Season News and Discussion Thread

[DC76]

Ex-Vike Signs 6-Year Contract With Football Conference Giants
Victoria Times-Colonist

HARINGEY, LONDON, ENGLAND (AP) - DC76 was all smiles in Haringey today. He and fellow Victorian Joe Liu, his agent and college buddy, were seen at the club office of Spurs Network FC - the brand-new English Conference club side that has been unstoppable this season with eighteen wins and two draws after 20 games this season - as the Nanaimo-born, Cowichan Valley-raised captain, who led the University of Victoria Vikes to the CIS and North American University football championships last season, signed a 6-year deal with the Haringey-based side.

"You shouldn't be surprised," the outspoken Victorian said. "I mean come on, this team was the one that saw something in me and gave me an opportunity to make the most of it! This is the club I want to win trophies with."

Liu was equally thrilled.

"My client and I are looking forward to spending serious time here," the Victoria-born agent said. "I'm not just his agent, I'm a fan of the team. They play total football. Daniel has taken a lot from Martin Jol's coaching and managing style and I could see this team winning a lot in the next few years. We're both chomping at the bit to get going!"

In other news, it is rumoured that, given DC76's success, other players from UVic as well as some from other high-ranking CIS sides are being touted by everyone from the local high-tier professional sides (Vancouver Whitecaps, Seattle Sounders) to the reserve teams of big teams in England, Italy, Germany, France and even Spain. CIS Golden Shoe winner Cole McFarlane (Calgary, AB) from UVic is rumoured to be on the move to Canadian-obsessed Hungarian side Termal FC Lombard-Papa, but has also received offers from 2 unnamed Scottish First Division sides. Nippy midfielder Murat Sukru from Cape Breton University is being touted by Energie Cottbus, 1. FC Kaiserslautern, Türkiyemspor and St. Pauli in Germany, as well as Turkish middle-powers Trabzonspor and Genclerbirligi and Greek outfit PAOK. And former Chamois Niortais prospect Nicola Perugini, from Trinity Western, is reportedly on the verge of heading back to France, but this time, to FC Metz, who have two other Canadians already in their system.

Other UVicers being touted:

Matt Karmal (London, ENG): Hampton & Richmond, Chelsea, Fulham (all England)

Colin Gray (Prince Albert, SK): Mansfield Town (England), Helsingborgs IF (Sweden), Molde FK, FK Haugesund (Norway), Heracles Almelo (Netherlands), Greenock Morton (Scotland), TNS (Wales)

Peter Richmond (Oak Bay, BC): SC Heerenveen, Helmond Sport, Ajax, MVV Maastricht, VVV-Venlo (all Netherlands), FC St.-Pauli (Germany), Molde FK (Norway).

Kyle Finner (Whitehorse, YK): 10 Russian teams, including Dinamo Moskva and Zenit Peterburg; Molde FK, Tromsø (Norway), Bodens (Sweden), FC Midtjylland, AB, AC Horsens (Denmark).

Kyle Langseth (Grayling, MI, USA): Columbus Crew (MLS), Zenit Peterburg , Gazovik-GazProm (Russia), Bayer 04 Leverkusen, Borussia Dortmund (Germany).

Miguel Romeo (Buenos Aires, ARG): Newell's Old Boys (Argentina), Málaga CF, Real Sociedad (Spain)

Stefan Vasiliakopoulos (Saanich, BC): OFI Kriti Heraklion, Skoda Xanthi, Panthrakikos, Panionios, Olympiakos Piraeus (Greece), Messina, AS Bari, Citta di Palermo (Italy), Bolton, Plymouth Argyle (England), Apollon Lemesos (Cyprus), NK Domžale (Slovenia).

Keep your eyes on the Times-Colonist for more news on UVic students being touted.

[DC76]

CSA Players Of The Month Announced
Victoria Times-Colonist

CSA Player of the Month: Julián de Guzmán (Deportivo La Coruña, Spain)
CSA Young Player Of The Month: DC76 (Spurs Network FC, England)
CSA Forward Of The Month: Dwayne De Rosario (Houston Dynamo, MLS)
CSA Midfielder Of The Month: Julián de Guzmán
CSA Defender Of The Month: Jim Brennan (Toronto FC, MLS)
CSA Goalkeeper Of The Month: Lars Hirschfeld (Rosenborg BK, Norway)
CSA Young Forward Of The Month: Tosaint Ricketts (University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, NCAA)
CSA Young Midfielder Of The Month: Andrea Lombardo (Toronto FC, MLS)
CSA Young Defender Of The Month: DC76
CSA Young Goalkeeper Of The Month: Asmir Begovic (Portsmouth FC Reserves, England)

[DC76]

Y'know what we need, Dan? A stats page with goals, assists, tackling, that kinda stuff.

[Daniisco]

14.12.06

Spurs Network FC Reserves have beaten Woking Reserves 4-0 at The Mansion.

Keane On Spurs will be out of action for about ten days after suffering a bruised shin in SNFC Reserves win over Woking.

16.12.06

Dimitar B. has signed a new 10 year contract with the club. He has said to be delighted with the contract and happy to commit his future with the club.

BRP has also signed a new long term contract keeping him at the club until June 2016.

Young Dutch Wonderkid Justin has also signed a 10 year deal along with team-mate COYS.

Biggs signs a 6 year deal after previously rejecting several deals.


19.12.06

Youngster Craig has today signed a 10 year contract with the club.

[THWH90]

Y'know what we need, Dan? A stats page with goals, assists, tackling, that kinda stuff.

With form too, that would be gr8. Although it would take Dan a lot of time...

Seeing all these '10 year deals' is quite funny lol

[COYS]

I'm well bad! Dan train me!

COYS

[DC76]

Spurs Network FC The Talk Of The Town
football365.com

Every football season has its twists, and this one is no different. However, if you ask the people who follow English football, this twist is actually a good thing. In a world where "buying teams," diving, and gamesmanship are running rampant, and match-fixing scandals have torn through various nations, there still exist clubs that are committed to football for football's sake - the kind of club that fans like to see succeed.

Enter Spurs Network FC.

Led by no-nonsense manager Daniel and wealth chairman and grassroots football supporter Bill Power, this club was supposed to start in Conference South this season but were promoted because of York City's minor match-fixing scandal getting them thrown out. This did anger several Conference North and South sides who felt they were more deserving, especially the runners-up in last season's playoffs, Histon and Droylsden.

Now you won't hear a peep out of them. Why not?

Because SNFC have proven to be a total juggernaut that just keeps bowling its opponents over. The last time they didn't win was a surprise draw against St. Albans, 15 matches (13 Conference and 2 FA Cup matches) ago. And if you ask a Network fan when the last time they lost was, you'll be the laughing stock of the neighbourhood, because, quite literally, they never have. They have shut every critic up with their "total football" style, which is more reminiscent of what you'd expect in Premier League football than of what you'd expect in Conference. Even Tottenham Hotspur, the prestige club who is literally just down the road from SNFC's Haringey headquarters at The Mansion, has taken notice, and the two sides have something of an unofficial fan partnership, a clever twist within a twist, considering SNFC is made up of a band of Spurs fans from various locations - mostly England, but a few foreigners as well, most notably Bulgarian super-flanker Lyubokick, versatile German attacker alma, and ferocious Canadian centre-back DC76, who has already become the first SNFC member to both be capped for and be captain of his country's national team, "but there's no way in hell [he'll] be the last."

They've already begun re-writing the record book wholesale! Rob, the American striker sometimes called "The Man Knowing A Thousand Ways To Beat A Keeper" by local fans, is only five goals away from claiming the season goal-scoring record as his and his alone, and is already the highest total in the last 20 seasons! And with their last win, they snapped the old Conference mark for consecutive victories. But, as their outspoken team captain says, "you ain't seen nuthin yet!"

Their rapport with the fans is nothing short of unbelievable, and the fans of all but their most hardened rivals (the list of which oddly doesn't include second-place Rushden & Diamonds) seem to have a great deal of respect for the team. And if you don't see a player in the dugout or on the pitch, there's a very good chance of finding them in the stands cheering their teammates on!

"The reasons why people love to love this team vary," says Canadian pundit Craig Forrest. "First, they're a genuinely good team. You can have good players and not have a good team, when you get egos that are too big. But the guys on Network generally get along well with each other and with their manager, and it shows on the pitch. Second, they always show how much they appreciate the fans. I recall one match where a certain captain of theirs almost got fined for post-match crowd-surfing! They're always arranging things like "meet the players days" and autograph sessions and the odd open practice. Third, there isn't a guy on the team that plays purely for the money, a rarity even at that low level.

Fourth, they have some guys on that team with real star power and charisma, like Rob, Lyubokick, Daniisco, Biggs, alma, DJ Frisky, usually up the front. Towards the back, you get the character guys. A recent poll of SNFC fans suggested that their favourite thing about DC76 is that he holds nothing back, whether on or off the pitch - he's vocal, he's blunt, he's passionate about the game, and he puts more force behind his challenges than anyone I've ever seen without getting dirty. Dimitar B. has that consistency and reliability in the defensive midfield position - even to call him a poor man's Makelele would be an insult to his level of play. I think every person on the team has tremendous potential and I think by the time these guys come up for a new contract, they'll all have been capped. And I wouldn't rule them out being in the Premier League by then."

Their fanbase has increased exponentially since they started, leading many in the club to believe the expansions needed to cater to this growth will be very large indeed. Many Spurs fans claim a secondary allegiance to them, and in the celebrity spectrum, that includes Canadian basketball phenom Steve Nash. But although the bandwagon potential is there, it isn't stopping Daniel from sticking to his puritanical approach to football, and the board supports him 100% in this. ESPN is doing a celebrity poll in Canada and the United States of who likes what football team, and conjecture that at least a few will list this surging new club as one of theirs.

We at football365.com are unashamed as we say UP THE NETWORK!!
 

[Daniisco]

Great article DC, enjoyed the read. Keep it up.

[Dimitar B.]

SN Defensive Midfielder has publicly criticised Manager Dan.

When asked on why he was unhappy, the solid midfielder said: 'The manager is stupid, whenever i perform well in training, i am dropped for the next match. Like today against Altrincham. I perform normally or even badly in training and im a guarenteed starter. Confusing things will not help the team or my career.'

Spurs Network FC currently sit top of the Conference league, and look as if the title is comftorbaly theirs already.


:smoke: Thought i'd keep up my journalism practice

Dim you wasnt dropped you was rested. Your conditioning was at 89%, only players at 100% get in my team.

And for calling the Manager stupid you will be dropped and will train with the reserves.

Lmao

Reserves? :blink:

'Dim's apology to Boss'

SN Midfielder Dimitar B. has publicy aplogised for making a fool out of manager Dan. The classy player stated that he thought the manager was 'stupid' for dropping him. Dan later came out and said he was rested, not dropped. Unfortunately for Dim, he will be dropped for the comments he made. But thursday night he told the Daily Network: 'I would like to apologise to Dan. My words were..stupid. I should have asked him 1st before going publicly. Ive learnt a lesson here.


Source: The Daily Network

.                 .

[Daniisco]

Lmao

Reserves? :blink:

'Dim's apology to Boss'

SN Midfielder Dimitar B. has publicy aplogised for making a fool out of manager Dan. The classy player stated that he thought the manager was 'stupid' for dropping him. Dan later came out and said he was rested, not dropped. Unfortunately for Dim, he will be dropped for the comments he made. But thursday night he told the Daily Network: 'I would like to apologise to Dan. My words were..stupid. I should have asked him 1st before going publicly. Ive learnt a lesson here.


Source: The Daily Network

Manager Daniel has accepted Dimitar B's apology today for the comments he made earlier this week.

"Dim will still be punished for what he said, I've never liked players with big ego's in my team and never will, but I'm glad he apologised and I hope we can move on from here. Once he gets his fittest up I'll consider him for selection again."

[DC76]

Spurs Network FC An International Phenomenon
espn.com (Edited)

Never before has a low-level football club captured the imaginations of so many people from so many different places, in the same way that English team Spurs Network FC has.

Considering the league they play in is at the fifth level of the vaunted English system, one'd think their fanbase would be limited to a faithful few Haringey inhabitants that pay their "ten quid a week" to go and see the team. But they've gained a following that would make even MLS teams jealous. What is the key to this, you ask? Two words. TOTAL FOOTBALL.

They are a brand new club, having only been founded from a rag-tag bunch of Tottenham Hotspur fans who love to play the game last summer, by English multi-millionaire Bill Power, who also has a reputation for dishing out large amounts of money to support grassroots football. Manager Daniel selected around thirty-five players at the beginning of the season from a pool of Spurs fans he knew. Some people snickered at this, figuring the "Mighty Network" would be pushovers and should have started at a lower level, either in the sixth-level Conference South, or even the seventh-level BGB Southern Premier League.

Another then-controversial move was putting two North Americans right in the spotlight - New Yorker Rob up front and Victoria, BC, Canada's DC76 - who captained the University of Victoria to a Cinderella victory at the North American University Championships before graduating last spring - at centre back as team captain.

But that was all before they actually started playing.

Once they did start playing, the critics silenced their criticism in a massive hurry. Rob became the centrepiece of one of the deadliest and most creative offences in all England, forget just their division, which they currently lead by a country mile. His goal total is only four shy of the division record after only just over half the season has passed, earning him, American football, and SNFC piles of new respect. And as for that outspoken centre back from our neighbours to the north, his high-impact tackles, aerial prowess, and intimidation have made him one of the most feared new defenders both in England and on the international stage this season. Combine these two with a solid core of local talent (Daniisco, Dimitar B., Biggs, deadleysting, Berba's Right Peg, COYS, THFC, and so forth) and a couple other foreigners (most notably alma and lyubokick), and you have a team that has yet to lose in its history, and has already broken the division win streak record - their current win streak is 12, one better than the previous record from a few seasons ago.

We here at ESPN.com recently polled thousands of celebrities from countries around the world, and the number of them that counted Spurs Network FC as a "soft-spot" team was unreal. Even more impressive, though, were the number of people from outside of England who listed them as a "favourite."

Here's a list of those who consider them "favourites" (we heard so many "top threes" and "top fives" that we kinda lost track of the number, so bear with us here) outside of England, by country:

Australia - Chris Ross (bassist/keyboardist for Wolfmother)

Argentina - Pablo Aimar, Ariel Ortega (both footballers)

Belgium - Xavier Malisse (tennis player), Sven Maes (musician), Christian Olde Wolbers (Fear Factory guitarist)

Brazil - Izabel Goulart (model)

Bulgaria - Dimitar Berbatov (footballer)

Canada - Steve Nash (basketball player), Atom Egoyan (film director), Rhys Fulber, Bill Leeb (from Canadian industrial pioneers Front Line Assembly, etc.), Jet Set Satellite (Canadian rock group), Paul Stalteri, Martin Nash (footballers), Matthew Good (singer-songwriter), Devin Townsend (metal singer-songwriter/guitarist), Byron Stroud (Fear Factory bassist), Nelly Furtado (singer-songwriter), Bob Rock (producer/songwriter), Paul Hyde (singer-songwriter), Michaëlla Jean (governor-general), Natalie Glebova (Miss Universe 2005), Peter Zezel (former ice hockey player/footballer), Brendan Morrison, Tie Domi, Martin St.-Louis (ice hockey players), Russ and Geoff Courtnall (former ice hockey players)

Czech Republic: Adriana Karembeu, Paulina Porizkova (model), Patrik Stefan (hockey player)

Denmark: Rune Glifberg (skateboarder)

Finland: Saku Koivu, Sami Salo, Mikko Koivu (ice hockey players), Teemu Tainio, Jari Litmanen (footballers), Perttu Kivilaakso (from cello-metal band Apocalyptica),

France: Jean-Michel Jarre (the inventor of modern electronic music), Bixente Lizarazu (former footballer)

Germany: Matthias Sammer (footballer/football manager)

Ireland: Robbie Keane (footballer), Nathan Connolly (guitarist for Snow Patrol)

Israel: Natalie Portman (actress)

Netherlands: Yfke Sturm (supermodel), Johann Cruyff (former footballer/manager), Edgar Davids, Patrick Kluivert (footballers).

Romania: Gheorghe Hagi (former footballer/manager)

Scotland: Alec Newman (actor), Mark Knopfler (musician/singer-songwriter)

Spain: Mikel Arteta (footballer)

Sweden: Stefan Schwarz (former footballer), Victoria Silvstedt (model/actress)

Switzerland: Jaël (from Swiss pop-rock group Lunik), Stanislas Wawrinka (tennis player).

Ukraine: Maksym Kalynychenko (footballer)

USA: Frank Flowers (director), Leelee Sobieski (actress/artist), Brian Transeau (musician/DJ), Joe-Max Moore (footballer), Bam Margera (skateboarder/reality TV star), Hatebreed (heavy metal group), Burton C. Bell, Ray Herrera (from Fear Factory), numerous others.

Wales: Ryan Giggs (footballer)

[Dimitar B.]

Wooo                   .

[Biggs]

a 6 year deal. hmm still unsure about signing that

[Storts]

Nice report DC excellent stuff


except I didn't get a mention

[Daniisco]

a 6 year deal. hmm still unsure about signing that

I can terminate it if you want?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

24.12.06

SNFC Reserves have lost 2-1 against Tamworth Reserves at The Mansion.

26.12.06

Portsmouth have had a £1,000,000 bid rejected by SNFC for dazzaTh.

31.12.06

SNFC's Manager Daniel has won the English Conference Manager of the Month Award for December.

American Forward Rob has picked up the Player of the Month Award.

01.01.07

The Spurs Network board are delighted Daniel general performance has manager.

They are pleased to see he's built a rapport with the fans.

07.01.07

SNFC will play Norwich at home in the FA Cup 4th Round.