A troubled striker...

[mattfb]

23rd January

"Coll is making a run down the side, he's screaming at Morrison for the ball!"

"Morrison puts in the through ball!"

"Coll is in on goal!!"

"He advances!!!""

"MISSES! OH NOO! Coll has put the ball over the bar, 1 on 1 with the keeper and he butchers another! That would have won it!"

"This just echos the terrible run of form Coll has suffered recently as he lays down with his head in his hands at the end of the match. A 1-1 draw and struggling Crystal Palace had the chance to beat first place Birmingham there."

"It hasn't been the best season for M. Coll and rumours are around that Crystal Palace will look to offload the troublesome striker."


24th Janurary

ANOTHER HOWLER FROM COLL COULD LEAD TO A LATE TRANSFER

Another poor effort from striker Matt Coll as he blundered 3 goals which all should have been taken, and would have picked up a vital 3 points against 1st place Birmingham. Crystal Palace are now 16th after picking up a point thanks to a Morrison 27th min strike. But all the hype is around whether the troubled striker Matt Coll will be staying at Palace or not...

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The speculation and hot Coca Cola Championship news is that Palace are going to sack me after poor performances on the field, and poor behaviour off it. The truth is, I'm not proud of what I did off the field in the last few months. I wasn't thinking straight and going out on the drink and causing trouble wasn't the way to fix my poor form. The manager hasn't talked to me yet about my future though so I don't know what's going on but it's not looking good - I have a meeting with the Palace board at 1pm.


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Basically, I have an England save going and I will keep track of the results of the Palace games, and in this story I will write about each match and have the same result that happens in my fm game, but I won't be playing the matches and will be using my imagination about what happens in the middle of the match.

 

[Jaztheman]

Very good start there, Matt.

Looking forward to you inevitably losing with Palace.

 

[Dr. Pepper]

"has will be released..." Which tense is it?!

Good start mate, hope you get the sack .

 

[saladguy]

Good start, looking forward to more

 

[shantanu_rooney]

Good start Matt :cool: , looking forward for more.

 

[mattfb]

"has will be released..." Which tense is it?!

Stupid BBC and their bad spelling

Thanks for the comments guys!

 

[mattfb]

SOUTHGATE WANTS COLL
The reports today are that Gareth Southgate wants to make troubled striker Matt Coll a Middlesbrough player. It is believed that Gareth Southgate is willing to spend up to 3 million pounds to bring Cool to the Riverside stadium. Many feel that 3 million pounds is too much for the out of form striker. Coll has a past he would want to forget after being in the headlines for all the wrong reasons over the past few months. Because of this, Palace are supposedly looking to offload the striker and are expected to jump at any offer and if the reports are true, 3 million pounds would be too good to refuse.

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The news today states that Palace are wanting to offload me which makes me feel worthless and like I'm the ball in a rugby match but the truth is they do. After my meeting with the board and manager they made it clear in no uncertain terms that they don't want to keep me as they feel I am a bad influence or something along the lines and they can't afford to keep me with my bad form. It's no secret I have had my problems on and off the field but I was really hoping I could fix that here at Palace but it's fairly obvious they don't want to have anything to do with me. I've been branded the bad boy of league league football and Crystal Palace don't want that tag anywhere near their club.

Now if these reports are true I could be going to Middlesbrough. But I have yet to be contacted with anything about this so I don't know how true it is. But if I do get an offer I'm not sure if a move to Middlesbrough is the right option for me at the moment. Even though it looks like my options are Middlesbrough or league 1/2 football a move to Middlesbrough might not be good for my game. . At Middlesbrough my game time will be limited and what I need at this point in time is to be playing constant football. But this later in the transfer window I don't know how much interest I would receive from other clubs.

 

[Jaztheman]

Middlesbrough would be a good move, in my opinion, as you'll get noticed more and if don't get played much, could move to another low end Premiership team.

Great presentation, Matt.

 

[shantanu_rooney]

Yeah Boro move will be great, and if you dont play regular football, you could go on loan to other low premierleague club or championship side.

Great pres Matt. KIU

 

[mattfb]

29th January 2009

COLL TO MIDDLESBROUGH
Cystal Palace earlier today have accepted a 2.3 million pound bid from Middlesbrough for striker Matt Coll. Manager Gareth Southgate made it known that he wanted to bring Coll to the Riverside stadium. It is alleged Southgate offered a fairly large contract to Coll compared to what he was earning at Crystal Palace to lure the striker who was having second thoughts about joining Boro. It is known Coll was considering his options as he was worried about the lack of first team football he might get at Boro but partnering the likes of Mido, Alves and King was too good to refuse for Coll.

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I ended up accepting Middlesbrough offer as I realised just being involved in top flight football would be an amazing experience and would be better for my game and attitude compared to league 1 or 2 football. How much game time I will get is unkown yet but even training alongside the likes of Alves, Downing, Tuncay and Mido was too good to refuse. Not to mention the amount of quality backs I will get to come up against, even if it is for a few minutes at the end of a match. Coming up against Carragher, Terry, Ferdinand, Richards, Neil and Lescott just to name a few will be very exciting and I'm feeling really good about the move now.

The decision to move to Middlesbrough meant I had to leave my partner in crime Clint Morrison. We had been rooming together since my arrival from Sydney FC at the start of last season and Clint and I had some great times on and off the field. On the field we were lethal last year, Clint scored 18 goals and I scored 16 and we were known as the deadly duo of the Championship. Parties and clubbing was how we passed the time and had fun off the field which was great, but that's what started my troubles and poor form and Palace got fed up with it in the end.

When I accepted the contract offer earlier today, Middlesbrough attacking midfielder Stuart Downing called me up just hours after I agreed to terms telling me I can move in and room with him. Stuart is currently living by himself, he explained to me and has a big house with a lot of extra room and basically told me I would be living there. He said that living by myself in an apartment or small house wasn't necessary, and also mentioned he could use the company . So that made life so much more easier, as I was starting to worry about where I would be living.

I have a ticket for the 6:30am flight tomorrow morning out of London and I will be meeting Gareth at the Riverside stadium at 9:45am before the 10am press conference. I am really looking forward to working with all the boys now, and learning from all the forwards. I'm disappointed that ark Schwarzer has left the club as being a fellow Aussie it would have been good chatting to him. [/FONT]

 

[Jaztheman]

Good decision to join Middlesbrough, best choice for your career.

Quality presentation mate.

 

[mattfb]

"Ah good morning Matthew."

"Morning boss, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"Please, call me Gareth. Now look, I signed you because I know you have a lot of ability and potential. Palace wasn't the right place for you to be at the moment. You've had your problems on and off the field and being neglected by Palace wasn't going to help."

"Yep, but I've changed now."

"I don't doubt you have, but trust me on this. I know what's good for you and it's not to be facing the pressure of the Premier League just yet. That's why you'll be playing reserves this year."

"What? So you brought me to help your reserves win?"

"No, I brought you for my long term plans, not to use you for a few weeks then sell you. Putting you into the first team isn't a good idea for you yet, a few poor games and the pressure will be on and you might go on the drink again."

"I told you I'm not like that anymore."

"That's easy to say now, but what about when the time comes and the media is on your back. Will you be able to stop yourself?"

"Yes, I thi-"

"Have you got professional help?"

"Well no..."

"Exactly. That's why you will go to rehad once a fortnight. Please trust me on this. You can gain confidence and form in reserves grade, as well as go to rehab to make sure your problem is behind you. It will help you in the long run."

"Alright boss."

"Please, It's Gareth."

With that, Gareth walked off the edge of the pitch and up the stairs into the room where the interview would be held. It was up on the Western stand, just above where the players - Where I will one day hopefully - run out. I was still standing on the North Western end, shocked and devastated and what Gareth had told me. Was he really going to mkae the decision so early that i won't be playing First team football this season? Whaty if I play brilliantly, will he just ignore me? And what's with the rehab? That's ridiculous! Gareth had left so many questions unanswered but there was no time to ponder over them just yet, as I had to get to the interview.

"Welcome to Middlesbrough Matt! How did it feel to walk onto the Riverside stadium for the first time?

"It was very exciting, seeing my new home ground and meeting Gareth for the first time."

"I'm sure it will be even better when you run out to a full house with the Middlesbrough jersey on, yeah?"

"Yeah of course, that will be a great moment and a highlight of my life."

"Do you think you will get the chance this season play in the First Team?"

"I obviously hope so, but I've come off the back of some tough times and whether I do play this season is obviously up to Gareth."

"Gareth, you've shown a lot of faith in Coll, giving him a second chance. Will you unleash him this season?"

"I see a lot of potential in Matthew, and I have big plans for him. Unfortunately for Matthew those plans don't start this year."

"Coll, is this news to you?"

"No."

"So you knew when you signed the contract that you wouldn't be playing first team football this year?"

"No."

"Well surely your ang-"

"That's enough on this subject thanks. Any other questions?"

The interview continued uneventfully for the next few minutes before it was over. I was getting annoyed with the questions about me playing first team football, because I knew eentually I would lose it and say how annoyed I really was. I think the reporters were wondering what i was though, how could he make the decision all ready that I won't play first team football this season? There is still another 4 or so months left in the competition!

 

[Jaztheman]

Good update, Matt.

Unfortunate for you not likely to get a game this season, but you can score loads in the reserves to impress him and start next season.

 

[Left_Hander]

Very nicely written interview. You and Gareth don't seem to be on the same wave length. I hope you can put your drinking problem behind you

 

[Mad Snake]

that interview is really well written Matt very nice stuff