#61589 akash.vidyasagar : #61587 Gurdit :well, then you ought to know that in my experience, Rooney's hit-rate for penalties is about 75% ... misses 1 out of 4 roughly
Interesting story. How did you arrive at the stats for the set pieces? Randomly or did you use some logic based on the attributes?
It was based on their attributes, but pretty random.
Manchester United - Once Again
Read before judging.
Meeting The Owners And The Legends
As I walked into a room full of people who either own a part of the club or have been integral in making the club, I feel out of place. To be honest, any time I talk about Sir Bobby Charlton and how important he was to the club, I get goosebumps and I haven't really considered the idea of being in the same room as him as the manager of Manchester United - that is, until now. While butlers and servers are moving around the room, occupying most people's attention, facing the stadium, with their backs to me stood David Gill, Avram & Joel Glazer, Sir Bobby Charlton and Sir Alex Ferguson.
I walked upto them, while one of the Glazers was notified about my arrival. All of them turned around, not in synchronization at all, to greet me. Soon enough, Nemanja Vidic, the captain, and Patrice Evra, the vice-captain arrive and we all sit around one big table, headed by Sir Alex, out of respect and gratitude. He has decided now to continue on with the club, even in a directorial capacity, so this will be his last meeting. He clears his throat and starts the meeting off.
Sir Alex Ferguson
"Gentlemen, before we begin, I would just like to say that I have been notified that you are planning to take the squad for a send-off match in Munich right in the middle of this season, and I would like to come out, be clear and tell you that I am completely against that idea. If you are to give me a sendoff, it should be during one of our friendlies. I will not have the boys distracted during the season."
Mike Phelan
"Boss, we could schedule a friendly against Bayern before our season starts. They did show some interest towards the end of last season."
Sir Alex nodded and continued.
Sir Alex Ferguson
"And Akash, I'm hoping you have seen Shinji and Nick in training. I hope you are not disappointed with the signings I made before having to leave. Shinji should be ready for the first-team, once he learns to communicate with the guys in the center."
Akash Vidyasagar
"There is no doubt Kagawa and Powell are both United quality players - and I expect Shinji to be a part of the first team, especially during the run-in."
As both of them exchange a look of approval as Avram Glazer stands up and pats me on the back.
Avram Glazer
"Now, Akash, I don't know whether you are aware of this, but we gave Sir Alex a budget of £60 Million to win the title back from City. Kagawa and Powell came from that kitty, but if you feel you need to further strengthen the squad, you can use the rest of the transfer budget offered to Sir Alex."
Joel Glazer
"Of course, we have had a meeting with the rest of the directors and your predecessor himself, and we don't think it is fair for us to expect you to win the Premier League at the first time of asking, with City, Chelsea and Arsenal taking a step forward when it comes to personel. We expect of you to qualify for the Champions League, that is finish fourth or higher."
Nemanja Vidic
"I would just like to add that the team has taken very well to the new manager with internation experience, and see you as the right man to take this club forward. You have the confidence and the trust of the players."
As soon as Vidic finishes talking, Phelan takes over.
Mike Phelan
"And so have the staff. They are happy you chose to not terminate their contracts, because they love being part of the Manchester United system. The arrivals of Gian Nicola Bisciotti and Enrico Fedele have filled up all the gaps that were starting to be felt within the staff, and it has always lightened up our burden."
The meeting ended with handshakes and some humour, but there's a lot more left to be done before the season begins.
#61591 blue is the colour : Wow some fantastic effort and brilliant writing has been put into this keep it up
#61595 Kiwi : Ryan Giggs proves he still has it.....great writing Akash, although "I wasn't expecting any less from him you either."
Thank you, you both, for reading and commenting..and also reminding me how much I love compliments.
Compliments are good aren't they? And it serves as a reminder that stories are not *all* about the on paddock results. You can have a crappy season, and still make a great story. Not that I am hexing you Akash.
Did you ask about the Man U IPO in the meeting?
Did you ask about the Man U IPO in the meeting?
#61609 akash.vidyasagar : #61591 blue is the colour :
Wow some fantastic effort and brilliant writing has been put into this keep it up
#61595 Kiwi :
Ryan Giggs proves he still has it.....great writing Akash, although "I wasn't expecting any less from him you either."
Thank you, you both, for reading and commenting..and also reminding me how much I love compliments.
this is a great story. Loved the peno and free-kick result thing, it made your story unique and exciting.
#61611 Kiwi : Compliments are good aren't they? And it serves as a reminder that stories are not *all* about the on paddock results. You can have a crappy season, and still make a great story. Not that I am hexing you Akash.
Did you ask about the Man U IPO in the meeting?
I brought it up, but they threatened to sack me if I ever mentioned it again.
#61615 The FM Rookie : this is a great story. Loved the peno and free-kick result thing, it made your story unique and exciting.
Thanks a lot. I hope I have done enough to keep you coming back for more.
#61615 The FM Rookie : this is a great story. Loved the peno and free-kick result thing, it made your story unique and exciting.
Thanks a lot. I hope I have done enough to keep you coming back for more.
Oh you have done more than enough my friend
Dealing With The Devil
Managers are deceptive, players are demanding, but there is only one group of individuals that can be equated to devils in the footballing world - money hungry agents.
It all started a week ago, when I asked Gian Nicola Biscotti to visit Lille, France, to discuss terms with Lucas Digne, after we had agreed a £2.1 Million deal for him. Biscotti was my choice of negotiator because of his excellent man management skills. This was his first job after joining the club, and the prospect of agreeing a deal with the French youngster seemed easy enough. He was extremely interested in joining the club and wouldn't require a huge wage rise. Before he left, I reminded the coach that I trusted his decision and he should only contact me when the left-back had accepted our contract offer.
Just about six hours after he left the club office, I get a text message from him, saying, "Done with the Digne deal. Success! I'm on my way to Marseille, boss." Because I was busy with practice, I didn't notice the message until two hours later. He was supposed to be going to Lille, and that is it. Those two cities were on the opposite sides of France and I had not sanctioned a vacation. I attempted to call him and after two unsuccessful attempts, he started the conversation with "You must come here immediately."
After enquiring more, he was finally able to explain that he had discovered that a player we were monitoring would be available, albeit expensive, for a minimum of £24 Million. Cesar Aspilicueta, the Marseille first-choice right back, had expressed a desire to move to a bigger club and challenge for the Champions League, but his club managed to pacify him for the moment by promising him that the club will move forward. Of course, if there was an offer by a club like Manchester United, who are regularly reaching the latter stages of the Champions League, he would be demanding a transfer request, without doubt!
"You are already in Marseille, Gian. You expect me to drop everything here and just travel to France..and for what?"
This is Manchester United - arguably the biggest club in Europe. The coaches here are more famous and respected than most of the top managers around the world, and Biscotti needed me to help him out with a transfer from an equally professional Olympique Marseille? To be honest, I wasn't too happy about it all, but I soon realized my coach had done more than expected of him. To avoid attracting the attention of clubs like Barcelona and Liverpool, who were rumoured to be interested in the player, Biscotti had "unofficially" talked to coaches and staff from Marseille about the exact amount required to sign the 21 year old defender. £24.5 Million was the "unofficial" transfer fee we would have to pay. Speaking to Elie Baup's assistant manager, Gian had also received the number of Cesar Azpilicueta's agent, Juan Lavin.
Lavin stated outright, "If you want my client to consider your contract offer, it needs to be face-to-face with the manager of the club."
"I will be there. You have done a lot already, but if you could organize the meeting and try and keep away from the press, that would be perfect.", I said to Biscotti. The training for the day was done, but my day was just getting started.
Interesting. But 24.5 M for Cesar Azpilicueta? Seems a little high for a full-back. I don't know, it totally depends on your style of play, of course. I don't know if I'd spend that much on a full-back, especially considering Rafael would probably be my first choice full-back, he has pretty good attributes (Rafael).
#62104 Gurdit : Interesting. But 24.5 M for Cesar Azpilicueta? Seems a little high for a full-back. I don't know, it totally depends on your style of play, of course. I don't know if I'd spend that much on a full-back, especially considering Rafael would probably be my first choice full-back, he has pretty good attributes (Rafael).
The thing is, Rafael's agent is a pain in the backside. Every time any team publicizes their interest for the Brazilian, he comes running for an improved contract. I can also get upwards of 20 Million for Rafael, so why not have a guaranteed replacement who can play equally as good as him to take over if I can't meet his demands?
brilliant write up of the story, excellent detail put in, also looks intresting whats going on with the actual team, looks like you will do well, certainly going to be following! keep it up!
#62131 EvertonMan1878 : brilliant write up of the story, excellent detail put in, also looks intresting whats going on with the actual team, looks like you will do well, certainly going to be following! keep it up!
Thank you very much for reading. Hope to keep you interested.
I want this story to be absolutely perfect, but because of a tough schedule, it is going to be slow.
It's looking great so far Akash!
#62335 akash.vidyasagar : #62131 EvertonMan1878 :
brilliant write up of the story, excellent detail put in, also looks intresting whats going on with the actual team, looks like you will do well, certainly going to be following! keep it up!
Thank you very much for reading. Hope to keep you interested.
I want this story to be absolutely perfect, but because of a tough schedule, it is going to be slow.
#62338 Kiwi : It's looking great so far Akash!
#62335 akash.vidyasagar :
#62131 EvertonMan1878 :
brilliant write up of the story, excellent detail put in, also looks intresting whats going on with the actual team, looks like you will do well, certainly going to be following! keep it up!
Thank you very much for reading. Hope to keep you interested.
I want this story to be absolutely perfect, but because of a tough schedule, it is going to be slow.
Thanks, Kiwi. I have a holiday tomorrow, so hope to put something up soon enough.
You are reading "Manchester United - Once Again".
