JamesScott2908
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I reckon you will be on course for top 7! I have faith!
Life After Depor...
- Thread starter Lippo255
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Well I'm not sure we deserve it but i hope you're right.
A place in Europe would give Manuel plenty to think about!
Stoke 2 - Q.P.R. 2
Goals - Diouf (27), Hiyotake (47), Silvio (78), Batshuayi (89)
P.O.M. - Silvio (QPR)
"Another draw? Really!
We had a chance here to extract some revenge for our FA Cup exit with another trip to Stoke.
The game started well enough but it soon become apparent that our central pair were struggling to contain the airial prowess of Mame Diouf. I tried pushing Bostwick back to help out but in the 27 minute it was a Diouf header that gave Stoke the lead.
Stoke were getting plenty of the ball, they really pack those central area's & I was finding it hard to combat the sheer weight of numbers in the centre of the park.
The half came & went without too much more action but just 2 minutes after the restart Stoke doubled their lead through midfielder Hiroshi Kiyotake & it seemed as though we were in for another beating at the hands of the Potters.
In the 78th minute we were handed a lifeline when fullback Silvio managed to hammer a free kick into the back of the net from the edge of the box.
By this time I had made all my subs, changed formations, was sitting deep & resorting to going "route one" to bypass the heavily packed midfield altogether. In the 89th minute a long ball from Silvio evaded the Stoke defenders leaving Michy Batshuayi to run onto the ball & calmly beat the keeper to give us a point & score his first goal for the club. A nice moment all round.
We were lucky here though. Very lucky."
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Manuel's Musings - January.
"Well, January proved to be much less exciting then anticipated. Off the field a spate of injuries interrupted my expected squad overhaul, whilst on the pitch it was a snore a second draw fest I'm afraid.
2 very pleasing draws against Man City & Tottenham were cancelled out by disappointing ones against Hull & Stoke with an unconvincing win against Norwich thrown in for good measure.
In addition to our somewhat underwhelming league performance we were also knocked out of the FA Cup by Stoke. Despite all this we only finished with 1 less point then I had anticipated. Hard to know how to feel at the moment."
Febuary Preview
"With the worst part of fixture congestion behind us we must now look to finish strong.
First up we host Everton at Loftus Road. They have a good side but at the moment are flirting with relegation. I have to hope we can secure 3 points there. Reading away & Palace at home should also be wins, fingers crossed, but its the arrival of Southampton which promises to be our toughest game!
All in all I am hoping for at least 9 points this month to keep our slender hopes of European football alive. It may be a bridge too far but its too early to be settling for mid table just yet."
"Well, January proved to be much less exciting then anticipated. Off the field a spate of injuries interrupted my expected squad overhaul, whilst on the pitch it was a snore a second draw fest I'm afraid.
2 very pleasing draws against Man City & Tottenham were cancelled out by disappointing ones against Hull & Stoke with an unconvincing win against Norwich thrown in for good measure.
In addition to our somewhat underwhelming league performance we were also knocked out of the FA Cup by Stoke. Despite all this we only finished with 1 less point then I had anticipated. Hard to know how to feel at the moment."
Febuary Preview
"With the worst part of fixture congestion behind us we must now look to finish strong.
First up we host Everton at Loftus Road. They have a good side but at the moment are flirting with relegation. I have to hope we can secure 3 points there. Reading away & Palace at home should also be wins, fingers crossed, but its the arrival of Southampton which promises to be our toughest game!
All in all I am hoping for at least 9 points this month to keep our slender hopes of European football alive. It may be a bridge too far but its too early to be settling for mid table just yet."
Jesus! I think Mr Johnson may be a bit of a soft touch. Not even I thought I had done enough to strengthen the squad. Wonders will never cease!
Something to add a little more spice to the Everton match. A win in my 100th game in management would push the Toffee's even closer to the dreaded relegation spots. A very bad year for the blue half of Merseyside.
Thanks Yeti! Lets hope so mate, we need to find some consistency now. Would love to be the team to deny City European football!
Bullardinho
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I reckon Europe is still a possibility with 14 games to go.. In Manuel we trust!
Anything is possible mate but its a big ask!
Question is in favour of who? We're a mid table team for a reason, most of our guys are a liability at some stage (& i kind of have a bit of an O.C.D. thing about having a left foot/right foot combo at the back.)
I know what you mean though, when Forren puts in a bad one it tends to be a very bad one. Defence is the area that needs the biggest improvement for us, for sure.
JamesScott2908
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I think the 9 point target for the month is realistic!
Yeah I think its ambitious but achievable, we will see i guess.
PatrickLFC
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I looked up Forren in my Malmo save and he looks quality! Can't remember all his attributes though haha maybe concentration or composure or something is low
I had him on a few of my FM'14 saves cause I thought he looked class. Every single time he failed to impress me. Needless to say, I'm weary when I see people buy him
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Thought I'd chuck his profile in so we can see what we're talking about.
Composure looks fine. He's not that great in the air, which show's whenever we play against a big CF but besides that he looks pretty solid.
Just hasn't performed as well since the step up to the PL. True of a few of our guys. He's a touch on the slow side as well.
I had him on a few of my FM'14 saves cause I thought he looked class. Every single time he failed to impress me. Needless to say, I'm weary when I see people buy him
In my defence he was here when I got here, I'm just working with what I've got.
Am definitely looking for another centre back though, preferably a left footed one
Q.P.R. 4 - Everton 3
Goals - Johnson (6), Lukaku (8), Lens (17,27), Coleman (47), Baines (63 pen) Kembo-Ekoko (82)
P.O.M. - Jeremain Lens (QPR)
"Man, we just cannot do anything the easy way!
With Everton playing with 2 defensive mids I chose to play a short passing game in an attempt to dominate possession. It worked well for us as we took the lead after just 6 minutes when Adam Johnson made a run into the box & was picked out by Jeremain Lens.
Our lead didn't last though as a floated cross found the head of Romelu Lukaku who drew Everton level with their first shot on goal.
We responded well though & Lens added 2 goals himself before the half to give us a comfortable 3-1 lead at the break.
Everton changed to a flat 4-3-3 for the second & it paid immediate dividends, Coleman pulling another one back for the toffee's before I could adjust.
After switching to a back 5 & getting a bit more direct we looked good again. That is until Vegard Forren picked up 2 yellow cards in the space of 8 minutes, the 2nd of which not only got him sent off but conceded the penalty to draw Everton level! (I know Hireax :S)
From that point on it was backs to the wall as we desperately defended to keep the point we had.
For the most part we looked pretty safe & when Jires Kembo-Ekoko dribbled past his man before thundering his shot into the back of the net we had secured the 3 points that looked an inevitability just 45 minutes ago.
Doing it the hard way but doing it nonetheless."
