Who!? The Rhys Burnett Story

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Everton are the best team in the world after they beat Liverpool 8-1, duh then the manager left Everton to manage nobody as of this time. (Yeah Carragher currently manages Sunderland but he didn't at this time, right?)

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i think i'm in the wrong story
 
mimefan said:
Everton are the best team in the world after they beat Liverpool 8-1, duh then the manager left Everton to manage nobody as of this time. (Yeah Carragher currently manages Sunderland but he didn't at this time, right?)

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i think i'm in the wrong story
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Haha - if Jamie was managing Everton here I would have stayed well away from the Premier League!!
 
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Season 9 – Preseason Roundup​







We decided to take a tour of the USA this preseason. When I had asked for a commercial feeder club the Board had found only one suitable match. Toronto FC, so this tour was ostensibly a way to cement that relationship. Everything was going swimmingly until the friendly we had set up with them needed to be cancelled due to a clash with their fixture against Vancouver!! We still did the tour though and gave a very good account of ourselves, winning every match. I only began to use my full first team all together for the last couple of matches as a number of guys were still tired after the world cup. The main desire here though was to increase our profile and generate more income.

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As the tour wound down though I was still a little concerned that I hadn’t made any headway improving my fullbacks so I made it a mission of mine to find someone to help as I had plenty left in the transfer kitty. Wilson Gama had been a part of the Aston Villa side that was relegated last year and as such was unhappy with the prospect of a season in the Championship. Villa weren’t ready to let their prized young Portuguese fullback leave easily though and drove a very hard bargain. He looks to be a real talent though so I forged ahead with the deal. At only 23 he should be around a very long time and with 10 caps already to his name you can tell he is the real deal.

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The transfer represents though a new club record, I usually don’t like to spend that much on any individual player but in this case we are bringing someone in of absolute top quality who will instantly improve the side. He will only be blooded generally over the next few games though. Also this represents the remainder of the transfer kitty this season so there will be no further purchases until January at the earliest.

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Game 1 – Manchester United (n)​


Thanks to our FA Cup victory last year our first game of the season would be the traditional season opener Community Shield match at Wembley. Any chance to get one up on your rivals is a good one in my books so I really wanted to see them do well here. Unfortunately we were a little flat today. Despite having the majority of the ball Man U out shot us almost 2 to 1 so it was fair that the scoreline eventually reflected that.


We’d started new boy Gama on the bench with last season’s left back Hysaj starting and it would be his error that gifted Manchester the victory in the end. Bruma played well and deserved his goal but across the park we seemed a little underdone as this was only some of my players 2nd game since returning from the World Cup.

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After the game I told the journo’s my honest opinion - that Man U’s last goal had more than a hint of good fortune about it and we were largely their match for the game. Jurgen Klopp, who still evidently has issues with me flowing on from our time in Germany together, though decided to take that as a personal insult for some reason attacked me and Tottenham. I can handle him having a go at me, although I’m still not sure exactly what I did that would make him want to other than outperform him with a severely less talented side in Frankfurt, but when he has a go at my players and my club that’s where I draw the line. I let the press know exactly what I thought of that kind of behavior. Douche…

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Season 9 – August Roundup​



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Game 2 – Nottingham Forrest (a)

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Our Premiership opener was away to Notts Forrest. I really felt bad for them after this one! We hadn’t been pleased with the performance against United and worked the guys a bit harder this week in training and it all came to fruition today! Kane got a hat trick with Bruma getting a double. Rocchi, Alli, Jones and Lamela rounded off the scorers as we almost, and really should have, hit double digits! Sorry Forest!!

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Game 3 – Swansea (h)

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And then this!! Seriously one week it’s like we can’t miss and this game we had shot after shot after shot without luck!! We even got to play against 10 men for almost 3 quarters of the match. Very disappointing but fair play to Swansea who defended resolutely, particularly after losing Arias, and earned a point. We still should have won this one easily though!!

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Game 4 – Man City (a)

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And our Jeckyl and Hyde act continues!! We were amazing here. Despite City having the better possession their chances were all from range whilst we created some very, very good chances! Lamela picked up a knock in the last game so I started Nangis out wide right as I wanted the extra pace to attack City on the break and the move worked to perfection as Nangis netted in the 1st minute! He also won the penalty with some direct, pacey running in the 2nd that Bruma converted. From there we were content to sit and pick them apart and Bruma was on hand to seal the win in the 85th minute finishing off a length of the field counter attack. Wonderful stuff!! Interestingly Joseph Reeve, England’s world cup villain, was booed even by his own fans here in the 3rd minute when he picked up a card.

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Awards Roundup

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I was very pleased to see Bruma pick up the Premiership Player of the Month award. We pace and trickery has been on full show this month and he thoroughly deserves it!!

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Mourinho was given the Manager of the Month award over me given his 3 victories but seriously, he should have been sacked if he didn’t pick up 9 points from that slate…

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Table Roundup

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Early days yet but things are looking good. Undefeated and yet to concede. The only disappointment was the draw...

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Season 9 – September Roundup​





Internationals Roundup

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This month started with most of the squad away on international duty. Given we only had 10 or so senior guys around I let the other coaches run them and I spent the time watching the internationals and scouting. The first thing though that I saw was my young 18 year old Scottish winger Charlesworth managed to pick up his first cap – wonderful stuff and hopefully the first of many!!

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The day after that my backup goalkeeper Billy Darkwah then got his first cap for England. He had started against Manchester City as Lloris picked up a thigh strain and performed well enough to give me hope that he is the long term answer for us between the sticks should Lloris start to deteriorate. At only 23 he also has many years at the top level ahead of him.

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Game 5 – Watford (h)

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Watford had a pretty good season last year finishing just above us in 9th spot so we were expecting a reasonably tough game here. In reality we dominated though. Kane got a double scoring both in the 2nd half but in truth we were in control from the first whistle. I am really starting to look the look of our combinations and play. If we can keep this level of play up then we are every chance of taking out the title.

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Game 6 – Luzern (h)

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Another thing I like to do with my 25 man first team squad is have two distinct teams. A ‘league’ team that comprises of my first choice players and a ‘cup’ team that is my backups. As such there were 11 new players from the team that took on Watford and it somewhat showed. We should have won this game by a lot more than the 3-2 scoreline but no matter. The backups, in particular Matusik who has actually earned himself the attentions of Real Madrid recently, gave a good account of themselves and they too will only get better with more game time together.

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Game 7 – Liverpool (h)

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Again, the changes were rung up and Liverpool came to New White Hart Lane today. We were the better side early but it took until the 41st minute to get the breakthrough via Bruma. The lead didn’t last long though as Enes Unai scored with a speculative effort that Darkwah will be unhappy he couldn’t keep out. After some words at the break the boys attacked with renewed vigor in the 2nd half and we jumped out to a two goal lead as first Alli, and then Kane, scored to make it 3-1. Maupay did grab a consolation in the 89th for Liverpool but by then the match was all over. Good win against another title challenger. (Sorry Pat :P)

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After this game the media did a piece on me detailing the good start I’ve had to life at Tottenham. I must admit this is the best I’ve felt about a club this early in a season in my career. I really feel we can go all the way this season.

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I was very surprised to see that this, 5 games in, is the first time we have conceded goals in the league and this win represented our 8th match without losing. I’m very proud of the defensive effort the guys are showing. He may not get all the plaudits but week in week out Payne is doing a solid job in the defensive midfield role snuffing out attacks.

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Game 8 – Sunderland (h)

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The Capital One Cup rolled around and again the side rotated. In came the backups and again they did an admirable job. Charlesworth opened the scoring before Akdeniz and Nangis rounded things off. Lloris, who has lost his spot to young Darkwah, will be unhappy to have conceded in the 90th minute but overall the team performed very well against a fellow Premiership side.

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Game 9 – Newcastle (a)

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After playing Sunderland at home in the cup we then had to travel to the North East to play Newcastle. Oh lordy! Newcastle haven’t been that bad this year but we made them look like a lower league side today. St James Park rained down boos at the final whistle as we ran out 7 zip victors. Kane and Alli with doubles, Lamela, Jones and Bruma each got one apiece. It really could have been worse but we eased up and gave some of younger players some game time in the 2nd half after leading 6 nil at the break.

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Game 10 – Krasnodar (a)

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Following the Newcastle game the coaching team and I and a select few players from the game made the 3000+ km trip along with the cup team to Krasnodar for our Europa League match. I was actually delighted with how the cup squad played, Hysaj has been telling me at training that he’s not yet ready to fully concede his first team spot to Gama and he proved it today opening the scoring. Unfortunately the toll the travel took started to show at the very end and Kozhanov popped up to equalize 3 minutes from time. Still, a good performance from the (majority) youngsters and a very good learning experience for them.

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Awards Roundup​


We had a clean sweep in the Player of the Month voting this week. Kane took it out after his 5 goals in 3 games but really it could just have easily have gone to either Alli or Bruma who have both been wonderful! Really pleased to see this as it means we have a number of players playing at a very high level.

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Also I wouldn’t be denied the Manager of the Month award for September. Someone in the assembled media asked me about Klopp as I accepted the award but I just waved him away…

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Tables Roundup

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Top spot and having a laugh! Undefeated so far with just the 2 goals conceded. I’m very positive about our chances for the rest of the season. Still we can’t get too far ahead of ourselves as we haven’t yet played Chelsea, Manchester United or Arsenal and they are shaping up to be our main challengers.

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I do a similar thing, when I have mid week fixtures I often play an entirely different lineup for each match! Also stop beating Liverpool! :(
 
Great results, quite the improvement from some of the earlier performances. The Spurs are looking hot this season ;)
 
9 goals on the opening day of the season, I'm having bad flashbacks to my first Bundesliga game with Union...

Great start to the season mate, scoring goals at ease.
 
PatrickLFC said:
I do a similar thing, when I have mid week fixtures I often play an entirely different lineup for each match! Also stop beating Liverpool! :(
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Its hard until you have a second 11 you fully trust but I find its the best way to get the youngsters game time and keep the squad fresh.


DreamTempest said:
Great results, quite the improvement from some of the earlier performances. The Spurs are looking hot this season ;)
Click to expand...

Haha - we're putting the 'hot' in 'hotspurs'!!! :)


Safc-mad-scotty said:
9 goals on the opening day of the season, I'm having bad flashbacks to my first Bundesliga game with Union...

Great start to the season mate, scoring goals at ease.
Click to expand...

Cheers mate!! I rarely win games in the league like that so it was very surprising!! Not complaining though!
 
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Season 9 – October Roundup​




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Game 11 – Hull (h)​


This one was disappointing. We were by the far the better side and should have been at least two up at the break. As it was we lead by the solitary goal after Dele Alli continued his good form slotting him from just inside the area. At the break I contemplated having a go at the guys but though maybe I should just encourage them instead – wrong. We came out flat and were duly punished in the 73rd minute when Benetiz got on the end of a rebound to equalize. I wasn’t happy and I let the guys know it and although the effort got better we still could find a winner. Not happy.

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This did though represent our tenth game without loss. Since the Community Shield we have been playing solid footy.

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Game 12 – Stoke (a)​


A bit like last game we were dominant here and took the lead before half time. Unlike the last game though Stoke equalized prior to the break so I had a full ten minutes to make sure my guys knew I wasn’t happy!! To their credit they responded and got the easy win we deserved but I wish we could be better at killing games. Eriksen was the star today – his two free kicks were spectacular.

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Game 13 – Legia Warsaw (h)​


Being a cup match in came the backups and boy did they give a good account of themselves. Charlesworth has been improving day by day on the training pitch and his took that form with him today onto the pitch, picking himself up a double. Matusik and Akdeniz were the other 2 scorers in today’s rout. Putting ourselves in a very good position now to qualify through to the knockout rounds.

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Game 14 – Fulham (a)

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Fair play to Fulham today, this was a derby and they battled. Fortunately we managed to get the better of them, coming back from a goal down to win thanks to a late goal from Phil Jones. It was as scrappy as the contest itself but we had deserved it. Good win.

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Game 15 – Hull (h)

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Another cup game and another chance for the backups to impress – it’s just that they didn’t really do so here… Charlesworth gave another decent account of himself picking up the goal but some bad errors, particularly from Hendrix and Walker, condemned us to defeat. Our backup defenders really need to sort themselves out. A couple of them have started moaning about game time so if they are going to do that then on days like today they need to play well. Not like garbage…

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Game 16 – Bournemouth (h)

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Another game where we have had to come from behind. We were always the dominant side so there is no real good reason that we are letting sides like this trouble us but we managed to dig deep and get the three points. I guess you can’t be at the top of your game in each and every game of the season but I would like to be beating teams like this more easily.

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Awards Roundup

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I was very pleased to see another of my players pick up the Player of the Month award, this time Eriksen. He sometimes is getting overlooked playing more a playmaker in my new shape but he is just as integral to our results as he always has been.

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Klopp and I seem to be in a running battle for the Manager of the Month award. This time he got it even though we had exactly the same results as each other… I would have thought if on team finished 10th last season and the other finished 1st the manager of the team who finished 10th was doing a better job if he could get his team to equal the performance of the team that had finished 1st the previous year – perhaps that’s just me though…

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Table Roundup

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This is what we like to see though!! On top by a point after 10 matches. Yes we are only a quarter of the way through the season but with a nice break already to 3rd placed Arsenal we are looking like, at a minimum, we should expect to finish in the Champions League spots.

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Season 9 – November Roundup​




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Game 17 – Legia Warsaw (a)

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We got off to a flyer here taking a 2 goal lead after only 10 minutes. Unfortunately that’s about when we decided to stop playing… Could have, and really should have, been much more. Again Akdeniz and Matusik making claims that they are first team ready should the need ever arise.

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Game 18 – Southampton (h)

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Another home loss! Not sure why we actually seem to be better away from home than in front of our own fans! Bangoura got Southampton off to a good start with 2 goals inside 12 minutes. We then dominated and got one back on half time. No amount of yelling and screaming though would help us find the equalizer. Trust me I know, there was plenty of it going on!!

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The match represented our first loss in 13 league matches.

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Game 19 – Manchester United (a)

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Well this was the biggest match yet of our season. We knew they’d be tough so we set out he to do a smash and grab job. We got the first part right – starting off on the attack we managed to get a goal in the 5th minute. Alli again proving his worth. After waiting a few minutes to see how United would react we changed into a defensive formation as they were creating some very good opportunities against us when we were attacking. This mean that they had more all and more shots but really we were handling them pretty well.


That was until the 81st minute. An innocuous enough looking through ball was attempted and Michael Payne really should have managed it with ease, instead he misjudged it and Laporte ran onto it to score from close in. It was a bitter blow as I was really hoping to get one up on Klopp today but I shouldn’t be too despondent. It’s a good point at Old Trafford and they have to come to New White Hart Lane yet!!

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Game 20 – Luzern (a)

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Next up was the trip to Switzerland to play Luzern. We again probably shaded the game but had to settle for a draw. No matter though as we have already effectively qualified for the knockout stages. Bentaleb got his first goal since rejoining the club which was nice to see.

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Game 21 – Everton (h)

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So he they were, the much vaunted, most reputable club in the world. Except they looked like also-rans today! We smashed them good and proper. Bruma and Lemala were at their devastating best today! Both score goals and provided assists. Very good result against a side that we should have found the going more difficult against.

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5 nil obviously isn’t acceptable in the Everton Board’s eyes. Tite was sacked before the coach even got back to Liverpool. Sorry bud!

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Awards Roundup

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Now this is pleasing. Dele Alli picked up his first Player of the Month award under my watch. I think so far every player of the month award handed out has been given to a Tottenham player! Mourinho would take out the Manager of the Month award.

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Table Roundup

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Gap is now out to 4 to Manchester United. As mentioned above Chelsea had a good month though and have pushed right up to challenge us.

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Season 9 – December Roundup (part a)​





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Game 22 – Sunderland (h)

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Nice – a very solid performance here. Kane got us underway with 2 goals before the half hour mark and we were coasting. Phil Jones got himself tangled up in the box just on half time to gift Sunderland a goal and allow them a way back into the game. We picked our game up after half time though and got a penalty of our own on 66 minutes that Bruma converted before Erikson sealed the match in injury time. Nice win.

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Game 23 – FC Krasnodar (h)

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Dominating. 3 up within a quarter hour thanks to Hendrix, Charlesworth and Matusik. Matusik was forced from the field towards the end of the 1st though and this allowed Krasnodar a way back into the game somewhat. We traded goals two times before the final whistle. Nangis’ 90th minute strike had given us a 5-2 victory and top spot in the group at its conclusion.

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Game 24 – Norwich (h)

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Solid. Nothing flashy but we got the job done with ease here today. We were in charge as early at the 8th minute with Kane smashed one in and then Lamela chimed in with a goal in the 30th minute. He has been playing really well this season and I wouldn’t be surprised to see more accolades coming his way. From there we saw the match out with ease as Norwich rarely threatened.

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Game 25 – Arsenal (a)

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Up next was Arsenal in the first of 3 consecutive away London derbies for us. This was also a team that featured a 37 year old Christiano Ronaldo. Despite his age he was still a very formidable opponent and we would have to respect him.

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That was until we began to trample Arsenal. We got off to a great start, Lamela putting us ahead after only 3 minutes with a curling free kick. Eriksen had us two to the good shortly later and when Veratti received a straight red for a reckless challenge it was game over. We added two more goals through Lamela and Alli to secure a memorable North London derby victory.

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The pain of losing to you rivals like that must really hurt, hurt enough in fact that you would sack you coach straight after it. Ronald De Boer was unceremoniously dumped in the following week allegedly because the players had lost confidence in him. I think their Board was looking for a scapegoat for the loss against us.

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Game 26 - QPR (a)

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Next up was QPR who had beaten us in our visit to Loftus Road last season so I wanted some revenge here. I got it too in the form of goals from Phil Jones and Dele Alli sandwiched around a Pohjapalo effort for QPR. Another good tough win. These London derbies are tough but the hotter the fire the stronger the steel.

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Game 27 – Chelsea (a)

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We finished off the triple header with a visit to the ‘Zola Stadium’. Lamela was again our hero as he scored a double to have us up 3 nil after 34 minutes. Dybala did grab one back for Chelsea but by then it was too little too late. 9 points from 3 away London derbies? Yes please!!!

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Look like you're well on course for the title! Impressed with how your squad is coping with Europe, that killed me when I qualified for it once before!
 
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Season 9 – December Roundup (part b)​




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Game 28 – Nottingham Forest (h)

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In the lead up to this game I received an email saying that the Freiburg coach Bernd Schuster had been sacked. That in itself wasn’t too surprising but what was interesting was who ESPNFC.com was predicting to be sacked next in the Bundesliga. The 3rd most likely option was Leon Andreasen – he hasn’t even been with the club 9 months yet and he already got them sliding back into mid table… Makes me sad that the Frankfurt Board can’t see that they are at the point where the investment has to keep up to make them an established force.

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To this game though and I know that I am beginning to sound like a broken record but we are just playing nice, solid footy right now. We were never troubled here and really could have won by even more than the 4-1 scoreline. Kane had picked up a toe injury against Chelsea so he might be out a while and in came Nangis and filled in admirably scoring 2 goals.

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Game 29 – Burnley (h)

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Stop. Rewind. Play. “Solid… smashed them… did it easy… etc.”.

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Extended Awards Roundup

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Being the end of the calendar year there were some extra awards to hand out. Lionel Messi picked up World footballer of the year but both Eriksen and Lamela were deemed worthy of inclusion in the World Team of the Year. Great achievement for both lads.

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Dele Alli wasn’t to miss out either as his good form over the past 12 months got him selected in the African team of the year.

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He doesn’t do anything flashy but right now he is putting in a shift for me performing the Makelele role so well they might soon be calling it the Payne role and I was delighted to see him rewarded for his efforts with the Oceania Footballer of the Year award.

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To the month at hand though and Lamela took out the Player of the Month award ahead of Christian Eriksen who came second and I picked up another Manager of the Month award after our amazing December in which we won 7 from 7 in the league. Klopp finishing second to keep our rivalry going.

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Table Roundup

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The gap to Manchester United is now 7 points and the gap to Liverpool in 3rd in 15. Chelsea have dropped off the pace a bit recently and my win at their home ground seems to have really knocked them around. It is also a surprise to see 3 teams that were meant to challenge for the title all struggling in mid table – Arsenal, Manchester City and Everton are all severely underperforming this season.

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Conflictinbanno said:
Look like you're well on course for the title! Impressed with how your squad is coping with Europe, that killed me when I qualified for it once before!
Click to expand...

Thats where I think the 'two teams' theory really works. It takes you a little bit to get a 2nd 11 who you really trust but once you do you just roll them in and out and everyone stays fresh which seems to be a big thing on FM.
 
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