In the previous post, things were reaching an all time low with Auxerre, in the relegation zone after 10 games and a furious board. The UEFA Cup could prove to be my saving grace though, as we stun Brian Little’s Aston Villa

I tried to sign Degn for Wimbledon after the World Cup but I’m grateful to have use of him now. The problem at Auxerre is that they have no money, and lose around £400k per month. The results had been poor and I was getting this sort of report:

Fortunately, results have picked up after Villa and this lovely graph summarises the turn around:

Anyway, back on home soil the usual suspects are at the top of the scorers charts – and Danny Cadamarteri.

I miss the Premier League and will inevitably try and go back there after the Auxerre experiment is over. Although, do I really want to go back to a league where Brian Little is on the verge of being the champion?

Liverpool have fallen away after Roy Evans’ gold rush the previous season, and Keegan’s Blackburn are down in 14th. Hopefully there are some job openings ahead, I’m feeling homesick.

The FA Cup is reaching the important stages, though holders Liverpool are already out

Everton’s resurgence having been relegated in season 1 is remarkable, but a big ask against Arsenal. Interestingly, Arsenal are £5m in debt and are having a fire sale, Vieira was on the verge of joining Tottenham, which would have been another for the hall of shame, but he rejected.

Heskey’s on the move again…

The Champions League semis see the same four teams as last year, I know first hand how annoyingly good PSG & Monaco are.

Barcelona however seem to have taken their dominance to a whole new level, though they only bother with 5 defenders in the whole squad and an abundance of forwards.

We’re reaching the end of season 3 and although the ship is steadied at Auxerre, the Premier League is more interesting. Also Robbie Fowler is out of contract and he’s bound to end up at Man Utd, and I can’t miss that. Let’s see how it shakes out

Until then though, thanks for reading

Yep, I decided to walk out on Wimbledon and take over at Auxerre in France. With the offer of UEFA Cup football and generally a bigger club, it’s a good opportunity to enhance my reputation. The Wimbledon squad were growing tetchy, good players like Devine and Page are being courted by bigger clubs and they want away, afterall even Chris Casper got snapped up. Wimbledon decide John Toshack is the only man who can replace me and I cannot argue with that

My first signing at Auxerre it bring Robert Page with me, and he’s soon followed by Brazil keeper Dida and an ageing but still worth it David Ginola. If you think that’s crazy though, the transfer market goes nuts, and it’s seemingly turncoat season:

There is no loyalty in footbal. Meanwhile, Sol Campbell joins Man Utd but that isn’t such a big deal really as he hasn’t played for Arsenal yet. Then these two transfers happen and I begin to question if something is broken

Steve Haslam!?

Anyway, please, game, give me something normal

That’s better.

Anyway, things are going atrociously in France. I have tons of strikers but none of them can score, which is useful. We’re leaky in defence too, and my best player is Liverpool legend Bernard Diomede. Par Zetteberg is decent too but he picks up a 3 month injury and I’m beginning to long for Selhurst Park. The Premier League, however, is still insane as Brian Little’s Aston Villa have a commanding lead

Barnsley prop up the table, I’m amazed they have survived two seasons in truth.

The only positive for Auxerre is that two rounds of the UEFA Cup have been negotiated, against Aberdeen and Schalke, though I’ve been drawn against mighty Brian’s Aston Villa so that’s another dream over. I won’t bore you with the details of the French League but it’s a constant struggle and I’ll probably be sacked before long. Here’s the squad:

Somehow, this is more of a challenge than Wimbledon.

The 98/99 season has drawn to a close, and Roy Evans is being hailed as some sort of guru. Here’s how the final months of 98/99 panned out.

Transfer Window

The March deadline arrives and Man Utd have one final push at retaining their title by signing this legend, but will it be enough to see off Liverpool and Blackburn?

League Cup

The first silverware of the domestic season (forget about the Charity Shield) goes to Evans’ men, with a comfortable 2-0 win over 1st Divison Middlesbrough. Simon Bochenski, signed from the lower leagues, nets at Wembley which is a mighty rise to stardom.

Liverpool are still competing on two other fronts, but they have assembled a squad that has strength in depth (and Gordon Durie)

FA Cup

I’ve got to fancy my chances of getting to Wembley but my Wimbledon team come unstuck in extra time after a 2-2 draw, ending up losing 4-2 to Martin O’Neill’s Leicester. Liverpool meanwhile reach a second final and will be strong favourites to win the cup…

…which they do with a narrow win over Leicester

It’s two out of two for Evans but can he finally bring the Premier League title to Anfield?

Premier League

Blackburn are coming on strong as we saw in the previous update, Keegan’s attacking style landing some heavy blows

However, it’s not enough and the title heads to Merseyside for the first time by one point – a 0-0 draw at Aston Villa seals it for Liverpool.

My form with Wimbledon tailed off badly after the semi final, winning only once in the remaining 12 games. Devine, who now captains Ireland for some reason, had a goal drought and Nevland wasn’t much better. Nobody is keen to join Wimbledon so I’m officially seeking new challenges, though keeping the job on until I can jump ship.

Another manager who fancies a change is Neville Southall, ashamed of his Stoke side’s pathetic attempt to stay up. Southampton aren’t much better, but Bolton put up a big fight to no avail

3 wins all season leads to Nev packing his bags

Europe

Real Madrid dominate La Liga, losing only 2 games all season on their way to 96 points, whilst PSG win the French League. The Champions League semi-finals throw up an all French affair, which Monaco sneak on penalties

Man Utd miss out on playing in their own final as it’s held at Old Trafford, but Barcelona prevail on the night against Monaco, despite Barthez’s efforts

Middlesbrough win division 1 and are promoted along with Birmingham. Everton win the playoffs meaning they only suffer one season outside of the top flight. So, as the curtain comes down on another season, here are some awards

Robbie Fowler takes the golden boot again after another prolific season, firing Liverpool to all of the domestic titles.

Big Nev is available on a free transfer since his resignation from Stoke, but he’s 41 so he’ll almost certainly retire. Speaking of retiring, this legend calls it a day

He leaves Valencia having finished third in La Liga, established as the best of the rest after the big two.

However, it’s soon decision time as Auxerre offer me the job. Auxerre have just finished 4th in Ligue 1 – is it time to make good on my promise to take on the French League?

Kevin Keegan’s return to the Premier League may have been the headline of the last update, but it’s been a strange old three months as we approach the final (Paul) furlong on the 1998/99 season.

1999 starts with another Anfield legend is on the move, this time young Michael Owen is used as bait by Liverpool so they can land…Riccardo Scimeca. I can’t explain this. Roy Evans has bought Gordon Durie, 32, and obviously prefers him to somebody who would go on to score 40 goals for England. Whatever.

A slightly more sane transfer sees World Cup winner Paulo Sousa join Real Madrid. Seeing he turned down Barcelona and Real Madrid shows just how good Sousa is at the moment.

As we’ve reached March, the cups are reaching their finale, so let’s have a look at who is on course to win what.

Starting with the league cup, Kevin Keegan’s Blackburn blow a 2-0 first leg lead and get turned over at Anfield to put Liverpool in the final. You would expect them to face Man Utd in a re-match of last season but Bryan Robson’s Middlesbrough pull of a huge upset to win on penalties and book their place at Wembley. With Marco Branca banging them in, Boro are well clear at the top of Divison 1.

Meanwhile in the FA Cup, we’ve reached Semi Final stage. A kind draw saw the mighty Dons drawn at the lowest ranked team left in the tournament.

With Norwich brushed aside, I’m left crossing my fingers I draw anyone except Liverpool. Fortunately, the draw gods are on my side and it’s Leicester

Hopefully Nevland and Devine can get us a nice day out at Wembley. Finally, the Champions League has an all French Semi-Final

Man Utd went on to win the treble in real life but the best they can achieve is a double, as Boro actually knocked Man Utd out of the FA Cup too. The league though is taking a very interesting turn, it’s a three horse race for the title.

The Keegan factor has Blackburn right back up at the top of the table, 4 years after winning their first Premier League title. Brian Little has Aston Villa up in 4th, whilst new boys Sunderland are the surprise package up in 7th. At the bottom, Stoke & Southampton look doomed but any one from 4 could join them.

The Dons are ticking over, as you can see from the losses column we’ve become very difficult to beat but could do with turning a few of those draws in to wins. Chris Casper has the nerve to leave for Celtic, the “big club release” clause in his contract meaning I have no option but to move him on for £1m, though Kenny Lunt has arrived. Nevland is the club’s top scorer, with 16 goals to his name. Devine has 12.

For a change, here are the top average ratings of the season so far. Southall has played 26 games, so for an average of 8 he makes A LOT of saves. He’s also their manager.

Join us next time as we wrap up the 1998/99 season – will it be Liverpool celebrating a treble?

Season two is rattling along nicely and as we reach the half way point, the managerial merry-go-round is back in full swing.

West Ham are going through managers like Big Sam goes through chewing gum, as Frank Lampard Sr is dismissed

To add to the indignity of it all, Frank Sr is replaced by Tony Gale, which at least means we shouldn’t have to hear his commentate.

It’s one of the most open Premier League seasons in years, although this weekend must have been a thriller for Match of the Day with just the six 0-0 draws.

You may notice Chelsea are third in this snippet, but their form takes a turn for the worse including a 3-0 defeat the mighty Dons. It’s not long before player manager Vialli is given his P45 and the musical chairs music starts up.

With Vialli sacked I try to get the Italian legend in on a free transfer but he wants nothing to do with Wimbledon, and why would he? Chelsea set about replacing him and decide only one man is suitable for such a role. Step forward…

Great times for Roy who will have an opportunity to earn his shot at managing his country where it really matters (hmm). Anyway, the Blackburn ship is now rudderless so where do you turn? Bring in the perm!

As predicted back in update 1, Keegan finds himself back in the big time, making him the most popular Yorkshireman in Lancashire. I’m looking forward to seeing how he gets on. Meanwhile, after I derided Brian Little in an earlier post, he’s making Keegan’s old team look totally shoddy with an absolute blitzing

The way it’s going, I wouldn’t be surprised if Dalglish is out of work very soon. Over in Italy, Roberto Baggio copies his real life transfer and joins Inter Milan, rejecting a fairytale return to Juventus

At Wimbledon, things are going pretty well. In the top 6, we’ve definitely improved from last season and the partnership of Nevland & Devine is proving pretty effective. Here’s how the table sits at the half way point:

Finishing in the top 6 will be the aim, though we’re still a little bit goal shy, as if the front 2 don’t score there aren’t many goals elsewhere. Even the top marksmen in the league aren’t prolific

And finally, here’s the managers of the month to date – a gentle reminder to us all that George Graham is at large during this era.

The World Cup is behind us and Portugal’s surprise victory is a distant memory. Welcome to season two.

It’s a slow summer, a World Cup hangover is evidently in place and teams keep their cash to themselves, for a while. At Wimbledon, it’s fair to say things peaked with the signing of Rio before the World Cup, and I have to settle for poaching Man Utd’s youth again, this time Erik Nevland arrives to partner Sean Devine. Feel those season ticket sales increasing.

It gets to the week of the season and Barcelona move to buy one of the most valuable players in the market, Ortega making the move. Ominously, he turns down Man Utd meaning they are in for a striker to partner Alfonso. Still, they are obviously very serious about replacing Erik Nevland.

Other than Newcastle signing Gareth Southgate, the season starts and everybody is happy. Liverpool must be strong favourites after keeping hold of Fowler, however this could change it all:

5 days after missing out on Ortega, Fergie comes looking for Shearer again and this time, the answer is yes. Remarkably Man Utd have got him for cheaper than they could have done a few years earlier, but that’s a major injury for you. Alfonso & Shearer as a partnership is a fairly terrifying prospect.

There’s finally some managerial movement for the first time in a while and not yet Lord Sugar coins a catchphrase and fires Christian Gross

Spurs poach Gordon Milne from Birmingham, who in turn bring back the mullet and give Gerry Francis (former Spurs manager) the job, so we’ve gone full circle. Liverpool respond to Man Utd’s spending by getting their own cheque book out to bring Henrik Larsson to the Premier League a few years ahead of schedule

Interesting that Newcastle tried to take him to replace Shearer. Anyway, none of those transfers have a patch on this next one, future Fulham man Legwinski is off to the Bernabeu!

By the end of September, things are starting to take shape. The Wimbledon squad has had a few changes, but there’s a lot of the standard squad in there still.

Yes, that is a very young Robbie Keanie out on loan, and somebody actually wants Carl Cort. George Graham rolls back the years and takes manager of the month for September. Here’s the tables after 10 games

Good old Stoke, though when your player/manager is Neville Southall you’re taking a huge risk. Just look at these stats…

Until next time..

We’re reaching the business end of the tournament now, with the final group games upon us. There have been shocks, thrashings and a Juan Veron hat-trick. It’s the game that just keeps on giving, so let’s get back to it.

Group A

This games happens, which I can’t even begin to pick the bones out of:

Marcus Gayle, you may recall, began his season missing a penalty for me so it is delicious irony that his season finishes on a similar note. It’s not enough for Brazil though as Argentina beat already qualified Norway to progress, and the curret World Champions are out

Group B

France beat Australia top top the group but Nigeria beat Yugoslavia to send the Socceroos through. Finidi George got the Nigeria goals, Ipswich fans.

Group C

Germany beat Morocco 1-0 and end with an ominous 100% record and 0 goals conceded. Romania beat South Africa but it’s Morocco who go through on goal difference.

Group D

Portugal beat Scotland 2-0 and Spain draw 0-0 with Paraguay. Scotland are through!

Group E

Denmark put another 5 past Iran, both Laudrup’s on the scoresheet alongside a very young Jon Dahl Tomasson. USA beat Japan to advance alongside the Danes.

Group F

England reach new levels of ridiculousness, drawing 2-2 with Switzerland. Russia draw 0-0 with the Saudis, which remarkably puts England through on goals scored.

Gary Pallister becomes the people’s champion.

Group G

Both de Boer’s score helping Holland beat Chile 3-2. Mexico’s failure to beat Tunisia means the Dutch go through with Chile.

Group H

Italy beat Cameroon 1-0 and Colombia repeat that scoreline against Sweden, meaning both the Italians and Colombia go through with 7 points.

Here’s how all  that breaks down:

The knockout stage draw is eagerly anticipated, but it’s rough news for England with Euro 96 fresh in the mindFrance seem to be finding their form, as the Dutch have a good old fashioned capitulation, but when you pick Ed de Goey over Edwin van der Sar you get everything you deserve.

Meanwhile, the country goes into meltdown as this happens:

Morocco are turning into the surprise packages, defeating Switzerland on pens. Scotland are put out by Denmark and Italy thrash Norway. Chile edge past Australia and we have our quarter finalists.

This is as far as England go though, losing 1-0 to the Portugese. Rui Costa gets the goal. It’s a bleak day for the hosts as well, Argentina coming from behind to send France out. Denmark thrash Morocco and Italy ease past Chile. Semi final time.

It’s heartbreak for Argentina as Portugal beat them on penalties. To be honest, I really didn’t expect Portugal to get this far but hey ho. Denmark beat Italy 1-0 thanks to a Panucci own goal and we have a Denmark vs Portugal final. Obviously.

Denmark are strong because they are coming off the Euro 92 win, so many of their players are strong. The Laudrup boys are particularly good so I make them favourites. Italy win the third place playoff on pens, meaning Argentina have lost consecutive shoot outs. Batistuta was among those who missed.

The final is here, and what a white hot game it is:

Despite Schmeichel getting man of the match, he can’t stop enough penalties and that’s it, Portugal are the World Champions! A team who didn’t actually qualify for France 98, sacre bleu

After the obligatory announcement that Japan will host the 2002 World Cup (sorry South Korea), it’s time for this event, which as a child would mean it was time for a glass of ribena and a game of Tekken, but nowadays I’ll swap for Alt+Tab (and a glass of ribena)

There’s some ridiculous end of season awards, good old Kevin Pressman taking the PFA Player of the Year award, despite Robbie Fowloer plundering 51 goals.

Thanks for reading, we’ll be continuing with season 2 in the coming days.

The first season has reached it’s close and amidst all the transfer activity, there’s a World Cup to be won. Of course, in real life, France triumped in their home tournament with the infamous ‘Where’s Ronaldo?’ final but in general, it was a great tournament with many memorable moments. Can Zidane reproduce his final heroics? Will England take a chance on a young Michael Owen? Is Eileen Drury in the game? Let’s see how it unravels.

Group A

The curtain raiser for the tournament sees World Champions Brazil take on South American counterparts Argentina, which is a very tasty way to kick off a tournament. Of course the game isn’t clever enough to bother with separating nations in the same federation, so yeah, Brazil vs Argentina, deal with it.

Some great names in there. Anyway Ronaldo is off and running and both sides will be happy with a point. The other teams in Group A are Norway and Jamaica, massive party group all in all. Everybody beats Jamaica but remarkably Norway repeat their success from reality with a stunning win against Brazil. Oyvind Leonhardsen the man writing his name into history

With Argentina taking apart the Reagge boys 4-0 (to go with Norway’s 3-0 beating of them), Norway have qualified and Brazil are left sweating on qualification. They will surely beat Jamaica but they need Norway to beat Argentina.

Group B

Here we find hosts France, paired with Australia, Yugoslavia and Nigeria. Djorkaeff and Deschamps turn over Nigeria to get les Blues up and running but a 0-0 draw with Yugoslavia leaves the group in the balance. Australia beat Nigeria to send the Nigerians out, and Australia join France with 4 points. Yugoslavia, with 2 points, will have a good chance of qualifying if they beat Nigeria.

Group C

Group C is where we find Germany, in a kind group with Romania, Morocco and South Africa. The Germans, with Jurgen Klinsmann leading the line, ease through with a game to spare whilst Morocco are well placed to join them after beating South Africa and drawing 0-0 with Romania. What a dull group. Next.

Group D

Group D is pretty nasty, neighbours Spain & Portugal go up agaisnt each other long with Paraguay and Scotland. For those interested, here’s what Scotland have gone with:

The old big Dunc and Ally McCoist strike force will worry Spain and Portugal. Scotland come from 2-0 down to draw With Paraguay (big Dunc at the double) whilst Portugal beat Spain 1-0. Scotland then make me look a fool by beat Spain 1-0 through that man Ferguson again with Andy Goram getting man of the match for a string of saves. Portugal and Paraguay draw 0-0 so Scotland top the group with a game to go. Can Scotland break their hoodoo of never making the second round?

Group E

History is repeating itself in group E as USA face Iran, this time winning 1-0. Denmark and Japan complete group E, Denmark proving they are still quite the force by putting 5 past Japan. The Danes beat the USA and Japan beat Iran, so it is a straight fight between USA and Japan to join Denmark in the knockouts. The highlight of this group so far for me is finding a very young Thomas Gravesen

Group F

VINDALOO! England are here, along with Russia, Saudi Arabia and Switzerland. It’s a tame group but Glenn Hoddle doesn’t believe in the exuberance of youth and picks a very experienced squad

Don’t think many will have seen the recalls for Barnes & Pearce, though Batty and Ince are still in there to miss penalties later on. Anyway, Switzerland beat Saudi Arabia and England face Russia in probably their toughest game of the group. Graeme Le Saux grabs an equaliser which should turn out to be a good result.

Disaster strikes though as England labour to a 0-0 draw with the Saudis, and the Russia/Swiss games ends in the same result. It’s a great day for TV audiences everywhere as the final game of the day, in group H, also finishes 0-0. Are England heading out at the first hurdle?

Group G

The Dutch are the star name in group G, though they are immediately on the back foot after losing to Mexico. A nervous 1-0 win over Tunisia gets them back on track, but Chile beating Mexico means the group is tight heading into the final fixtures.

Group H

Beaten ’94 finalists Italy are the favourites here, paired with Colombia, Cameroon and Sweden. Italy see of Sweden 2-0 thanks to Enrico Chiesa and draw with Colombia, so the Italians will be confident of progress. Colombia, with everybody’s favourite hairdo Carlos Valderrama in midfield, beat Cameroon and look set to join them in the last 16.

In part 2 we’ll find out who gets through, and more importantly, if Glenn Hoddle regrets assembling the cast of Dads Army for his trip to France.

The 1997/98 season hurtles to a finish quicker than Neil Ruddock running down a hill, and with everything still up for grabs it’s an exciting end to the first season.

First things first, topically we’ve reached transfer deadline day. Back in 1998 there was no Jim White or shouting in general, there was just a Friday in March where there was to be no more business and that was that. Clubs had 8 months to refine their squads in fairness, so there was no need to panic with 2 months to go.Just a polite notice to let you know.

Anyway, Man Utd decide they need to sell an ageing Andy Cole to First Division Notts Forest and replace him with the world’s most valuable player

There’s little else of note and we’ll break down the remainder of this post into the various competitions in chronological order

League Cup

It’s a nightmare day out at Wembley for Man Utd, getting destroyed by Roy Evans’ Liverpool team. Paul Ince lifts the trophy against his former club.

Premier League

Manchester United retain their title, with great ease in the end, whilst Liverpool take the 2nd Champions League spot ahead of Dalglish’s Newcastle.

As you can see, my plucky Dons side finishes 9th behind Brian Little’s Aston Villa. I’m more than happy with that given the club’s size, or lack thereof. Wenger’s Arsenal fall very short of their real life accomplishments of the double, although Ian Wright has a great Easter Monday

The bottom half of the table throws up some surprises. Crysal Palace, my landlords don’t forget, get relegated to nobody’s great shock, but established Premier League sides West Ham and Everton also face the drop

Everton I’m particularly surprised at, they are usually a bit of a force in a few seasons. Their squad is getting on a bit though. I have every intention of stealing Rio Ferdinand from West Ham, let’s just make that clear right now.

The FA Cup

You may recall from a few entries ago that the Dons had made it to the FA Cup Quarter Final – well we went one step further with a win at Spurs.

Sadly though that’s where it ended, a beating off Arsenal at Anfield (Cup Semis weren’t at Wembley back then, which I’m all for) ended my involvement. The Gunners went on to beat Liverpool at Wembley in the final, so I suppose they were half as good as real life.

The Champions League

Parma, flush with Crespo, Thuram and the like beat Man Utd in the semis to set up a final with Real Madrid. The Spanish giants prove too strong though, although they do lose Davor Suker to a broken ankle, meaning he can’t win the World Cup Golden Boot as the real life version did.

The UEFA Cup

Liverpool complete a sort of double by winning the UEFA Cup. Clearly Liverpool backed the wrong man by picking Houllier over this giant of the game.

There’s also the now defunct Cup Winners Cup, which Vicenza win but it is of little interest. Barcelona win La Liga, and Monaco win Ligue 1.

So that’s that, season one is over and the World Cup is on the way. Crystal Palace decide enough is enough and sack Steve Coppell, appointing Trevor Francis instead. There’s still time to do some poaching though, and I move quickly to get young Rio on the books.

I’m also in for Heskey, released as per his contract by Norwich, but pathetically I forget my squad is full and Heskey opts to join Fulham, who have just won division 2. I can’t explain that one either. Silly Emile.

Next time, I’ll cover World Cup 1998 blow for blow and prepare for the 1998/99 season. Until then though, here’s the final manager of the month tally