American Toffee

The Location: Liverpool. Some 3800 miles from home.

The Team: Everton FC

The Problem: Everton haven't won First Division/Premier League title since 1987, and no silverware of any kind since 1995. In fact, they haven't really made a serious charge for a league title since the 2004-05 season, when they finished 4th. Several 5th, 6th, and 7th place finishes in recent season, but the Toffees haven't found a way to break through to the top 4 since that time, with either Moyes or Martinez.

The Mission: To take the Toffees from the threshold of mediocrity to the halls of glory, and win every piece of hardware available to them at the top flight in England and Europe.


Season First Won:

Champions League -
Europa League -
Premier League -
FA Cup - 2014/15 season (20/11/2014)
Community Shield - 2016/17 season (29/11/2014)
Capital One Cup - 2015/16 season (26/11/2014)

So the media have us pegged to finish 7th in the league, just outside of European competition. I think that with the squad I have currently, not only do I think we can get into Europa, but maybe even make a run at the top 4. I set the expectations for the board at just Europa League qualifications, and they seem generally happy with that.

They also expect us to make it to the 6th round of the FA Cup at least.

The Capital One Cup never matters to some of these big clubs, and with Everton, that remains constant.

And to my astonishment, the board doesn't think my squad will make it past the Europa League group stages that we auto qualified for last season. That's a slap in the face. I'd love to go out and prove them wrong!

Wages wise, we were handed a £59 Million yearly wage budget (£1.55M weekly) and a £4 Million transfer budget to play with. I have my eyes on a few youth prospects, but we'll see if I can get them in on loan or full transfer.

Very little movement on the pre-season transfer window, since most of the signings for Everton have happened already. The only man on the outs was Alcaraz, because before I even kicked a ball, two teams came knocking on my door for him. Seeing as I have a young John Stones, plus Jagielka and Distin who, while older than Alcaraz, are still far and away the better options, dealing him away after a couple of weeks wasn't a big issue. My only regret there is I didn't try for more than £600K.

But the problem I had in the preseason was injuries on the defensive end. Jagielka would go down, then Gareth Barry would be out a couple of weeks, Oviedo was still nursing the broken leg from last season. I needed cover, so I loaned in a couple of young, potential superstar defensive backs.


Yes, you are reading that correctly. Ruben Neves is only 17 years old, and already has the signs of a world class player. Coming from the Porto system, I wouldn't expect anything less of him. He was my find after Barry went down, and from the looks of it, could very easily be the number 2 guy at the DM position.


Then there is José, coming from Atlético Madrid. A solid defender in his own right, he'll see the field at least for the first few matches, but once Jagielka gets healthy, he might be fighting for playing time. Still not a bad loanee at all.


So here's the opening day roster, and as you can see Ruben and José are off injured. No worries, that's only for a couple of weeks.

We start the season off against Southampton, Leicester, and Hull. All three are winnable if we can get the right tactics in. I've been playing around with a 4-5-1 possession formation and a wide attacking 4-2-3-1, both have their pros and cons, and both have their purposes; the 4-5-1 is more for powerhouse teams (see: Man U, City, Chelsea), while the 4-2-3-1 is for everyone else. Gotta put ball on net if you want to score.

August results and Europa Group draw next update!

What a very.......perplexing way to start the Premier League season. 4 matches that, on the surface, all looked very beatable. And from the start against Southampton, I certainly looked that way. Lukaku gets the scoring on with a cracking goal from 17 yards out. Kevin Mirallas picks up a brace to push the scoreline to 3-0 after an hour of play. Soton did manage to get one back, but the match really was over at that point. Off to a flying start, right?

In the Leicester match, the party kept going with a wonderful shot from Lukaku again, this time after some lovely passing through the middle of the park by Steve Naismith to feed Romelu the ball 8 yards out for the score. Naismith would go out injured later on in the game, and the offense stalled. A late, 86th minute goal from the Foxes knotted up the match 1-1 for good, and that was that.

Now, this next match against, I have no idea how or why it happened. Nothing I brought to the table here worked, and we were surprisingly trounced 4-0. Hull had not won a match up to this point (0-1-1), and they played like they had their lives on the line. 2 quick goals at the 10 and 15 minute marks, and my boys were left reeling. I'd tell them to push forward and to create space, but the words fell on deaf ears, as they just could not get separation from the Tigers. Hull would add two more goals on the other side of halftime, even with having a man sent off with 25 minutes left to play in the match. That wasn't enough. Everton couldn't get a single chance even going against 10 men. It was downright embarrassing.

Fortunately, luck turned at the next league match at home against Newcastle. Lukaku, proving to be the best attacking player on this team, nets another goal, his third in 4 games, and Sylvan Distin gets his name on the score sheet for the first time this season in the first half as well. Newcastle's play was very reckless as they had several players end the match with yellow cards, likely in an attempt to hurt my squad for the future, especially with the Europa League and Capital One Cup coming up.

Europa League Draw



Now that doesn't look like a bad group at all. And the board were worried about me not making it out of this stage. PSV and Dnipro both look to cause some trouble along with us in a virtual "group of death", with Midtjylland on the outside looking in. Time will tell what's going to happen, but for now, I'm feeling very confident in this group of games going forward.

Next time, we'll book end league and cup matches with two Europa League games. How will I fare? I don't know! But stick around and we'll both find out!

Nice to see you back writing mate, always enjoy your saves! Lukaku hit the ground running, shame about the Hull result

If you can get at least a point away at Dnipro and PSV then the group should be yours.

Good luck with Everton Tough group but you can do it.

OK, I know I said that I was going to stop after 5 games, but I had a solid run of form that I just couldn't pull myself away from. So let's get at it from the top, shall we?

FC Midtjylland - A mediocre game on both sides of the ball, really. We had 23 shots taken to their 7, but they were fumbled shots left and right of the mark. Leighton Baines (Mr. Money at penalties) missed and struck the crossbar on his attempt in the first half, given after a harsh tackle on Lukaku in the box. He was able to redeem himself in the second half with a shot taken from 16 yards out, and gave us a good start in the Europa group.

Manchester United - Man U bossed the match to be fair. 56% of the possession, and most of it was within our half of the pitch. A dirty game, too, with a total of 32 fouls and 7 cards combined for each team. But somehow, someway Romelu Lukaku was able to sneak two past De Gea. The first was struck in after a cross from Kevin Mirallas sailed across the goal mouth and past De Gea untouched, except for Lukaku on the end waiting to bury it. His second goal came after intercepting a back pass from Vertonghen, leaving him ove on one with the keeper. He slotted it past De Gea on the left for the score, and I was absolutely giddy!

Ipswich Town - Absolute disappointment, and a complete collapse late is what caused this defeat. Jagielka and Osman both scored first half goals on headed in corner kicks, give me all the confidence in the world we were already advancing in the COC. Even with Jack Collision's goal in the 48th minute for Ipswich, I still had assurances that we would advance. But then a double salvo of disappointment followed. In the 90th minute, a keeper blunder to tie the match up, and then in the 4th minute of stoppage time, a laser of a shot from 25 yards out sealed our fate, and Everton were out of that Cup.

QPR - At least the pain of defeat didn't carry over to our league play, as we continue the fine string of results with a solid 2-0 victory. In a match where we once again dominated possession (58%) and shots-on target (22-11), the two goals were probably the most normal I've ever seen. Keeper spillage and rebounded into the net. Simple, clean, easy. Moving on.

PSV Eindhoven - Our next Europa League match, this time against a much perceived stronger team in PSV. But my containment formation perplexed them enough that they could only mange 2 shots on goal the entire match. Lukaku once again the man of the match with his two second half goals, as Everton took the group lead with Dnipro, as they also have 6 points coming up to our Europa League showdown.

Tottenham - Another little slip up, this time actually in league play. Spurs kept charging and charging at my team, who wanted to get on a counter break, but throughout the first half, they couldn't seem to find the gap. They didn't in the second half, though, opening the score line in the 69th minute. Mirallas answered back quickly to draw us level, but Aaron Lennon's goal in the 88th was decidedly the game winner. An unfortunate accident by John Stones trying to clear the ball resulted in a third goal, an own goal, and the final result you see.

Burnley- Once again, this tight-knit bunch didn't let the sting of a loss weigh on them as we set our sights on Burnley after an off week. And boy did the team respond in force. 3 goals in the opening 6 minutes, and the home crowd was on its feet, chanting for more blood. I didn't quite let off the gas, as the team was finding holes left and right among the Burnley defense, it was that the finishing faded after those first three. Burnley had a consolation goal in the second half after some miscommunication, but by then the game was well in hand.

Dnipro - The battle of the two top of the group teams. Dnipro were playing without their starting wing backs, and it didn't help that I injured the backup left back in the process of the match. Leighton Baines once again joined up into the attack, and following a corner kick that found its way back to Baines, he struck home a goal from 20 yards out in what ultimately became the game winner.

Stoke City - Good lord, those pesky Potters. I take a strong lead with Lukaku's brace and Mirallas' goal within a span of 8 minutes, and then Stoke's Mame Diouf strikes back with a brace of his own not ten minutes later. Add in a Marc Wilson goal at the hour mark, and I'm sitting here wondering how we blew a 3 goal lead that easily. Fortunately for us, a Steve Naismith shot was bobbled by the keeper Adrián, and he spilled it into his own net, give him embarrassment, and us the victory.

West Brom - The samecannot be said about the West Brom match, a match where our side was actually losing at one point. Within the first 10 minutes, the Baggies were up 1-0. Even with our 28 shots taken, finishing was once again a problem. Pienaar, Mirallas, Naismith, Eto'o, all of them couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. Except for Lukaku, who was able to bring the match to a draw, striking home a cross in from Mirallas in the 23rd minute.

Dnipro 2: Electric Boogaloo - He's back, and this time he's brought friends. Yes, Dnipro had a fully healthy back ready ahead of this match. A match that, by winning, would send me into the Europa League Knockout Stages. And once again, it looked like it could be done with ease, as yet another Lukaku brace followed by a McGeady sneaker past the keeper put us up 3-0 at half time. But yet again, we can't make it easy on ourselves, as Dnipro buckled down and scored two goals in the dying minutes and were threatening a third before the full time whistle blew. Europa League knockouts, here we come!

Crystal Palace - The final tale in this mega update is that of our victory over Crystal Palace. Nothing too special about it, an average number of shots taken from both sides, equal possession time, but Steve Naismith netting his first two goals of the year from two great cutting inside movements. Take a bow, son.




So this would be the league table as of 11 November 2014 (coincidentally today's date, ha!), and I bet you any money the first thing you said when you saw this was, "What the hell are QPR doing in third place? Why's Man U down in 13th?" Well, in Man U's case, they've lost some pretty bad matches: 0-5 to Swansea, 2-4 to Newcastle, 1-2 to Spurs, and 0-1 to City, and that's not to mention losing to Bristol City in the Capital One Cup right out. I think it's safe to say unless they make some drastic changes, Man U will finish mid table at best.

As for QPR, they've had a string of excellent matchups. Their "toughest" opponents have been Burnley (0-0), Man U (1-1), Man City (1-1), and me (0-2). Can they keep this run of form going just to piss everyone off based on their current practices? Who knows, but it would make for an interesting development if they did.




And lastly, the Europa League. It feels great to sit at the top. Techincally I could end up in second place if I lose out and Dnipro wins out, but I'm not too concerned with that; I've advanced, and it's all on the other to jockey for position. PSV seems lonely sitting in last. I thought for sure they'd be challenging for top of the group. Oh well.


Until next time, I have some final business to take care of in the Europa League groups, as well as dates with Man City and Chelsea coming up. I'm out.

Brilliant work in the league and europe so far buddy

The Capital One Cup is rubbish. Be glad you're out of that.

Now to hold on to top 4...

Thanks Dan. I can chalk it up to good placement of matches. I've just caught all the easy to moderate ones, with a couple big boys sprinkled in.



It was not in the cards, clearly. Oh well, next time. And that's the goal!




So we have a stunning draw to start, a reverse stop light in the league while bookended by with Europa League wins to round out the group. Not a bad run of form to be fair, but it could've been better.

Man City - As with the Man U match, we felt like we didn't have much possession in key moments, even though the stat sheet claims both teams had 50% possession. Baines got us off to a great start after cutting inside after a corner kick, retrieve the loose ball, and slotting it in past backup City keeper Willy Caballero. The fun didn't last long as later in the first half, Sergio Aguero was there to chip over the keeper from 25 yards out to knot the match up, and give us the final score.

FC Midtjylland - A wholly rotated in squad for these last two Europa League matches, since I've already advanced. Might as well get the lesser used players some game time. The Midgets stymied our offense completely in the first half, but the second half had us come out firing. 13 of our 18 total shots were taken in the second half. Christian Atsu and Samuel Eto'o finally get onto the score sheet this season with two beautifully taken shots into a gaping net, after the crosses in went right in front of the goal mouth. The opposing keeper couldn't do anything to stop it.

West Ham - It was in this match that we started losing our form and our touch. Darron Gibson and Romelu Lukaku would both go out injured in the match (but nothing serious as found out later), and their replacements Muhhamed Besic and Samuel Eto'o did all they could to help seal the victory for the Toffees, with the clinching goal coming in from a Besic cross in and Eto'o whipping the ball with his head past the keeper in the dying minutes for the win.

Swansea - Phil Jagielka gets a straight red card early on in the match, and was quickly followed up by a Swans goal by Wilfried Bony. Switching from attack to controlling, we managed to get some attacking chances in the second half, albeit very slim cances, but one shot had the good fortune to bounce off the keeper twice, off the post and in for the own goal score to end the match tied at one goal a piece. I clearly didn't deserve that point, but in the title race, you'll take anything.

Chelsea - Not a match I had high hopes for even before it was on the list of matches coming up. Diego Costa had a field day against out side, scoring and assisting on all four goals (2 from him, 1 via penalty, and 2 assisting Eden Hazard). We were only fortunate to muster a penalty kick thanks to some shoddy tackling on Chelsea's back line, which at the time knotted the match up at 1 a piece. But

PSV - Fully rotated squad time again, which, once again to my surprise, actually worked against this PSV team. Leon Osman made the keeper weep and the crowd fall silent after his second goal was lobbed in for 60 yards out, over the keeper who was playing way too far out. The result didn't matter in the end, we had won the group officially. We should've saved some of those wins for later!



QPR are starting to taper off. Man U are still hovering around the mid table. Meanwhile, Stoke and Swansea are hanging around in the upper mid table, will they make any serious run at a Europe spot?




Away match against Reading in the FA Cup. Does't look like a problem to me currently.




See you in the Knockouts, Dnipro! PSV getting only 1 whole point out of the ordeal seems really out of the ordinary to me. I thought they were supposed to be better than that. Oh well. As soon as I get my first round knockout opponent, I'll post it. Otherwise, until next time, I'm out.

Walked that european group, expectedly so! Nice to see you still very competitive in the league!

Yeah, surprisingly easy that group was. And as for the Premier League, well, the run continues on.



Aston Villa - A sheer and utter drubbing by the Toffees that ultimately cost Paul Lambert his managerial job. Romelu Lukaku was a one man wrecking crew, scoring his double brace from left, right, and through the middle. Leighton Baines added in a penalty kick for good measure in garbage time, but this day will live on as my biggest win of the season in terms of goals and certainly one of the best in terms of significance (right up there with the win over Man U).

Arsenal - Squeaking out a win at the buzzer in one of the longest highlights I've seen so far this year. But first, Olivier Giroud had to go and put us behind after just 2 minutes into the match. A radical tackle in the box from Debuchy gave him a yellow card and Everton a penalty kick. Leighton Baines, spot kick master, drew the boys level on that kick just after the hour mark. But it wasn't until Kevin Mirallas took advantage of Szczesny's parry of Steve Naismith's shot right in front of the open goal, and he hammered it home for the win, the match saved, the run of form intact.

Liverpool - The Boxing Day Merseyside Derby. Oh boy, this is one you get up early for and stay hyped throughout the day on. And this match certainly had all the thrills and spills of its real life counterpart. Mirallas opens the scoreline up in the 17th minute with a rebound of Samuel Eto'o's shot that bounced off the left post, but Daniel Sturridge decides that he'll carry the team on his back, and nets twice before the halftime whistle to put Liverpool up. The entire second half, though, had a whole lot of nothing going on until the final 5 minutes when everyone realized there was still a match o the pitch. Eto'o received a through ball within 15 yards of the goal and struck it true into the right side of the goal to force the match to end in a tie.

Sunderland - The Black Cats never had control of this game, had very little shots taken, and we generally overran them in their third of the pitch. Unai Lopez, a loanee, took the initiative in this match, while Christian Atsu nets a brace to continue a fine run of form for himself, a lot of that not on the scoresheet, but with several key passes that set up the great plays made by Lukaku and Mirallas

Southampton - A "weakened" squad was said to take the field on the Southampton side, but I didn't want to risk anything to stop this extraordinary run of matches, now totaling 5 in a row unbeaten. Surprisingly, it was the Saints who started he match off with as bang, getting on the scoreboard first. However, the second half belonged entirely to Everton, with Distin, Gareth Barry, and Baines taking it to the opposition.

FA CUP: Reading - This match had the potential to be a trap game, and in the second half, it certainly looked like Reading had woken up. The first half had Everton written all over it, as after a bad tackle in the box, Baines drove home the penalty kick to take the early lead. Steve Naismith added to the tally later in the half with a low angle shot of his own that barely managed to get past the keeper. Lukaku rounded out the Everton scoring in the 58th minute, before Reading got one back just 3 minutes later. Reading pulled within one goal of tying, as Robson-Kanu scored in the 75th minute and the pressure kept piling up on the entire Everton defensive line. Fortunately, the whistle sounded without any major events, and Everton see themselves into the 4th Round.



Hot dog, 3rd place! only 5 points off the pace of Man City. QPR are still hanging around in the top 5, while Man U are bringing up the rear in terms of the big 4 team placement. Not surprised to see Sunderland in the relegation fight, but Aston Villa and West Brom, I felt, had more on their roster to make some mid table push. Maybe it'll still happen.

EUROPA LEAGUE DRAW

_____


Not that easy of a draw, but still winnable, mind you. Real Sociedad are a solid team, and all that hinges on whether or not come February, will my run of form still be what it is now? I don't know but the next round matchup has potential in Besiktas or Club Brugge.

FA CUP


Well, F that. Spurs and Arsenal have been thorns in my side in both matches. Of course we lost to Tottenham, but even in the win against Arsenal I felt we had some luck to pull that out. In the FA Cup, anything can happen, and I predict it's not going to end in an advancement for me. But we'll just wait and see I guess.

Transfers so far on the next post.

2015 January transfers



First up on the OUT side, lots of U21 and U18 loan outs. Not a big surprise there. But then you go down to the bottom and see the names of Tony Hibbert and Steven Pienaar, and you say to yourself,"Aren't those players decent though?" Well, decent just didn't cut it in my grand scheme of things. There were consistently the worst players on my team and bench. The only player that was as bad if not worse was Arouna Koné, but no one wanted to take him off my hands to the tune of £3 million. So they were gone, and with Ross Barkley coming off a 3-4 month injury, hopefully he'll get a chance to win a spot on the starting 11.

Until that time, I had brought in a couple loaners, as well as a new right back to take Hibbert's place permanently (or until Seamus Coleman comes along, idk yet).


Unai Lopez
A solid mid/attacking mid with good speed and vision to create plays in the final third of the pitch. He has a goal and an assist to his name, but several key passes to set up plays.


Serge Gnabry
A fast paced AMC that has focused more of just getting the ball down the pitch. Hasn't done much in his matches played (only 2), and I'm thinking about straight up terminating his loan.


Cédric
A balanced right wing back that,a long with Leighton Baines, can come up and join the attack without hesitation. Since I've only had him since the Reading match, I expect to see a lot more of him on the pitch and in the score sheet.

I don't plan on getting any more players in, and in fairness I'm probably looking more to sell, but if something comes along I'll see what I can do, and introduce that new player to you guys. But until then, take care, and I'm out.

A good european draw in the next two rounds mate, superb in the league

I do need to stock up for that Europa League draw, I predict it'll be a tough tie, but after my run of form in the league lately, it would suggest I wouldn't have a problem.

JANUARY 2015



Leicester - You know, a lot fo good things can happen to you when you are playing against 10 men, and that's exactly what happened to me in this match. Leicester player Nick Powell was sent off just on the other side of halftime, after going into the dressing room with a yellow. He immediately comes out and makes a harsh tackle to get himself sent off with a second yellow. From then on, it was all Everton, as goals from Jagielka, Lukaku, and Distin helped seal the deal. Speaking of sealing deals, I was able to sign Distin to a one year extension, just to provide cover for John Stones' development into the new starting center back.

Hull City - The 0-4 defeat may have been 4 months old at this point, but the memories were far from distant. We wanted revenge, and I made that clear to the team. Unfortunately their heads were too clouded with the thought of exacting said revenge that they missed several chances in the first half. I told them all to calm down and that I had faith in their play; I knew they were better than Hull, and that they just needed the proper coercing. The boys responded beautifully, none more so than Steve Naismith, who netted a brace around the hour mark. Samuel Eto'o finally gets off his goal drought with a brilliant capper to some excellent attacking movement, but the clean sheet was not to be for Tim Howard. A Robert Snodgrass howler from 15 yards away as injury time started was their only consolation goal in the match. Revenge won, and we were now only 5 points off the league lead.

FA CUP: Tottenham - Another loss in a previous match, but while this wasn't towards the league title, a major cup victory is never out of the question. However the Spurs were dealing with losses to Harry Kane, Andros Townsend, and having an unhappy Christian Eriksen that I knew I had some chance to advance. It wasn't long before we had broken through the defense, as Gareth Barry propelled the team into the lead with his early strike. Lukaku, ever the opportunist, managed to tap in a rebounded shot to double the lead, and from them on it was all about just holding on to the ball. Spurs had several chances in our third for a good portion of the second half, but took a number of bad shots that left me sweating as to whether or not we would hold on to this lead. We were able to, and our next opponent will be either Charlton or Nottingham Forest, both Championship sides.



QPR - An extremely tight affair at Loftus Road, as QPR had more than their fair share of possession, but didn't know what to make of it. Once again, Romelu Lukaku was the man of the hour, as he began the second half with a wonderful headed in cross for the only goal of the match.

Manchester United - No doubt the first encounter with Man U was a bit of a fluke, and that they would be chomping at the bit to even the score. And they did come out with fire and brimstone, especially Wayne Rooney, Falcao, and Chicharito up front, in an attempt to score early and often. However, it was Lukaku who was the man who started the scoring, as his effort from 10 yards away was able to squeak by De Gea for a goal. Man U weren't going to let us get away with one that easily though, as Wayne Rooney had two goals called back for being offsides. The pressure was on, and the Everton back line finally cracked before the halftime whistle blew, as Falcao knotted it up at 1 after a breakaway score. But in probably one of the rare times it has happened to me, we scored the go ahead goal against the run of play, after a Man U corner was headed away into the lap of Kevin Mirallas. Mirallas took it up the right wing, then cut it back inside to avoid a defender, and struck it at the far post. De Gea made an effort, but was just out of reach, and we were up 2-1, ultimately finishing with that scoreline.



That table looks like a thing of beauty. With only 2 points separating myself, Chelsea, and Man City, the league is certainly heating up. I do have several matches ahead that could keep up this run of form: Burnley, Crystal Palace, West Brom. Another date with Spurs and Man City over the next two months so far are the only places I could see myself losing points or people, not to mention the FA Cup and Europa League competitions. It's gonna be a fun next couple of months, and I'll keep you all updated on my tournament progress too. Until next time!

Oh wait, I almost forgot about the end of the month transfers and such!



Arouna Koné was clearly not getting enough first team football here, so it was high time to get him off my roster to the tune of £2.5 million. I still wanted to keep Brian Oviedo, but it was also clear he wasn't getting first team action with Leighton Baines occupying that spot, so he was the next big movement away from the club, but only on a loan.

As for those that are coming in, well, the first two loaners I'm considering as a trial before an attempt to buy them out in the summer.


Youri Tielemans
Fast little guy from Anderlecht who could possibly be the replacement for Leon Osman or Gareth Barry once their days are done. I see a bright future for this 17 year old as he could be the solidbox to box midfielder that I've been looking for, and he could easily learn from Darron Gibson.


Ben Davies
The 21 year old Welshman from Tottenham was admittedly an impulse buy. I said I wasn't using Brian Oviedo behind Baines, but seeing him available I just couldn't pass him up. Will I come to regret that decision? I'll try him out in some of the lighter matches and go from there.

And the final one was to cover up the Koné transfer, since we were starting to get a little sparse on the left wing.


Pablo Sarabia
Accomplished man with the ball at his feet, I am counting on him to be a crossing guru, getting the ball into Lukaku and Naismith in the middle. Younger and faster than Koné (although a little more expense), he could challenge Christian Atsu on the left wing if the playing time is distributed correctly.



Mid-season stats. Romelu Lukaku is happily the goal scoring machine I had envisioned him to be, netting 22 in 30 matches played. Leighton Baines has himself an eye for creating goal scoring opportunities, as he has the most assists so far for the team. And even though he's bee with the club since the beginning of the new year and played in only 5 matches, Cédric has himself the highest match rating at a 7.40, though to be fair, if we were counting it for those who have been with the squad since the beginning of the season, then Baines would take that honor as well with a 7.30

Perfect january! well done!

I guess being in 9th place for the majority of the season doesn't do you any favors over at Old Trafford.

February 2015



Burnley - Poor match overall. Didn't have much possession (45-55) or shots (6 total) to put a dent into last place Burnley's defense. While I was using Sarabia, Davies, and Tielemans in the squad to get them some experience, I think it's best to keep them on the bench for now until a better opportunity comes along for them to show what they can do.

Crystal Palace - A much better showing against the new last place team, Steve Naismith decided that it was his coming out party for the season, netting a first half hat trick en route to 4-0 half time lead. Palace did show a more lethal touch in the second half, scoring twice in the span of 6 minutes late in the game, but the defense ultimately held off any further attacks to keep the match as it was.

FA CUP: Nottingham Forest - Middling Championship side Nottingham Forest were our next opponent in the FA Cup. Despite their valiant efforts to get a few shots off at Joel Robles in net, Romelu Lukaku's brace was enough to send them packing, and putting us into the Quarter Finals. The board will certainly be happy, as that is what they expected of us in the first place.

EUROPA LEAGUE: Real Sociedad - A first half rebounded goal by Lukaku was wiped away at the start of the second half, and then further nullified when Sociedad took the lead in the 72nd minute. At least we had the away goal on our side, right?

Newcastle - The Magpies had our offense stalled for the entirety of the first half, forcing us to take just long range, though surprisingly on target, shots. The second half, though, saw the final third on Newcastle's side constantly bombarded with crosses, two of which led to the two goals scored foer us. McGeady's effort kapow'ed off the right side post before settling across the line, while Lukaku's late doubling goal was strongly struck after the cross came in low and hard.

EUROPA LEAGUE: Real Sociedad - The match went by extremely fast. There was absolutely no movement whatsoever into the attacking third for our side, and most of the shots were taken at long range, grasping at the chance to just net one goal and take the advantage. But it wasn't to be, and Real Sociedad will be the team that advances to take on Besiktas in the next round.



Burnley result notwithstanding, we have now moved into 2nd place in the Premier League. Chelsea was only able to manage 3 points in their 3 matches this month, allowing us to leapfrog them, while still being 4 points behind Man City. With meeting against that same Man City squad and Tottenham, I can only hope that my run of form in the league will continue to be positive.



Oh hey, we know you guys! The quarterfinals see us taking on an old friend, a friend that we've beaten twice already this season, both times the scoreline was 2-0. Will we see a repeat performance? Maybe not of the same final score, but I sure am hoping so. As for the rest of the FA quarterfinal matches:



Palace knocked out Manchester United after Van Gaal was sacked, sending shockwaves through the competition. Suddenly, I have a legitimate shot of making the finals, that is if I don't draw Chelsea or Liverpool if I advance from the Newcastle match. It's totally doable, and I can't wait to see what'll happen. March is coming in the next update, but until that time, I'll see you later.

Great season so far and some nice moves in the transfer market. Will probably have a go with Everton myself at some point this year.

March - Early April 2015



Tottenham - A solidly played game on both sides of the ball, kicked off with a superb strike from Lukaku in the 6th minute, after he found a cross in from Mirallas into the 6 yard box and struck it home. Leon Osman then capped a counter attack with a one on one chance, striking it low and away from the keeper to put Everton up 2-0. The Spurs would make several attempts at scoring throughout the second half, eventually succeeding with a strike from Soldado against the run of play late in the game. The was one of the matches I had pegged as a must to do well in if we were to see any sort of result at the end of the season.

West Brom - Complete and total destruction of the Baggies, helping with the all important goal difference. The score sheet was actually opened up by an own goal, when the aptly named Andre Wisdom showed anything but when he tried clearing the ball over the by line, but instead struck it into his own net. Lukaku was firmly on point today, scoring a hat trick over the span of 8 minutes (halftime not included), even taking the normal penalty kick away from Leighton Baines just to seal his special day. Fellow Belgian Mirallas was there to get in on the action as well, rounding out the day with a classic strike just instead the right corner of the penalty area.

FA CUP: Newcastle - A win is a win, even though the match itself was a snore fest. Neither team reached double digit shots taken, and Steve Naismith's deciding goal was a squibbed shot taken from a rebound. Could've been better, but a semi final appearance is fine for me.

Stoke City - We certainly can not be losing these type of matches. At all. Period. Stoke had control of the match from open to close, with Mame Diouf getting the Potters on the board first in the 3rd minute. Lukaku was able to even the match in the first half from a Christian Atsu cross, but Oussama Assaidi, who was on point with several crosses on his own, took matters into his own hands at the hour mark, getting past Howard and shooting an incredibly easy goal to give Stoke the victory.

Man City - What a rebound match to be had! Though to be fair, I will preface it with this: Sergio Aguero went off injured in the first 15 minutes, and then City's Fernando went off with a double yellow just before half time. That certainly didn't stop us from scoring twice in 4 minutes just after Aguero went out, but it also didn't bode well that we could score after we had the man advantage. Whatever the case, a win over the top team in the league is cause for celebration! Now if I can only consistently play like that against Arsenal, Chelsea, and Liverpool....

West Ham - A solid possession-filled match that didn't see the Hammers doing much of anything throughout. Mirallas was able to cut inside from his usual right wing position and strike a shot from 17 yards out into the top corner to give Everton the lead. Then a blunder by West Ham's Aaron Cresswell, as another failed clearance sees the ball trickle into the back of his own net, doubling our lead.




Second on the table, only two points back and a game in hand. That's one of the best looks I've ever seen for this team! And it hasn't come lightly either. 6 points from Tottenham, 6 from Man U, 4 from Man City, 3 so far from Arsenal; these are the results that have certainly springboarded me into this position. Coming down the home stretch with 6 more league matches, we have the previously mentioned Arsenal, Chelsea, and Liverpool back to back to back near the end. With tired legs, we'll see how those results play out.




And if it wasn't bad enough to worry about them in the league, I get Liverpool in the semi finals of the FA Cup. My only hope is that Mario Balotelli isn't playing in either match, but I know that's truly wishful thinking. And look at that! Cheeky Brentford are in the semis as well. Imagine if they actually made it to the Finals, oh boy!

Lots of potential fun ahead for me, but until then, I'm out. See you next post!

I'm just gonna sit back and let that soak in...

Fun fact: Brentford are currently in the relegation zone to League 1. Which means that, if they play their cards right, they could be playing in the Europa League AND League 1 simultaneously next season.

Wow Brentford in the final Good luck!

Thanks Johno. It was a really favorable draw to say the least.

End of Season 2014-15



Swansea - If we were to challenge Man City at all at the end of the season, we had to be near perfect in the rest of our matches. And being just two points down with a game in hand, we were in control of our destiny. Unfortunately that was not the case against Swansea, we a late surge in the second half saw them net two goals in 7 minutes to end the match 2 all. Leighton Baines and Christian Atsu put in solid performances outside of their goals, but the game will be remembered as the one where Sylvan Distin let Wilfried Bony fly by him, leaving Tim Howard all alone to stop him, which he didn't.

Sunderland - Seeing as the Liverpool FA Cup match gave the team a much needed boost of confidence, we headed into the Sunderland match with the impression that we needed to score, quickly and in abundance. Steve Naismith and Lukaku answered my call and put the team up 3-0 after just 22 minutes, with Kevin Mirallas adding a fourth goal to let us walk into halftime with the game already won. The boys may have been looking towards the Chelsea battle during the second half, as they let two easy strikes go by. But in the end, we were still just 4 points out of first, but with four games left it was clear wins against Arsenal, Chelsea, and Liverpool were needed to get the job done.

Arsenal - And we fell at the first hurdle. Our offense never really reached its full potential in the match, as we'd have some attacking chances, but the Gunners back line cleared most everything away, save for a lone floating cross that Lukaku timed perfectly to net in the 22nd minute. Unfortunately, he had to be carted off the pitch in the second half with a sprained ankle, missing 4 weeks, basically the rest of the season and the FA Cup final. 7 points back now, and without my star striker, the Premier League title hope were fading fast.

Chelsea - Did I say fast? I meant crashing like a ton of bricks to the pavement. We got Brazil'd hard, and it wasn't even for lack of preparation or the fact Lukaku was out injured. Chelsea found ways to exploit the 4-2-3-1 I had strenuously set up and made dominant throughout the season, and I didn't have a single answer. Every goal past half time, I just couldn't help but shake my head and how bad the defense missed tackles or make any sort of challenge at them. Man City were officially league champions after this match, it's now a race for second place. It's a game that I'd rather forget, for that's the worst loss I've ever had in an game.

Liverpool - It's always nice to get a bounce back win, doubly so when it's coming off a bad loss, and triply so when it's against your rival. This is the third time this season that I haven't lost to Liverpool, coming away with 4 league points, and of course that drubbing in the FA Cup semifinal. A great pick me up win, and hell even Samuel Eto'o got on the score sheet. Good for him; he's gonna be sold off in the summer anyway.

Aston Villa - At this point, final game of the season, and with second place all but wrapped up, I played some backups that were otherwise benchwarmers. And the results weren't that bad, actually. Loaner Youri Tielemans scored his first and only goal of the season, and even Sylvan Distin got himself into the mix. Ending the season in a draw wasn't what I wanted, but with nothing to really play for, at least it wasn't a humiliating loss.



So there you have it. Manchester City are your 2014/15 league champs. But I'm looking at the bright side in all of this: I'm sure as hell surprised that I finished second place. Lukaku put the entire team on his back, scoring goals left, right and center, and that helped us get the most goals scored in the league. Newcastle in a Europa LEague spot is interesting to see. QPR sadly couldn't hold on to that early season form, and Manchester United end the season dead center of the table. Sad to see West Ham go down, though. Let's see who will replace them:



Now that looks like a good list of teams that could challenge the likes of Leicester, Soton, and Sunderland to staying out of the relegation zone.

Oh yes, awards time!



Well deserved, no doubt. He was a true goal scoring machine, and hope his form will continue after he comes back off injury next season.



More than deserved, and completely unexpected, too. But I'll take it all the way!

Oh yes I forgot to mention the FA Cup Final



But the big question is, where does Brentford play next season, since they were in the relegation zone most of the year:

Well done on the FA Cup win and a great season, despite recieving and absolute hiding from Chelsea! Be interesting to see how brentford fair and their finances!

I'm going to monitor their progress, Dan; I'm interested too.

Off-Season 2015

So it's signing time, and I've had several opportunities to sign some quality players. Unfortunately, with the transfer budget at just a fraction of what a Man U, City, Chelsea, or Arsenal have, I was left picking up some scraps left over from the major teams' signings. Some I found to be real gems that could prove to be useful in the next season and beyond. Though there were a couple stinkers that I'm stuck with for a while.

Transfer In



Much more than I wanted to spend on some of these playes, but with Boyé, Rotariu, Gutiérrez, and Powell, I was building for the immediate future (within the next two seasons). Others like, Chamadoira, Nathan, Michael Keane,and Tielemans, I'm hoping to loan them out to get some first team football and hope their development continues to go well. Also, yes Gimenez is back after being pissy he wasn't played much last time. However, this time I said up front that he is going to be a rotation option behind Jagielka and Stones; Sylvan Distin is more than likely not resigning after this season since he'll be 38 and I need speed at the back.



Transfer Out



So maybe you were wondering who was going to be sold off to make room for these players. Well, first and foremost, I got rid of a lot of underdeveloped youth prospects, and loaned several more players, including some of the recent signees just to give them the previously mentioned first team football. But then dropped a bombshell on the Toffee faithful by selling off James McCarthy to Man City. £15 Mil in the bank, done deal. Bryan Oviedo was always going to be second team behind Leighton Baines, and he wasn't happy with that, so off he went. Finally Muhamed Bešić was starting to make a stir about playing time, and I knew if I wanted to subscribe to making the squad better, he was clearly on the out, so off he went too.

I'm eyeing some more players, especially for the defensive line in the future, since Keane may not develop the way I want him too and I'm more than likely not resigning Sylvan Distin. Not much left in the transfer budget, so who knows if anything will happen.

Up next, we have Man City in the Community Shield, and already a match against a former player in McCarthy. Will he and Sergio Aguero prevent me from nabbing another piece of silverware in my short tenure? Well until then, I'm out. See you later!

A very evenly fought match for the Community Shield that saw Man City come out on top, sadly. Former Evertonian James McCarthy did manage to make things difficult for us, with a perfect tackle rate and several key passes to set up the rest of the City attack. As you can see, James Milner and newly acquired Kevin Volland scored twice in the first half to essentially put the game out of reach. Romelu Lukaku made an attempt to bring the game back, netting a shot in from 7 yards out. Even pushing several men forward, the game was lost to the Citizens.

Oh well, I guess I can always try for next season; I have more important things to worry about, like how bad is my Champions League group going to be.