Season 2014/2015!

The start of the EURO'14 qualifiers saw a big home fixture for Croatia and a monumental game away to Spain.
Croatia was going to be without Ivan Rakitic due to international ban. Luka Modric will replace Ivan at the winger position.
The big story of the game was Luka Ajdukovic's debut. Luka played 18 games in the U21 squad before being called up by Jean for senior debut. During his time in the U21's he scored 5 goals and is known for his technical abilities such as Corner and Free-Kick taking. Currently contracted at Marseille until 2018, he hopes to become a regular fixture in the team.

Macedonia came out in a 4-4-2 and Croatia has adopted Jean's 4-5-1 counter-attck from London. Today's play will be centred around Zeljko Jelic and his ability to play forward down the field.


YES! Luka's debut, scores a vital goal from the spot in the 87th minute to snatch victory away!
This win is a big deal as this will put me in high spirits when I play Spain in 4 days time.
After the match, Luka Ajdukovic was named Player of the Match with his 11 of 13 passing, 6 shots on goal and key interception.

He is the 2nd debut to score under Jean's reign -- Stjepan Runje, who plays as the lone man up front scored in Jean's first ever game against Latvia in World Cup qualifcation.

The tabloids read:


In 4 days time, Croatia travels to Spain to play their 3 match in 3 years against each other. Croatia in 2012 suffered a 2-0 defeat before Jean's appointment, and last year snatched a 1-1 draw in Spain. This match will be played the same day as other Group G fixtures:
Ireland @ Macedonia -- I can see either a draw or a Ireland 2-1 victory.
Moldova @ Norway -- Norway should be clear 2-0 winners.
Croatia @ Spain -- Croatia will look for the potential win, but won't scouff at a draw.

Croatia Changes:
There was only 1 change made. Luka Modric was dropped to the bench as Anto Vulic who played well off the bench against Macedonia will get a start, this will push Zeljko Jelic forward into Left-Wing position that was made vacant by Ivan Rakitic.
Croatia continues to use their 4-5-1 from Jean's London team as they will play against 2 current and 1 former London players in the spainish squad. Spain comes out in a 4-4-1-1 with Xabi Alonso and Cesc Fabregas playing in the midfield with Andres Iniesta. Bojan Krkic will look to add to his already impressive tally of international goals playing up front.



Unfortunately there was no celebrations in store today, Valenica's Silva dispatched two goals in the first 10 minutes to give Spain an early and near-impossible to loose fashion. Half-time came around and it was Spain 2-0, 2 changes to Croatia saw Danijel Juricic and Berislav Madjaric come off and Davor Matos and Dejan Barisic.
After 72 minutes, Robert Renic was brough on for Vjeran Maretic as Croatia moved into a 3-5-2 offensive formation to try and bring back to deficet. However this was counter-productive as Ruben Suarez Rodriguez scored in the 79th, putting the game beyond doubt.

After 2 games, Croatia are sitting in 3rd place with 1 Win, 1 Loss. Spain and Norway are on 6 points each (2 Wins) with Ireland and Macedonia drawing to give them each 1 point.
The next pair of games are in October, Croatia plays against Norway on the 11th. Then travel to Cyprus for the match on the 15th October.

Another week, another European Championship qualifiers in the books.
This week we saw Spain deliver a beat down Croatia, and in a shock; Ireland drew with Macedonia.

Other fixtures saw Belarus defeat Germany in Group B and Italy's draw with Austria in Group D put Ukraine on top with 6 points.


There was one major downer however, during the Holland match; Rafael van der Vaart suffered a back strain which will sideline him for 3-4 weeks. This will force London boss Jean to shift some players around for the upcoming match against Manchester City.
Rafael is predicted to be back by the 5th of October which means he will miss the League game at Chelsea on the 27th September. The first two UCL games against Celtic and home to A.C. Milan and also the Carling Cup tie against Wigan.
It's rumoured that Croatian midfielder Ivan Rakitic will be called up to replace Rafael during the time it takes him to recover. Rakitic has played in 17 club games since signing for £10,000,000 (from FC Schalke '04)during the 2011/12 season. He spent 2 loan spells are Hercules in 2012/13 to the end of the 2013/14 season.

London have played Manchester City 17 times since 2007. London currently hold an edge with 8 victories and 4 defeats with 5 draws. 2014 saw 4 fixtures, 2 league and a home/away leg in the UCL Quarter-Finals which London won 3-1 on aggregiate.
Giuseppe Rossi who has 3 goals in 2 games will start up front as Fernando Torres is relegated to the bench, Torres has failed to score in 3 games this season and like last season, had trouble getting goals scored.

Looks like both Croatia and London have their work cut out for them.

I guess with the loss of Van Der Vaart the Chelsea game will be very interesting, what are your predictions for score-lines on these 3 games with a key player suck as Van Der Vaat missing? will this Croatian international play all three games in his place or do you have something else in order?

Juff wrote:

Looks like both Croatia and London have their work cut out for them.

I guess with the loss of Van Der Vaart the Chelsea game will be very interesting, what are your predictions for score-lines on these 3 games with a key player suck as Van Der Vaat missing? will this Croatian international play all three games in his place or do you have something else in order?

Its a lot of important games hes going to miss.
2x Champions League games
1x Carling Cup tie
3x League Games

Torres hasn't been playing well, and van der Vaart has been in really good form recently.
Hes scored 3 times in 6 games in August which was 1 against Barcelona too.
The Barcelona game was one of his performances for me, 5 interceptions in midfield is what helped stop their attacking playing style.

I feel I got the squad depth to cover at this stage. Roberto will come into DM and will push Xabi Alonso into CM with Wesley Sneijder. I've got Ivan Rakitic, Vebjorn Tajet and Callum Forrest as well that provide cover. I dont think his loss will change any of the results however.
He will be missed for the Celtic, Blackburn, Wigan, Chelsea and A.C. Milan games though.

Guess whose back, Vans back, tell a friend...
Guess whose back,
Guess whose back.... Da-na-nah!

Yeah its been a while i know, but i shall return to posting on this a bit more often.
Might take a post or two to get back into the swing!

Argentina was next on the schedule!! This game, it was a real David -v- Goliath battle.
I was a very-long outside chance, going against quality like Paulo Aimar, Lionel Messi, Maxi Rod. and Carlos Tevez.



Argentina took a late first half goal to lead 1-0 going into half time. A typical Croatian double-change came on after half time and saw another Carlos Tevez goal send them down 2-0 but the Croatian replacements, Robert Renic and Luka Ajdukovic were inspiration in bringing the lead back to 1 with a suburb counter-attack move which saw Stjepan Runje slot a 2nd Croatian goal just before full-time.

2-2 Full time, this game would go into Penalty Shoot-Out. Unforunatley, all 3 takers missed and Argentina won 3-0 on penalties.



The best part of the 2-2 (0-3P) loss to Argentina was Davor Matos got some praise for a string of good performances. He is no Xavi Alonso or Owen Hargreaves but for Croatia he is one of the more vital pieces in the very flex 4-5-1 manager Jean plays.

Other fixtures:
Mexico 2 - 0 Spain
This was a super heavyweight battle even though it was just a friendly

Upcoming Fixtures:
22 November -- Tottenham (Away) -- EPL Match
Tottenham are coming off a 2-1 win over Liverpool and London will be their 2nd of 4 very, very tough games (Liverpool (H), London (H), Chelsea (A) and Man Utd (A))

26 November -- Celtic (Home) -- UEFA Champions League Group Stage
This should be a game that (if a win) will make the last game against A.C.Milan meaningless which is what I shall strive for!

29 November -- Everton (Home) -- EPL Match
With a Carling Cup Quarter-Final against Southend coming up, I wont place a full-strength side probably. With Manchester Utd after Southend, I dont want any burnouts!

London take on Tottenham at White Heart Lane today, the biggest story in today's game will be the injuries to London's key midfielder Rafael van der Vaart. Xabi Alonso is one card away from a suspension, and he will partner Wesley Sneijder in the middle of the park.

Todays Line-up:
5. Renato
7. Cristiano Ronaldo
9. Fernando Torres
10. Wesley Sneijder
11. Bojan Krkic
12. Rudiger Littmann
14. Xabi Alonso
15. Stefan Makolli
25. Roberto
26. John Terry (Captain)
35. Igor Akinfeev (Goalkeeper)

Bench:
1. Oscar Ustari
17. Giuseppe Rossi
20. Ivan Rakitic
24. Miguel Veloso
28. Ibrahima Lacroix

12th -- Renato gives a silly penalty away, and Akinfeev is upto the task at and preventing an early lead!
21st -- After loads of possession and territory, Darren Bent puts the home side ahead by 1. John Terry isnt a happy man at all!

Half-time, I was very dissapointed in lack of creativity and set a stern tone to the locker room with, "(Team)I want to see more from you!"

70th -- Fernando Torres goes down with a minor injury but this time is optimum to bring on the fabled double-change! Ivan Rakitic comes on for Torres and moves to the left flank as Bojan goes to the lone man. Miguel Veloso comes on for Xabi Alonso who so far was having a very poor performance (5/10 rating, lowest by 2)
85th -- The last change was Rossi coming on to play 2 up-front and taking Littmann off to get that equaliser!

Tottenham win 1-0 at home. Frankly I am dissapointed, however the season is young! However I am currently 10-points adrift of Manchester United and the League table looks like this:

Team	Pld	Won	Drn	Lst	GD	Pts
Man. Utd.	15	11	2	2	+13	35
Arsenal	15	9	3	3	+14	30
West Ham	14	8	3	3	+10	27
London	15	6	7	2	+12	25
Man. City	14	7	4	3	+9	25

UEFA Champions League -- Matchday 5

Only 3 clubs had locked up qualification, with another 4 clubs within a win.
AS Roma of Group A and Real Madrid in Group D and Valencia in Group F

AEK Athens at A.C. Milan
Celtic at London Rovers

Club	Won	Drn	Lst	+/-	Pts
London	3	0	1	+8	9
Celtic	1	2	1	-1	5
A.C. Milan	1	1	2	-3	4
AEK Athens	1	1	2	-4	4

In theory, I dont need any more points if Milan/AEK draw since in theory, only 6 more points are viable to obtain.
I chose to send a half-strength side in (in hopes of getting a draw, to ensure Im top qualifier regardless) Anyhow, Line-up below.

1. Oscar Ustari (Goalkeeper)
2. Branislav Ivanovic
3. Gareth Bale
4. Vebjorn Tajet
17. Giuseppe Rossi
18. Callum Forrest
19. Wilco Smeets
20. Ivan Rakitic
26. John Terry (Captain)
27. Laurent Brunel

Reserves:
5. Renato
7. Cristiano Ronaldo
9. Fernando Torres
11. Bojan Krkic
14. Xabi Alonso
24. Miguel Veloso
35. Igor Akinfeev

Pre-Match interview:
"Jean, both clubs will be doing everything they can to ensure vicoty, are you confident ahead of the upcoming tie?"
-- Celtic will be up for this game and we will need to match them.

Bojan will be coming into todays game with 4 goals, only 1 ahead of surprise package Ivan Rakitic whose been on form this past couple months with good outings for Croatia and London. Over the past 4 meetings, London have won 3 and 1 draw scoring 14 goals in the process and will look to continue this trend today.

London 0 - 0 Celtic AT Half-Time
Fairly un-eventful first half, littered with bookings.
60th -- Lewis Hoyle of Celtic is given his 2nd yellow, resulted in a send-off.
72nd -- Laurent Brunel is given his 2nd yellow also, making the game 10-a-side. (I was about to sub him too lol)
82nd -- Fernando Torres misses a simple 1-v-1 situation
87th -- Fernando Torres is sprung on the counter and scores the solitary goal!!! London have kept their perfect qualification record!

Full-Time from Wembley Stadium, London.
London 1 (Torres '87)
Celtic 0

Other Fixtures:
A.C. Milan 1 (De Nicola '90)
AEK Athens 0

That leaves a very interesting situation, London have now qualified (5 Games, 12 Points) whilst A.C. Milan (-2 Goal, 7 points) and Celtic (-2 Goals, 5 Points) and even less so, AEK Athens (-5 Goals, 4 Points) can still qualify.
AEK have a very slim hope, they need 2 things;
(a) London beat A.C. Milan
(b) AEK defeat Celtic and do it by at least 4 goals (If London scores 2, then 3; London scores 3, then 2 etc)
Celtic need London to defeat A.C. Milan also and a win by any margin over AEK and they'll qualify.
A.C. Milan need merely a draw or win to progress. The question is now "Will Jean risk players to help a club, or will be play his typical rotational-players against Milan?"

London -v- Everton

Line-Up:
4. Vebjorn Tajet
7. Cristiano Ronaldo
9. Fernando Torres
11. Bojan Krkic
12. Rudiger Littmann
15. Stefan Makolli
18. Callum Forres
20. Ivan Rakitic
26. John Terry (Captain)
28. Ibrahima Lacroix
35. Igor Akinfeev (Goalkeeper)

Reserves:
1. Oscar Ustari
5. Renato
10. Wesley Sneijder
17. Giuseppe Rossi
24. Miguel Veloso

Out:
14. Xabi Alonso -- Sitting on 4 yellow cards, 1 more equal 1 match ban and I dont want to risk it. Manchester United is up next in the EPL.
22. Micah Richards -- Pulled Hamstring still has him sidelined until next week (4 December)
23. Rafael van der Vaart -- Similar injury to Micah, scheduled to return next week also (5 December)

First half
6th -- Cristiano Ronaldo slots the opener after some skillful build up play.
London goes in a goal ahead at the break!

Second half
54th -- Bojan scores from just outisde the box after a quick free-kick is taken by defensive midfielder stand-in Vebjorn Tajet!
65th -- Callum Forrest picks up a 2nd yellow card and is sent off! Fernando Torres is brough off and Miguel Veloso slots into defensive midfield which pushes Tajet into central midfield.

Full-Time at Wembley Stadium
London 2 (Ronaldo 6', Bojan 54')
Everton 0

Interesting note, Forrest will miss the match for Manchester. Ironically if Xabi played, it could have been him?! Maybe I selected proper players and saved myself some headaches. The next match is the Carling Cup Quarter Final against Southend which I will have to win first before the big game at Old Trafford against Manchester United!

November Re-Cap!!!

The start of december is known for 3 things, (a) World Footballer of the year, (b) Transfer rumour-mill gets heated and (c) the Christmas rush of EPL games. This year will be no different, so i'll start with (a);



Couple of interesting facts:
- Bojan Krkic has the most goals of the list (28) which is 5 more than second most!
- 5 London players made the shortlist (Cristiano Ronaldo, Xabi Alonso, Wesley Sneijder, Igor Akinfeev and Bojan)
- 1 Croatian national player made the list also (Danijel Juricic)

Voting is comprised simple of a 1,2,3 place vote worth 5,3,1 points. And top total points is decalred the winner.
1st Place - Bojan -- You cant under estimate how prolific a goalscorer he is. 44 games and 28 goals for club.
2nd Place - Robinho (Real Madrid/Brazil) -- His stats do not lie, most assists, best player awards and highest rating (7.79)
3rd Place - Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus/Italy) -- World class keeper, 30 games and only letting 13 goals past, with a best player award to boot.

Important December dates:
2nd -- Carling Cup Quarter Final (v. Southend)
6th -- Carling Cup Semi Final draw
6th -- EPL Match at Old Trafford (Man. Utd)
9th -- UCL Matchday 6, home to A.C. Milan
14th -- EPL Match, home to Middlesbrough
26th -- EPL Match at Southend

Squad Update:
Michad Richards -- will miss Southend, probable for Manchester United.
Xabi Alonso -- will sit out the Southend game, 1 yellow card from reaching the pre-year limit.
Callum Forrest -- serving his suspension for Southend, will return to the bench for United.
Rafael van der Vaart -- can return, not 100% though. Probable still for the United game.

[Email 1/2] Monday, 1st December 2014
FA Cup -- Third Round Draw

Big Fixtures:
Southend play at Liverpool
Everton play at Portsmouth

London, was the *last* team selected from the draw! (I can't recall it ever happening before?!) They will play the winner of Swindon or Brighton who are both League One teams (3rd division) so I expect an easy game against them later.
The reason why I dont have an exact team yet, is with the FA Cup, if you draw. You play a replay of the game and if drawn there, extra time and shootouts occur!

[Email 2/2] Tuesday, 2nd December 2014
Monthly Board Review.

"To summarise, the board are satisfied with your management of the team.

This is no small part down to your control of the club's extremely healthy bank balance.
However, your decision to sign Oscar Ustari will require justification, with the fans believing him to be a very poor acquisition.

The club recorded a loss of 2.44 million last month."

Carling Cup Quarter Final: Southend at London Rovers
Southend Last Fixtures:
0-1 L (Away) Leeds United
2-1 W (Home) Aston Villa
1-3 L (Away) Arsenal
Next Game: Home, Liverpool

London Last Fixtures:
0-1 L (Away) Tottenham
1-0 W (Home) Celtic - UCL
2-0 W (Home) Everton
Next Game: Away, Manchester United

Past Meetings:

Team	Won	Drn	Lst	For	Ag	Pts
London	6	0	0	17	0	18
Southend	0	0	6	0	17	0

As you can see, complete and utter domination. In 6 games, not a single goal conceeded and London will look to keep that record.

Line-Ups:

London	Southend
1. Oscar Ustari	3. Nejib Riahi
3. Gareth Bale	5. Steven Bailie
7. Cristiano Ronaldo	8. Banel Nicolita
9. Fernando Torres	13. Anders Walther
10. Wesley Sneijder	15. Curtis Davies
12. Rudiger Littmann	25. Wilson
17. Giuseppe Rossi	26. Matty Fryatt
20. Ivan Rakitic	27. Leonardo
25. Roberto	30. David Burton
26. John Terry (C)	31. Sebastian Fodor
28. Ibrahima Lacroix	33. Ioan Carnu

Reserves:

5. Renato	1. Francisco
11. Bojan	4. Cheikh Gueye
23. Rafael van der Vaart	10. Steffan Falkenberg
24. Miguel Veloso	16. Andrei Ciocan
35. Igor Akinfeev	29. Nedum Onuoha

Kick-Off
33rd -- Matty Fryatt scores off a Free-Kick
43rd -- Fernando Torres scores an oppotunistic goal, a near-post flick on from a Sneijder through ball.
Half-Time: 1-1

2nd Half
62nd -- A Rudiger Littmann cross results in a 2nd London goal as Rossi got his head to the ball to push it past the keeper.
77th -- Steffan Falkenberg regains posession deep in London territory and glides an easy goal to put the scores level.
81st -- London impliment the infamous double change, bring on Rafael and Bojan for 10 minutes, replaceing Rakitic and Rossi who was looking sluggish after a long day at the office.
Full Time: 2-2

Extra Time
90th -- Roberto is replaced by Miguel Veloso, Senior Magic himself!
For 20 minutes, nothing but tremendous pressure is place on the Southend defense, and it holds! Shoot-out time!

First penalty is Rafael van der Vaart: Missed 0-0
First for Southend is Wilson: Missed 0-0
Cristiano Ronaldo: Missed 0-0
Nejib Riahi: Missed 0-0
Bojan Krkic: Missed 0-0
Steven Bailie: Missed 0-0 (I know, 0-6 so far lol)
Miguel Veloso: Missed 0-0
Steffan Falkenberg: Scored! Southend 1-0
Wesley Snijder must score to keep London in it... Scored!! 1-1
Leonardo: Missed 1-1
Rudiger Littmann: Scores! London 2-1
Ioan Carnu walks to the spot, glares down at Oscar Ustari, he knows... Miss and its a Loss, Score and its still hopeful... The ball is shot into the top-left corner, Ustari dives... Fingertips barely reaches, it sails wide and the London fans collectively breathe a sigh of relief!
London go through, 2-1 on penalties!

Deservingly, Rudiger Littmann is given Man of the Match praise. 30 of 35 passes, 2 assists and the winning penalty goal.
It will be interesting to see who else qualifies from the reamaining 3 games:
- Reading (at) West Bromich Albion
- Manchester United (at) Tottenham (GO SPURS!)
- Aston Villa (at) Manchester City

Manchester United (AT) London Rovers
Saturday, 6th December

1st -v- 3rd. The titanic struggle of the EPL Table. London is 10 points adrift at this stage, and will want a win to close the gap on top of the table Manchester. Last time they faced off, was Feb 2014 when London slotted 5 past United to win 5-0. The worst loss United ever suffered against London in 7 years.

The history is filled with memorable moments, October 2007, the first game. Going down 1-0 at Half-Time, Robin van Persie game on at half-time and nabbed the first hat-trick for the club to beat United 3-1 that day.
The second ever meeting will be known as the Fernando Torres show. Torres' collected a still current tally of 4 goals, which remains a record in the club. To win 4-3.

There have been 14 League Matches, 3 Carling Cup ties, an FA Cup Semi Final, along with a Community Shield fixture. A total of 20 games, the most in London history, and the spoils are 3:1 London's favour.
2007/08 Season - Played 2, London 2 Wins
2008/09 Season - Played 4, London 3 Wins (including 2x Carling Cup wins)
2009/10 Season - Played 4, London 2 Wins (Lost a Carling Cup Quarter Final but won the FA Cup Semi)
2010/11 Season - Played 3, London Won all
2011/12 Season - Played 3, London 2 Wins (1 and 1 in League matches)
2012/13 Season - Played 2, London Won both
2013/14 Season - Played 2, Spoils shared 1 each.

Team	Won	Drn	Lst	For	Ag	Pts
London	15	0	5	50	23	45
Manchester United	5	0	15	23	50	15

Next Post: Line-ups, Game summary... and more!

Team	Pld	Won	Drn	Lst	+/-	Pts
Man Utd	16	11	2	3	+12	35
Arsenal	17	10	3	4	+13	33
West Ham	17	9	4	4	+12	31
London	16	7	7	2	+14	28
Manchester City	15	8	4	3	+10	28

A United loss, makes the gap 4 points. Arsenal then are 2 points from top, leaving London just 2 points adrift of Arsenal. West Ham have already played their 17th. They only have 2 games left before Janurary. (19 games per half, and Jan. is the halfway point) Manchester City have 2 games in hand, if they win both they will inherent a top 2 spot on the table (34pts). Reading are 6th, playing on 14, they have the ability to go equal with United if they win their 3 games left (26 + 9 = 35pts) so it is heating up for the top spot.
Some interesting side-notes: Only once since 2007, has top place at halfway not won the league. London have never been lower than 3rd at the end of December.

London have a league-low 7 conceeded from 16 games. Manchester United lead the league with 32 team goals. London have the lowest goals scored of the top 6 also. Captain John Terry will be the cornerstone of todays game, if he plays well as he usually does, United will have to find a very creative outlet to score from and Bojan has been in incredible form recently.

London's Line-Up
5. Renato
7. Cristiano Ronaldo
9. Fernando Torres
10. Wesley Sneijder
11. Bojan Krkic
12. Rudiger Littmann
14. Xabi Alonso
15. Stefan Makolli
23. Rafael van der Vaart
26. John Terry (Captain)
35. Igor Akinfeev

1. Oscar Ustari
17. Giuseppe Rossi
20. Ivan Rakitic
22. Micah Richards
24. Miguel Veloso

Manchester United's Line-Up:


Milestone:
Igor Akinfeev playing in his 200th EPL Match

First-Half:
Nothing exciting, just both teams had their fair share of chances. Torres and Bojan were both very quiet during the first half also.

Second Half:
The first change was Torres coming off for Rossi in the 67th. With near immediate impact, with Rossi at Left Wing and Bojan at lone man. Rossi broke Bojan free a couple times before the second sub at the 77th. This change was Rafael coming off (good hour for his first start back) and Miguel Veloso coming on, pushing Alonso into midfield as Veloso took up defensive midfield.
90th Minute, Rooney was wide-open and running free to goal -- until Makolli slide in and took Rooney out, receiving a red card in the process. Micah Ricahrds was brough on for Rudiger Littmann and Rossi was pushed into midfreld, Xabi went back to defensive midfield (who got his 5th yellow and will miss the next game) and Veloso went into Left-Back to fill the Makolli void.

Full-Time: London 1-0

Post-Match
- Makolli is handed a 1-match suspension. I didnt even warn Stefan, the red card (though not good) was legit in my eyes.
- Xabi Alonso hit the yellow card limit, and will miss the Middlesbrough game.
- After the A.C. Milan game, another internaional break. Croatia will be without Srna also, injured.

UEFA Champions League -- Matchday 6

Inf	Team	Won	Drn	Lst	+/-	Pts
Q	London	4	0	1	+9	12
	A.C. Milan	2	1	2	-2	7
	Celtic F.C.	1	2	3	-2	5
	AEK Athens	1	1	3	-5	4

Group B saw London qualify with their win over Celtic on Matchday 5. London's only loss was to AEK Athens on matchday 4, and there was a final day scramble to see who will be 2nd in group.
A.C. Milan was in the drivers seat, it was simple, Win and In. But London was their opponent, and Milan and I dont have the greatest friendships going around.

2008/09, Milan played London in the first Knockout stage in the UCL. A 3-1 Win at Wembley left some doubt in Rovers' fans if London would progress, it was their first year in the competition also. A 5-5 draw at the San Siro a fortnight later, currently the highest scoring game in Londons' history, saw the Rovers' move to the 2nd stage knockout. The very next year, they were in Group F together, and London delt a 5-0 win at the San Siro in Matchday 2, and a Matchday 6 3-3 draw with a half-strength London squad. It's also notable that London have not lost in their 5 encounters with Milan either, with 2 draws and 3 London wins.

Celtic have 5 points, and a simple Win with a Milan draw or loss would see them through on goal difference. Both Celtic and Milan are -2 GD and a Celtic win would automatically give them at least -1 or better, whilst Milan draw or loss wouldnt improve this! They play AEK Athens at home which is a major plus, as AEK Athens needs to beat Celtic (by a margin of 3 at least) and have Milan lose, a Milan draw wont be good enough.

Celtic have recorded wins over Milan (in Italy) and 2 draws with Milan (in Scotland) and AEK (in Greece) which should results in a Win for Celtic probably.
Milan have wins over AEK (at home and away) and a single draw with Celtic away.
AEK Athens have a single win over London (at home) and managed a draw with Celtic before at home, it seems very unlikely they will snatch a win away from home but dont ever discount a possible upset!

Pre-Match
Many pundits have been skeptical of Jean's usual tactic to rest big stars in the group stages, and if he places a full strength side it would be un-characteristic to say the least. He wont want to risk returning stars such as Rafael van der Vaart or Micah Richards in this game, Branislav Ivanovic who is a seasoned campaigner will probably also be rested.
There was a 2 week rest between London's last game and the UCL match, and the groups fate might also be decided before then! With the 9th playing host to the other Group B Matchday 6 fixture (Celtic at home to AEK Athens) which Jean has said he will watch on TV and will play a part into his final decision for gameday.

[Email 1/1] Monday, 8th December 2014
"London get America, Mexico in FIFA World Club Championship.

London players have been in Tokoyo since Friday, and will play on the 10th against America. This is London's 2nd apperance, after capturing the title in 2012. The past 3 trophies have gone to UEFA teams, and 6 of the 9 years a UEFA team has been victorious. London will be attmepting to tie A.C. Milan for their 2nd title (2007 & 2008) as they take on America.

Competition leading goalscorer, Juan Carlos Gonzalez will be one to watch out for during the match. The striker is leading the competition with 2 goals. However, America will surely have to find a way to stop Bojan and Fernando Torres and Bojan goes for his 2nd Golden Boot (first was 2012, with 4 goals).

FIFA World Club Championships -- Semi Final

London: 4-5 odds-on favourite
America: 3-1 odds

Past Fixtures:
19.07.2010 -- London's Tour of North/South America
London Won 3-1

London's Line-Up: Jean's 4-5-1 Flex
8. Frank Lampard
9. Fernando Torres
11. Bojan Krkic
13. Michael Ballack
14. Xabi Alonso
19. Wilco Smeets
24. Miguel Veloso
26. John Terry (C)
27. Laurent Brunel
28. Ibrahima Lacroix
35. Igor Akinfeev
Reserves
1. Oscar Ustari
5. Renato
7. Cristiano Ronaldo
10. Wesley Sneijder
17. Giuseppe Rossi
22. Micah Richards
23. Rafael van der Vaart

America's Lin-Up: 1-3-4-2 Sweeper
1. Rodolfo Moran
2. Fernando Garcia
3. Jose Pablo Pons
4. Oliveira
5. Eder Sandoval
6. Juan Carlos Mosqueda
7. Juan Carlos Medina
8. Ignacio Negrete
9. David Cavazos
10. Juan Carlos Gonzalez
11. Cesar Rodriguez
Reserves
12. Milton Michell Aguilar
14. Roberto Nurse
15. Reginaldo
16. Roberto Del Olmo
17. Baltazar Garcia
18. Tao Yan
19. Geraldo Estrada



First-Half
10th -- Juan Carlos Gonzalez is given a yellow card for shoving Miguel Veloso.
13th -- Bojan breaks away on the counter-attack and scores! London go up 1-0
20th -- America (MEX) dont stay down for long, a Juan Carlos Mosqueda levels the scores merely 7 minutes later.
30th -- Frank Lampard shows even at his age, he can thread the needle and a magestic through ball puts Bojan open and scores his second in the half!
40th -- Some sloppy clearance play gets Smeets a goal! But the whistle had blown, Torres was offside, it wont count!
Half-Time: London 2-1

Second-Half
70th -- Goalscorer Mosqueda is yellow carded for tipping Bojan, seems they are out to ruffle his feathers!
82nd -- Torres comes off and Rossi replaces him, pushing Bojan to the lone man spot.
Full-Time: London hang on for a 2-1 win.

In Other News:
UCL Group B -- Cletic and AEK Athens play out a 2-2 draw. A.C. Milan qualify, making Matchday 6 pointless.
FA Cup Third Round -- London draws Brighton. Will be first meeting!
Carling Cup Semi Final -- London draws West Bromich Albion. 3 EPL meetings, 1 Win, Draw, Loss for London.

Every UCL has been played, except London/Milan. So next post is UCL wrap-up!

FIFA World Club Championship

London -v- Internacional

London's Line-Up
3. Gareth Bale
7. Cristiano Ronaldo
9. Fernando Torres
10. Wesley Sneijder
11. Bojan Krkic
14. Xabi Alonso
22. Micah Richards
23. Rafael van der Vaart
26. John Terry (Captain)
31. Mohamed Sahbani
35. Igor Akinfeev
Reserves
1. Oscar Ustari
4. Vebjorn Tajet
8. Frank Lampard
17. Giuseppe Rossi
24. Miguel Veloso
27. Laurent Brunel
28. Ibrahima Lacroix

Half-Time: Scores level 0-0
65th -- Lampard comes on for Torres
69th -- Lampards cross-frield lob found Ronaldo who scores the opener!
89th -- Switched to 5-5 defensive formation. Lacroix and Brunel brought on for Richards and van der Vaart.
Full-Time: London Win 1-0!!!

2nd Club World Championship in 3 years, and 2 titles on the 2 years theyve played in the competition. No real surprise, UEFA is the strongest footballing region so they should win most times.
The Cristiano Ronaldo goal, and by small part, Frank Lampards pass got London another 2.6 million pounds!!

UEFA Champions League -- Matchday 6

I wont bother with much here, the game has zero meaning at all. Milan is 2nd, London is 1st.

London's Line-Up
1. Oscar Ustari
2. Branislav Ivanovic
3. Gareth Bale
8. Frank Lampard
17. Giuseppe Rossi
18. Callum Forrest
19. Wilco Smeets
20. Ivan Rakitic
22. Micah Richards
25. Roberto
26. John Terry (Captain)
Reserves
7. Cristiano Ronaldo
10. Wesley Sneijder
11. Bojan Krkic
14. Xabi Alonso
23. Rafael van der Vaart
24. Miguel Veloso
35. Igor Akinfeev

A.C. Milan use their usual 3-4-3 super aggressive formation which i love to cut to shreds.

First-Half:
14th -- Ivan Rakitic has a goal denied due to being off-side
15th -- Alberto Gilardino scores the opener for Milan
23rd -- Wilco Smeets breaks free down the right hand side, and sets up a Giuseppe Rossi goal.
25th -- Ivanovic gets a yellow card, which means hes reached 3 and will miss the next match.
37th -- Off an Akinfeev goal kick, Rakitic rounds the right centre back and slots the teams 2nd.
Half-Time: London 2-1 leaders

Second Half:
72nd -- Miguel Veloso comes on for Roberto
76th -- Rossi nabs a 2nd goal to put the lead a comfortable 2 ahead.

London Win 3-1 !!

UEFA Champions League -- Group Stage REVIEW!

There was a pair of surprises, firstly Inter Milan in the "Group of Death (Group F)" failed to qualify, and Rangers!!! took out the group. Also Dinamo Kiev won Group C, and Benfica failed to qualify also.
Otherwise, in terms of qualifying there was no other major surprises, lets take a look group by group to see how the knockout stages will look!

GROUP A:

Inf	Club	Won	Drn	Lst	+/-	Pts
1	A.S. Roma	5	1	0	+14	16
2	F.C. Barcelona	2	2	2	+1	8
3	Hamburger SV	1	3	2	±0	6
4	CSKA Sofia	0	2	4	-15	2

No shock that Roma qualify without a loss, they have probably a top 5 squad after they poached a bunch of London players like Samuli Uotila, Philippe Mexes. Barcelona is one of the strongest 2nd placed teams this year, and hope London dont draw them in the knockout stage.

GROUP B:

Inf	Club	Won	Drn	Lst	+/-	Pts
1	London	5	0	1	+11	15
2	A.C. Milan	2	1	3	-4	7
3	Celtic F.C.	1	3	2	-2	6
4	AEK Athens	1	2	3	-5	5

GROUP C:

Inf	Club	Won	Drn	Lst	+/-	Pts
1	Dinamo Kiev	3	3	0	+7	12
2	Arsenal	2	3	1	+3	9
3	Benfica	2	1	3	-5	7
4	Fenerbahce	0	3	3	-5	3

The shock here was Dinamo winning the group, and without a loss! Arsenal was my pick for winners, and Benfica generally qualifies but it didnt look like it was their year.

GROUP D:

Inf	Club	Won	Drn	Lst	+/-	Pts
1	Real Madrid	5	0	1	+9	15
2	Boavista	2	3	1	+2	9
3	Olympique Lyonnais	2	2	2	-2	8
4	CSKA Moscow	0	1	5	-9	1

I did say Boavista had a chance, and they snuck in by the fact they drew with Lyon on matchday 6. Real going through was a easy lock, but the group was the equal hardest to qualify from. Boavista is another wild card team London could draw in the knockout stage.

GROUP E:

Inf	Club	Won	Drn	Lst	+/-	Pts
1	Juventus	4	2	0	+7	14
2	F.C. Porto	2	2	2	±0	8
3	RSC Anderlecht	1	3	2	-2	6
4	Shakhtar	1	1	4	-5	4

This group went exactly to how i originally thought. Juve is tough to beat and Porto are ex-champions. Anderlecht benefitted from having a few good games to continue in the Europa League.

GROUP F:

Inf	Club	Won	Drn	Lst	+/-	Pts
1	Rangers	4	1	1	+5	13
2	Valencia/td][td]4	0	2	+3	12
3	Inter Milan	3	1	2	+6	10
4	Olympiakos/td][td]0	0	6	-14	0

A genuine surprise, Rangers winning a group?! Inter Milan failing to qualify?! This will be very interesting, knowing Rangers luck, they'll draw Barcelona in the knockout stage. Valencia is another strong 2nd place team, Porto and Barcelona will be teams I have to prey not to get.

GROUP G:

Inf	Club	Won	Drn	Lst	+/-	Pts
1	Sevilla	4	2	0	+7	14
2	Liverpool	3	0	3	+4	9
3	F.C. Feyenoord	2	2	2	+1	8
4	Spartak Moscow	0	2	4	-12	2

Sevilla and Liverpool I was expecting to qualify, luckily its Liverpool I might draw. I have had good results against other English clubs in european competitions before and maybe I can continue this.

GROUP H:

Inf	Club	Won	Drn	Lst	+/-	Pts
1	Chelsea	4	2	0	+4	14
2	Olympique de Marseille	2	2	2	±0	8
3	F.C. Schalke	2	1	3	+1	7
4	Galatasaray	1	1	4	-5	4

Likewise with Group G, finished how i originally planned it. Marseille isnt a strong contender but they are a weaker 2nd place team compared to the other places.

Top Goal-scorer: Adrian (Inter Milan) 10
Top London Goal-scorer: Bojan Krkic 4

UEFA Champions League -- Knockout Stage Draw

Arsenal	AT	A.S. Roma
Barcelona	AT	Chelsea
F.C. Porto	AT	London
A.C. Milan	AT	Dinamo Kiev
Marseille	AT	Real Madrid
Boavista	AT	Sevilla
Valencia	AT	Juventus
Liverpool	AT	Rangers

The bogey matchup is definately Rangers and Liverpool. Rangers won in a very tough group and Liverpool was 2nd in a easy group. I got Porto, just isn't London's luck unless I get a recent champion.

2008/09 Porto defeated Barcelona in the Champions League final to take their 2nd ever title. There were a number of London players in the squad at that time, 4 of which were starters. The next year they made it to the Semi Finals before Real Madrid knocked them out, though that year they won the Club World Championship also.
2010/11 and 2011/12 were down years, loosing to Juventus in the 1st knockout stage and not even making group stages respectively. The 2012/13 season saw them make the final again, to loose to arch-rival Sporting CP in an all Portuguese final. Their run included wins over Chelsea, Celtic and Bayern Munich. Last year was a minor dissapointment where they lose to Valencia in the 1st round knockout stage.
Porto's group stage saw wins over Shakhtar (2), a pair of draws with Anderlecht and Juventus and away losses to Anderlecht and Juventus also. This will be Porto/London's first ever meeting.

London have kept their 100% group stage record in tact. 2009 was their first year and they drew Barcelona in the group stage, they were successful in beating Barcelona at Wembley but still qualified 2nd due to goal difference. They defeated A.C. Milan 8-6 on agg. including a 5-5 draw at the San Siro to be defeated by Real Madrid 4-2 in the Quarter Finals, that summer Cesc Fabregas was bought by Madrid.
2009 London drew A.C. Milan in group stages, and they slaughtered themin both games. What cost them a first place finish was 3 draws and Celtic took first place by a single point. Knockout stage saw a easy 7-2 win over Lyonnais and onto the quarter finals London marched to a heart-breaking 2-0 loss in Leg 2 seeing Arsenal begin their streak to a UCL title. 2010 was a down year where they only managed a UEFA Europa League trophy, and gave them great european experience heading into 2011/12 season.
2011/12 was their first taste at winning the group stage, with a weaker group than others they recorded 4 wins and 2 draws over CSKA Moscow, Feyenorrd and Partizan. The gods smiled on London as the First Knockout stage saw them draw Fenerbahce who they dispatched 6-0 agg. Panathinaikos was handled just as easily in the quarter finals (5-0 agg). With Barcelona, AS Roma and Palermo left... The luck was on Jean's side as they drew Palermo who they beat 7-2. Leaving them a first final against Barcelona. The highest scoring UCL Final saw London win their first title, with a 5-2 defeat over Barcelona.
2012/13 had London returning as a powerhouse in european football, they progressed with 5 Wins and 1 Draw in the group stages. The second year running they drew Fenerbahce in the knockout stage, where a 5-1 2nd leg win was needed to progress. London drew their group stage rival AS Monaco in the quarter final and a 2-0, 1-0 win saw them progress to a second semi final. Watching Porto defeat Bayern, it would have been sweet if London could beat Sporting CP and take on Jose Mourinho and the 3 defected players who joined them the summer before but it wasnt to be, Sporting won 2-1 in both legs and they went on to beat Porto and hoist their first trophy, ironically they played the final in Portgual.
2013/14 London was filled with a new zest for winning trophies, they had Werder Bremen who they comfortabely qualified 5 points clear of, and would draw AS Roma in the knockout stage. They had to scramble for a 2-2 draw in the 2nd leg to progress 4-2 on agg. This brought a contender/pretender bought with Manchester City where they took the 2nd leg 2-0 to progress to the semi final. They delt with Valencia easily, 9-1 agg. and would meet Liverpool in the Final. This spelt the second consecutive year with a same country final. London won their 2nd title and are current champions looking to repeat since A.C. Milan in 2007,2008.


First Leg: Porto home to London, 17.02.2015
Second Leg: London home to Porto, 03.03.2015

Back, Back Again, Tell a Friend...

Just a Re-Cap of stuff in case you're lagging behind! (Well Im lagging, but just to preview some random crap)

- Qualified for the UEFA Champions League Knockout stage (First in group)
- FA Cup and Carling Cup tied in the next fortnight
- Heading towards the mid-point of the 2014/15 Barclay's English Premier League

Injuries:
Finnish Fullback, Stefan Makolli
Spanish Midfielder, Xabi Alonso

Upcoming Fixtures:
23.12.2014 - EPL (H) Middlesbrough
26.12.2014 - EPL (A) Southend
03.01.2015 - FA Cup 3rd Round (A) Brighton (League Two)
07.01.2015 - Carling Cup Semi Final (H) West Bromich Albion
10.01.2015 - EPL (H) Sunderland
14.01.2015 - EPL (A) Leeds United
18.01.2015 - EPL (H) Aston Villa
21.01.2015 - Carling Cup Semi Final (A) West Bromich Albion

Woah, Vans back.
Just to say- I have been enjoying following this.
it's rather interesting.
But I have been googling lots of football terms.
And I keep missing out what half of them mean.
By terms I mostly mean names and locations and championships.
Any chance of a list of different popular names and stuff to help me know whats going?

Jerms wrote:

Woah, Vans back.
Just to say- I have been enjoying following this.
it's rather interesting.
But I have been googling lots of football terms.
And I keep missing out what half of them mean.
By terms I mostly mean names and locations and championships.
Any chance of a list of different popular names and stuff to help me know whats going?

Soccer is governed by FIFA, they basically run the world.
Each region (like Europe, Africa, Ocenia etc) have their own mini-FIFA.
UEFA is European football's governing body and they deal with "Continential" games like the Champions League (UCL), Europa League etc.

Then each country has their own nation, EPL is top-flight English soccer.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_football_league_system
That shows the list of all the leagues in England.
The UCL http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UEFA_Champions_League
The Europa League http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UEFA_Europa_League

That should explain a fair bit more. Takes a while to wrap your head around it all, Australian soccer can not and probably will never need such a system because this country can't support that volume of soccer.