Tuesday 10 February 2009

Dev Blog / Blades Update special

First off, my usual apologies for not updating here for a while - we'll see why I didn't want to jinx my team by discussing it here in a moment.

I just want to mention though that the SI Dev Blog has been updated with a new post, so head over and check it out, once you've finished being bored by me talking about my Blades season...

The Blades got off to a terrific start, and managed to largely keep it going for most of the season, which is very unusual. It looks like I will just miss out on the title, but with two games left third place in my AEFA qualifying group is just about assured - a great performance, in all honesty, but just ever so slightly disappointing that I couldn't hold on to win it. The form has definitely dipped towards the end.

The star perfomers were definitely Gresko (ML), Chris Clark (MR), Aaritalo (FC) and of course Jarolim (MC). Mustafa, the DC, did exceeding well too, much better than I expected. The side desperately needs upgrading for the forthcoming Premiership campaign - where I'll be joined by mod mates Henrik Bjorkman and Philip Sinkins, looking good for a 1/2 in their group.

The senior performance was pleasing enough, but overshadowed somewhat by my title winning youth team - the U21s won the 8-team AEFA U21 league in exciting fashion, snatching the title with a final game 1-0 win over Uppsala Gunners despite being the weaker side for much of the game! This is, I think, only my second ever official competition win, so I'm delighted.

The U21s are also the second ranked youth side in StJohn, and closing the gap on number 1 youth giants Wolves United all the time. Now I need to keep it up in Season 2 - this was a real surprise, with Jamie Ness proving a real dynamo in midfield. Ness has also proved himself capable of filling in at senior level with a 6.8+ average rating there. A great find!

Gary Glen has also been a star - though he struggled to find the net at senior level, he's been knocking them in for fun in youth games, so hopefully his development will continue.

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