Results - August 09

Norwich 1 v 1 Stoke
Ricardo Fuller gave Stoke the lead in the first half, before Marcus Tudgay rescued a point for Norwich in the second half.

Hartlepool 2 v 3 Stoke - League Cup 1st round
I gave my first team a rest for the cup game. I was regretting this decision after 30 minutes - as Hartlepool took a two goal lead! Making 3 subs, I played much better in the second half, with Dave Kitson scoring the winner!

Stoke 3 v 0 Southampton
A brilliant performance here against a good Southampton side. Goals from Ricardo Fuller, Seyi Olifanjana & Santiago Solari move Stoke up to 3rd in the league.

*OPENING FIXTURES - Season 2

Having set my targets on promotion back to the premier league, I've been given a decent transfer and wage budget. A lot of my first team requested to be put on the the transfer list. I sold my captain Danny Higginbotham for £2 million. I'm hoping to keep hold of as many of the rest as I can.

I've spent £1.8 million on Marek Matejovsky from Reading, £2.2 million on Andy Carroll, Santiago Solari on a free, Karl Collier for 190k from Leicester, Jordan Mutch from Birmingham for 600k, Chris Porter & Lee Wilkie on free transfers.

*END OF SEASON 1 - Roundup

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Here are the results from the last few games of the season. Highlights include beating West Ham 3-0 & leading twice against Arsenal - before they eventually ran out 4-2 winners. Stoke are relegated! The good news is, that they are sticking by me, and I have set my sights on automatic promotion next season.

Results - March/April 09

Stoke 2 v 1 Bolton
A win against Bolton has extended the unbeaten run to three games!! Johann Elmander gave Bolton a first half lead, before Mama Sidibe scored the equaliser. On the 87th minute, Diego Tristan was in the clear and scored with a beautifully executed lob.

Man Utd 2 - 0 Stoke
I wasn't expecting to get anything from this game, but I kept the same team and formation that has been doing well for me lately. United goals came from Patrice Evra & Dimitar Berbatov.

League Table - March 09

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Here is the latest league table. As you can see, I'm still at the bottom of the league. I have vital home games against Hull & West Ham coming up. I need to win both to have any chance of avoiding relagation!

Liverpool v Stoke - The re-match!

http://football-manager-2009-guide.blogspot.com/2008/11/stoke-2-v-2-liverpool.html

Click the above link to see what happened in the first match between Stoke & Liverpool. You will see how unlucky I was not to get my first win. If you thought that was bad, see below for details of the rematch at Anfield.

3-0 up! How could I throw away a 3-0 lead!?! At 3-3, Mama Sidibe had a 1 on 1 with Reina and he hit the post! I was so close to making it two wins in a row!

Results - March 09

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Stoke City 2 v 1 Fulham

I've finally managed my first league win!!! Goals from Ricardo Fuller and Rãzvan Rat secured the win! Can I build on this and get out of the relagation zone!?!? Probably not, but I'm just happy to get the win! I have a few decent chances of more wins in the home matches coming up.
Bolton, West Brom & Hull.

Updates-Nov08 to Mar 09

I have updated the teamsheet for my team - you will find it on the top of the page.

Transfers

I sold a few players (including £1 mill for Leon Cort), giving me some sort of spending power at the transfer window in January. I signed Keith Andrews - to play in centre midfield - from Blackburn for 675k. I also signed experienced forward Diego Tristan - until the end of the season.

Results

Results in the league haven't been too kind! Losing 5-1 to Everton, 3-0 to Wigan amongst the worst performances! I did, however, get draws against Chelsea & Middlesborough.

In the cup, I was drawn against rivals Port Vale - again!!! Having been 2-0 up after 20 minutes, I was expecting an easy win. Vale pulled it back to 2-2 before I, once again, took the lead. Vale equalised before I got a late "winner." - Only for Vale to get an even later equaliser!!

In the replay, I beat them 3-0 to play Sheff Wed in the next round. Expecting an easy win, I drew in the first match & the replay finished 3-3! Penalty Shootout! Losing 5-3.

My Formation 4-3-1-2 v1.0

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Here is my new formation. 4-3-1-2
This has been created around my star player Sergiy Rebrov - whose favourite position is AM C.

Stoke 2 v 2 Liverpool

Still searching for my first win, Stoke's next game came against Liverpool. The first half started really well, I was having a lot of shots, but couldn't score. However, Dirk Kuyt scored for Liverpool before the end of the first half!

Second half was much of the same, before Abdoulaye Faye was sent off for Stoke! I just knew this wasn't going to be our first win! 3 Minutes later, a long ball from Thomas Sorensen landed straight on the head of Mamady Sidibe and looped over Reina in goal for Liverpool! Yessssssssssssss!!!!!

Despite having a gap in my defense, I didn't change tactics! 4 minutes from the end, Dave Kitson finally got a Stoke goal in the league! That's it surely, my first win as Stoke manager in the league.

No! 4 minutes into injury time, Dirk Kuyt equalised for the Scouse erm...

Greatest Goal 001 - Stoke 2 v 2 Liverpool

A long kick by Thomas Sorensen landed straight on the head on Mama Sidibe - catching Reina off his line & looping over his head!

Stoke 2 v 2 Liverpool

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Fixtures - Aug 08 to Dec 08

Here are all of my results so far & the upcoming fixtures. As you can see, I've still not won in the league! Losing by late goals to Newcastle, Blackburn & Fulham. I will be working on a new formation next - I will post it soon!

I've now lost 6 in a row. Any tips? Post your comments below

Results - August/September 08

Results so far
Stoke 0 v 0 Wigan
Man City 2 v 0 Stoke
Port Vale 0 v 3 Stoke (League Cup 2nd Round) - Cresswell 2, Whelan

Aug/Sep 08
Stoke 0 v 0 Aston Villa - (I still haven't scored a league goal! However, a good draw against Villa.)
Tottenham 4 v 2 Stoke - Sergiy Rebrov, Mamady Sidibe.
Stoke 1 v 2 Newcastle - Fuller (Newcastle scored in the last minute to take the points)

I still haven't managed a win, but I was leading against Newcastle, before Alan Smith equalised, and Jonas scored the winner in the last minute! West Ham next in the League Cup 3rd round.

Results - August 08

I have made a good loan singing - Andy Carroll from Newcastle. He is a 19 yr old striker, which I'll use as a target man. He is 199cm tall and has the following attributes. (heading, jumping, bravery, strength --> 14,17,15,14)

Results
Stoke 0 v 0 Wigan
Man City 2 v 0 Stoke
Port Vale 0 v 3 Stoke (League Cup 2nd Round) - Cresswell 2, Whelan
Stoke v Aston Villa

I've started poorly in the league, drawing 0-0 with Wigan & losing 2-0 to Man City. I scored my first goals in the league cup, beating arch rivals Port Vale 3-0. Two goals from Richard Cresswell & one from Glenn Whelan.

The next league game is against Aston Villa at home.

Pre-season News

I have spent most of my transfer budget on Rãzvan Rat - a D/WB L from from Shaktar Donetsk. He scored on his pre-season debut, against Stoke Reserves in a 1-0 win. I also 675K on Jordan Rhodes - an 18 yr old pacey striker from Ipswich.

The rest of my signings are as follows.

Keith Treacy - AM L (on loan from Blackburn). Sergiy Rebrov - AM C (signed on free transfer). Terry Dixon - AM/F C (signed on free transfer). Alexey Smertin - DM, M C (Currently on trial). Stephen Carr - D R (signed on free transfer).

Pre-season Results

I have not lost in the 4 pre-season games so far. However, drawing with Falkirk & Gillingham are not good results!

My first league game is coming up shortly - I'm at home to Wigan

My Formation 4-4-2 v1.0

Here is my first team as of Nov 15th. I am still in pre-season on the game

Welcome to the football manager 2009 blogspot

Welcome to the football manager 2009 blogspot - Here, you will find latest news from the game, good players to buy & you can follow how well I'm doing in my game