 goals if i can, ut at this rate it may take a few seasons!
At the back, captain Danny Hall had another stellar season, with Michael Owen giving us a more balanced strike force and James Guv’Nor Pitcher is coming of age
That single goal by Giggs was golden
Despite that 5-0 hammering by Man Utd, we are still champions but I decided to check our record against them since the start of the blog, which reads as:
P 24 W 7 D 4 L 13 F 25 A 40 GD -15
I’m a little bit surprised by that. In that time we’ve won 17 trophies and only met United in cup competitions 5 times. In parallel Fergie has won 14 titles with united since the start of the blog, but if you add his real life pre-save trophies, he’s way out in front with 29, so he’s ot quite off that perch yet!
England head into the Euro’s with plenty of familiar faces in the team
Brown and Owen take their league form through the group stage, getting all the goals as England take top spot
In the quarters, Portugal look to have done enough in nromal time until a late Owen penalty levels matters and it’s the thing every England fan loves, Penalties.
If you’re going to have a Wright on 5th penalty, make it Ian Wright, even Mark Wright from Towie, not the keeper!
Italy prevail in the final, aided by a howler from our Krispy Kremer
Well, that’s it for another Monday and Season for AFC United, so time for awards and the dreaded retirements
We lose two fringe, but valuable players in the update, so some regen hunting will be needed next season
It’s been a great recovery of a season. I really love this team and save, so I’ll be trucking on for a few seasons yet, hoping to push David Brown past the 400 goal mark, see you next time!