You’ve been voting in your hundreds (well, maybe) for the last few months and now here we are. The final positions. Your team has 9 positions filled, and now all we need are two centre forwards. Arguably the two players you’ll have the most affection for – these boys have scored the goals that made you look good, but the real question is – can you pick two from the below list?

Perez Munoz Alfonso

Alfonso starts the game as one of the most valuable players around. As a FRLC, you’d be forgiven for thinking Alfonso isn’t an out and out forward, but his goal return is something else. As he starts the game at Real Betis, who whilst not being a bad team, are a world away from Real Madrid, Man Utd or Barcelona. As a result one of these three usually snap him up for a hideous amount of money. The irony is, Alfonso actually started his career at Real Madrid and went on to sign for Barcelona in 2000. Sadly this is where CM’s crystal ball got hazy as Alfonso flopped badly, which is in stark contrast to the game where he scored bucket loads of goals for several years.

Ibrahima Bakayoko

Bakayoko’s career is something of legend. In reality, he was very average and will be remembered for arriving at Everton with a “CM Reputation” and being utterly garbage. In the game however, he is an AM/F C who starts at Montpellier and readily available for most decent clubs. He was a favourite of mine to plug the gap left by a badly injured Alan Shearer at the start of the game – but does he make your team?

Gabriel Batistuta

What can you say about Gabriel Batistuta? The man was a goal machine and CM ensured he stayed that way. Similar to Alfonso in value, but a little bit older, he could only be signed by the true elite, it was difficult to prise him away from Fiorentina unless you were of Barcelona’s ilk. When he declines further down the line, he is truly woeful though and ended up at Notts Forest on the first blog game. Explain that.

Robbie Fowler

I never understood how Robbie Fowler didn’t make more of an impact for England, given that he was utterly lethal for about 10 years. In CM97/98, he’s part of a promising Liverpool team and scores goals for fun. Man Utd usually toss a coin between him and Shearer to decide who to sign in the first season, which is a tough choice. They usually end up as a partnership for England which says it all really.

Thierry Henry

An obvious choice again, but back in 1997, Henry was just a boy of 19 who had only just received his first France cap. Part of the exciting Monaco team, Henry is not the finished article at the start of the game but as long as he receives a run in the side, he will reach his potential and move to an elite club. Monaco have a relatively short shelf life due to their financial situation and as Henry is one of the more valuable assets, he can be available fairly soon – but only if you’re a top club.

Jovan Kirovski

It’s a little known fact that Kirovski was in Man Utd’s youth team, but as he’s from the USA he struggled to get a work permit, and moved abroad to Borussia Dortmund. For some reason, he was given the treatment of being amazing, worth over £7m. In reality, he played 20 games in 4 years and picked up a Champions League medal despite not being involved in the final.

Emil Kostadinov

Kostadinov, whilst not necessarily an obvious pick, was easy to pick up and for a lower division side was a complete bargain. Paul Redfern sums it up nearly here:

Great signing to get you goals in the lower English divisions.

Kostadinov was a regular for the Bulgarian National team and played in Euro 96, as well as the World Cup 94 and then 98. He’s no Stoichkov though.

Andrew Mainwaring

Mainwaring starts at the famous “Non League” meaning he’s available for peanuts and will bang them in for your lower league clubs. He then goes on to bigger and better things, but this guy got me out of Division 3 with Darlo and then moved on to the Premier League. Another must have if you’re in the lower leagues.

Erik Nevland

The boy who never grew up. Except he does grow up and gets better with age. Starting at Man Utd (unless you’re lucky and he’s on a free, inexplicably) they inevitably get sick of having him around as 8th choice and you’ll be able to loan him or maybe even buy him. Give it a few seasons of regular football and he’ll be your top scorer, your main man. I can’t speak highly enough of the Nev, I think only Roy Hodgson has more time for him.

Gifton Noel-Williams

Bit of a strange one to the untrained eye, but anybody who has scrapped in the lower leagues will know the value of this man. Martyn Oakley explains:

You’d pretty much have to start with Watford to afford him in the lower leagues, but a guaranteed regular source of goals and a guaranteed large transfer fee when the big club release clause kicked in… Which it always did!

He’s also a pun lovers dream, so think about that before making your decision!

Ronaldo

Probably the best striker in the game for me. At Inter Milan, he can score a goal a game comfortably and does the same at International level. Unbelievable stats, huge value and in a good team just won’t miss. Age is on his side too. I don’t have enough superlatives.

Greame Tomlinson

Followers of the Darlington game will know how good this boy is. Unfortunately for me, he was soon snapped up by bigger clubs and is now in the Premier League. Starting on a free transfer, he’s a must sign if you’re in the lower leagues, and as long as he is playing, will go on to be worth millions in a few years. Like many above, maybe not the obvious  choice, but I bet most of you have managed him at some point.

Welcome back! Thanks for sticking with us during my short break. The 2000/01 season has a lot to live up to after Darlington’s final day heroics earned us promotion to Division 1. We’re just one rung below the Premier League now and Feethams still only just holds 7000, so that’s going to be interesting. Meanwhile at the top, Liverpool go in search of back to back titles, but Fergie might have something to say about that…

Firstly though let’s talk Darlington, and my first aim is to improve the team rather than stand still. One man for the job then

£500k is a snip for this hero. I’m confident him, Devine & Craig in rotation will be a handful for most defences at this level. With Newcastle in the division along with recently relegated Nottingham Forest & Fulham, it’s not going to be easy to go up but that’s the aim, you’ve got to aim high.

I’ve also found this young lad on a free transfer, wonder if he will amount to much?

The one negative is that Dunn is taken on by Sunderland, who are back in the Premier League under Kevin Keegan (still strange). I’ve upped the value of most of my players to avoid this but neglected with Dunn, which is a shame but it’s not the end of the world

It sounds stupid but I need to sell one player per season anyway to keep us afloat – with no money coming in from ticket sales due to the size of the ground, this is vital. Anyway our cause is helped as Newcastle have some upheaval

Wait for it…

Why!? Anyway, Newcastle turn to Hodgson

Managers dropping divisions then going up divisions, it’s all very odd. Anyway, we actually win 3-0 at St. James’ and it’s all going far too well as we reach the end of October

Palace of course are in the Cup Winners Cup and have missed a load of midweek games, they’re very much a threat to us but hopefully the schedule will catch up with them.

There were some hefty transfers

Whilst the game continues to imitate real life transfers

At all levels, none the less. Ridiculous.

With Wenger being sacked and Jack Charlton making the step up, there’s some what of a merry-go-round in place. So…

Vialli can’t stand it and quits before the season even starts

Step forward, former England captain:

Boro go for Harford (RIP)

No merry-go-round is complete without this man

Spurs need a replacement for Hodgson

Fulham opt for former Liverpool defender Mark Wright.

There’s a Charity Shield to be decided

Rather one sided but James Scowcroft getting a hat trick is a surprise to us all.

One man who is not going anywhere is Glenn Hoddle. After being runner up at Euro 2000, they take out all their frustration on Andorra

Just the dozen then, although they had 8 by half time. I like that he brought on Southgate to shore it up.

Of all that madness leaves the table looking like this

Liverpool are not looking likely to retain their title, as Man Utd have come back strong. Brian Little is working his magic again and sit in second, whilst Gerry Francis is doing a good job at Leeds. Newly promoted West Ham complete the top 4, they’ve stuck with Harry through it all.

Newly promoted Sunderland however are yet to register a win, though it is early days. Southampton are also struggling and are sniffing around my goalkeeper, which is no surpise with 25 conceded. Tottenham haven’t been the same under Jimmy Nicholl, who would have thought?

So join us next time as Darlo continue their journey to the promise land. I’ve got everything crossed for us, mainly beause I want to see if they try to develop Feethams…

Just two polls remain before we finalise our Community XI. We need two central midfielders, and your choices are below. Please select TWO

As ever, here’s something to help you out as we look at the nominees.

Aljosa Asanovic

Asanovic arrived at Derby in January 1996 and for many this was their first encounter with the Croatian playmaker. However, fans of CM96/97 will be very familiar with The Battery (as nobody calls him) as he was a bit of a hero on that version of the game, and that carried over the 1997/98. Even though he was at Derby, in real life he was actually packed off to Napoli so maybe Sports Interactive had it right all along. An AM R/C, Asanovic spends his days setting up Paolo Wanchope for fun, and who wouldn’t want that life?

Marc Emmers

Emmers starts the 97/98 season on a free transfer and is absolutely essential for most teams. Getting him is another matter – interest is high. Quite why Emmers is rated so highly, nobody is really sure. Ok, he played at the 1990 & 94 World Cups for Belgium, and was part of a dominant Anderlecht side in the mid 90s, but did he really require this level of stardom? Paul Redern sums him up neatly:

Class midfielder who scored plenty of goals too. Was still good when he got into his late 30’s.

Josep Guardiola

Before this chap was Pep Guardiola: Managerial genius, he was Josep Guardiola: Midfield genius. At the age of 26, Guardiola and Ivan de la Pena were vital cogs in the Barcelona midfield, with Rivaldo & Figo for company. As Guardiola was at his peak, his stats were ideal for any central midfielder. Little did we know he’d go on to dominate the game from the dugout too…

Bjorn Heidenstrom

I’ve been asked about Heidenstrom constantly since starting this blog and I wasn’t really sure what the fuss was about. Then I started the Darlington game and signed him up and now he’s my hero. He’s also able to cover centre back but this guy’s creative stats are something else – stick him in the centre of the park and let him feed your strikers, he’ll probably get 20 assists. He takes a mean penalty too. A real gem, especially in the lower leagues.

Vladimir Jugovic

This Yugoslav International hung around Italian teams a lot in the 90s and when 97/98 rolled around, he was paired with Pavel Nedved in Lazio’s midfield. As he’d been at Juventus previously, he was rather handy to have around, as one fan said:

Almost impossible to prise away from Lazio (Just like Nedved), you could usually pick him up later in the game if you persisted and remained patient. I loved Vlad almost as much as I did in real life and it was always a pleasure to see his name in Liverpool red. Only just nudged out the very easy to buy Stefano Fiore.

But is that enough to convince you to put Vlad in your team?

Matthew Le Tissier

Matt Le Tissier’s Southampton career has been lauded so much I’m not going to do it again. Back in 1997, Le Tissier was still carrying Southampton to safety year on year, and even got the nod to start the vital qualifier against Italy in February 1997. So when the game was released, Le Tissier’s stock was at an all time high. He was therefore an ideal candidate for most mid table Premier League clubs – Le Tissier’s age and lack of pace/work rate stopping him playing for one of the very elite clubs. He’s extremely loyal though, so getting him was sometimes a challenge.

Neil Mann

This Hull City midfielder is a fiend in Division 3, high average ratings and goal returns. It’s no fluke that he plays for the best team in the division, but he can be prised away for the right price. Martyn Oakley puts it best

Never injured and regular source of goals from midfield. Another who would fit into most Premier League teams but could be picked up to play in the lower league as well.

Micah Hyde

Similar to Mann but playing at a higher level, Hyde is a goalscoring midfielder for Watford. The type of player you’d find at a newly promoted Premier League club, Hyde actually had a couple of nominations for this so he’s obviously touched a few of you. Emotionally, I mean.

Matthias Sammer

Sammer starts the game at Borussia Dortmund, who had of course just won the Champions League. Sammer is the star of the team and is usually headhunted by Europe’s big guns within the first few weeks of a new game. Comfortable in central defence or midfield, or even as a sweeper, he is for my money the best holding midfielder in the game. A great player if you can get him but he’s at the end of his career, so look out for his re-gen!

Tommy Svindal Larsen

Let me tell you a story about Tommy Svindal Larsen (henceforth TSL). This Norwegian midfielder (left AND centre, no flies on this kid) is the #1 player I am asked about. Sickeningly, on the patched version of the game, he has been downgraded somewhat, and not even in the standard database. When I was a kid this guy used to turn up all over the place – actually, normally at Leeds now I think about it, and I’d always curse that I forgot to buy him. Eoin is a big fan of TSL:

The king of midfield pass-masters. Think Paul McStay in his prime. Could also play out on the left if going more conservative. Like Lucic always seemed to play at least an 8. Scandinavian efficiency at work.

His actual career was ok – he got 24 caps for his country, but I’d bet he’s won everything on CM9798 down the years. But does he make your team?

Marciano Vink

Back in 1997, Vink was drifting under the radar a little. Having been a very highly rated youngster, signed up by Ajax in 1993, by 1997 he had moved to PSV via Genoa and was trying to re-build his career. Unfortunately for him, a heavy tackle from Luis Figo curtailed him for the next few seasons. His ability in CM remianed though, as Paul says:

The rock to base your team around if he was available for transfer. Commanded every game, rarely got suspended and weighed in with lots of goals. Absolute class!

Zinedine Zidane

What can I say about Zidane? 9 years before he left the World Cup Final in disgrace, Zidane was about to embark on a season that would culminate in his ascention to super stardom. Playing for Juventus, Zidane won Serie A, reached a third consecutive Champions League Final, scored twice in the World Cup final (in his come country) and to top it off, won the World Player of the Year & the Ballon d’or. Not a bad year? Unsurprisingly, Sports Interactive got this one spot on – Zidane is a superstar.

The end of the 99/00 season has got me so excited I’ve resorted to writing make believe live blogs on Darlington’s progress. Elsewhere, Liverpool are closing in on a Premier League title and Peter Reid’s causing chaos. To top it off, how will England fair at Euro 2000? Let the games begin!

First of all, let’s focus on Darlington. The Division 2 season has been a long old slog, but it all comes down to the last day

But hold on, the Bristol love in can just wait, because the last day of the season sees Darlington host Bristol Rovers. Massive drama. To see how that turned out, check out our dedicated live text. By live I of course mean written after the event.

League Cup

Hopefully we’re now welcoming you back from that little segway into what I hope to do for a career one day, and it’s League Cup final time. Derby are fighting relegation whilst Liverpool are looking for their first Premier League title, but will it go to form?

Yes, yes it will. Michael Owen is really coming of age which will hopefully be of great use to Glenn Hoddle in the summer.

FA Cup

Peter Reid’s Crystal Palace are the underdogs here, up against Joe Royle’s Man City, whilst the glamour tie is Man Utd vs Liverpool

Palace! It’s 1990 all over again. Liverpool are beaten by a dogged Man Utd team, dashing their hopes of a treble. The double is still on if they can win the league.

In the final, there’s hell on

Phil Neville. Great times for Peter Reid though. Fergie must be livid.

Champions League

With the English teams out, it’s down to the Dutch to provide the entertainment. Oh and Barca.

Ajax thrash PSV to set up a final with Barca, who give similar treatment to PSG. There’s no stopping Louis Van Gaal at the moment

No doubt a mighty speech from Van Gaal follows with rounds of applause for everybody. Elsewhere on the continent, Barca retain La Liga but Napoli upset the odds and win Serie A from last year’s winners Milan. Remarkable.

In the Premier League, it’s pretty dull at both ends and everything is wrapped up with a few games to spare. Sheff Wed’s challenge collapses and they have to settle for third, but it’s Liverpool’s year.

Down at the bottom, Fash can’t save Wimbledon and Forest have a very miserable season. Fulham’s rapid rise from Division 2 to the Premier League is now in reverse, temporarily at least.

West Ham coast to the Division 1 title, with Barnsley a distant second. Kevin Keegan’s Sunderland are up via the playoffs, with Newcastle finishing 11th. Darlington can look forward to Division 1 football next season after the earlier heroics.

Euro 2000

It’s time for a major tournament, which I am thrilled about. We’ll mostly be focusing on England’s campaign, but there’ll be tangents. First up then, here’s Hoddle’s squad

Quahsie, Holland, Minto & Pressman just some of the luminaries in there. They labour to a 0-0 draw in game 1 though

Redknapp injured? The realism. The 2nd game is a much more impressive performance and result

So it’s just Spain that stand between England and the next round. A draw will do, but Spain need the win

Darren Anderton risks the wrath of a nation but fortunately for him, other results go England’s way and they sneak through

The other groups…

World Cup runners up Holland looking very strong. Quater final draw is quite kind to England

And so it proves!

With Shearer injured, Fowler steps in to great effect. Tie of the round is probably Holland/Italy

Not even Ravanelli can stop the Dutch. Semi final time!

It’s an England/Spain re-match. Can England avenge their group stage loss?

Sol Campbell! And not a referee in sight to chalk it off for no reason. Imagine the scenes. England are in the final! But who against?

Well would you believe it? The Dutch, who have looked unstoppable, are…well…stopped, by 10 men no less. Patrice is going Loco and it’s an England/France final

Boooo. Florian the space cowboy with the goal to break English hearts. Southgate is randomly handed the armband, presumably in an attempt to get him over that penalty miss in 96 but it’s all for nothing. Laurent Blanc is just too strong and France are the champions. Nearly Glenn, nearly.

All that’s left then is the awards

Ben Roberts & Nicky Weaver not names I expected to see on the honour roll, I’ll be honest. Sean Devine takes home top scorer, I hope he is this good in Division 1.

So the third season is done – join us next time where I’ll begin life in Division 1 and hopefully make a stab at getting in the Premier League

14:30 Whatever you are doing with your bank holiday Monday, it needs to go on hold until roughly 5pm. Promotion is at stake – will it be David Black’s Darlington who continue to defy the odds and push for Division 1? Or will Ian Holloway’s Bristol Rovers crash their party? As luck would have it, they are playing each other, so put your feet up and follow the action with this dedicated live text.

14:40 Let’s take a look at the equation as we approach kick off:

As the two sides meet at Feethams today, Darlington must win whilst Bristol Rovers only need to draw to secure their place in Division 1 alongside neighbours Bristol City. The prize for the losers? Well it’s a lovely two legged tie against Cambridge. Some contrast.

14:45 TEAM NEWS

With just quarter of an hour to kick off, the players have just finished their warm-ups at a packed Feethams. Let’s look at some team news.

Darlington are without top scorer Sean Devine who has a strained wrist. Back in my day, footballers would play through broken bones but here we are where a wrist strain has taken out the talisman. Fellow striker Felix Aboagye has gone one further and broken his wrist, so he is not involved either – though he hopes to be available in the playoffs should it come to that. They line up:

Betterton, Davis, Hughes, Duncan, Honeyball, De Vos, Heidenstrom (c), Gaughan, McGivern, Dunn, Craig. Subs: Graham, Cole, Mullins.

Bristol Rovers will be without key wide man Mark Morgan, who failed a late fitness test on a heel injury. Central midfielder Mark Perry is also unavailable with broken ribs, but Chelsea loanee Stuart Brightwell starts. Shaka Hislop gets the nod over Alex Manninger in goal.

Hislop, Harris, Martin, Bodley, Whitworth, Parmenter, Birghtwell, Wright, Bennett, Livingstone, Zabek. Subs: Murray, J Perry, Manninger.

14:50 Feethams is bouncing. Just 10 minutes to kick off.

DarloBill on Twitter: Today is our day! COME ON DARLO

Holloway4King via text: Holloway the superior manager will be the difference today. Come on your R’s!

14:58 Here come the teams – how are your nerves boys?

15:00 KICK OFF. The ball is at the feet of Robert Dunn & Alistair Craig – we are underway!

3 Mins – Bjorn Heidenstrom slips in Alistair Craig but his shot is deflected over. The resulting corner is headed goalwards by Craig but Hislop tips over – strong start from Darlington!

4 Mins – It’s an awful backpass by Whitworth – Heidenstrom is in! Hislop is out quickly to block though and Rovers hack it away

5 Mins – GOAL! Darlington 1 – 0 Bristol Rovers (Robert Dunn)
Gaughan swings a corner in and Craig gets a header on it again. This time it rattles the crossbar and Robert Dunn is on hand to ram in the rebound. All the early pressure from Darlo pays off – chaos at Feethams!

10 Mins – CLOSE
It’s all Darlington. A lovely cushioned header from Dunn allows Gaughan to get a shot away but Hislop palms it away. Rovers need to weather this

13 Mins – YELLOW CARD
The first card of the day for the first real foul – Gaughan holds back Parmenter and is booked. Bit harsh.

17 Mins – First sight of goal for Bristol Rovers as loanee Stuart Brightwell lets fly from range and it goes over the crossbar. Betterton looked comfortable but it dipped alarmingly and only just missed in the end. Signs that the Gas men are starting to settle

Former Darlington striker Mick Quinn on 5Live:
“It was an incredible start from Darlington, who were at it from the first whistle. When I played under Dave Black, he was a great motivator. It showed in the first 15 minutes. But now both teams have come off the pace and that suits Rovers, who were rocking.”

24 Mins – As Mick Quinn says, the game has come off the boil a bit. Rovers will be thankful it’s only one after that start from Darlington, as the stats show.

30 Mins – Robert Dunn, whose goal seems an awful long time ago already, has an effort from the edge of the box but it flies over the bar.

Rightside_Holte on twitter: This is unbelievable entertainment! Come on Darlington!

42 Mins – GOAL! Darlington 2 – 0 Bristol Roverts (Alistair Craig)
There’s a pile on at Feethams and Alistair Craig is at the bottom. Another neat move ends with Robert Dunn hammering a lot shot that Hislop does well to keep out at all – unfortunately for him, the ball runs loose and Craig is first to the loose ball to hammer his side into a 2-0 lead. Game over?

HALF TIME – Darlington 2 – 0 Bristol Rovers
As it stands Darlington will be promoted and Bristol Rovers will have to settle for the playoffs. What have you got Rovers?

Former Darlington striker Mick Quinn on 5 Live:
“Ian Holloway will be going mad at his team at half time. They just haven’t got going. They’ve let Darlington run all over them, Black likes the wingbacks system and Hughes in particular down the left has been outstanding. Holloway’s 4-4-2 just hasn’t been competitive enough – but there’s a long way to go and the next goal is vital.”

Whilst you enjoy your half time cuppa, let me just remind you of the scenarios

Darlington win: They are promoted
Draw: Bristol Rovers promoted
Bristol Rovers win: Bristol Rovers promoted.

Of course, Bristol City won the division some weeks ago.

If Rovers are to get back into this, they could do with having some shots at goal:

KICK OFF
The second half is underway at Feethams. What can Ian Holloway inspire?

49 Mins – The second half starts similarly to the first, as Darlington rack up some more efforts on goal. Dunn has a shot deflected wide, and from the resulting corner Craig’s header is tipped round by Hislop. The young Scot has been a real handful today in the absence of Sean Devine.

50 Mins – Close again! This time Heidenstrom takes aim and clips the bar. Rovers on the ropes.

53 Mins – It’s Rovers turn to have a go – this time Andrew Duncan is guilty of overplaying at the back and Steve Livingstone takes a snap shot – but it flies over.

58 Mins – Another attack, another Hislop save. It’s Dunn again, this time stealing ahead of his marker at the near post from a Heidenstrom cross. Big Shaka is more than equal to it though.

Newcastle striker Graeme Tomlinson on twitter:

Come on Darlo! Nearly there now.

69 Mins – GOAL! Darlington 3 – 0 Bristol Rovers (Alistair Craig)
Game, set & match? Andy Harris has a nightmare at the back and miscontrols a high ball. That man Craig is onto it in a flash and sprints through one on one. Once Hislop commits, Craig cooly lifts the ball over him and the majority of the 4,625 at Feethams go mad.

74 Mins – The wind has gone out of Bristol Rovers’ sails now. They need to start preparing for a 2 legged playoff with Cambridge United.

79 Mins – YELLOW CARD
Scott Honeyball, who has been linked with a move away, fouls Lee Zabek on the edge of the box and is booked. Quite cynical but there was plenty of cover. Parmenter wastes the free kick though, and it’s still 3-0.

84 mins – SUBSTITUTION
With the game up, Darlington manager David Black opts to give his captain Bjorn Heidenstrom the applause he deserves from the home faithful. He is replaced by young Irishman Ben Cole

86 Mins – HITS THE WOODWORK
Close to a consolation for Rovers as Frankie Bennett hammers a shot against the crossbar. Not your day son.

87 Mins – GOAL! Darlington 4 – 0 Bristol Rovers (Alistair Craig (Hat-Trick))
What a day for Alistair Craig! It’s fair to say he might not have even started this game if Sean Devine hadn’t hurt his wrist, but he’s written his name into Darlington folklore today. It’s another set piece which Steven Gaughan whips in, Dunn once again gets his head to it and smashes the crossbar. Craig is first to react to head in past a stunned Hislop and it’s bedlam. Darlington are going up!

88 Mins – SUBSTITUTION
Bristol Rovers make a pair of subs, with Frankie bennett and Lee Zabek replaced by Robert Murray & Jason Perry. Bit of a thankless task going on at 4-0 down with 2 minutes to go.

FULL TIME – Darlington 4 – 0 Bristol Rovers – DARLINGTON PROMOTED
What a day for Darlington! Their fans are on the pitch – such is tradition in the lower leagues – and they all flock to Alistair Craig, who is trying desperately to get hold of the match ball. Manager Dave Black is mobbed but it’s all good natured – who would have thought this small club from the North East would make such a big splash in just a few years?

The Bristol Rovers players are off immediately – they want no part of this.

The stats tell the story really – a very one sided contest

Former Darlington striker Mick Quinn on 5 Live:
“Unbelievable performance today. Black got it spot on and they’ve reaped the rewards. It’s a tough one for Rovers to take but they’ll have to pick themselves up for the playoffs. It’ll be some party for these boys tonight! I just hope I’m invited.”

17:02 The last few Darlington players are making their way off the pitch – let’s just confirm those final standings:

17:10 – Darlington manager David Black:
“We knew we had to win today and in many ways that suited us. We’ve scored goals all season and with a draw not being enough, it just seemed to release us. We were brilliant today from the first whistle and never gave them a chance to settle. Get in!”

When asked what he was looking forward to about Division 1

“Well my boyhood club Newcastle are in there, we’ve played them twice in the cup but to say we’re in the same Division as them is unbelievable when you think about it. But we’ve got to go up the division to be competitive, we’re not just going to be there for the days out”

17:17 Rovers manager Ian Holloway

“Gutted. We didn’t get going today and that’s full credit to Darlington. We’ve got some disappointed lads in that dressing room and it’s my job to pick them up before Cambridge get here.”

17:20 That just about wraps up our live text for today, thank you for joining us. Congratulations again to Darlington and we’ll see you soon.

*Needless to say, the quotes by Mick Quinn & Ian Holloway are entirely fictional.

**Also, all twitter contributions are fabricated and I have used some fans of the blog as contributors. Please contact me if you are offended by this.

We’re approaching April and we have survived the Y2K bug. Turns out 2000 wasn’t a deal breaker for computers everywhere afterall. Darlington are keeping pace in the Division 2 promotion battle whilst Notts Forest look set to be record breakers. How you ask? Well…

First things first though and Glenn Hoddle has guided England to Euro 2000. It’s not a terrible draw

One day, that job will be mine. For now though we’re focusing on Darlington, and the good news is thanks to some twitter tips I managed to deter big clubs coming in for my players. I only wish I’d known sooner then I could have still had the Tomlinson/Mainwaring strike force.

In the last update we drew Bishop Auckland in the FA Cup 2nd round, somewhat of a derby. We battled through though and got a Premier League club away

It’ll be a good day out, if nothing else. On New Yea’s Day, obviously. Betterton plays out of his skin and we’ll see them back at Feethams.

It’s still 0-0 after 90 minutes in the replay – but Moldovan breaks our hearts in extra time

A good effort, nevertheless and some money in the coffers. We’ve still got promotion to play for, and we could do with some reinforcements. I’m going back in for Robbie Keane

Robbie!? Come on man. Scarborough over Darlo, they’re propping up the division. Idiot.

But look who’s come crawling back

Duncan left after about a dozen games in Season 1 and I’m delighted to have him back even on loan. We’re battling hard and the race for 2nd is between us and Oldham, though Cambridge and Bristol Rovers are right behind us.

Away from the madness of Division 2 and there’s a familiar transfer.

Barcelona & Real Madrid are separated by only goal difference as it stands, but Real Madrid are surprisingly dumped out of the Champions League on away goals.

The Semi Finals therefore see two Dutch sides going toe to toe

Back on home soil and the League Cup semis are a bit out there

Bristol City casually drawing 4-4 at Anfield, whilst Derby knock out Man Utd and will meet Liverpool in the final.

The FA Cup semi Finals are quite lopsided, especially as Man Utd have toppled Fulham in the replay.

Could we have a Manchester derby FA Cup Final?

Man Utd are actually heavily in debt and have to transfer list a number of players in the hope somebody takes them. Unfortunately for them, Gary Neville, Ben Thornley, Henning Berg & Alex Notman all reject deadline day moves.

Awful lot of red in there…

The league table sees another Reds at the top….chased by Sheff Wed of all teams.

Quite how Sheff Wed are 2nd with a +14 GD I’m not really sure, it’s very strange but that’s the magic of George Graham. Meanwhile at the bottom…

8 points with 7 games to go is not a good place to be. Forest relegated with a whimper – Alvin Martin the guilty manager. Fash is up against it to keep Wimbledon up and Tottenham are not out of the woods yet either. Chelsea have fallen off a cliff, having been 2 minutes from being title winners to 15th.

So there’s only a month or so to go for Darlo to seal their fate, whilst neutrals everywhere are cheering for Sheff Wed to win the league. You’ll want to join us next time for the outcome

The third season is underway and after suffering playoff heartbreak at the end of 98/99, can Darlington go one better this time around and get up to Division 1? Likewise, Chelsea threw away the title on the final day of the season, can Vialli get a reaction from his men?

After a mini clear out, I’ve decided the best solution is to feed Sean Devine raw meat and watch him go. I’ve also signed a re-generated Ally McCoist & John Collins, so that should help. Devine has gone mad

Hopefully nobody from the top divisions takes a punt on him. Unfortunately Aberdeen are after another of my youngsters

However Fulham also bid for the centre back, so I don’t lose yet another player North of the border

One of my earliest stars who got picked off has come back to England for nearly £3.5m.

So results have been very good, and we’re actually occupying one of the two automatic spots

Addressing the goalscoring problem has been the most pleasing aspect, but we’ve got to keep it going. There’s yet another derby of a cup tie too, though a little bit more low key than Newcastle

Speaking of the North East, Newcastle obviously sack Dalglish following their relegation

Who do you appoint? Well it’s only the manager who was in charge back in 1984-85

So Jack Charlton opts to drop down a division to try and get Newcastle back in the big time. But who will take the Everton job?

Well it’s only Liverpool legend John Toshack, ffs. Ah well, I’m sure Sunderland will bring the status quo back in order

Urgh. Why? Is nothing sacred in this game? Palace appoint Peter Reid who has links to Sunderland and Everton, so it’s basically incest all round. Both Sunderland & Newcastle are in the playoff positions in Division 1.

Anyway, who wants to see some silly signings (admittedly some sillier than others)?

Deane Bullock to Lazio is just an obvious fit, I’m sure you’ll agree.

Charity Shield time!

Bit of an understrength Man Utd team but still too much for Boro.

Change of manager at Tottenham

And Gladiators host Josh Fashanu is moving up in the World

All of these shenanigans have left the Premier League looking like this:

Interesting to see Man Utd all the way down in 9th, whilst Roy Evans will fancy his chances of a first title with Fowler & Owen leading the way. But where are Chelsea?

All the way down in 14th! Fash is doing his bit to keep Wimbledon up too.

So it’s all coming together quite nicely for the busy winter, I just hope nobody has Sean Devine on their Christmas shopping list. Until next time…

The team is taking shape thanks to your votes, we have a goalkeeper, a back 4 and now a right sided midfielder. Now let’s see some left field nominations.

With that terrible pun out of the way, here are the stories behind the men

Ali Benarbia

Benarbia is part of Monaco’s mighty squad at the start of 97/98. It’s a team filled with talent and he’s in direct competition with John Collins for the left midfield role. Did anybody ever question why John Collins was at Monaco? Anyway, in a team with Henry, Trezeguet, Djetou, Legwinski and more, it was hard to make an impression but Benarbia managed it. Constantly averaging over 7, Benarbia could also play down the right so he was a very useful man to have around.

Andrey Demtsjenko

This young Russian starts starts out at Ajax but has unbelievable potential. Surrounded by great players (the Ajax squad really is incredible) you can allow this young talent to flourish, and before long his potential ability means he is attracting interest from Europe’s finest. Martyn Oakley has this to say:

Little known Ajax youth player who would either be world class or very average whenever you loaded a new game. On the occasions he was world class he was a must have player.

Darren Eadie

Back in 1997 Eadie was deemeed a huge prospect for Norwich City and England. It is a little known fact that Eadie was in the England squad for “Le Tournoi de France” which was a warm-up for the World Cup the following Summer. As was typical of Eadie’s career though, injury forced him to pull out and he had to settle for Under 21 Caps and a career of what-ifs. Fortunately for fans of Eadie, the game was kind on the injury prone stat and his brief flirtation with the England squad made him a hot property with huge potential, starting the game at First Division Norwich and invariably seeing him get signed up by a Premier League club or Rangers. Indeed in the current save he’s at Man Utd. Once you had him in, he was a constant performer and would get England caps – but does he make your team?

Bjarne Goldbaek

CM 97/98 loves a good Scandanavian and Goldbaek was one of the beneficiaries. An AM who could play all across the midfield. As he starts at FC Copenhagen, he’s quite attainable for a Premier League club and not all that pricey, as Chelsea discovered in real life when they bought him, albeit they exchanged Brian Laudrup for him, which was a downgrade no matter how you look at it.

Rivaldo

Ah, Rivaldo. Now, given who he is up against, you would expect Rivaldo to win easily. And you might be right, but this is CM so allow me to tell you why Rivaldo is great. An attacking midfielder Left/Centre, for me I always had him on the left with Pep and De La Pena in the middle, and Figo down the right. You can’t get upset with that midfield. If I played my wingbacks formation Rivaldo could play in the middle as the attacking option, but his creative stats were something else, not to mention he took a mean set piece. CM definitely got this one right, as even on 96/97 he was unbelievable for Deportivo, and of course he was outstanding in the real world. But is he better than Darren Eadie?

The 98/99 season is reaching an unpredictable finish, not only is Division 2 as tight as can be for a playoff place but there are three teams in the hunt for Premier League glory. Onwards!

I ended the last update bemoaning that Dundee Utd were taking all my players. Both deals went through and although I am better off financially, we’re now lacking a key midfielder and striker. We somehow do enough to get ourselves into this position with one game to go:

Seemingly Division 2 look at goals scored more than actual goal difference, which might help. But there’s still 7 teams scrapping for those final 3 spots. I’m away to Brentford who need to win to stay up

Happy days! It’s Burnley in the playoffs, who’ve beaten me twice in the leauge and over two legs in the Windscreen shield Area Final – they actually went on to win it. So Chris Waddle certainly has the beating of me. I’m beginning to think I might be better off not going up, we’re nowhere near ready for Division 1.

We lose the first leg 2-0 at Turf Moor and we can’t overhaul it in the second leg, in spite of a decent showing.

Carlisle beat Burnley in the final which means I’ll have to go up against Waddle again next season.

I’m disappointed not to go up but hopefully we can come back stronger next season and get one of the automatic spots. This is the squad that ends the season:

Thankfully Turnbull, Quinn & Sheedy all retire and I can begin the process of making the changes required to get us up.

League Cup

Man Utd take the first trophy of the season with a comfortable win against Jack Charlton’s Everton.

FA Cup

Man Utd will also fancy their chances of another trophy after booking their place in the final. They’ll face Boro, who get revenge for their 1997 Cup final defeat.

Uh-oh…

Bryan Robson gets one over his old club with a 1-0 win. His brother is in my midfield…

Champions League

It doesn’t get any better for Fergie here either

Away goals the king as Ajax and Barca will meet in the final.

A very one sided final – Van der Sar is suspended and Fred Grim isn’t up to it, although he makes about a dozen saves anyway.

Barcelona also win La Liga so it’s a good day to be them. AC Milan take Serie A glory.

Premier League

So, this is tight:

Chelsea must be favourites to take the title, as you can see from the remaining games they have arguably the easiest of the three.

It’s all looking rosey for Chelsea as Chris Armstrong (yes, of Spurs fame) slots in a first half penalty. However…

Dwight Yorke pops up 2 minutes from time to deny Vialli and Chelsea a first Premier League Title. The door swings open for Liverpool, or maybe even Man Utd

Unbelievable. Blackburn beat Liverpool and Man Utd steal the title with a win at Sheff Weds. Goal difference, as close as it can get.

Meanwhile at the bottom, it is a miserable season for Newcastle

West Ham & Bolton also take the dive down a division. Surely Dalglish won’t survive this?

All that’s left is the awards. I’m sure few would argue with Keith Branagan being player of the year

Matthew Hirst is immediately snapped up by Chelsea.

So an ultimately disappointing season for Darlington but maybe it’s for the best in the long run. Either way, we’ve got to go for it next season. Hopefully, we’ll see you there for the 99/00 season

As we move into 1999, it’s a case of de ja vu as some of Scotland’s most average clubs decide my players are the ones they want. Division 2 is still difficult but the Premier League has branched out a bit. Why am I angry? Let’s find out.

One man who is probably in a worse position than me is Roy Hodgson, who is Alan Sugared out of Blackburn

Ray Harford steps in. However this seems to open the floodgates to stupidity

Some of London’s biggest clubs going out of their way to make themselves look ridiculous. There are some reputable transfers at least

Meanwhile at Darlo, these two idiots don’t know what I’m doing for them

At Christmas as well, for goodness sake. They both have big club release clauses, but nobody wants them. So why kick up a fuss? Morons. Sit down and shut up.

Besides, look what has happened again

Newcastle of course have Tomlinson up front, paired with Michael Laudrup. Obviously.

We take a first minute lead but Tomlinson equalises and it’s largely downhill from there. Still, we’re getting closer, kind of.

In the more realistic world of the Windscreen Shield (yeah.) we’re in the Area Final

Unfortunately we lose over 2 legs to Chris Waddle’s Burnley. If you think that’s bad…

For what reason!?!? You do not need him, you shits. So that’s him gone and a chance for young John Ritchie to make a claim for a permanent place.

Oh come on man Dundee Utd, you already took Mainwaring.

Jerks. Billy Mac, who goes on to star in Love Actually is the latest to be poached. It’s turning into quite a transfer deadline week. I’m short of options to say the least now

Whoop-de-bloody do. Here’s how the Division 2 table sits with just 8 games to go

It’s tight like a toiger with just 3 points between us in 5th and Bristol City in 12th. It’s feast or famine for Darlo, with only 6 draws. The defending has been pretty poor, to say the least, at times.

Anyway, my troubles aside the League Cup Semis throw up two local derbies

Man Utd/Everton will be quite the average final. The FA Cup also has some oddities

Carlisle take Boro to a replay at Brunton Park but Boro run out comfortable 3-0 winners, so it is they who face Chelsea in a repeat of the 1997 final. Looks like Man Utd/Chelsea again…

In the Champions League, Man Utd knock out the holders

Ajax taking out Real Madrid is interesting, and I think Fergie will be happy with the Semi Final draw

One thing he won’t be happy about is not being top of the league

With the games in hand though, they are actually on for the Quadruple. They only managed the treble in real life, so that’s some history for you.

Meanwhile at the bottom, Newcastle have one solitary win.

Somehow, Dalglsih holds on to his job. I don’t know how, but they seem to like not winning.

So we live in hope that my Scots reject Scotland…but I doubt it. Join us again, won’t you?