I'm using the Evolution update I got off TheDugout.net and it rawks. I started out with Newcastle and the Spanish & Italian Leagues playing in the background. The update really did a good job bringing forward some very good young talent. I immediately looked at my squad and realised that I did not like it very much. So right off the bat, I got rid of Alan Shearer for 1.1M to Arsenal (OH THE FANS WE'RE NOT HAPPY ABOUT THIS ONE), then I sold Michael Chopra to Flamengo for 1.7M, Shola Ameobi to Parma for 2.5M. That left me with Craig Bellamy and Patrick Kluivert. I had a seasoned strike force at my disposal with those 2, but I knew I needed more, so I snatched up Robinho for a cool 5.5M and then I tried to bring Carlos Tevez to play with us. Our early attempts were shrugged off, but I was persistent. I finally got Boca to agree over a deal worth 24M with 14M paid up front. My midfield was lacking too, so I went into the transfer market again. This time taking Stephane Dalmat from Inter Milan for 5.25M and I managed to get Esteban Cambiasso on loan for the whole season. I was really happy about this because he was a good passer with good flair and creativity, something Nicky Butt was not. With the signing of Dalmat, I felt no need for Laurent Robert so I sent him to Barcelona for 4.6M. I sent James Milner into the U-19s because I felt that he was not ready for first team action. I couldn't do much with my defense, but I felt that it was strong enough for the moment. On opening day my line-up looked like this:
----------------Given------------------
Carr---Bramble---O'Brien---Hughes
-------------Cambiasso---------------
Jenas---------------------------Dalmat
-----------------Dyer-------------------
--------Kluivert--------Robinho------
We beat Crystal Palace 1-0 away thanks to Jenas. We remained unbeaten the next 6 league games and were in first place. The other "big" clubs were struggling very much, Chelsea got off to a horrible start, they could not find the net, only winning 2 out of 7. Man Utd were chasing our tails early on, but they kinda buggered off later on, Liverpool were really struggling as they could not adjust to their new 4-3-2-1 formation. Needless to say I was in the clear for most of the first half of the season. During the transfer market window, I decided to re-enforce my defense with a Peruvian defender by the name of Pablo Ore. I liked what he had done during his national showings and also for his club. Of course, the Peruvian league is nowhere near any of the European leagues, so I was taking a risk. I managed to sign him for only 200K. I immediately threw him in the first team, which was a mistake, his form was way off what I expected, so I sent him down to the U-19s to gain some experience. I called him back up after a couple of games and he began to show some promise. The season was coming to an end, but what was that? Arsenal were only 1 point behind me? When the fuck did that happen? I still had 2 games in hand, but them sneaking up on me wasn't a nice surprise. The season was getting closer and closer to its end. I would have to play Arsenal one last time before the season was over, that would be the victory that clinched the title or the defeat that would lose it. The Arsenal game was approaching fast and I knew that I would need my squad to really step it up, but OH NO!! . . . Kieron Dyer, perhaps our best offensive player of the year tore his groin muscle 3 days before the big game. Carlos Tevez would have to step in and play a role he hadn't played all year. I felt confident going in and that was always good. We got off to a flying start with Bellamy finding the net early. The game dragged on, but at the 30 minute mark, Thierry Henry equalized. We went to halftime and I made no substitutions. The game progressed and it was pretty dull. UNTIL . . . Shearer receives a low pass in the area, he shoots, but Given is there . . . the ball bounces off his chest, Shearer controls the ball . . . the net is wide open, he shoots . . . HE SCORES. 2-1 Arsenal. I was pretty upset about that goal. The game ended and we lost. 2-1. There was no time to dwell on our loss, the next game would be against Aston Villa and we would need to win it in order to have a chance at winning the title. We beat Villa 4-0, then we went to Liverpool and outclassed them 1-0. The final game would be against the struggling Chelsea. Eventhough they were not in enjoying a good table position, they had been on a killer winning streak of 8 games. I was also intimidated by the fact that last time we faced them in the League Cup, we got our asses handed to us 5-0. This was not gonna be an easy game. We kicked off and the game pretty much was a stalemate. Arsenal, who had just lost to Manchester United giving us back our one point lead, were pouding Portsmouth 4-0 at half. The game seemed to be destined for a draw and for us to lose out on the title. BUT we would not give up. During the last 15 minutes, we started hammering their goal with 2 shots off the bar and 5 just going wide. We finally broke through in the 87th minute. Thanks to Craig Bellamy's deflected shot past Cudicini. The title was ours. After 76 years, Newcastle had won the English Premiership. We had also advanced into the finals of the UEFA Cup against the almighty Porto. They had been demolishing teams left and right. Winning by a margin of 3 goals or more in each of their last 7 UEFA Cup games. I was nervous going agaisnt them, but I knew I could take them. And we did. We murdered them 6-2, their biggest defeat of the entire tournament. So we had done the double and I couldn't be any happier.
It was a hell of ride in my first season, but we were succesful. So now I'm entering my second season and looking to retain my English Premiership title and maybe even winning the European Champions League.
