Welcome back to season three of this Burnley based adventure, in the previous episode we were sitting atop of the Premier League after 13 matches. I don’t expect this to continue, however it seems a place in Europe may be a realistic target now.
I pick up a couple more free transfers, another Belgian keeper and an Irish U21 international striker.
At the end of Season 2 the Clarets achieved promotion to the Premier League. The first order of business during the off season is to hunt a few regens, sign some squad strengthen-ers and, if possible, some players to improve the first eleven. Goalkeepers, fullbacks and wingers are key areas of focus.
We have two squad retirees. Pat was great in season 1, despite some jokes at his expense. Remi was bought as cover, but a change of formation meant he was not needed.
The Clarets began Season 2 – part 2 in 10th place after a shocking collapse during the first third of the season. By the end of part 2 we had climbed back up into third place having put a solid run together. We begin the final part of Season 2 in third and since we once again capitulated in both cup competitions, there is only promotion and a possible League title on our minds.
The first game is against QPR, at Loftus Road Nigel Martyn was in inspired form, rolling all over the show, making save after save. Despite a similar pattern unfolding at the Moor Keith and Freddy manage to get a goal each, despite Dave getting two yellows in 20 minutes and leaving us with 10 men. He’s dangerous in more ways that one the big DC.
Everyone has their funny little quirks, one of mine is spreadsheets, specifically excel (I love it), although other spreadsheeting software is available. I was shown this fantastic tool by fellow blog member Nick, @NTR9798. It was created by @zickofonac on twitter, and can be downloaded using this link ZickoCM9798WorkingStation_v2.1. The tool allows us to download the database to a spreadsheet, make any changes we want to and reupload it all without having to use the actual editor. This can be a huge time saver for bulk changes!
I don’t claim to be an expert using this tool, I just want to provide some tips and pointers to help people edit the CM9798 databases more easily. When you download the software, there is a README file that contains a lot of information on how to use this tool. Obviously the first time I read that file was before I began writing this blog, because instructions right, who needs those! If I had read the instructions, one of the issues I noticed when exporting the TMDATA could have been easily avoided, because information about this issue was, surprise surprise, in the instructions. I’ll explain more later.
In this blog I will cover:
Welcome back to Turf Moor and the potentially epic journey of Burnley FC conquering English football with a band of Irishmen, some B’s and the odd Frenchman. Towards the end of the previous episode, we had fallen into a slump and began descending Division One faster than the Pepsi Max roller coaster, see handy graphic below.
We begin with a home tie against Man City, the roars have been few and far between since the first six or seven games of the season and it looks like they won’t be coming back for a little while longer. In a dull game, we can’t score but Uwe does.
Continue readingWelcome back to this unique journey with Burnley football club, to provide a quick recap, season one went swimmingly, thanks in no small part to the goal scoring exploits of “King” Kyle Lightbourne, who managed to score 57 goals in all competitions. Burnley were promoted as champions of Division Two and are now embarking on a similarly long and rigorous campaign in Division 1, with a view to making it to the Premier League at the first time of asking.
Regarding signings and rules, any player from either Ireland or Northern Ireland can be played at any time, so can any player from a country beginning with B (foreign player rules still apply). Up to three wildcard players can feature in a match day squad, as long as they are either French or have been signed from the pre-approved Wikipedia rivals list. After a whole season of transfer dealings, I now have enough players to ensure that each match day squad adheres to the rule requirements, and I only have a few ineligible squad members to offload.
Continue readingWelcome back, Burnley are set for their final 16 league games, with a place in Division 1 at stake. The Clarets have been flying so far, after thirty games they have 75 points, 24 wins, three draws and three losses.
Kyle Lightbourne is on a personal mission to become a demi-centurion, and he leaves it late against Plymouth. In fact we were complete dross for 74 minutes, fortunately the last 16 were much better, an undeserved home win but a definite Turf Roar moment.
We left the Clarets at the top of Division 2 after 15 games after discovering that Kyle Lightbourne seems to be a little bit of a league two legend. Unfortunately he has been racking up disciplinary points even quicker than goals, and so come the first of November he will miss three matches
Determined to make the most of his opportunities before his enforced rest period he bangs in four against Wigan, including a hat-trick in four minutes, the first Turf Roar of episode two.
This blog starts with a secret, a secret Santa. I was gifted this beauty, Burnley’s 1994 Wembley away shirt. Funnily enough, my Irish grandad chose Burnley as his club when he arrived in Lancashire, so I’ve always had a soft spot for them, how did blog squad member @Matt_C_Wills know?
The challenge is obvious, try and win it all with The Clarets, the rules are these:
i) Any French player, the Bene and Hot rule, (Burnley is the only team to serve the French liqueur Benedictine topped up with hot water, selling in excess of 30 bottles at each home game, thanks Wikipedia.)
ii) Any random player as long as they have been signed directly from the official Wikipedia rivals list. The Clarets official Wikipedia rivals are Blackburn, Accrington Stanley (not on the game), Blackpool, Bolton, Preston North End, Bradford and Leeds.
Continue readingA tale of cigarettes, grappa, time travel and hopefully goals
Season 13 – 2009/10
It’s a World Cup year and the final season of the Dario blog, Dazza will be aiming to end it all on a high come July. The first order of business is the Supercoppa Italiana, Inter finally manage to beat Juve claiming an early trophy. No goals for Hubs, but strike partner Brioschi gets a hat-trick.
