I was expecting the end of the 08/09 season to be fairly mundane, with Leeds enjoying a 13 point lead at the top of the table. Surely they would win the title again? Wouldn’t they?
League Cup
Everybody loves the League Cup. Especially Big Ron.
Ron Atkinson takes Birmingham to the League Cup, getting one over his old club in the process. Sir Alex will no doubt be back.
FA Cup
The semi finals went with form, Brian Little once again making a final, where he’ll face Chelsea.
Little, who has the best reputation of all the managers, brushes Dalglish aside in the final
Henry is still a major force in his early 30’s, whilst Brian Little is presumably ageless.
UEFA Cup
Liverpool are still in the UEFA Cup and, with the league not a realistic target, I’m going all out for it
A 4-0 win at home sets us up nicely for the trip to Betis, where a 2-0 loss doesn’t really matter. We’re in the final! Boro nearly make it an all English final but away goals puts paid to that.
The final sees us take the lead but Deportvio strike back late on to deny us.
It’s a big shame, but worse things will happen.
Premier League
To say Leeds have bottled it would be a massive understatement. Think Newcastle in 95/96 but with only 8 games to go. Their 13 point lead over me has been reigned in, with just one game to go, it’s all level.
I hadn’t even realised how bad it had got for them as I had mentally checked out of it, but as we kept brushing teams aside, McManaman crumbled. At the bottom, 4 teams can go down with nobody already relegated.
The fixtures are set up below, all I need to do is beat Wolves at Anfield. Leeds have the tricky task of Aston Villa anyway, I’m very confident. Stoke vs Everton, 17th vs 18th, is the pick of the relegation games. I guess the game has made a bit of an error here as with those two playing each other, West Ham are down already.
Can we complete the remarkable turnaround?
Yes, with ease. Leeds mess up against Villa anyway, their mindset must have been all over the place. So it’s another league title for me and a return to the Champions League. Get in! Just take a look at Leeds’ results over the last few months:
Good grief, 1 win in 10. Here;s how the table finished up
Champions League
In the Champions League, for once Spain’s big two have blown it
Milan are losing finalists again, for the fourth time in fact (with 1 win). PSG win the title for the second time after their success over Bolton in 2005.
Barcelona get over their loss by winning the La Liga/Copa de Rey double yet again. PSG win Ligue 1 and the French Cup in a dominant year for them.
One Frenchman who is definitely not dominating is Laurent Blanc
Good lad Austin, get him the sack. Few other pieces of news – Paul Scholes is in management after Peter Reid is sacked following Everton’s relegation.
His first move is to sign a Scouser who’s career has gone nowhere
All that’s left now is to look at the Awards – guess who is manager of the year?
Well played, me. Pascoe, surprise surprise, is a goalkeeper.
So that ends the 08/09 season, I’m still in a little bit of disbelief at how the league unfolded but that’s my gain. Next stop – Champions League!
The 08/09 season has belonged to one club so far, and as we reach March, Leeds have a handsome lead at the top of the Premier League which should see Steve McManaman win his first League title. But the real story is elsehwere… It is actually a Leeds player who makes the big headline, but only after Bolton sack Colin Todd. Todd led Bolton to a couple of 2nd place finishes, including last season, but being knocked out of a Champions League group containing Barcelona and Inter is apparently a sackable offence The important thing to note here is the date Colin Todd HATES the dole and goes to work in Spain 2 days later. Good lad. But who can possibly replace Todd? Ah, of course. It’s 80 times capped David Beckham, who gives up the chance to win another Premier League with Leeds to go and manage Bolton. Well, why not. I was marvelling at Leeds’ defence last time out, but this went out the window one afternoon Unfortunately, Leeds have barely lost since, and hold a commanding lead at the top. More on that later though. Another legend has entered the management game Montpellier are currently 8th in Ligue 1. Leicester have a really good go at winning the Super Cup. Roy Evans working his magic again, almost. A famous win never the less, but he’s as likely to relegate them if the Liverpool experience has taught us anything. Man Utd and Birmingham will compete in the first final of the season. Whilst the FA Cup Semi Finals see Brian Little’s Villa in the mix yet again. Chelsea vs Sunderland is actually quite a big deal given the current plight of thie game – Sunderland knocked me out in the Quarter Final. One cup I’m not out of is the UEFA Cup, having eased past Le Havre The old Tees/Wear Quarter Final there – Keith Gillespie clearly a managerial genius. Semi Final draw seems me up against Betis who I played a few years ago My season hasn’t been helped by a string of injuries, after Blades’ long term injury (which he has since recovered from and received an England cap), Bakyoko gets a big one My solution is to sign Ged Collier, who you may recall is actually Peter Beardsley re-generated I haven’t posted the squad for a while, so here it is The suspension situation is ludicrous, yes. Dirty buggers. The Champions League has a familiar look to it at the Semi Final stage When I do the next stat update in a season or so, I’ll be interested to see just how many times Barca & Real have reached this stage. Here’s the Premier League table in March 2009 With 8 games to go, Leeds will surely win the title. Kinnear’s Tottenham are 2nd but have played a game more – from 2nd down to 12th could be as little as 5 points if the games in hand work out. I really want to get 2nd as otherwise I haven’t improved at all over the last couple of seasons – and it might be time for a new challenge… Meanwhile, the bottom of the table looks bleak for Palace. Everton, as usual, are down there whilst West Ham have suffered an enormous fall down the table from last season. It looks like 3 from 4 though. As ever, we finish with a chuckle at Laurent Blanc’s England Home defeats to Eire and Wales puts qualification for World Cup 2010 in serious doubt. Steve Haslam deserves better. Until next time, thanks for reading and remember to give us a follow on twitter for some random musings
The 08/09 season has begun and as is becoming the nom, the pack are pretty close together, but as they all take turns beating each other, one team has built up a commanding lead.
To begin with, as there are more and more fictional players, here’s a quick look at the most valuable players in the transfer market in 2008
I don’t know why the most valuable player on the game is playing for Boro, nor why he moved there from Leeds last season. It just doesn’t make any sense. He’s an Icelandic International and Boro are mid-table ish just like everybody else. Boro have failed to hit the ground running this season anyway and one of the few “original” managers has now been fired
Who could possibly replace him?
Obvious replacement.
If it’s the older player that interests you, here are the most capped players in the World still playing
Oliseh and Gravesen have 110 caps each. Gary Neville has 100 caps exactly but Fergie has finally have enough of him and packed him off to Birmingham. Lokondo Mpenza is only 30 and has 96 Belgium caps, so he’ll end up with well over 130 I’d think.
Anyway, a couple of transfers to tell you about
Big moves there, I’m particularly pleased to see the back of Hubchev. This also raised an eyebrow
Still playing aged 35 but his first management gig.
The season kicks off with the Charity Shield – Hubchev scores for Villa in one of his final appearances before leaving for Real Madrid.
Villa take it on penalties, it’s an epic battle between 2 of the very few remaining original managers.
Meanwhile my league form starts atrociously. Marco breaks an ankle and Bochenski is getting on a bit, fortunately Austin Blades is back and I really need him to fire. Despite a rough start, we’ve recovered well and sit in the top 6, but it’s very close. Leeds, however, have stormed ahead, and look well placed to win back the title.
Even at this stage, 9 points is a big lead. Their defence looks in great shape too, but as I found out it can all go very wrong very quickly. Boro are 9th which is apparently enough to see off Bryan Robson – a totally mad decision as far as I can see. Meanwhile, at the bottom:
There’s as many points between 2nd and 16th as there is between 1st and 2nd. That’s going to take some sorting out in the coming months.
I’m in the UEFA Cup again, and a couple of wins against Lazio and Aab have out us in the last 16
An extraordinary game I feel the need to show you is this clash between Mallorca and Bayern
Only a 6 goal win would do it for Mallorca but they did it…hell on. Another man under pressure is Laurent Blanc
Yet somehow, he clings onto the job I desire the most. Just sack him already!
Anyway, see you next time for more unpredictable shenanigans
