IT WAS THE FIRST TIME I HAD EVER PLAYED THE GAME AND I WAS BARCELONA MY FIRST AIM FOR THE CLUB WAS TO OFFLOAD SOME OF MY STARS THAT WERE GETTING TO THAT 28-29 AGE SO I LET GO RIVALDO TO INTER FOR 20M, COCU TO TOTTENHAM FOR 10M, BOGARDE TO NAPOLI FOR 2M, REIZIGER, LUIS ENRIQUE TO PSV FOR 9M, SOLD THE DE BOER TWINS FOR A PACKAGE OF 10M TO AJAX, AND WITH THAT I BOUGHT YOUNG ENGLISH TALENTS, I BOUGHT THE NEVILLE BROTHERS FOR A PACKAGE OF 22M, I BOUGHT ROBBIE FOWLER FOR 16M, I BOUGHT JONATHEN WOODGATE AND LEE BOWYER FOR A PACKAGE OF 13M AND I BOUGHT JOE COLE FOR 9M.

FOR THE FIRST COUPLE OF MONTHS OUR TEAM WAS DOING WELL WINNING OUR FIRST 12 GAMES BUT DURING MID-NOVEMBER OUR TEAM SLIPPED TO 6TH AND I COULD SEE SOMETHING WAS WRONG AND WE DID NOT HAVE THAT KILLER INSTINCT UPFRONT. KLUIVERT HAD NOTCHED 7 GOALS BUT WAS GETTING UNNECESSARY INJURIES WHILE FOWLER WHO NOTCHED SIX GOALS WAS STILL TRYING TO ADAPT TO LIFE IN SPAIN SO I WENT TO THE CONCLUSION YHAT I NEEDED A COUPLE MORE PLAYER ONE A GK AND TWO A CF, I TURNED TO GIANLUIGI BUFFON OF PARMA BUT HAD A BID REJECTED SO I TURNED TO DAVID SEAMAN AND BOUGHT HIM FOR 5M I HAD TOWAIT TIL DECEMBER THOUGH DUE TO THE TRANSFER DEADLINE. I WAS STILL LOOKING FOR A STRIKER AND MADE BIDS FOR RONALDO, DEL-PIERO AND BATISTUTA WHICH WERE ALL REJECTED BY DECEMBER. THINGS WERE GETTING WORSE AND THE BOARD WERE FURIOUS, BUT 2 WEEKS LATER I COMPLETED THE SIGNING OF SEAMAN AND I SIGNED MICHAEL OWEN FOR A WORLD RECORD 36M.

4 MONTHS LATER I WAS TOP OF THE LEAGUE BY 9 PTS, AND IN THE CHAMPIONS CUP SEMI-FINAL SEAMAN HAD CONCEDED 12 GOALS IN 18 GAMES WHICH WAS QUITE GOOD, AND OWEN SCORED 12 IN 15. WE BREZZED PAST AC MILAN BEATING THEM 5-2 ON AGGERGATE, MAJOR THANKS TO THE PERFORMANCES TO SIMAO AND FOWLER, AND WE WENT ALL THE WAY TO WIN IT BEATING REAL MADRID 3-1 GOALS SCORED BY BOWYER, WOODGATE, AND JOE COLE WHO DONE REMARKABLY WELL EARNING A PLACE IN THE ENGLAND SQUAD AT 17 HE SCORED 18 GOALS FOR ME, AND IN HIS SECOND SEASON WHICH I WON'T MENTION, HE SCORED 40 GOALS ALL IN ALL HITTING 25 IN THE LEAGUE, ANYWAY BACK TO MY FIRST SEASON I WON THE LEAGUE BY 12 PTS BEATING REAL MADRID WHO WERE SECOND. FIGO WAS FANS PLAYER OF THE YEAR AND EUROPEAN FOOTBALLER OF THE YEAR, COLE WAS NAMED YOUNG PLAYER OF TE YEAR IN SPAIN, FOWLER WAS NAMED SUPRISINGLY WORLD FOOTBALLER OF THE YEAR AFTER OUTSTANDING DISPLAYS IN HIS COUNTRYS INTERNATIONAL FIXTURES AND ALSO NAMED EUROPEAN STRIKER OF THE YEAR.

MY SECOND SEASON WAS ALSO GOOD BUT I WONT WRITE ABOUT THAT YET.
THANKS FOR READING, YOURS SINCERLY WAYNE MARSHALL