It’s been 6 months since I left Darlington for Madrid and it’s fair to say Gerry Francis & I have slipped into our new roles seamlessly. For one, Gerry is reaping the benefits of all my hard work. How you ask? Well…

Firstly, Darlo have claimed the World Club Cup

I can have no complaints, I could have stuck around. They also claim the European Super Cup in an epic battle

Good to see a huge turn out at Feethams there, we had bigger crowds than that in Division 3!

It’s not all plain sailing for Gerry (yes that was an attempt at a Sailor Jerry pun) as they crash out of the FA Cup to former cup winners Southport. The subplot here is that Southport are player-managed by former Darlington man Sean Devine.

Though a third cup could still be on the cards, as the mulleted warrior has taken his team to the final of the pointless cup!

Man City taking the bragging rights for Manchester there.

It turns out Southport were very stoppable in the FA Cup afterall, losing in round 4 to Forest. The semi final line up sees Sir Alex back in the hunt for silverware whilst Matt Le Tissier is continuing to do a good job re-building Arsenal.

Anyone keeping up with the many storylines here will know that Hull are managed by Steve Gritt, who of course was the Southport manager who led them to FA Cup glory. SYNERGY.

Some more managerial stupidity sees George Graham fired by Sheff Wed

For some reason Josh Toshack takes it

King of the buffet Steve Bruce is appointed, which is a nice reward for taking Kidderminster to midtable in the First Division.

Over in Madrid, it’s all going smoothly as we make it out of the Champions League group

The Cypriot Champions didn’t stand a chance. The Quarter Final draw looks a bit lopsided but we see off Monaco anyway.

We avoid a clash with my former employers but will take on Man Utd instead, I hope Gordon doesn’t make me eat my words

A Champions League final against my old pals would be too much to take, mainly because the team I built there is awesome and Gerry Francis is dining out on it. For those wondering, Inter lead the way in Serie A, and we’ll get to the Premier League later. I’m fairly sure we’ll win La Liga though, we’re in a good position with 9 games to go.

I’ve pretty much decided I will be leaving regardless of how this pans out, it hasn’t been the biggest challenge to be honest. I wonder if Gerry feels the same!? He’s got a chance of winning the Premier League as well, mind you he did win it with Leeds back in 03.

There are 5 teams who could win it though, it’s quite a close top end of the table. It’s pretty close at the bottom too!

Look at Wimbledon scrapping it out – I thought they would be gone by now. Liverpool have already won the First Division, Nick Barmby is some sort of managerial monster, and Newcastle have won Division 3 so the comeback is on.

So the season finale is set up to be an exciting end – but can anybody stop the monster I created? Join us to find out, won’t you?

This week for Champ Man & Me we’re joined by Mark Carruthers, editor of nonleaguedaily.com. As well as keeping the world updated on all matters non-league, Mark is also Press Officer for Blyth Spartans – but what part has CM played in his career?

Thanks for joining us Mark. You’re very active in the non-league side of things, how did you come to be involved in nonleaguedaily.com?

I was writing for them as a blogger, mostly about working with Blyth Spartans but then moved into more general commentary on the non-league scene and anything that took my fancy really.

I knew the previous editor and when he left I got in touch with the publishing company who run the site and it kind of went from there.

I was set to go to Liverpool with Spartans on a Tuesday afternoon for an evening game against Marine but it was called off due to a waterlogged pitch. As that call was made I got a call from my now boss saying come and chat with us.

By the Thursday I had the job so in some ways it feels like it was meant to be I guess

You also work with Blyth Spartans, tell us how that came about?

Twitter!! I had only just joined Twitter and I saw a tweet about a vacancy for a Press Officer at the club.

Having had a long-standing urge to be part of the football media I had to go for it. My only experience was writing my own blog, one on a prominent and under-performing North East football club(take your pick really!), the other a more general football one.

Despite that I made contact with the club and had an interview with the chairman and Media Manager on the day after the supercell storms in Newcastle in June 2013…anyone up here must remember them!

Anyway I was told as soon as the interview finished I had the job and that was that. Safe to say I’ve fallen in love with the club ever since

You’re often commenting on this blog on twitter, so I know you’re a fan of the game, when did you first get into the CM series?
CM96/97 I’d say was when I first played CM but, and I’m not just saying this, CM97/98 was my first love. Well, apart from a girl in my history class at school but she still doesn’t know that so…anyway I digress.

Who couldn’t love the game when I took Barnet from Division Three also-rans to Champions League regulars in the space of five years. Underhill became the home of football, with a 16,000 capacity, feasting their eyes on the team of all talents including messrs Heidenstrom, Alexandersson, Svindal-Larson, Emmers and Nevland.

Of particular fondness was a Hibs team I had with a Ronaldo/Weah frontline too.

Obviously we think CM9798 is the best in the series – what’s your view?
I would agree! I love FM and the most recent ones are unbelievably addictive. However if we are talking CM then 97/98 is the holy grail, nothing comes remotely close.

There was a thrill in somehow finding a world class star from the likes of Angola or Papua New Guinea. Or being able to put together a top team of free transfers purely by using stats searches. Simplicity yes, but rewarding because of it

What’s your CM story? Everybody has at least one!
Well can I have two?

Firstly CM97/98 almost caused me to be kicked off my advanced GMVQ in sixth form! It was a two year course and my mate Chris Tullin and I were the only lads in our sixth form group so we used to spend every minute we had playing on the game.

By the end of the first year I had completed five out of forty assignments and Chris left to play for Nuneaton Borough, ironically ending up being in the game three years later!

Anyway I bucked my ideas up and just about passed the course, getting the remaining assignments done in the space of nine months! I still found time for CM mind, although it tended to be at around 2am!

Secondly, and rather more seriously, FM2009 arguably helped me cope with the stress of a marital break up.

I was with my now ex-wife and we were having a rough time. The end was inevitable and I was really struggling. FM09 became an escape from reality, a way to block out the issues and a way to smile again.

When the end came for the relationship I moved back home and wasn’t in a great place but FM was always there.

Now I am in a very happy relationship, I am a Dad of a one year old called William and have just set a date for my wedding with my lovely fiancée Jacqueline…..and await the release of FM2016!!!!!

Are you playing CM/FM at present?
Of course!!! I’m actually Blyth Spartans on a database I downloaded! Promotion from the Evo-Stik Northern Premier League was gained in my debut season with only two players signed and I currently sit second in the Conference North after about eighteen games.

I should tell you a funny story! I was playing it on the team bus on the way to an away game at Salford City two weeks ago when our captain Robbie Dale (he scored twice in our 2-3 loss to Birmingham in the FA Cup Third Round last season) walked past and asked if he was playing.

Naturally I said yes! He’s not though! He’s been replaced by a Colombian lad that was released by Newcastle called Esteban Cardona-Lopez and he has twelve goals in eighteen from the wing and has been called up to the Colombian U20s side.

Robbie has been released and is currently playing for Frickley Athletic in the Evo-Stik League.
Do you think the Non-League clubs are correctly represented on the series? The more modern games seem to have a lot more detail but is it accurate?
On the whole it does seem very accurate. I can only compliment SI on that because they do one hell of a job. Obviously and naturally there is the odd error, that’s only natural but from what I can see it’s fairly accurate

In regards to non-league I find they have it pretty close to reality! There are clubs with money who rise to the top but there are some who do what Blyth do and identify good youngsters to develop. They tend to be just as successful.

I hope that trait continues in the coming years, maybe even add another tier of the non-league pyramid

Once again thanks to Mark for joining us and sharing his CM history with us. If you want to see more of Mark’s work, be sure to visit the Non-League daily website.

As the reality of Darlington being Champions of England and Europe resonates through football, there’s more fall out to deal with than the end of a series of Dream Team as we head into the 20072008 season. Allow me to catch you up…

Roy Evans did the right thing and resigned as Liverpool manager having seen them relegated from the Premier League, so the Reds are on the lookout for a new manager who can take them back to their former glory. I don’t think anyone expected this:

Of course Barmby played for Liverpool in real life but that didn’t actually happen on this game…so they’ve essentially just appointed a former Everton player. Good grief.

Man Utd have added another English international to their ranks, Gordon Milne is doing a good job of proving me wrong

At Darlington, I’ve received a great offer for the re-gen of Gazza. I don’t have to sell, we’re very well off financially and the odds of buying a replacement who is as good is limited because despite everything, our reputation is still building up and not as good as it maybe should be.

However, we are well stocked in midfield and we actually have one too many for the squad, so one had to go. And as you’ll see from his stats, he misses half the season anyway with that injury proness rating:

Such is my want in life I’ve replaced him with two re-gens – Henrik Larsson and Niclas Alexandersson

Both have been signed for a pittance. I am however getting itchy feet as I’ve been at Darlo for 10 years, and it might be time for a new challenge. We’ll see what comes up.

With Euro 2008 this seasn Italy have decided the man who won them the World Cup is no longer the man for the job, despite qualification being sealed. I obviously throw my hat in the ring…

…only to have a quick brainwave and turn it down!

Why have I turned it down? Well, if I refuse it, one of the other high reputation managers will go for it and leave their club job. In theory.

Sure enough, it’s Camacho from Real Madrid to Italy and I’m on for a reunion with new Gazza

The irony of this is that Darlo beat Real Madrid in the Champions League final, but they’re one of the biggest clubs in the world, so off I go

It is with a heavy heart I leave Darlington but I’ve done everything possible for them, leaving them as European Champions with over £70m in the bank to spend.

Look at how thrilled I am

It’s going to take a special manager to carry on my work

The mullet! His Italian dream is over but now he inherits one of the best squads in the game. Well done Gerry.

Here’s what I’m dealing with:

It doesn’t need major surgery, afterall the previous manager left on good terms so it’s a nice squad to walk into. Also, Neil Finn. My plan is to win the Champions League and then be away, hopefully in no more than 2 seasons.

Charity Shield did happen before I left…

Bloody Gordon.

The managerial madness has another twist though…

Who is out of work?

Ah. Everton to win the league? Fortuantely, it’s not my concern!

Over in Spain, Barca want to buy my 34 year old centre half…

They are welcome to him. I will buy former footballer of the year Antoine Sibierski

Barca need Karanka judging by this

Oh and this

LVG has his work cut out at the moment, Barca are on the decline.

This is also a weird cup draw!

Meanwhile, Gerry is doing just fine

I wish I’d never doubted Gordon Milne. I have full faith in Gerry getting it done. Fergie lurks down there in 6th, ready to strike.

Wimbledon prop the table up:

Bolton are still managed by Colin Todd and Southampton have persisted with Dave Jones all these years. Incredible.

So with everything set up nicely for the middle part of the season, please join us again and we’ll see how long it takes me to ruin Real Madrid. Thanks for dropping by

This week on Champ Man & Me we’re joined by football commentator Dan O’Hagan. Dan’s voice has been heard worldwide, covering just about any competition you can name including the World Cup. You may also be familiar with his work as a commentator for Match of the Day. Behind the voice though, he’s also a big fan of Championship Manager:

Thanks for joining us Dan. Would you mind telling us how you got into the world of football commentary?

Had no idea what to do as a career, and failed to grow sufficiently to be a goalkeeper so decided to chance my arm talking about the game rather than playing it. Journalism degree at Bournemouth led to a job at MUTV, then onto ITV Anglia before going freelance in 2005. Still keeping my head above water.

As we alluded to in the intro, you’re clearly a big fan of the series. What was your first CM experience?

My first one was one of the Domark versions. Think it was 1993/94. Remember that Pavel Srnicek’s name was spelt incorrectly, and that pre-Andrew Andy Cole was very good. And there were about ten “foreign” players, including Gazza and a Belgian called “Van Geungden” or something.

Clearly, we love CM9798. Do you have any memories of this version in particular?

Yes, got given the CD by a work colleague at MUTV after she upgraded to the newer edition! Played the backside off this version – remember an especially epic career with Wycombe.

Would you say you have a favourite version?

The daddy is CM01/02. Perfect. Proof you don’t need a 3D match engine.

Everybody has at least one CM story – care to share yours?

My fixation with Byron Bubb on CM01/02. Began a Conference career with Woking and picked up Bubb (AMC) on a free as one of my first signings. Ten seasons later he was still playing in my Woking team that won the Premier League and then Champions League. Nerdishly I’ve followed/stalked his career in real life. I think he’s packed in now and is a personal trainer. I commentated on his brother Bradley once, playing in the Gold Cup for Grenada.

Do you think the series has assisted you in your job at all? Either in your early days or now?

It is helpful when you recognise names from the game in real life. Never got to commentate on Kennedy Bakircioglu though.

Have you crossed over into Football Manager? If so, how do you think it stacks up as a game vs the retro versions?

Yes, I’m an FM player. Not got beyond FM2011 though, as I’m now 70 seasons into a one-club career with Huddersfield. Currently on a run of 60 straight Premier League titles. Got out of League One into the Championship and then Premier League by being fantastically tight with money. Only spent £30,000 on transfer fees in getting those promotions, and even now refuse to sanction wages over £80,000 a week. After “I” reached 100 years old, I added a new manager and adopted the persona of one of my retired great players…

I suppose this question was inevitable – have you ever “practiced” your commentary skills whilst watching a game on CM!? I know I have…

Damn right I have! And imagine myself being interviewed post-match.

A big thanks to Dan for taking the time to talk to us about CM – if you want to learn more about Dan’s work you can visit his website here or follow him on twitter @danohagan

To feature on Champ Man & Me, please get in touch via our twitter page

It’s been 10 years at Feethams, and I’m pleased to say our rise from Division 3 right the way through to competing in the Champions League has been fairly seamless. Some bumps in the road, yes, but generally it’s all gone to plan. To complete that plan, we need to add one more trophy to the cabinet – the UEFA Champions League.

As ever though, we start with the pointless cup.

League Cup

Well, a lot happened in 6 minutes here:

First Division QPR were never likely to trouble Gordon Milne’s men but at least they had a go. Man Utd have their eyes on a double too

FA Cup

A Division 2 side also cause Man Utd very few problems. West Ham might be trickier in the final

So much so that it finishes 0-0, and they have to replay. Gawd.

Wowm 240 minutes and no goals. Then West Ham miss their first 2 penalties. What a waste. The double secured for Milne, then.

UEFA Cup

I rarely mention the other European cups but Leeds have won this one

Brian Little working his magic there, he’s been brilliant since taking over at Leeds.

In the Premier League, it’s curtains for Liverpool. I have the task of relegating them

Gone with a game to spare

Meanwhile that result puts me on the verge of retaining the league. All we have to do is avoid defeat against Man City

Always pleasing to retain the league, some say it’s the hardest task.

It’s all too much for Roy Evans, who calls it a day

During that final day defeat I conceded to a man named Scholes. Surely not?

Loyalty.

My beloved Newcastle are down to Division 3…

Maybe some day I’ll try and bring them back. Right now though, I have bigger fish to fry

Champions League

First task is to see off PSG and get revenge for last year

A 2-0 win in Paris does the damage, and we’ll take on the mighty Real Madrid

YEAH! Champions of Europe…we know what we are. Not even Neil Finn can stop us.

Bit harsh, we are two time and reigning English champions.

All of a sudden, everybody in the England squad…

Good old Steve Haslam. Speaking of England, here’s a look at the most capped England players still playing

Incidentally, Campbell and Neville both have 99 caps. Another English great tries his luck in Italy

Which just leaves the tables to show you:

Man Utd won pretty much every game in the last few months of the season to get 2nd from nowhere, which will keep them in business as otherwise they are financially flagging. The big news at the bottom is of course Liverpool’s relegation.

Watford’s collapse after Brian Little’s departure is incredible, they’ll go down next season. Hull take the 3rd and final bullet for now though.

Awards time!

It’s not the Angelo Peruzzi, this is a centre half. Well done him

And well done me.

Castro is Chilavert and was briefly on my books but he was denied a work permit renewal so I sold him. Peter Beardsley has brought Boro back to the big time but he has once again refused to retire

46 going on 47. Ridiculous, I might pull my boots back on at this rate. If Hoddle ever leaves and I get the job, I vow to cap Peter Beardsley again.

Another season has come and gone and I can finally say I’ve done what I set out to achieve. Division 3 to Champions of Europe in 10 seasons. I think it might be time to look for a new challenge…

To kick off a new series here at CM9798, I’m inviting various community members to explain to me why they love Championship Manager. Up first is Ash Rose, creator of Alive & Kicking 90s Podcast.

Thanks for joining us Ash. You’re clearly a fan of 90s nostalgia, so much so you have a 90s football podcast. What draws you to that particular era of football?

It’s the era I grew up in, and an era when football really did completely change. Compare the state of the game from 1990 and 1999 and it’s so different, what with Italia 90/Euro 96, The Premier League, Sky and the Champions League the 90s really was the decade that changed football. But it was also a fun a colourful decade, when the industry was still coming to terms with the global phenomenon it was about to become. The loud kits, the random players, the toys, the stickers it was all so very locked into that time. For me nothing too much has dramatically changed from the 2000’s to the 2010’s but the 90s was so different and so enjoyable to look back on.

The Championship Manager series started in 1992, were you a fan straightaway?

I admit I was a little bit later to the party, only because of my age. I would have been nine when the first Champs came out, so I was still in love with my SEGA Mega Drive and games like Sonic and Cool Spot. But when I was a tad older – and before most of my mates, as I was much geekier with football – I really got into management games. Both the Championship Manager series and the early Premier Manager games as well. I loved the idea of creating my own team, and then seeing how they would fare. Little did I know the obsession that was about to begin.

In our opinion, the series peaked in 1997/98 – do you have any memories of this particular version?

This would have probably been one of the versions that I first really got into. The game started to really come into it’s own at this point, and addictions became forming. As a QPR fan, they are always the first game I start (something I repeat to this day) and I think I did ok that season, I seem to remember Ibrahim Bakayoko being very good on that version, and John Curtis at Man Utd. Which is ironic as he later played for QPR in real life, and it was a far cry from the glory he enjoyed in my virtual team during that era. A far, far cry!

As a QPR fan, the 97/98 team was made for you. Were any of them actually any good!? Tricky Trev, Gallen, Slade, Quashie…

In the game or in real life? In the game I seem to recall Sinclair being rather good and Nigel Quashie, but less so for Kevin Gallen and Steve Slade. Gavin Peacock was the best rated player I think on the 97/98 game. As for real life, that team had it’s moments for sure. Sinclair left for West Ham midway through that campaign and was always destined to do great things – he obviously went on to play in a World Cup. Quashie was a decent servant, but the less said of Steve Slade the better really. As for Gallen, he’s a modern day hero at for Loftus Road! Not so much for around that time when form and fitness became an issue, but for his second spell at the club where he captained them to promotion. A QPR legend, and I’m not just saying that as he wrote the foreword to my Rangers book!

Everybody’s got at least one CM story – what’s yours?

I was one of those who got far too into it. I remember a game must have been the 2001 game, and I had taken QPR from League One to the Champions League Final in around six or seven seasons. I was playing Inter Milan and had a severe injury crisis in midfield the week leading up to the game.  So in desperation I had to play 38 year old Mark Bircham who was about to retire and had only played twice all season. We went 2-0 down very quickly and I was slumped at my desk fearing the worst, until a spirited comeback saw us take it to extra time. Then who of all people popped-up with the winner? Only Bircham himself! What a way to end your career! I was running round my living room, and singing his praises in my now traditional post-match interview with myself.

Have you ever used CM (or FM in modern day) to check out a player that came to the Premier League in the 90s? I remember being very excited to find Nobby Solano on the 9798 editor and was convinced we’d signed a great centre back…

I’m sure I have, especially before you could just google anyone. I think I used CM when QPR signed George Kulscar and Sammy Koejoe, both of which never really lived up to any of the stats on CM – and they weren’t terribly impressive in the first place. I used to do the opposite too, look our for players that were good on CM and see how they’d get on in real life. The famous one is of course Tonton Zola Moukoko but for me my shining light was always Kennedy Bakircioglu, he was always my first buy whatever game I played, just a shame he never lived-up to my heights in his real career.

Finally, tell us all about your Alive & Kicking 90s podcast – what can listeners expect to hear?

Lots and lots of nostalgia! It’s a full on retro celebration of the 1990s, and every week is a different theme, with different guests to share their 90s memories. So far we’ve covered opening days, League Cup Finals, Kits, Transfers and stickers and the response has been brilliant. We have also chatted to some memorable names from the era, including Brian Deane, Nigel Jemson and Paul Walsh on the phone, and we hope to have a former player on every week. It’s basically four fans sitting in a room talking about 1990s football for 40 minutes or so. What more could you want? You can follow the pod on Twitter @AK90s or myself @AshRoseUK and also at ak90s.co.uk or on iTunes.

Despite being given the group of death, Darlington had given themselves a chance of playing European football into 2007 with some brave performances. Could they do the impossible and get through the group? How will it impact their league form? Find out…right now.

All we have to do is beat Barcelona at home and then Celtic away

A famous night at Feethams, Haslam kept Fowler at bay. But we needed Barca to do us a favour and beat Munich, or our win over Celtic will be for nothing

YES! We’ve beaten death and made it through. Wow

What now?

Ah, yes. Ronaldo. It could have been worse, admittedly. Inter immediately hit the panic button

No matter though, we’ve done it!

We return to the scene of our UEFA Cup triumph and do it again. The travelling Darlo fans no doubt end up doused in piss but whatever, we’ve got a semi final to prepare for.

Please not Real, please not Real…

PSG knocked us out last season so let’s see how far we’ve come. Let’s go back to our shores.

Remember how Leeds were doing badly?

Remember how Watford were doing well?

Brian Little is a deviant. However he’s taken Leeds from bottom 5 to top 5 in about 3 months, which is incredible. It’s still all too much for some though

Newcastle sit 23rd in Division 2, which prompts Danny Wilson to call it off

I almost expected Keegan to take over but they re-visited Jimmy Nicholl

What’s stupid about this is that Nicholl left Newcastle for Stoke, took Stoke down to Division 3 and now fancies jumping ship again. What a terrible mess.

The first final of the season is set

Division 2 QPR doing the football league proud. Gordon Milne is enjoying cup success even if the league form is patchy. His side have got to be favourites to progress here:

Meanwhile, Darlington have just got on with it and top the league with 8 games to go. That game in hand could be pivotal as there’s a chasing pack right behind me. Look at Leeds though! A great recovery. Watford have barely won since Little departed.

Meanwhile, it’s not getting any better for Liverpool.

Portsmouth are a couple of games away from relegation – one win all season will do that to you. 10 goals is fairly rancid by any stretch of the imagination. It’s any two from 14th down though, the league has really evened out.

So that wraps up another update. Are Darlo set to finish season 10 in style? Or will it all come crashing down once more? Join us again…

After the outrage of Sir Alex Ferguson winning the World Cup for Italy on English soil, season 10 is up and running and it’s fair to say reputations have gone out of the window.

As Premier League champions, I’d expect to have a bit more clout by now but still nobody is that keen to join Darlington. I want the Champions League this season, it is the only thing I am missing from my tenure at Feethams. However, the group I’m in is going to mean I’ll likely have to wait another year

That is just awful. Hopefully the board will settle for me winning the Charity Shield instead.

I doubt that will cut it. To be honest, we’re hanging on in the Champions League. A home win over Celtic is matched by draws home and away to Bayern, plus the inevitable loss in the Nou Camp

Owen couldn’t quite get that hat trick in Munich that we all know and loved. The group is pretty tight, but with only top spot a guaranteed qualifier, I need to win the last two to have any chance.

Speaking of hat tricks in Munich, look who has been sacked

Transfers continue to be a little quiet, though I have the re-generation of Luis Enrique

Raul has also gone home, he made very little impact in Manchester

Obviously Sean Devine learnt a lot from me too

It’s still relatively early days as we creep into November but the table is…odd

Watford are top of the pile, which may surprise you. What won’t surprise you is that Brian Little is their boss, so those of you who were around for the first blog game will know what a hero he (apparently) is. Man City, who are also in Champions League, are not far behind me whilst West Ham are a continual threat. John Toshack still has Chelsea in and around the top of the table, whilst Gordon Milne has begun the destruction of Man Utd. Where are Liverpool you might ask…

Roy Evans is somehow still their manager, but he might not be if they are to be relegated. Leeds are also on the slide under Bryan Robson but the table is still very bunched up at this early stage.

Remember when Fergie won the World Cup? It means nothing to Italy

One loss to Finland and you’re on the verge of a sacking. For those wondering how Gerry Francis is getting on in Italy…

Silly Gerry. Milan were once such a great club. Anyway, join us next time to see if Fergie gets the sack and whether Watford are really going to win the Premier League

With Darlington on the verge of a Premier League title, the 2005/2006 season was already shaping up to be a memorable one. Add in the spice of a World Cup in England and a dash of Manchester United trying to retain the Champions League, and that makes for one mighty update. On we go then…

League Cup

West Ham take the pointless honour this year, former Lazio man Deane Bullock getting the all important goal.

As much as I’d love to dwell on this, let’s move on. Quickly.

FA Cup

Unfortunately, my cup defence was brought to an end at the semi final stage

West Ham’s dream of winning both cups is shattered by Wolves, who will take on the Everton all stars in the final.

Look at that Everton team for goodness sakes, CM legends wherever you look. Wolves don’t have a bad team but they can’t beat Hockaday.

Premier League

I’m delighted to tell you Darlington are Premier League Champions. 9 seasons it has taken to go from Division 3 to champions of England, which I’m fairly happy with. It came down to the final day of the season, where a draw at home to Man Utd was enough to clinch the title

The re-gen of Ronald De Boer writes himself into history

It’s a bad day for Man Utd, who are overhauled by their neighbours to lose 2nd spot. They do have a Champions League final to play though which could yet keep Gordon Milne’s team in the competition next season.

We were helped by the addition of this Community XI goalkeeper

Whilst City went for Morientes to get them over the line

Champions League

Zidane might have disgraced himself on the biggest stage in 2006 but here he wins Juve the trophy

Unsurprisingly captain Kieron Dyer comes up short.

It’s a double disaster for English teams as George Graham’s Sheff Wed come up short in the UEFA Cup final.

With that, here is the final table in the Premier League just to bring closure to the domestic season

The three way tie for that second Champions League spot was ridiculously close, with all three teams on +26. Brian Flynn’s Everton were so good defensively, with just 17 conceded all season, but they will have to make do with a UEFA cup spot, as will Manchester United.

It’s great news for the South Coast pair, who survive at the expense of Peter Beardsley’s Boro. Remarkably, Pedro hasn’t retired!

Here’s a look at the squad that made me famous

So with all the T’s crossed and the I’s dotted, let’s move on to the main event of the summer – The World Cup.

World Cup

With England as hosts and Nigeria as holders, it’s like no World Cup I’ve seen. England are in buoyant mood and with two Darlo players in the squad, what is there to lose?

First up is a tough looking game with the Dutch

With the keeper dismissed it’s a minor miracle England win this, with our very own Michael Owen climbing off the bench to score the winner.

Oakes (Gazza) might be a star player for England but they don’t play him. AC Milan want some of that

He is very injury prone but I’m not going to get anybody better, so he stays.

The Swiss are here to keep things neutral

Not to worry though, a win over Chile will see them through

It’s not such good news for the holders though, who bow out without scoring a goal

The groups end up as follows then:

Holland and Russia join Nigeria as surprise failures, but England, Scotland & Ireland continue to fly the flag for the home nations. Italy, under Alex Ferguson, will look to win the World Cup they really won. Here’s the path to glory:

England and Scotland are on for a battle of Britain in the Quarter finals if both beat mediocre opponents. Brazil vs Portugal is the pick of the clashes.

England ease through

But the Germans don’t! Beaten by the Swiss

Roland Kunze indeed. The rest of the ties go to form, to set up some great last 8 matches.Three home nations present!

So the battle of Britain at the top of the draw but also Ferguson vs Ireland in the bottom half.

RIOTS

Ryan McGivern, of Darlington, puts himself in history as England fluff their lines. It’s about time Hoddle was sacked and I had a crack at this, no?

Denmark stun Brazil in extra time

Whilst Sir Alex brings some of that Manchester United spirit to score twice late on to deny Ireland. It could be a Scotland vs Scotland final at this rate

So Scotland or Denmark are going to be in the final, who thought that would be the way of it?

Dissappointing for Scotland then, the Danes will get the chance to add to their Euro 92 title.

In a re-run of the real 2006 final, Italy & France clash in the semis.

No Zidane in sight though and once again it is Italy who prevail. Sir Alex is on the verge of adding the World Cup to everything else he has won in England.

Firstly though, Scotland finish 3rd

So, the World Cup final. It was written that Italy would win it, really

1-0 all round. Sir Alex becomes untouchable. I’ll sell a defender in disgust

It’ll be Argentina 2010, sorry South Africa.

Here’s the awards to finish:

I didn’t win a thing for my title success, but I can’t argue with Antoine Sibierski as football of the year. Brian Little, a blog favourite, takes Division 1 manager of the year to the surprise of nobody.

Phew. I’m ready for a rest after all of that but please do join us again for next season, as I’ll try and take Darlo to Champions League glory and who knows, maybe Hoddle will get fired before 2010?

Here we are then. March 2006 and Darlington sit at the summit of the Premier League. Are they about to confirm their status as the best club in England? It’s taken 9 seasons and a lot of re-gens, but we’re nearly there. Let me explain how the middle of the season has transpired…

First stop is World Cup qualifying. The 2006 World Cup will be held in England, so there’s no qualifying to be done for Hoddle’s men. Last time out I predicted Spain’s appointment of Fabio Capello would see his side qualify with ease. All they have to do is win in Liechtenstein

Uh oh

The 2002 runners up will not be involved in this World Cup…

England’s group is pretty tough, but as hosts you’d expect them to get out of this:

Elsewhere, the latest move to spice up the FA Cup is to play it the 3rd round on New Years Eve

It’s a pretty tough draw but we see them off to get our defence of the trophy off to a good start. In fact, we’ve made the semi finals!

West Ham actually knocked us out of the pointless cup in the Quarter finals, which I wasn’t too upset about in all truth, and they see off Chelsea in the semis to set up a final with Leeds.

For any new readers, I should point out that I call it the pointless cup because you don’t even get into Europe for winning it. All that effort for minimal reward. Speaking of Europe, our Champions League adventure is over in dramatic circumstances

Considering we took first, Jaliens had the chance to put us on the verge but he is the re-gen of Ronald de Boer, and I should have taken that into account. On the other hand, the re-gen of Stoichkov missed my final pen so I don’t think you can read too much into it.

Man Utd see off Bologna in extra time, a superb effort by Gordon Milne. He has my conquerers PSG up next.

Milne has been doing it the hard way – here, he wins the Super Cup despite losing 3-1. Brocchi’s extra time goal does the job…

Napoli have been on fire though – in fact, they’ve won the league already!

It seems odd but there’s actually only 5 games to go in Italy

The Premier League is of course the bread and butter and in order for us to return to the Champions League, we’ve got to finish in the top 2. We’ve been doing ok, so much so we’re top of the league with just 8 games to go

It’s probably a 4 way chase but Leeds can’t be ruled out. The last day of the season will see Man Utd visit Feethams, which could be the decider. I’ll hope to have it all sewn up by then though. At the other end…

Chris Waddle is still Burnley manager, they might stay up but the three in the relegation zone now have got a lot to do to stay up. I’m surprised to see Palace down there but not sorry, they’ve been a menace to me down the years.

So as we’re entering the final months of 05/06, I hope you’ll join us next time for hopefully a league title celebration, as well as the World Cup being in England. Will Feethams get a game? We live in hope. Bye for now!