Collecting Trophies For Fun..

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FA Cup 4th Round Replay

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Before I started the monthly updates, I had one more match left in January and what a game it was, it had everything.
I was especially pleased with the debut hat-trick from Kishna, although I was disappointed when he then got stretchered off injured later on. The sending off from the captain Henderson was equally as disappointing, but at the end of the day I am delighted with the win and the efficiency of our performance.



 
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February

Results

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Almost a perfect month, were it not for the goal conceded and the two points dropped in the League at Old Trafford we would have had a complete 100% month.

Stoke –Solid win in the League. Good to see youngster Johnson and Lacazette on the scoresheet.
AZ (1st​ Leg) – Brushed the opposition aside in the first half of the first leg. Great to see Lacazette finally finding some consistency.
Derby – Hat-trick hero Lacazette, at this point hitting some inspiring form. Derby never really troubled us at all.
AZ (2nd​ Leg) – I put out a weaker side to rest some key players, boring game but I set out to just defend and play safe.
Burnley – We was extremely lucky to get away with 3 points. Burnley missed to opportunities in extra time to equalise or even possibly win.
Man Utd – We was extremely lucky to take a point at the last thanks to an error from Umtiti, at this point Man U could have opened up a lead on us at the top.



Barclays Premier League Table

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The league is so tight at the moment, this is really going to go down to the wire for the title. With our game in hand and superior goal difference we do have a slight advantage but it could still go either way.


February Player of the Month
Alexandre Lacazette

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After a terrible first 6 months at the club mainly due to injuries, Alex has finally arrived. With 6 goals in 5 appearances and two motm performances, the lad has finally repaid my faith and showed the fans why I brought him here

 
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Europa League
Second Knock-out Round draw

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Not the easiest of draws. I have a lot of respect for Athletic Bilbao and this could potentially be a tough game. If we continue to perform in the manner we have all season then I would expect to progress.

 
Upcoming Fixtures

February
Capital One Cup Final

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Last match before the end of February and I have a chance to add another trophy to the cabinet. West Ham haven't been doing great in the league but have been one of the best teams in the competition.


March

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Bit of a hectic month ahead in March with some very tough fixtures. Luckily we do have a large squad but it will be interesting to see how well the squads general fitness holds up come the must win matches at Hull and Watford.


 
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Capital One Cup Final


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Liverpool Vs West Ham


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A good win considering we only had 8 men on the field come the final whistle. We started the game brightly with high pressure from the front, not allowing West Ham time to think, their defence struggled and made the mistake which lead to the first goal from Lacazette, it then didn’t take him long to grab a second shortly after. I was slightly worried when Sakho got sent off but we continued to pressurise and Alex got his hat-trick before half time. At this point we were down to 10 men and looking tired in a few areas so I made two changes, a goal from Coutinho all but secured the win, but two second half injuries and a sending off for Can meant we was down to 8 men for the last 5 minutes. I was both delighted and infuriated with some of what I saw today, none the less we gained another trophy, our second of the campaign and we are still in with a chance of three more.


 
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Europa League
Quarter-Final Draw



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Another draw which could prove to be tough even though AC MIlan are performing below their expected standards.
It would be nice to get the win over the Rosseneri as I could of been managing them this season had I not chosen Liverpool.
 
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March

Results

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Once again we come close to achieving a perfect month were it not for Arsenal this time, still we are beating all of the mid/lower table sides and we aren't losing to the big teams.

Athletic (1st​ Leg) – Victory was all but secured in the first leg again. an OG from Llorente of all people starting proceedings and we took control from there.
Man City – This may be a cup game but what a fantastic win. We run them ragged and with goals from 5 different scorers.
Athletic (2nd​ Leg) – This was a shut up shop and defend job, it worked with a goal from a set piece to seal the win.
Southampton – This game was not as easy at the score line may suggest. Saints took the lead and after Insigne equalised for us it took a calamitous error from Forster to give us the advantage.
Hull – A poor game against a struggling Tigers side. We were fortunate to win after another OG gave us the 3 points.
Watford – Better performance but the legs were getting tired after 6 games in just 16 days. Still we got the win and we never looked like losing.
Arsenal – We took the lead and controlled much of the 1st​ half. Unfortunately Rulli was away on Int Duty and Ben Hamer is just not good enough, letting in a sloppy late goal from Wellbeck.


Barclays Premier League Table

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This is going to the wire for the winners, I can see this going down to the last day. Despite the better goal difference and one point advantage, we have a much busier schedule thanks to us still being in the FA Cup and Europa. Who will win I wonder??


March Player of the Month
Lorenzo Insigne

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With 3 goals and 5 assists, the lad has been immense over the past month. I wasn't sure if he would fit into my plans at the beginning of the campaign but he is now a must have in my first team.

 
Love this mate! Keep it going you've done extremely well so far.
 
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April Part One..

We are currently half way through April and as it stands we have taken a step closer to reaching our goal of winning the Europa League, however a draw in the League meant the title race pendulum has swung in Man United’s favour.

Results


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Wigan - Once again we were not convincing but a win is a win. With this victory we are now officially in the Champions League next season which fulfilled a lot of promises I made to key players (F**k You Balotelli).
Man City - Lorenzo saves the day again. We have a great record against the so called big teams and this continued with a well contested draw. We have now dropped two points on United in the title race.
AC Milan (1st Leg) - Easy victory against a very weak AC Milan side, I don't see them putting up much of a contest at Anfield and I would be very disappointed not to make the Semi's.
Tottenham - Great win which we really needed if we are to be crowned Champions. Extremely good all round team performance.



Barclays Premier League Table

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I think this has to be one of the tightest title races I have been involved in for quite some time and with the run of games we have coming up for the rest of April, I do not think winning this league will be an easy task.


April Remaining Fixtures

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I am torn, do I field a weaker side against Milan and risk being turned over, then allowing me to field a full strength squad three days later for the Chelsea game? but then of course we have our FA Cup Semi match against Arsenal just three days after that. Then, to top it all off we have the Merseyside derby, leaving us with just 3 more league games remaining. It's make or break time, our season could either but a huge success or a massive disappointment and it could all be decided in the next 9 days..

 
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April Continued

Results

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Four huge results means we are still firing on all fronts, keeping the pressure on in the league whilst breezing past AC Milan in Europe and securing another cup final in the FA Cup.

AC Milan (2nd Leg) - I decided that it was worth taking the risk, sending out a rotated side and what a result. The gulf in class was easy to see over the two legs, very different from that night in Istanbul. Bad news was an injury to Sakho which will see him miss the rest of the season.

Chelsea - I expected more of a fight from the London side but in the end we were just too good, apart from the odd spark from Oscar they didn't show much at all
Arsenal - Great win to see us through to the Final, especially with another heavily rotated side with the likes of Sterling, Insigne and Lacazette all dropped to the bench.
Everton
- Lastly in April was the Mersyside Derby, we continued our unbeaten run stretching to 6 games in all competitions against our rivals. Good result to continue our pursuit for the title.


Barclays Premier League Table

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Still just a point in it as we go into the last 3 games. Man Utd have been in very good form recently and I cannot see them dropping a point in their remaining few matches.


April Player of the Month
Phil Jones

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No doubt in my mind, despite the free flowing goals and the great attacking play, none of it would be possible with him at the back. Average rating of 8.21 for the month and he has been a major reasons we have 6/8 clean sheets and only letting in 2 goals in the process.
Honourable mention to Vallejo who has really stepped up and is striking up a fantastic partnership with Jones.

 
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