I am the manager of Crystal Palace in the Mystify soccer game.
One of the joys of following all forms of football is the fact that the coaches and managers tend to use the same cliches and metaphors week in and week out, no matter what the details of the sport. This page gives me a chance to exercise my creativity with some Manager's comments on the results of my team in the Mystify game. Of course, I have been doing this for a few seasons now, so I might be running out of steam a bit. We'll see how I go.
Crystal Palace is competing in the English Premier Division.
| Week 1 | Coventry City | (Away) | Lost 3-5 | ||
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What a great game to start the season with. Of course, I am disappointed that we didn't come away with a point at least, but at the end of the day, Coventry showed a little bit more firepower up front. I was very pleased with the form of young Stuart Ripley though ... he has progressed well over the off-season, and I look forward to him becoming a regular part of the line up.
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| Week 2 | Chelsea | (Home) | Drew 1-1 | ||
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Obviously its disappointing that we weren't able to give the home fans a win first up, but you have to look at what happened last week. Chelsea put in four last week,a nd they were flying when they came here. I think we did really well to hold them scoreless for the first half.
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| Week 3 | Brentford | (Away) | Lost 1-2 | ||
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Even after going a goal down in the first couple of minutes, I was still hopeful that we would be able to come away with at least a point. I think we are on the right track, we just need to get some results on the board.
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| Week 4 | Arsenal | (Home) | Drew 1-1 | ||
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I don't think we need to worry too much just yet. We've had a busy schedule with the UEFA Cup qualifiers. Thats not to say that we are taking the league fixtures lightly, but equally, its not as if we haven't been winning. If you look at it that way, we already have three wins under our belts which is a pretty good start.
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| Week 5 | Everton | (Away) | Lost 1-0 | ||
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When you play a game against the 15th placed team in the league, you really need to come away with at least one point, and we didn't manage that today. I guess the lads could be a bit flat, because we have had a busy schedule, but Everton's schedule has been just as busy, so we can't use that as an excuse, can we?
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| Week 6 | Leeds United | (Home) | Drew 2-2 | ||
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I don't think its time to panic. Not by a long shot. If you just look at today's result, a draw was enough to push up two places on the table. Once the wins start coming, we are still in touch with the rest of the league, and I'm sure we'll be able to make up some ground in a hurry.
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| Week 7 | Tottenham Hotspur | (Away) | Lost 2-4 | ||
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Look, Spurs are a terrifically talented unit, and they deserve their standing at the top of the league. Still, its always disappointing to let in 4 goals. I guess we have to look at the positives, and be happy about the fact that we scored two of our own, and just move on to look at our mid-week UEFA Cup fixture.
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| Week 8 | Oxford United | (Home) | Drew 0-0 | ||
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I know that Gordo is not silly enough to take anything for granted, but I'm sure he would have had this game pencilled in as an away win. When you look at it that way, I'm tremendously proud of the lads' efforts today, especially that we didn't let in a goal. But we do need to get some actual wins on the board, just to ease the pressure a bit.
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| Week 9 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | (Away) | Lost 1-2 | ||
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Wolves are having a good run this season, so we knew it was going to be a big ask coming into this game. Its still disappointing though. We're the only team in the Premiership that haven't won a game yet, and we're already 4 points away from avoiding relegation, so we are going to need to make up a lot of ground in the second half of the season.
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| Week 10 | Sehffield Wednesday | (Home) | Won 5-4 | ||
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I wouldn't say relieved, no. We have always had a belief that we had the processes right, and a win in the league was just a matter of time. The lads showed a lot of poise in coming through the UEFA Cup in mid-week, and that might have left their bodies tired, but their minds were right on the right track.
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| Week 11 | Grimsby Town | (Away) | Lost 2-4 | ||
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No, I don't feel under pressure. Its fair to say that out leaguie performances haven't been up to our expectations so far this season, but I am confident that I have the full support of the board. Look, some of the fans are disappointed, and perhaps they are entitled to be. I just urge everyone who loves this club to be patient, and show your support for the lads.
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| Week 12 | Newcastle United | (Home) | Won 3-1 | ||
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This was a match that we expected to win, and its a relief that we did. Thats no offense to Newcastle, its just that when you are playing the bottom team in the league and you're at home, you;ve got to go out there beliving you can win and expecting to do it.
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| Week 15 | Coventry City | (Home) | Lost 1-2 | ||
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Just when we started to feel like we were getting somewhere, we produce a result like this. We can't afford to drop games like this one if we want to stay up. I'll be expecting a super effort from the lads next time we play Chester.
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| Week 16 | Coventry City | (Home) | Lost 0-3 | ||
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A second loss in a row at home, and the fans have every right to be disappointed. Everyone should keep in mind that Coventry have been on fire all season, but at the same time it was disappointing that we conceded three goals.
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| Week 17 | Chelsea | (Away) | Lost 3-4 | ||
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Look, I thought it was a terrific game of football, and I never felt that we were out of it. But at the same time, even when we had the lead, I never felt that Chelsea were dead and buried either. From our point of view, its just a pity the final whistle came when it did.
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| Week 18 | Brentford | (Home) | Won 2-1 | ||
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These are exactly the games we need to win to make sure we stay up, so it was a relief that we were able to win it. We were a bit unsettled in the first half, but in some ways when Brentford scored first it settled us down, and I never doubted that the lads would find a winner sooner or later.
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| Week 19 | Arsenal | (Away) | Lost 1-4 | ||
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Obviously Arsenal are well ahead of us in the league, but I still felt we were a good chance coming into this game. We chose a young line up, with the hope that we could run them off their feet, but it just wasn't to be. In the end, they were the ones who got on top of us, and thats pretty disappointing from out point of view.
Its a shame we couldn't have managed a win in Pedro Paula's last game for us, but he's a mature footballer and he understands that these things don't always work out the way you might like them to.
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| Week 20 | Everton | (Home) | Won 1-0 | ||
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It was a ner-wracking game in the end. Young Stuart Ripley scored in the first part of the game, but after that we seemed to go back into our shells a bit. That aspect of it was disappointing, but it was pleasing to see the quality of out defensive play as the game went on.
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| Week 21 | Leeds United | (Away) | Drew 1-1 | ||
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An away draw is not a bad result, obviously, but at this stage we're looking for a bit more than that. With a few good results over the next few weeks, we are still a chance to sneak back into Europe, and I know all the lads are keen to have another go there again next season.
I don't want to comment on the adjustments we have made to our squad over the past few weeks. Its all about positioning ourselves with the best possible line up. We're not selling players to raise cash. The club is on a sound financial footing.
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| Week 22 | Tottenham Hotspur | (Home) | Lost 0-1 | ||
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We are facing some tough games over the next few weeks, and Spurs are never to be taken lightly. Its always disappointing to have not troubled the scorers when you are playing at home. It frustrates the players, it frustrates the fans, and to be honest it frustrates me.
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| Week 23 | Oxford United | (Away) | Lost 0-3 | ||
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I don't want to talk in hypotheticals, but obviously the injury to Stocchi made it easier for them to score. I was proud of the way the lads rallied around and did their best to protect Yubero, but there's only so much you can do against a quality outfit like Oxford are.
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| Week 24 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | (Home) | Drew 1-1 | ||
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It was good to break the series of losses, there's no doubt about that. I was quite pleased with the performance that the lads gave today, and I hope we can build on it for the rest of the season. We are still a possibility for relegation, and we can't afford to relax at all.
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| Week 25 | Sheffield Wednesday | (Away) | Lost 1-2 | ||
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No comment.
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| Week 26 | Grimsby Town | (Home) | Lost 3-5 | ||
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No comment.
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| Week 27 | Newcastle United | (Away) | Won 1-0 | ||
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It was good to finally post a win, even if it wasn't very convincing. You would hope that this means we have done enough to be safe from relegation, but football is a funny game.
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| Week 28 | Charlton Athletic | (Away) | Lost 0-1 | ||
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No comment.
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| Week 29 | Birmingham City | (Home) | Drew 0-0 | ||
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No comment.
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| Week 30 | Chester City | (Away) | Lost 0-1 | ||
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No comment.
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© 2005 timnfromoz timnfromoz@hotmail.com
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