bhurst99

Whoa. I was not expecting a serious offer for Gilberto although he has been on fire. I counter offer for nine million to see if West Bromwich will bite. In my house rules, Gilberto is one of three Toronto FC designated players so if he is sold I can try to replace him with anyone in the world who is willing to come here. That raises the question to see if I can sell Gilberto for nine million and use those funds and whatever else I have in my budget to pry Sebastian Giovinco lose from Juventus. Worth a shot. (Note that my FIFA manager dynasty where I control West Brom takes place in a separate universe so if this transfer happens you will not see him suddenly in that dynasty. Have I just confused everyone. Probably.)

Sunderland vs West Bromwich, League Game 28

I knew the loss to Aston Villa was going to have consequences. This is the e-mail I received from the Board. Is it possible I'm going to get fired from a club for the second time in two years? Naturally, I turned to Lescott who is responsible for this mess. If I'm back next season, he certainly won't be. He's a declining asset at 32 and deserves some of the blame for all the goals we're allowing.

Aston Villa vs West Bromwich, League Game 26

The pack is closing in on me.

Match Statistics Match Events Match Ratings

The fifth round replays have been played and we now know we host Arsenal in the FA Cup Quarterfinals later this month. Yuck. In other Quarterfinals Manchester United plays Liverpool, Burnley plays Swansea City and Chelsea plays Cardiff City. Why couldn't we draw Cardiff City?

We turn the calendar to March with four games. We play Aston Villa, Sunderland, Stoke City -- all winnable games -- before we face Manchester City. I expect our next FA Cup game will be scheduled this month, too. March also marks a return to my national team, Denmark, as we have two more qames in European Qualifying.

Toronto FC vs Chicago, MLS Game 24 Yep, we're playing Chicago again.

A little bit of breathing room from the relegation zone. If we could ever string some wins together we could really move up the table. We're just seven points out of seventh place. Spurs are running away with the title. Wow.

Just like that I am nine points out of first place.

Match Stats Match Events Match Ratings

West Bromwich vs Southampton, League Game 26

Chicago vs Toronto FC, MLS Game 23

Three replays are going to be needed involving some big clubs, Manchester United, Arsenal, Tottenham and Liverpool.

Jermaine Defoe has scored a ton of goals for us this season but Gilberto is quietly putting together a nice season with 10 goals and six assists alread. His ratings have jumped as a result. If defense is going to be a problem and we need to add a designated player at the back, I would feel comfortable selling either Defoe or Gilberto knowing I could rely on the other one to still score goals.

You may have noticed the name Gutierrez in my last match report. We picked up free agent Luis Alberto Guiterrez as depth centre back prior to last game. He was a substitute in the 6-3 destruction by Sporting KC. Keep in my mind my house rules for the MLS: I can't spend more than a $500K transfer fee on a player if I already have three designated players on my roster.

West Brom vs Sunderland, FA Cup Round of 16