[Neil Lennon.]

19th May 2013.

Not much has changed in the world in the short 5 years from now.

They legalised cannabis.

They found Bin Laden. Yeah, he was in a small hut in Loch Ness all along. Nessie grassed on him.

We also found out who shot Kennedy. It was... well, I wont spoil it for you.

And also, Celtic had won their fifth domestic league title in a row. They had won the game with several games to spare, 30 points clear of the once glorious but now distinctly average Rangers side.

Their all-conquering manager, Neil Lennon, had managed to win 5 league titles, 2 Scottish Cups and 4 League Cups in 6 years. They were also regulars in the latter stages of the Champions League, having been blessed with several top-notch signings such as Nicolas Anelka, Anatoliy Tymoschuk, Sanli Tuncay, Bartos Bialkowski, Steven Fletcher, Carlos Garcia and more recently Hugo Almeida, Wojiceich Olszewski Gabriel Torje.

He was widely regarded as one of the best managers in the United Kingdom, and had earnt a respectable reputaition in Europe.

The fans idolised him and the board scampered to support his every request. But things were about to change drastically for him...

This post has been edited by Neil Lennon: 26 February 2008 - 09:33 PM

[Number 1]

Love the start.

Bin Laden in Loch Ness... :haha:

[Josh]

Great start; who shot Kennedy I must know

[Aleh]

Superb start

Easy to read and isn't long and dull.

Nessie grassed on him :haha:

[Neil Lennon.]

19th May 2010.

Liverpool made the short trip to Wembley to take on Olympique Lyonnais in the Champions League Final.

They were favourites, and managed to win the game 2-1, a second half brace from captain Steven Gerrard secured their 6th Champions League title.

Domestically, Chelsea and Arsenal had shared the titles of recent years but after their Champions League win, Liverpool strengthened heavily and went from strength to strength. They won the Premiership for the next 3 years, and had wiped out all previous misery in their Premiership lives by doing what no other team had done - win it 3 times in a row. Ibn the year of the third triumph, they also won the UEFA Cup thanks to a 2-0 win over Porto in Malmo, Sweden.

Liverpool are now the Kings of England.

Arsenal and Manchester United both sacked their managers in the wake of Liverpool's record breaking achievment, with Steve Coppell, Chelsea manager, only just saving his job after finishing second in the league.

Liverpool are the strongest team in England and perhaps Europe, whilst Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United have went from bad to worse in recent years, cashing in on their big stars in order to stave off the debtors.

The recently sacked Steve McClaren was appointed as the new Arsenal manager. He was given a short press conference and was moved in relatively low key, hush hush.

But Manchester United had other plans...

Fans were offered free tickets in the Stretford End to witness the unveiling of their new manager, and it was packed as Neil Lennon strode out.

The fans rose to their feet and cheered the recently departed Celtic manager.

He was given a microphone and asked to address the United fans who came to welcome him.

"Hello. I hope you know who I am and what I've achieved. I expect the best, I manage the best and I achieve the best. I am the best. I managed Celtic for 6 years and witnessed the goings on down south. I had a great time up there and have said my goodbyes, but its time for a new challenge, time for a new team, and time for a new era. Ladies and gentlemen, I'm here to put Liverpool in their place."

[Aleh]

I AM THE BEST \o/

intriguing, I hope the next part is just as good.

[Franck]

Great start so far :thup:

[English]

I was waiting for 'NEIL DOESNT CARE' when asked about Liverpool

[Neil Lennon.]

Signings, Squad run-down and expectations

Manchester United handed Lennon a bumper 60 million pounds transfer war chest but Lennon's immediate reaction to the squad is that every penny would be needed.

It is understood he would spread the spending over the course of the season dependant on what positions where prioritised for strengthening.

The squad stood as follows:

Goalkeepers:

Ian TURNER
Ben AMOS

Defenders:

John O'SHEA
Lukas SINKIEWICZ
Nemanja VIDIC
Gerard PIQUE
NELSON
Patrice EVRA

Midfielders:

Owen HARGREAVES
Darren FLETCHER
Lucas BIGLIA
David JONES
Steve SIDWELL
Cristiano RONALDO
Danny WELLBECK
ANDERSON

Strikers:

Carlos TEVEZ
FALCAO
Wayne ROONEY


Lennon indicated to the media his top priority would be to bring in a striker, and another winger as Danny Wellbeck was not in his plans.

With only one natural winger and 3 recorgnised strikers(although only 1 old-fashioned goalscorer in Falcao) Lennon seemed justified in his initial targetting, but the fans and media had been critical of Man United's lack of quality in defence and the lack of a world class goalkeeper. Lennon insisted the goalkeepers he had right now would be givena chance to shine, and that the defenders he currently have would be well suited to his formation that he used so succesfully with Celtic, his free-flowing 3-5-2 worked wonders in the SPL but was his eventual downfalll in the latter stages of Europe when he faced the better teams, and the media also question wether it will stand as good in stead for him against the quality wide players in the EPL.

Lennon made 3 signings in his first transfer window period as manager of Manchester United. Various targets were bid for and eventually he secured both Aiden McGeady and Brazillian superstar Fred for 12 and 15 million pounds respectively. He also made a 1 million pound signing of under-21 England keeper Robin Morgan.

Lennon was expected to start the season with this first team:

---------------------------- Turner

-----------Sinkeiwicz ------Vidic-----Pique

Ronaldo ----- Biglia ------ Fletcher ------- McGeady

--------------------------- Tevez
------------- Rooney ---------------Fred


Athough a strong first team, There were only 2 wingers in the squad but a plethora of central midfielders. Lennon said this squad would be perservered with and evaluated in January. Wayne Rooney is clubb captain and Darren Fletcher is his deputy.


Manchester United are expected to achieve a Champions League place but it will be interesting to see how far Lennon pushes Liverpool in the leagbue, and also what he can do in the domestic cups. Champions League expectations are not high although as second seeds(should they negotiate past the 3rd round qualifiers) they will look to at least make the last 16.

[Glutton]

Didn't expect you to take over United

That's a horrible team, what the hell has Fergie been playing at?

Welbeck is better as a striker, btw.

Has the title got anything to do with Fergie's quote, btw?

[Neil Lennon.]

Dutton, on Feb 26 2008, 11:35 PM, said:

Didn't expect you to take over United

That's a horrible team, what the hell has Fergie been playing at?

Welbeck is better as a striker, btw.

Has the title got anything to do with Fergie's quote, btw?

Just explained this to Tarra on MSN.

I was planning on doing ten in a row at Celtic and was already half way there, when I looked at thbe english goings on and what not and seen Liverpool were dominating and I literally thought, "I'm going to put those scouse flowers in their place" hence the name

What did Ferguson say?

Sutton said something very similar when he came t Celtic, "I'm going to put Rangers in their place."

It's very commanding

[KEZ7]

Either way mate this is an excellent start. Same as the others, didn't think it was gunna be United. Go for it! :thup:

[Glutton]

Neil Lennon, on Feb 26 2008, 11:38 PM, said:

What did Ferguson say?

Quote

"My greatest challenge is not what's happening at the moment, my greatest challenge was knocking Liverpool right off their f*cking perch. And you can print that."

Fb.

Clue Two: Susie do Italia

[Neil Lennon.]

Month of August

Manchester United entered the month of August with a fully fit squad and the news that they will face FC Basel in the Champions League 3rd round qualifiers. The first leg would be played in Switzerland.

fixture list for August 2013:

WATFORD(A)
FC BASEL(A) (CL3Q)
BOLTON(A)
CHELSEA(H)
EVERTON(H)
FC BASEL(H) (CL3Q)
PORTSMOUTH(H)

Results:

Watford 0-3 Manchester United

Manchester United got off to a flying start with an utterly dominant display at Vicarage Road. The deadline wasnt broken until the 40th minute however, when Carlos Tevez slotted home a low,driven cross from Lucas Biglia. The dominance continued after the break and Fred and Rooney combined for the other 2 goals, with captain Rooney setting up the new boy for an impressive brace on his debut.

FC Basel 0-2 Manchester United

Manager Lennon decided to hand starts to Sidwell and Falcao as he chased a win over in Switzerland. The sun shone brightly as United steadily disected their opponents with a confident display. Falcao scored a first half goal but the win was given much more clout when Biglia struck home a late second, and gave United a comfy cushion to take back to Manchester in the return leg.

Bolton 4-4 Manchester United

A thrilling encounter was served up by the 2 local rivals in the rain-lashed Reebok Stadium. Manchester United stormed into a 2 goal lead after just 13 minutes when Falcao and Rooney took advantage of their opponents poor defending, but Dogdan Stancu took full advantage of United's own defensive errors to pull one back. Ronaldo scored a free-kick on the 30th minute to give United further confidence but the men in white battled back to 3-3 with a goal either side of half-time. Anderson thought he had won the encounter with an 82nd minute half volley, but Stancu sent the visitors packing with just a point in the 90th minute, his confident finish completing the 8 goal thriller.

Manchester United 4-1 Chelsea

Chelsea were played off the park by Manchester United and Lennon claimed the deadly duo of Rooney and Falcao looked on top form. Falcao and Tevez both scored early doors to make it 2-0, but for the rest of the half the couldnt score another, despite heavily dominating Chelsea, specifically in the middle of the park. Chelsea pulled a goal out from nowhere just before half time, a stunning strike from aaron made it 2-1. United came out in the second half and the key movement of Falcao and Rooney proved deadly for Chelsea as they both bagged a goal and also had a hand in the others goal.

Manchester United 2-0 Everton

Another victory for United as they played a lacklustre Everton team off the park. The red devils played with confidence and a David Jones effort 5 minutes into the game helped ease nerves. They played through the game without being overly eager to core another but a corner from Aiden McGeady was met by Spaniard Pique, who powered a header home and secured a comfortable 2 points.

Manchester United 1-0 Basel

Manager Neil Lennon called for his troops to book their passage into the group stages with class, and a clean sheet. They managed one of the two. Captain Wayne Rooney scored a 20th minute goal straight from the textbook. An Anderson through pass caught the Swiss team's defence flat-footed, and Rooney was through on goal. A composed drop of the shoulder and rounding of the keeper provided the game's only goal and henceforth the winner on the night, and the last in a 3-0 aggregate win. Manchester United would find out their fate in the Champions League draw at the end of the month.

Manchester United 2-0 Portsmouth

Manchester United secured another win and another clean sheet with a solid 2-0 over Portsmouth. The visitors managed to test Ian turner a few times but the deadlock was broken after 39 minutes when Vidic converted home a whipped in free-kick from Ronaldo. United looked in control after the break but there was always a chance of a sneaky goal as Portsmouth valiantly attacked but ultimately in vain, as Tevez finished with his left foot after a carefully placed pass by Biglia landed at his feet 20 yards out.


Notes:
- Manchester United are unbeaten so far in the Premier League
- 5 of the first 7 matches under Lennon were clean sheets for Manchester United
- Bolton are lucky bastards


Table:
Man United 5 13
Birmingham 5 11
Man City 4 9
Liverpool 4 7
Arsenal 4 7


Goalscorers:

Fred 3
Falcao 3
Rooney 3
Tevez 3
Biglia
Ronaldo
Anderson
Pique
Jones
Vidic



Manchester United were drawn with Lyon, Club Brugge and CSKA Moscow in the Champions League. They were also drawn with Portsmouth in the League Cup third round.

Manager's monthly analysis:

" It's been a great start to my tenure here.Qualifying for the Champions League with comfort was pleasing but to finish the month on top of the league, and unbeaten, is all I can ask for. My players are linking well and are adapting to the new tactics and strategy ahead of schedule I must admit. The start has been good and the squad has been rotated and used well too, to give our wingers a rest at times, I put Fletch out wide and Ronaldo or McGeady get an early end, as the job they do is mammoth and they have both started the season very well. 5/7 clean sheets is also great, the 4-4 draw with Bolton was a bit of a blip but we've worked on what went wrong with the defenders and are confident they will fully adapt to the system in no time."

[Bellamy]

Notes:
- Manchester United are unbeaten so far in the Premier League
- 5 of the first 7 matches under Lennon were clean sheets for Manchester United
- Bolton are lucky bastards

Fb

The story's great to

[KEZ7]

Bellamy, on Feb 27 2008, 09:27 PM, said:

Notes:
- Manchester United are unbeaten so far in the Premier League
- 5 of the first 7 matches under Lennon were clean sheets for Manchester United
- Bolton are lucky bastards

Fb

The story's great to

I was going to point that bit out

brilliant mate

[Sam.]

Neil Lennon, on Feb 26 2008, 10:02 PM, said:

and had wiped out all previous misery in their Premiership lives by doing what no other team had done - win it 3 times in a row.

Factual error, United have won it 3 times in 1998/1999, 1999,2000,2000/2001.

The story is fb, the layout is great.

[Neil Lennon.]

Sam, on Feb 27 2008, 10:17 PM, said:

Factual error, United have won it 3 times in 1998/1999, 1999,2000,2000/2001.

The story is fb, the layout is great.

quite right /o\

This is even more important then, I must stop 4 in a row

[Aleh]

The results analysis are really good :thup:

Birmingham though :shocked:

[Fernando Sucre]

Matt7 fancy the story. :love: