The Master League adventures thread

[Stringer Bell]

I managed my best result so far with it, a 4-0 thrashing of Nice. I used it to devastating effect with Cagliari in PES4 and it was quite effective with FC Vaduz. Danté Lopez became a goal machine because of it.

I find when i face a team playing 4-3-3, it's useful for me to mirror it. In the past, if i've played a 4-4-2 of sorts, it can sometimes be a struggle. Plus it's great for the "opposite side attack" tactic. Great if you have effective/creative wingers. I do normally stick to a 4-4-2 though. I like my teams to be versatile.

As for the 5-5 SB, i totally believe it. The com just wasn't going to let you win. I've had games like that before.

Okay, I inmagine you to be a more of a 4-5-1/4-4-2 kinda guy who relied on a lot of tactical work to break the opposition down and stuff. You are called the Tactician!! :mrgreen:

The 5-5 result was a bit nuts, i've never experienced that kinda thing before! lol

 

[Stringer Bell]

Good stuff SB/Prof/gerd/DB, enjoyed reading all your updates, keep it up. :8):

When I can be bothered, i'll post up an update of my Napoli ML. I'm at the half way stage atm, tbh, I have to echo Stringer Bell's views that the PS3 version is too easy.

I picked them for a challenge, and that's not what I am really getting out of it sadly.Dare I say, this game might even be easier than PES4.

As for the keepers on the game. :-x

The next gen version of the game is a bit pants really! :lol:

I to found it a bit easy; wasn't really worth playing with all the slowdowns/framerate problems to!

PES King have you seen the glitch in the game where the player runs into the adboards and the crowd!?!?!? :shock:

 

[Stringer Bell]

N.C.E. Super League Division 1: Fixture 12

AZ battles it out with Utrecht

Guess Who’s Back

I was facing one of my former Dutch teams, FC Utrecht. I was pumped up for this match today; facing a team I used to manage and had quite a successful time with. But FC Utrecht wasn’t coming to the DSB Stadion looking for a friends reunited ceremony with me. Jan Willem van Dop set his team out to give me a bloody difficult game!

In the first half I couldn’t get a sniff on goal. Utrecht was defending really well. They made it hard for me to create chances. Caluwé and Somers, in the center, were snuffing out any chances Cziommer was trying to create. Their defense was on top form, stopping any attempts on goal Ari and Dembélé were trying to take. Seemed like it was going to be a long day! But then late into the second half, FC Utrecht conceded a corner kick. Cziommer took it and hit it deep into the Utrecht penalty area. Schut (who was having a good game) headed it out – but the ball landed to Schaars – and he managed to control it nicely with his chest – placed the ball on the ground – before smashing the ball with his left foot to score a fucking scorcher of a goal!! There was nothing the keeper could do about that! The first half ended 1-0.

The second half started – FC Utrecht was pressuring me, looking for a goal to draw level. It seemed like one of those games the opponents was so up your arse you couldn’t nothing about it but defend and try to hold on to the lead. Well I tried to do that, but van Dop rallied his troops up to get a equalising, which they did in the 65 minute. Sanmartean setup a chance for Caluwé, with a lovely chipped through ball that cut trough my whole defense - the Belgium controlled it nicely before chipping it past my keeper to go into his right post. 1-1. I couldn’t draw this game because I was already eight points of the pace of league leaders Feyenoord. So I brought on Pellé and Medunjanin as fresh legs to try and grab a goal for the team. FC Utrecht almost took the lead with ten minutes to the end of the match. When van der Gun beat my defense – went one on one with Didulica – and he just skimmed a shot past the post! I was lucky with that one! I was even going to get luckier, because in the 87th minute Medunjanin took a corner kick. This went deep into the Utrecht penalty area and Martens managed to control the looming ball well, before smashing the ball into the roof of the net to put my team 2-1 up!! I was quite relived to have taken the lead so late in the, I thought a goal would never come. Even after I scored the late goal, Utrecht was still probing looking to get a goal, but I managed to hold on to win the game.

Good match. FC Utrecht made it hard for me. They deserved a least a draw for the match, but to be honest, I was lucky not to lose the game…

MOTM: Martens (6.5)

AZ Alkmaar 2 (Schaars 42” Martens 87”)
FC Utrecht 1 (Caluwé 65”)

N.C.E. Super League Div1:
1 Feyenoord.....................29
2 PSV...............................26
3 DSC Arminia Bielefeld.....26
4 Ajax.............................23
5 AZ Alkmaar..................19
6 FC Twente....................19
7 FC Energie Cottbus........18
8 Vitesse..........................18
9 FC Hansa Rostock...........18
10 FC Utrecht.....................17
11 Heracles Almelo............13
12 FC Groningen...............10
13 SC Heerenveen............10
14 De Graafschap................8
15 Sparta Rotterdam...........7
16 N.E.C. Nijmegen.............7

 

[Professor Nutmeg]

SAISON 20008/2009

STRASBOURG EASE INTO
QUARTER-FINALS

COUPE DE LA LIGUE (Round 1, 2nd Leg)
Strasbourg 2 Abdessadki 48' Gasmi 80'
Nice 0
(Agg: 4-2)

Strasbourg booked their place in the quarter-finals of the league cup, with a comfortable 2-0 home win over OGC Nice. Yacine Abdessadki opened the scoring early in the second half, with a delightful volley from Emil Gargorov's corner. With ten minutes to spare, substitute Romain Gasmi later put the result beyond doubt, with his first touch of the ball.
Strasbourg will now face current league leaders, Paris St. Germain, in the quarter-finals.

 

[PES King]

The next gen version of the game is a bit pants really! :lol:

I to found it a bit easy; wasn't really worth playing with all the slowdowns/framerate problems to!

PES King have you seen the glitch in the game where the player runs into the adboards and the crowd!?!?!? :shock:

Yeah, I have seen that glitch, mate. :lol:

It's only happened once to me, when I scored a goal with Ronaldinho, what you described happened, naturally I pissed myself laughing.

Is the PS2 version really that much better than the PS3 one though?

 

[Stringer Bell]

Is the PS2 version really that much better than the PS3 one though?

Well, if you want a complete game, yes.

You've played PES6, so expect that with a team/player update and a gameplay tweak.

 

[Stringer Bell]

N.C.E. Super League Division 1 NEWS

Grand Slam Sunday

The N.C.E. Super League will host its first grand slam Sunday of the season, involving the top four Dutch teams in the league.

AZ Alkmaar, managed by Stringer Bell, will be playing Ajax at home. The Alkmaar outfits are currently fifth and are unbeaten in four games, while Ajax are two points ahead of AZ in fourth with a nine game unbeaten run. Temporary Ajax manager, Koster, said “I don’t think these two games will define the season. But it will be an important match for both teams, in terms of giving the winning team the confidence over the losing team and having that buoyancy going on to the coming games after that.”

The other game of the evening will see second placed PSV go up against league leaders Feyenoord, at the De Kiup; with just three points separating both teams. Feyenoord have won ten games in thirteen matches under Bert van Marwijk and are looking to stretch their lead at the top of the table against PSV. PSV have managed to notch up a seven game winning run, despite losing key striker Lazovic for the rest of the season.

All four teams will be looking go into the winter break on high after this match and their one remaining fixture.

 

[gerd]

Getafe CF surprisingly second after 100% Barcelona:

After seven games, newcomers Getafe are doing surprisingly good in the top division of the Mediteranean League.
Barcelona have won their 7 matches, but getafe only lost 2 points: a 1-1 draw in Istanbul against Fenerbahce.

The current rankings:

1 Barcelona 21
2 Getafe CF 18
3 Real Madrid 18
4 Valencia 16
5 Sevilla 16
6 Atletico Madrid


Getafe also qualified for the first round of the cup after eliminating Zaragoza (1-1 away, 3-1 home win).

Cata Diaz commanding his defense.


Next match is against Barcelona...

 

[PetrovLFC]

Hey folks. I'm bored of Fifa and I'm back playing Pro again, isn't it always the case!...eventually.

Looking for a job in France or Italy...any offers?

Must add, I find PES 2008 (PC) version to be rather shit, but it still has more depth than FIFA. PES6 is better.

 

[gerd]

Couple of nice teams to play with:
Lille
Sochaux
Palermo
Atalanta
Genoa
SM Caen

 

[Stringer Bell]

The Dutch league is where it's at Perter!

 

[Stringer Bell]

N.C.E. Super League Division 1: Fixture 14

Five goal thriller at the DSB Stadion

This was a bit of a significant match for my team; a win here could see move up to forth place and edge me closer to the league leaders. The other match (Feynoord vs PSV) was also an important match for both teams. Feynoord were looking to stretch the gap at the top and PSV needed to win to close the gap at the top of the table.

I went into this match with a 4-3-1-2 formation. Ajax lined up with their usual 4-3-3 formation; the apparent thing was that Huntelaar wasn’t in the starting line up. But they still had players I had to watch out for. >Click here to see full lineup<

This was a home match so I had to set the pace and go at Ajax straight from the kick off. I could have got an early lead when Martens crossed the ball from the left wing – which found Dembélé – but the Belgium headed just too high and went over the bar. The first half was a bit of a dull affair to be honest, not too many chances on goal. My team was playing alright, controlling the game and keeping Ajax at bay. But things went haywire when Manucharyan ran towards goal and hit a shot which beat Didulica and came of his right post. The ball went into Mitea’s path – Jaliens ran in on him and made a clumsy tackle – which saw the Romania brought down and the referee blew for a penalty! A. Luque stepped up to take the penalty and converted it to put Ajax 0-1 ahead. The goal was scored just five minutes before halftime and that’s how the first half ended!

Spoiler

I brought on Musampa for Martens (like for like change) and Pellè for Dembélé; Pellè was brought on as an aerial presence and to cause Heitinga and Vermaelen (who were both 180cm short) problems in the box.

Ajax started the first half of well. They were passing the ball around and controlling the game well; my team was finding it hard to get the ball of them. Ajax then got their second goal when Manucharyan dribbled past almost my whole defense – before smacking the ball past my keeper to make it 0-2 to Ajax. I was under the kush from their and Mitea could of made it three when he missed an easy chance. I got a bit of luck when Cziommer took a corner – which was sent deep into the penalty area and unfortunately bounced of Heitinga to go into goal, 1-2. Sweet, I was a goal back in the game! Things got even better 10 minutes later – when Pellè played a through ball to Ari – Vermaelen was slow to react and Air ran past him – went one on one with the Heijblok and slide the ball past him to level the game 2-2. All I had to do was hold on to the lead, but Ajax wasn’t having it and two minutes later they went ahead again (after my players were still celebrating!). A bad clearance from Jaliens saw the ball land into Siem de Jong’s path – the young midfielder crossed the ball from the left – which was sent to an unmarked Mitea to head it in and put Ajax 2-3 ahead. A bit of a kick in the teeth really! I could of draw level when Mendes da Silva took a long range shot from 25 miters out, which saw Heijblok make a fine save to keep it out. I got another brilliant opportunity to draw level in the 90 minute – when Ari set up Cziommer with a through ball to – which saw him with a one on one chance with the keeper – but the German unluckily hit the post! The match ended 2-3.

Damn! Was a bit unlucky to lose that match, felt I should have got a least a draw. But that’s what I deserved when my team couldn’t hold on to the ball. The other big game of the evening, which saw Feynoord take on PSV, ended 1-1. It was good that the other match ended in only a draw, but I was now eleven points behind Feyenoord!

MOTM: Siem de Jong (7.0)

AZ Alkmaar 2 (Heitinga OG 60” Ari 71”)
Ajax 3 (A. Luque 40” Manucharyan 56” Mitea 73”)

N.C.E. Super League Div1:
1 Feyenoord.....................33
2 PSV...............................30
3 DSC Arminia Bielefeld.....29
4 Ajax.............................27
5 AZ Alkmaar..................22
6 FC Twente....................22
7 FC Energie Cottbus........21
8 FC Hansa Rostock...........21
9 FC Utrecht.....................19
10 Vitesse..........................19
11 Heracles Almelo............14
12 SC Heerenveen............13
13 Sparta Rotterdam...........11
14 FC Groningen...............11
15 De Graafschap................11
16 N.E.C. Nijmegen.............8

 

[gerd]

Bad luck Stringer...

 

[Stringer Bell]

You could say that about my season so far gerd. lol!

I think i made a mistake putting Arminia Bielefeld, Energie Cottbus and Hansa Rostock into my league. For some reason they're doing rather well in the league, to well should i say. It's kinda spoiling the look of the league for me. The only reason why i put them there is, because i thought they wouldn't be doing any good and they would be looming around the relation spot. I guess i'm wrong! I should of put Hertha Berlin, Hamburg and Wolfsburg in the league.

Anyways i won't let that spoil an enjoyable ML for me so far.

Peace, have a happy new year.

 

[Stringer Bell]

Transfer News

AZ make move on Kruys

AZ Alkmaar are in contract talks with FC Utrecht midfielder, Rick Kruys. The 22 year old, Dutch U21 international, has played under Stringer Bell before during the managers eight year spell with the Utrecht club. Stringer Bell said “Kruys was a player we looked at during the winter break, but we couldn’t bring him in due to fact that Utrecht still needed him in the team at that time.”

AZ originally made an offer for Kruys during the winter transfer window, but the deal was declined by the Utrecht manager. Willem van Hanegem said ”It wasn’t possible to set a deal at that moment in time, because the club wouldn’t have had time to buy another player.”

Both clubs are currently negotiating a deal and everything is reportedly to be signed by the end of the season.

 

[gerd]

A handicapped Getafe looses against Barcelona in a thrilling match:

Barcelona - Getafe 3-1

17' Juan Pablo Pino 0-1
33' Eto'o 1-1
72' Messi 2-1
93' Eto'o

Tough luck for overachievers Getafe. In the match between the only 2 unbeaten teams in Camp Nou they had to play without both injured stars Uche and Albin and the strong central defender Cata Diaz wasn't available either because of a yellow card suspension.
Getafe started very well and was by far the better team the first half hour. This resulted in a great Juan Pablo ¨Pino goal after a dazzling solo effort by the Columbian who turns out to be the player of the season so far...
And then it went all pear shaped for the third team from Madrid. Barcelona's first attack resulted in the equaliser by Eto'o.
Early on in the second half Getafe lost Juan Pablo Pino with injury and from then on the individual brilliance of Barcelona stars became more important than the dsciplined team play of Getafe.
Messi scored a stunning overhead kick and when both Manu Del Moral and Ben Sahar missed opportunities to equalize in an all or nothing offensive, what was written in the stars happened a third goal after a brilliant solo.
Barcelona and the public turned out to be the big winners in this exciting match with four beautifull goals...

Getafe's killer in action.

Gerd Dk's comment after this first loss of the season:

"We have shown that we can pose problems to the giants, don't forget that this was a weakened Getafe..."

Next is a match against Sevilla, another tough nut to crack...

 

[Stringer Bell]

Unlucky about the loss gerd, especially since you had some important players out!

Barca are probably the hardest team to beat on PES2008 (PS3).

 

[Stringer Bell]

N.C.E. Super League Division 1 (Season 2007): Fixture 20

No away blues

I managed to get a crucial 0-2 away victory over Feyenoord at the De Kiup. I was having a very disappointing season so far. I was currently 11th in the table with 23 points and my target of finishing 1st to 3rd was out the window! More importantly I could miss out on a European place next season! A win here could put me 10th and edge me closer to a European spot. A 7th place finish in the league could see me qualify for at least the UEFA Cup, that’s if the league cup finalists have both already qualified for Europe. Feyenoord have gone off the pace and were looking to get back in the title race with a win at home.

It was a snowy day in the De Kiup; I was playing with an edited 4-3-1-2 formation. I had El Hamdaoui playing as a RWF to cover the right wing spot, because I put De Zeeuw as a CMF in the middle of the right. Opdam had the task of marking the dangerous Makaay. >Click here to see full lineup<

I got things cracking as early as the first three minutes of the match. Musampa ran down the left flank – delivered a low cross – Ari managed to run between Greene and Vlaar to get to the ball first – and smash the ball past the keeper to make it 1-0! I was totally dominating the first half of the match; Musampa was causing lots of trouble in the left side of midfield. Ari had a total of six shots alone in the first half, while Feyenoord only had one chance on goal!

The second goal came later on in the second half – when Opdam intercepted a ball from Mols – the ball was passed to Medunjanin – the lanky playmaker fed Ari with a through ball – which put the Brazilian one on one with Ekramy – and he managed to finish it of nicely with his left foot, to make it 0-2. Feyenoord were poor at home and their dip in form continued here.

This was an excellent performance by my team. I could of won the match by more goals, especially since I had 14 shots on goal (10 of them were on target!). Still, a vital victory here for me which sees me 10th in the table and 7 points of a guaranteed European spot.

MOTM: Ari (7.5)

Feyenoord 0
AZ Alkmaar 2 (Ari 3” 65”)

N.C.E. Super League Div1:
1 DSC Arminia Bielefeld.....44
2 Ajax.............................43
3 FC Twente....................40
4 Feyenoord.....................39
5 PSV...............................34
6 FC Hansa Rostock...........33
7 FC Utrecht.....................28
8 FC Energie Cottbus........28
9 Vitesse..........................27
10 AZ Alkmaar..................26
11 Sparta Rotterdam...........24
12 Heracles Almelo............20
13 SC Heerenveen............19
14 FC Groningen...............18
15 De Graafschap................17
16 N.E.C. Nijmegen.............8

 

[gerd]

It seems your virtual AZ67 reflects the reality rather well Stringer, since the real AZ also have a rater disappointing season...This could mean a new start for your team..good luck...

 

[Professor Nutmeg]

SAISON 20008/2009

STRASBOURG CRUSH PSG

COUPE DE LA LIGUE (Quarter-Final, 1st Leg)
Strasbourg 3 Cohade 18' Vuorinen 41' Golan 48'
Paris SG 0

Strasbourg placed a foot in the league cup semi-finals, after a convincing win over Paris Saint-Germain, in the quarter-final 1st leg. A snowy Stade de la Meinau welcomed the capital club, but the ensuing games was far from frosty. Renaud Cohade opened the scoring on 18 minutes when his effort was deflected off Mario Yepes. Shortly before the break, Hermanni Vuorinen added a second for the home side. Three minutes into the second half, Omer Golan piled on more misery for the visitors, as he registered Strasbourg's third goal.


TRANSFER NEWS

Morgan Schneiderlin has been sold to Rosenborg BK for €3M. The promising midfielder had previously rejected a move to Scandanavia with Hammarby IF last season, but a year on, another club's lure proved too much for the teenager.

Midfielder Mamadou Bah has gone on loan to Polish club Wisla Krakow until the end of the season.

Forward Simon Zenke has been loaned out to Belgian club RSC Anderlecht until the end of the season.

 

[just1moreperson]

how do you guys work this?? are you all playing with different teams on your master league and you cant be the same team??? im a little confused.

 

[gerd]

Well there are no laws in this thread...everybody plays the way he likes, but yes i notice that a team that is chosen by one person will rarely or never be chosen by anybody else...i guess it's out of courtesy for each other.

Good work prof, your Finnish strikes has proved to be a good purchase...

 

[gerd]

Getafe CF beats Sevilla FC in a thriller:

Getafe CF - Sevilla FC 1-0

89' Albín

Back after an injury, Juan Angel Albín Leites scored the winner for Getafe in a very close match with Sevilla

 

[Professor Nutmeg]

SAISON 20008/2009

STRASBOURG THROUGH TO SEMI-FINALS

COUPE DE LA LIGUE (Quarter-Final, 2nd Leg)
Paris Saint-Germain 0
Strasbourg 1 Mouloungui 23'
(agg: 4-0)

Strasbourg secured a place in the league cup semi-finals with a 1-0 victory in Paris. Eric Mouloungui grabbed the only goal of the game in the first half, to take the aggregate to 4-0. Strasbourg will now face Bordeaux in a bid to reach the final.


18ème Journée
Strasbourg 3 Golan 43' Vuorinen 50' 66'
AS Nancy 2 Curbelo 9' 37'

Strasbourg displayed some fighting spirit on day 18 of the season, when they welcomed AS Nancy to the Meinau. The visitors took a 2-0 first half lead through Gaston Curbelo's brace and looked to have stunned their hosts. However, Omer Golan grabbed a goal two minutes before the stroke of half time, to bring the Alsace outfit back into the game. In the second half, the in-form Vuorinen lashed in two more goals of his own to cap a remarkable comeback.

 

[Professor Nutmeg]

SAISON 20008/2009

STRASBOURG UNABLE TO CLOSE GAP

Kevin Gameiro put Strasbourg ahead

19ème Journée
Paris Saint Germain 2 Loris 19' Ngog 83'
Strasbourg 2 Gameiro 18' Golan 57'

Strasbourg were unable to close the six point gap on league leaders PSG, when they visited the capital on day 19. Racing twice took the lead, first through Kevin Gameiro then Omer Golan, only to be denied twice. PSG's Loris Arnaud produced a highly impressive display netting once before continuing to threaten. Golan's second half strike once again put the visitors ahead and temporarily closed the gap to three points. However, David Ngog's 83rd minute equaliser ensured the Parisians kept their six point buffer over second placed Strasbourg, as he outmuscled the defence and slotted past Cassard.


GOALS FLOW IN BORDEAUX

COUPE DE LA LIGUE (Semi-Final, 1st Leg)
Bordeaux 2 Wendel 56' C.Jensen 90'
Strasbourg 5 Vuorinen 17' 52' Gmamdia 72' Rodrigo 75' Cohade 80'

Strasbourg uncorked a vintage perfomance in Bordeaux, when the two teams met in the first leg of the league cup semi-finals. The first half produced only one goal, from Racing's Hermanni Vuorinen. In stark contrast, the second half saw six goals fly in, including three in an eight minute period for Racing. Vuorinen grabbed a second, while Haikel Gmamdia, Rodrigo and Renaud Cohade all scored one each.
Having registered five away goals, Strasbourg will now surely be confident of reaching the final.

 

[gerd]

Just like Chelsea-Villa and Spurs-Reading Prof...

 

[Stringer Bell]

Good luck in the second-leg of the semi-final Professor Nutmeg.

I want to ask you a question...Did you manage to qualify for the UEFA Cup in your current season?

You finished 7th last season, who were the league cup finalist?

 

[Stringer Bell]

N.C.E. Super League Division 1 (Season 2007): Fixture 29

Business end of the season

I just managed to get my sweetest victory of the season against Ajax, at the Amsterdam Arena. I beat them 1-2 after coming from a goal behind.

Ajax took the lead right in the last minute of the first half. Siem de Jong (him again!) crossed from the right of midfield – which found former Athletic Bilboa forward Urzaiz – to head in and put Ajax 1-0 up. It was an undeserved goal, since I felt my team was playing aright until then. But who am I!?

I made two decisive substitutions when I brought on Agustien for Jenner and Pellé for Ari. In the 80th minute. Martens crossed the ball from the left wing – which saw Agustien run in on goal to head the looming ball into goal – just a few seconds after coming on! Things got even got better when Jaliens intercepted a ball from the right wing – he carried on running with the ball down the wings – and delivered a low cross into the penalty area – this saw Pelle run into the penalty area to smash in the incoming ball past keeper – and score the wining goal! I couldn’t believe my luck when I got the winning goal! I was just happy to get a draw from the game, but to win the game was brilliant!

This match was an important match for Ajax because if they won this match, they would go into the last game against DSC Arminia Bielefeld (their main title rivals) only needing a point. I kinda spoiled that for them, so they would have to win their last game against them to win the title. Lovely!

With me, I moved to 7th place. I had to win my last game against Sparta Rotterdam to finish in 7th place and qualify for the UEFA Cup. This would be a little consolation after a not so great season.

N.C.E. Super League Div1:
1 DSC Arminia Bielefeld.....59
2 Ajax.............................58
3 Feyenoord.....................55
4 PSV...............................53
5 FC Hansa Rostock...........52
6 FC Twente....................49
7 AZ Alkmaar..................45
8 FC Energie Cottbus........44
9 Heracles Almelo............37
10 FC Utrecht.....................36
11 Sparta Rotterdam...........36
12 Vitesse..........................30
13 SC Heerenveen............29
14 FC Groningen...............29
15 De Graafschap................27
16 N.E.C. Nijmegen.............12

 

[Professor Nutmeg]

Good luck in the second-leg of the semi-final Professor Nutmeg.

I want to ask you a question...Did you manage to qualify for the UEFA Cup in your current season?

You finished 7th last season, who were the league cup finalist?

Good question SB, as i was checking this out last night. It seems Bordeaux, who finished 9th in the previous season, made it into the Uefa Cup. Very odd. As far as i remember, both cup finalists were in the top six places already. I therefore have no idea how the computer worked it out. Technically i think it should have been me, because i'm pretty sure it's been allocated to 7th placed teams before, when the cup finalists have already qualified for Europe. It would have been cool to have qualified for the Uefa Cup like that, on the last day of the season.

European footy looks a distinct possibility for next season though. I ought to make it to the league cup final. At the moment it will be against either Lyon or Le Mans. I reckon it will be Lyon, in which case i'll qualify for the Uefa Cup, just by being in the final (Lyon will finish in the top six). I fancy a piece of Europe

Of course, all logic goes out the window with Nokami. My favourite is (playing in the French League as i am) nine French goalkeepers being "summoned to represent" at the same time. That's some squad! :confused:

 

[Professor Nutmeg]

SAISON 2008/2009

GAMEIRO STRIKE SINKS SAINT ETIENNE

Kevin Gameiro scored the game's only goal

23ème Journée
Strasbourg 1 Gameiro 4'
Saint Etienne 0

Kevin Gameiro's fourth minute strike proved the difference in this encounter. The forward robbed Loic Perrin of possession just outside the box and finished well past Jodi Viviani. The keeper was later sent off midway through the second half, after receiving a straight red for bringing down Haikel Gmamdia in the box. David Gigliotti was then sacrificed for Jérémie Janot, who was being rested for Saint Etienne's Uefa Cup game later in the week. Gmamdia failed to convert from the spot, firing wide of Janot's right post.

24ème Journée
Monaco 2 Abou Mosalem 23'og Gakpe 66'
Strasbourg 0


RACING BOOK CUP FINAL DATE

COUPE DE LA LIGUE (Semi-Final, 2nd Leg)
STRASBOURG 1 Gmamdia 83'
BORDEAUX 1 Cavenaghi 60'
(Agg: 6-3)

Strasbourg have reached the league cup final by defeating Bordeaux 6-3 on aggregate. Fernando Cavenaghi had given Bordeaux a faint glimmer of hope in the second leg, when he scored in the 60th minute, but a comeback looked unlikely. Haikel Gmamdia then restored parity with seven minutes left to play, putting the result beyond doubt.
The Alsace club had done the hard work in the first leg with a 5-2 away victory. The final will now be contested with Lyon. A win for the sky blues will ensure a Uefa cup place next season, but their presence in the final almost certainly means they will be in the competition nonetheless, as Lyon remain in the top league places.