The Riverside Tour: A Middlesbrough F.C. Dynasty (FIFA 09)

[Inter4Life]

*NOTE: I know that for the 09-10 season The Boro have been relegated. However, I ask you to look past history for the purposes of this dynasty.

The Sun

Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough-

New Beginning
As newly appointed Middlesbrough manager, Jason Marad, took the stage he neglected to reflect on the past struggles of The Boro. His stern gaze forward represented what he meant for this hallowed club, progress. "The failures are in the past", Marad said, "this is a look into the future. We owe it to our supporters to begin to take a step forward and start playing some proper football." However, as much as he may want to, Marad cannot escape this club's failure over the past few seasons. For the last five campaigns they have only finished in the top 10 once.

Tactis
After adressing the media on the importance of focusing on the future, not the past for this club, Marad then went on to review his intended tactis for the upcoming season. "We will stick with the 4-4-2 formation. We will play conservative, counter attacking style football. It would be foolish of us to go out and try to play the fast paced, attacking football such as that of Manchester and Chelsea. We simply do not have the players to properly play that way. We will play our game. Calmn, conservative, and most importantly, intellegent."

Transfers
With the transfer period open for about a month at the beginning of this season, Marad has already begun to make some changes. Backup goalkeeper Brad Jones ($580,000), center back Chris Riggot ($500,000), and striker Marlon King ($3,600,000) have all been put up for sale. With a budget of $18,450,000, Marad also has some cash to make a few moves in the market. "It would be silly of me to disclose our interest to you. However, I can tell you that I have not limited my options to any one position. I do have a few players in mind but I am open and willing to purchase any player who I feel will fit into my system."

Sponsor
Along with their new manager, Middlesbrough has also signed with a new sponsor. Taucer Insurance, who boast, "Offering car and home insurance, Taucer is the largest regional insurnace company. With friendly and helpful staff, Taucer tackes the hassle out of insurance." The sponsorship funding is as follows:
Match funding: $975,990
Loyalty qualifier: Finish in top 3 ($1,168,500)
Bonus Requirements: Become league champion ($1,528,400), Win a domestic cup ($2,078,700)
Season Objective: Finish top 3 in the league


Other notes: World class difficulty with 6 minute halves.

Thanks for everyone who stopped by! More to come!!!!!

[Inter4Life]

The Sun

Robinho, Manchester City Spoil Marad's Debut; Transfers Rumors

Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough- Newly appointed Middlesbrough manager Jason Marad took to the bench as he watched his team go down 2-0 to a revamped Manchester City side. In this past summers transfer market, City added players such as Robinho, Elano, Craig Bellamy, and Shaun Wright-Phillips to help them compete with the ever growing talent in the Barclays Premiership. Much to the dismay of manager Marad, Manchester City put on a terrific display of their new weapons. "They are a very strong side. Robinho is a brilliant player. Bellamy and himself provide terrific attacking options." Robinho struck twice, first in the 24th minute as he slipped behind the defense and slotted the ball from just inside the box into the right side netting. Then, in a similar instance at the 45th minute, only this time it was to the left of the keeper Turnbull. "That goal right before half really killed our momentum. Even after the first goal you could feel that we still had confidence. We were keeping the ball well. That was the dagger" said striker Afonso Alves.

The Boro did provide their fair amount of chances, all of which coming after the 60th minute of play. In the 68th minute Afonso Alves slipped passed Dunne on City's right side and took shot from around the top of the box but put it over the net. Some 8 minutes later Emnes dribble by Dunne, finding himself inside the box but his shot was saved by David James. Finally, in the 82nd minute Middlesbrough flashed a moment of birlliance when the ball was played from Emnes on the right side into the middle of the field to Afonso Alves, who put a thru ball to Downing. Downing found himself alone in the box, but yet again the shot was saved.

Marad wrapped up his thoughts by saying, "We played ok. There were some moments of beauty and others which were not so nice. We must be more consistent." The Boro now travel to White Heart Lane to take on Tottenham Hotspur.

Starting IX

Manchester City (4-4-1-1):
D. James; P. Zabaleta, R. Dunne, M. Richards, W. Bridge; V. Kompany, N. De Jong, S. Wright-Phillips, S. Ireland; Robinho; C. Bellamy

Middlesbrough (4-4-2):
R. Turnball; J. Hoyte, R.Huth, D. Wheater, E. Pogatetz; M. Emnes, D. Digard, G. O'Neil, S Downing; Afonso Alves, Tuncay

Transfer Rumors
Despite Jason Marad's silence on the transfer situation, leaked reports have linked The Boro with 18 year-old Douglas Costa from Brazilian side Gremio and 17 year-old Jack Rodwell from Everton. Costa is a creative central midfielder and Rodwell is a more defensive minded center midfielder. There has been no discussion about the transfer fee for either of these players at this time.

[whitesox]

Great so far! Welcome to OS

[Inter4Life]

Quote: Originally Posted by whitesox

Great so far! Welcome to OS

Thanks. Really appreciate your comment.

[whitesox]

Quote: Originally Posted by Inter4Life

Thanks. Really appreciate your comment.

No problem. I will be following this. Good luck trying to get third place in the league, if you can pull it off I will be beyond impressed.

[Inter4Life]

Quote: Originally Posted by whitesox

No problem. I will be following this. Good luck trying to get third place in the league, if you can pull it off I will be beyond impressed.

Same here. Looking to make some moves to try and get that top 3 finish. Honestly, I'll be happy to get top 8. At least I'll get to play in some cup (Either Champions league or UEFA Cup). The domestic cup is reachable though. Just need to win the F.A. Cup. Alot easier said than done though.

[whitesox]

Quote: Originally Posted by Inter4Life

Same here. Looking to make some moves to try and get that top 3 finish. Honestly, I'll be happy to get top 8. At least I'll get to play in some cup (Either Champions league or UEFA Cup). The domestic cup is reachable though. Just need to win the F.A. Cup. Alot easier said than done though.

A LOT easier said than done. All it takes is one bad match, and poof, there goes your chances. Can't wait to see what moves you make.

[bhurst99]

Good to see another FIFA dynasty.

[Inter4Life]

Quote: Originally Posted by bhurst99

Good to see another FIFA dynasty.

Thanks. Love your Liverpool dynasty by the way. It's what basically inspired me to do this.

[Inter4Life]

The Sun

Marad Gets First Win As Boro Manager; New Names Added To Transfer Rumors

White Heart Lane, Tottenham- Jason Marad has gained his first three points as manager of Middlesbrough. His side defeated Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 at White Heart lane in North London. "I would be lying if I said it doesn't feel good. Real good. It's always a relief to get the first one out of the way, especially against a good, up and coming team like Tottenham. But there is still a long road ahead of us" said the relieved manager. The Boro came into this game after being beat by Manchester City 2-0 on opening day of the Premiership.

The game opened up nicely for Middlesbrough, as they seemingly had complete control of the midfield. "We're strong, yet underrated in the midfield. All four of our guys are great with their feet and never panic when they receive a ball" said Stewart Downing. Their first chance came early, in the 7th minute, when Downing played a through ball to the oncoming Afonso Alves making a diagonal run from the right. Alves had the ball on the left side of the box but his shot went high and wide right. Ten minutes later Tottenham got their first chance. Pavlyuchenko slipped behind the defense and found himself alone inside the box. His shot, which was heading for the right corner, was comfortably saved by Turnbull. Middlesbrough finally struck in the 54th minute. After the ball was cleared from a Tottenham corner, The Boro found themselves on a counter-attack. Tuncay slipped past Assou-Ekotto on the left side then chipped the ball behind the defense to Afonso Alves. Alves raced down the left side into the box and crossed the ball back across the box to a waiting Digard who calmly slipped it home. "That's what I love to see. I said from the beginning we are a counter-attacking team and that was executed perfectly" said Marad.

However, Tottenham would strike back. At the 74th minute mark, Palacios lofted a terrific ball from about the half line over the heads of the Middlesbrough defense, who found themselves shorthanded at the back because of a previous counter-attack, to Robbie Keane who crossed the ball intending to hit Pavlyuchenko. Pogatetz got a chest to it, but Pavlyuchenko slipped between him and the ball and slotted it home into the left corner. Not to be outdone, Middlesbrough struck back in the 90th. Downing put a terrific thru ball to Tuncay on the left side. From about 5 yards inside the box, Tuncay beautifully chipped the ball over Gomes. "It was a terrific finish. Tuncay has a great nose for goal" said the manager. Tuncay struck again in the 91st after a similar ball from Downing put himself 1 on 1 with the keeper and he proceeded to slam it into the right side netting.

The manager finished up his statements with this, "After our inconsistent play from last week, this is nice to see. We played with composure, even after they scored, we kept our cool and got ourselves an important 3 points. Hopefully, this win is the first of many."

Starting IX

Tottenham Hotspur (4-3-1-2):
H. Gomes; V. Corluka, J. Woodgate, M. Dawson, B. Assou-Ekotto; D. Zokora, D. Bentley, W. Palacios; L. Modric; R. Palyvuchenko, R. Keane

Middlesbrough (4-4-2):
R. Turnball; J. Hoyte, R.Huth, D. Wheater, E. Pogatetz; M. Emnes, D. Digard, G. O'Neil, S Downing; Afonso Alves, Tuncay
Transfer News
Backup goalkeeper Brad Jones has been sold to West Ham for a reported $661,190. It seems as if the purchase of Douglas Costa from Brazilian side Gremio has fallen through. Sources citing that Costa and Middlesbrough could not reach an agreement on a salary as the problem. Jack Rodwell has taken a step closer to becoming a Middlesbrough player, as management has traveled to Liverpool to reportedly finalize the deal for the 17 year-old. Finally, reports have linked the English side with 18 year-old forward Stevan Jovetic from Serie A side Fiorentina.