Hello! Welcome back to the 30 for 30 challenge which is my attempt to get to the final screen in CM9798 which says you have completed all playable seasons. A lot has happened so let’s do a quick recap. We started with Morton in the Scottish 1st division and won promotion in our first season to the Scottish Premier League. We then finished 4th to qualify for the UEFA Cup and had a run to the quarter finals in the following season. We then headed to Coventry who went down but came straight back up to the Premier League before being relegated again. Back to Scotland we landed at Motherwell in Division 3. We had a fantastic time getting all the way back to the Scottish Premier League before moving on to Crystal Palace. We couldn’t save them from relegation but in Division 1 we amassed a huge 111 points to get promoted. Our 1st season back in the Premier League was unbelievable! We finished 2nd picking up some fantastic wins along the way. So with the recap done let’s crack on with Season 17 and a trip around Europe!

August

Our first win in Europe to start the season. Tiago was absolutely everywhere!

It’s a mixed bag of a month. We qualify for the Champions League group stages which is brilliant. 2 wins, 1 draw and a loss in the league see us into 8th. The win over Leeds was considered a shock result which i thought was rude given we finished above them last season. Here is our Champions League group.

September

The loss to Villa at the start of the month is an annoying last minute winner for Villa. We lose to a rampant Arsenal who are defending champions. We win the rest of our fixtures which sees us climb to 3rd behind Arsenal & Man Utd. Our best result came in Europe.

We beat 2 time European Champions Monaco in their own back yard. Miletic grabbed the opener after 18 minutes. We hang on as Monaco fly forward but we catch them on the break in the 88th minute with Miletic grabbing his 2nd of the game.

October

Not a great month for us. We lose against Vejle in the Champions League then get battered 4-0 by Wolves then draw 3-3 with Sheff Weds. We then beat Inter at the San Siro which brilliant before losing to Liverpool and then reaching the 4th round of the League Cup with a win at Millwall.

Game of the month was this entertaining draw with Sheff Weds. Miletic and Gonnella going goal for goal with Skinner adding an own goal.

November & December

2 months worth here as I got a bit click happy. November was abysmal! Not a single win and goals where sparse to say the least. I tweak the formation in December which seems to work. Really annoyed to lose against Colchester in the League Cup. We have an injury in every game as well which doesn’t help at all.

Best game came at St James Park. Newcastle take the lead and then we have Benitez sent off. That red card seems to be the spark we need and within minutes of the red card Whitington equalises. He then sets up Miletic for the winner 10 mins from time to cap a remarkable comeback.

January

January looks like a good month but 2 wins come in the FA Cup against lower league opposition. We folded like wet cardboard against Everton which was disappointing but came from behind twice to beat managerless Man City. They offered me the job after this game and I was hugely tempted to take it but resisted.

Nice to gain some revenge against D1 Colchester who knocked us out of the League Cup at the same stage.

February

We cannot find any consistency whatsoever. Losing 4-2 to 19th placed Hull was pathetic to be honest. We get knocked out of the FA Cup by Everton in the 90th minute which was heart breaking to be honest.

March

Such a bland month. 2 very boring draws followed by losing to bottom of the table Sheff Weds was a real low before a solid defensive performance and a Neil Foster goal see us take all 3 points against Liverpool.

April & May

We have a decent end to the season with wins over Chelsea, Macclesfield & Newcastle. The Man Utd game was brilliant. We pegged them back twice but we couldn’t rescue it a third time.

We finish 7th which I’m happy with given the season we’ve had. 14 wins and 14 losses perfectly sums our season up with no consistency what so ever. Join me next time to see if we can’t get back into Europe and have a run at the cups.