User:Wilfriedthebeast/sandbox

The 2013-14 season was the Velits' 37th in existence. They had won the league for the last three years in a row and were attempting to do it again. During the immediate aftermath of 2012-13 and pre-season of 13-14, there was speculation of a leave by the manager Ceis Xaarven, however he preceded to take Velits on their early pre-season tour and eventually had not left by August, so would see out the last year of his contract before the World Cup.

The new kit
The Velits' new kit designs were revealed in a separate press conference on the 30 May 2013. Siva Pteropteriks introduced the day before handing over the kit design feature introducer to chief kit designer Milo Peters (Australia). The home kit was received with a mixed reception from the fans. Some fans drew it criticism because of the hype they had heard that the Velits were reverting back to their traditional green colour (this was a false rumour). Others didn't like the change of gold trim to black, where as others greeted it well, saying it looked stylish and classic. One of the main reasons cited for keeping the white colour was because Velits' never won a league title wearing green. The away kit takes the same shaded hoops design, in a red colour. It is meant to symbolize power and was picked because of that and because it looked 'vibrant and modern'. The gold third kit was further criticized for not being green, as was the people who designed it. It takes the same design but will little be worn this season. The goalkeeper kit was recieved well with the classic light blue strip colour, resembling an original 1980's kit, where as the away goalkeeper kit, coloured incredibly vibrantly with a multicolour zigzag strip design, again drew a mixed reaction from the fans. All the kits were designed with help and input from the players.

Pre-season and friendlies
The Velits' board announced the team's intention to travel on a 4 week tour around the continent, playing a total of 5 games in the process. This happened, Velits flew on their tour on the 2nd of June and reparted on the 28th. It was a succesful and thoroughly enjoyable tour for everyone. By the end of the tour Velits still had 3 more pre-season games to come as well as rehabilitation time, and no transfers had been made at this time apart from the release of players from their 2012-13 contracts, so Velits played on the tour with a relatively same team as to last season.

After this and their recuperation time, Velits were to play three more friendlies. The new season was to start on the 17th August. Here are the three friendly results.

Premier League
The fixtures for the 2012–13 season were announced on 18 June at 09:00 BST.

United's first game was away from home at Goodison Park to Everton on 20 August 2012, a game that they lost to a goal by Marouane Fellaini in the 57th minute. It was United's first Premier League opening game defeat since 2004.

United then returned to Old Trafford where they played against Fulham. The game started with Fulham taking the lead in third minute through a Damien Duff goal, a goal which marked Fulham's first goal at Old Trafford since 2006. United levelled the game seven minutes later through a spectacular volley from Robin van Persie who scored his first goal for United after joining the team a week before. United then took the lead in the 35th minute through Shinji Kagawa who, like Van Persie scored his first United goal. Rafael made the scoreline 3–1 just five minutes before half-time. In the second-half Fulham managed to reduce United's lead after an own goal by United defender Nemanja Vidić after colliding with De Gea and backheeling the ball into the net. United's next game was against Southampton, and Southampton took shock 1–0 and 2–1 goal leads through Rickie Lambert and Morgan Schneiderlin before a Van Persie hat trick saved United at the death after he earlier missed a penalty. In the next game United thrashed Wigan 4–0 with summer signings Alexander Büttner and Nick Powell scoring their first goals, with Hernández and Scholes also on the scoresheet. United's next game was against arch rivals Liverpool. Liverpool took the lead but United fought back with goals from Rafael and a penalty from Van Persie and won the game 2–1. United suffered a 3–2 loss at the hands of Tottenham. Tottenham took a 2–0 lead but at half-time Wayne Rooney made his return, and contributed with an assist but Tottenham held on.

The next match saw Manchester United win 3–0 against Newcastle United in St James' Park. Goals from Jonny Evans and Patrice Evra, both headed from corners gave United a 2–0 lead before Tom Cleverley scored a curling screamer from 25 yards. The next match saw United win 4–2 against Stoke City, Wayne Rooney scored an own goal in the 11th minute before equalising in 28th minute. Robin van Persie gave United the lead just before the break, and Danny Welbeck's diving header gave United a 2-goal advantage before Michael Kightly cut the margin in the 58th minute. But it lasted only seven minutes before Rooney scored to give United the lead to win the game 4–2.

United then played title rivals Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, a place where they had not won in the past 10 years. In the first 12 minutes United struck twice. The first one was a David Luiz own goal after a Van Persie shot hit the post and bounced off the Brazilian, and then the dutchman himself scoring the second. Juan Mata scored for Chelsea just before half time, and Ramires equalised for the hosts ten minutes after the break. However, Branislav Ivanović saw red for a foul near the area, and nine minutes later Fernando Torres received a second yellow for diving. Then, substitute Hernández scored the goal that saw the visitors come out victorious.

The next game was at Old Trafford against rivals Arsenal, in which Van Persie scored against his former club within three minutes of the game. Wayne Rooney missed a penalty just before half time, but Patrice Evra doubled United's lead after heading Rooney's cross. Arsenal pulled a goal back in the final minute via Santi Cazorla. An away visit to Aston Villa turned out to be a thrilling game which saw United fall two goals behind from Andreas Weimann before substitute Hernández scored twice and assisted an own goal that gave United the victory.

United suffered their third defeat of the season away to Norwich City, falling to a 1–0 score. The scorer was none other than former Manchester United Youth Anthony Pilkington. United then entertained Queens Park Rangers and fell behind after 52 minutes. United responded strongly with Jonny Evans and Darren Fletcher both netted from Wayne Rooney corners and Hernández did what he does best to make the points safe. United then had visiting West Ham United as their next rivals. United won the match 1–0 thanks to an early Van Persie goal after just 31 seconds that deflected over Jussi Jääskeläinen.

United established a 3-point lead over their closest rivals Manchester City after edging a seven-goal thriller against Reading at Madejski Stadium. Hal Robson-Kanu lashed home the opener, then Anderson cracked in an equaliser and Wayne Rooney slid home a penalty before Adam le Fondre and Sean Morrison quickly headed in from corners to have the hosts 3–2 up by 23 minutes. For all the nightmarish defending on show, however, their attacking play was just as irresistible, and Rooney clinically turned in Patrice Evra's cross to level again, before turning provider for Robin van Persie to spring the hosts' offside trap and beat Adam Federici to make it 3–4 in 34 minutes. United held on to the lead in a nervous second half to win the match.

United then played city rivals and closest contenders Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium. Wayne Rooney scored two goals in the first half an hour to give United a 2-goal cushion. But the match looked to have turned completely with half an hour left as Ashley Young had a goal wrongly ruled out as offside before Yaya Touré netted within seconds. It allowed the Blues to stage a comeback that led to Pablo Zabaleta levelling from a corner on 86 minutes. Incredibly, Van Persie, with a deflected free kick, had the final say in stoppage time to end City's unbeaten run at home that lasted almost two years and inflict their first league defeat since April 2012. In winning the match, United stretched the advantage at the summit to six points.

In their next match, United faced Sunderland at Old Trafford and goals from Robin van Persie and Tom Cleverley gave United a two-goal lead at half-time before Wayne Rooney put United to a three-goal advantage in the second half. Fraizer Campbell scored the only goal for the visitors, heading in Stéphane Sessègnon's cross. United held on to win the game 3–1. United then played Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium. Patrice Evra headed the Reds in front before Swansea striker Michu netted his 13th goal of the season in a see-sawing first half. The game ended at 1–1 – United's first draw of the season – but it was enough to ensure a lead of four points at the top of the table on Christmas Day.

Manchester United played Newcastle United at Old Trafford on Boxing Day in what turned out to be a classic. United conceded first when James Perch scored for Newcastle in the fourth minute. Jonny Evans then scored for both teams in quick succession, first equalising for United before putting through his own net to restore Newcastle's lead; the goal was originally ruled out for offside against Papiss Cissé, who was lurking behind Evans, but referee Mike Dean allowed it to stand, having deemed that Cissé was not interfering with play. Patrice Evra scored close to the hour mark to make the scores level with a 25-yard strike to mark his best season in terms of goals. Papiss Cissé then scored with a sublime finish to make it 3–2 on 68 minutes, only for Robin van Persie to get United's third equaliser three minutes later. Then United did what they do best with Javier Hernández, dramatically then scoring a winner with just seconds of the 90 minutes left to win the game 4–3. With Manchester City losing away at Sunderland, United extended their lead at the top to seven points.

United then played West Bromwich Albion at Old Trafford, making five changes to the side that played on Boxing Day with Shinji Kagawa returning to the side behind Danny Welbeck. Ashley Young's drilled cross was deflected off Gareth McAuley into his own net in the 9th minute for United's opener. Later in injury time, substitute Robin van Persie scored a wonderful curling shot assisted by Antonio Valencia to make it 2–0.

United then played Wigan Athletic at the DW Stadium, making three changes to the side that beat West Bromwich Albion. Javier Hernández latched onto a rebound from Patrice Evra's shot and Robin van Persie rounded Iván Ramis and converted before half time. In the second half, Hernández smashed a volley after a blocked Van Persie free kick. Van Persie himself scored the 4th goal after receiving a short-driving cross from Danny Welbeck from the left hand side of the post to make it 4–0. The game was their fifth clean sheet in the league so far this season. United's next game was against arch-rivals Liverpool. Van Persie made it 1–0 and Evra's header which touched Vidić's head made it 2–0. Liverpool pulled one back but it was not enough. United then drew against Tottenham, Van Persie again opened the scoring with a header but Tottenham equalised in the dying moments of the game through Clint Dempsey.

In the next game, United played Southampton at home. After going 1–0 down within three minutes, United once again pulled it back with two goals from Wayne Rooney in the first half to win 2–1. After their midweek home win, United then travelled to London to play Fulham where the deadlock was finally broken by a goal from Wayne Rooney in the 79th minute. United held on for the 1–0 win to go nine points clear at the top of the table. United then capitalised on the defeat of their nearest neighbours and closest rivals at Southampton the day before by beating Everton 2–0 at Old Trafford to extend their lead at the top of the table to twelve points with goals from Giggs early in the first half and Van Persie just before half time and avenging the 1–0 defeat they suffered in their first match of the season.

After that Manchester United travelled to Loftus Road and had it easy with a 2–0 win over QPR where Rafael scored a 30 yard screamer and Giggs scored a clinical finish on his 999th Appearance. This meant that Manchester United have opened up a 15 points lead, but was recovered back to 12 points by Manchester City with their 2–0 win over Chelsea. Next Manchester United hosted Norwich City at the "Theatre Of Dreams" and again opened up a 15-point lead with a 4–0 win. Kagawa scored a hat-trick and became the first Asian player to do so in the Premier League.

On 16 March, Manchester United took advantage of their neighbours and closest title rivals Manchester City's loss to Everton earlier in the day by beating Reading. The game finished 1–0 from a deflected goal by Wayne Rooney after a surging run from Rio Ferdinand. This extended Manchester United's lead to 15 points with 9 games to go and the title looked already won. After the international break United faced a trip to the stadium of light to play Sunderland on 30 March. Again United won 1–0 thanks to a Titus Bramble own goal after Van Persie's shot had deflected off him. By winning this game United set a new record by winning 25 of their opening 30 games.

On 8 April, Manchester United returned to Old Trafford to play their second Manchester Derby regarded as less pivotal that the first one. United were handed their first loss in 18 games as City won 2–1. James Milner scored the first for City with a deflected drive but United equalised after Phil Jones headed a Van Persie free kick against Vincent Kompany. However United's joy was to be shortlived as Agüero scored at the near post after a mazy run. United bounced back from derby disappointment by beating Stoke City at the Britannia. Michael Carrick scored a toe poke from a corner in the second minute and a late Van Persie penalty secured the points for United. Robin van Persie also ended his barren run of nine games without a goal.

Manchester United had to play a midweek fixture away to West Ham. This was a tough game that saw the hosts go ahead twice through Ricardo Vaz Te and Mohammed Diame. But United equalised twice through Antonio Valencia who netted his first goal of the season and Robin van Persie. The game ended 2–2.

On 22 April, Manchester United beat Aston Villa 3–0 to win their 13th Premier League title and 20th English championship after Manchester City had lost to Tottenham the day before. In the 2nd minute Robin van Persie scored after a lay off from Ryan Giggs to make the score 1–0. Van Persie scored again in the 13th minute with a volley from a through ball over the top by Wayne Rooney. Sir Alex Ferguson and many others hailed it as one of the goals of the season. In the 33rd minute, Van Persie completed his hat-trick with another assist from Giggs. United clinched their 20th league title and Sir Alex Ferguson clinched his 13th title with United.

On 28 April, Manchester United travelled to the Emirates Stadium to face fierce rivals Arsenal. The home team gave United a guard of honour but Van Persie received a torrid reception by his old fans. Arsenal scored first through a Theo Walcott goal in the second minute that was disputed to be offside. United scored at the end of the first half through a Van Persie penalty after the striker was fouled by Bacary Sagna. Both teams had chances to score in the second half but neither did and the score finished 1–1.

United then faced Chelsea at Old Trafford, recording their third straight defeat to the Blues in the season by losing 0–1, courtesy of a Phil Jones own goal. A week later, Sir Alex Ferguson managed his last game at Old Trafford against Swansea City. United took the lead through Javier Hernández, but conceded a strike from Michu in the 52nd minute. Quite oddly, it was Rio Ferdinand who scored the winner with three minutes to go, smashing home a Van Persie corner. Ferguson retired with dignity as he and his team received their medals.

Ferguson's last game in charge was against West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns, taking a 5–2 lead with ten minutes to go. But they failed to hold on and conceded a 5–5 draw, setting a record for the first match in the Premier League for both teams to score five goals each.

Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points

FA Cup
United entered the FA Cup at the Third Round stage with the other Premier League clubs, as well as those from the Championship. The draw was made on 2 December 2012, with the ties taking place on the weekend of 5–6 January 2013. United was drawn in an away match against West Ham United. The game ended in a 2–2 draw which meant United had to play against West Ham United again, this time at Old Trafford on 16 January 2013, beating them 1–0 in the process.

The draw for the Fourth Round took place on 6 January 2013, and gave United an home match on 26 January against Fulham, which United won 4–1.

The draw for the Fifth Round took place on 27 January 2013, and gave United another home match, this time against fellow Premier League club Reading. The game which was played on 18 February 2013 gave United a 2–1 win.

The draw for the Sixth Round took place on 17 February 2013, and gave United another home match, this time against fellow Premier League club Chelsea. The game which was played on 10 March 2013 ended in a 2–2 draw which meant United had to play against Chelsea again, this time at Stamford Bridge on 1 April. The game finished with United losing 1–0, meaning that United were knocked out, and it meant that Chelsea proceeded to face Manchester City in the Cup Semi-finals.

League Cup
As one of seven English clubs who qualified for European competition in the 2011–12 season, United received a bye to the Third Round of the League Cup. The draw took place on 30 August 2012, with United being paired with fellow Premier League club Newcastle United. United defeated Newcastle 2–1 on 26 September. Later that day they were drawn against Chelsea for their Fourth Round match.

Group stage
Having finished in the top three in the league last season, United began their Champions League campaign in the group stage. Courtesy of their UEFA coefficient, they were seeded in Pot 1 for the draw, which took place in Monaco on 30 August 2012. United were drawn into Group H, along with Braga of Portugal, Turkish champions Galatasaray and Romanian champions CFR Cluj. Manchester United were previously drawn with Galatasaray in both 1993–94 and 1994–95, while Braga and CFR Cluj are new opponents.

United ensured qualification into the knockout stage on 7 November when they won away at Braga by a score of 3–1. United fell behind early in the second half when Braga was awarded a penalty as the result of a Jonny Evans challenge. Alan converted the penalty in the 49th minute to put the home side ahead. The match was halted for approximately 12 minutes due to the floodlights going out. When play resumed, Robin van Persie tied the match in the 80th minute with a long-range strike. United were then awarded a penalty in the 85th minute, which Wayne Rooney successfully converted. Javier Hernández then put the game away in stoppage time. With top spot in the group secured United, fielding younger squads, lost both of their final matches 1–0 to Galatasaray and CFR Cluj.

Knockout phase
The draw for the round of 16 was made in Nyon, Switzerland, on 20 December 2012. The first leg was played on 13 February 2013 away from home, and the second leg was played on 5 March 2013 at Old Trafford. As winners of their group, United were drawn against defending Spanish league champions, Real Madrid, who finished as runners-up in Group D. It was fifth tie between the two famed clubs and the first time they have faced one another since 2003 when Real Madrid won the quarter-final tie 6–5 on aggregate. This also marked the first time United faced Cristiano Ronaldo since selling him to Madrid in 2009 for a record £80 million. In the first tie, United draw 1–1 away from home thanks to a goal by Danny Welbeck. In the second tie, United lost 2–1 at home to Real Madrid after a controversial referee red card which was handed to United player Nani in the 56th minute. Cristiano Ronaldo scored against his former club in both ties.

First Team Squad
(released 16th August by RIFA official website)


 * Updated on 16 August 2013.

[All appearance data taken from the Chelsea F.C. website- http://www.chelseafc.com/first-team.]

Transfers
On the 27th May 2013, at the end of the 2012-13 season, Velits said goodbye to their long-serving and loyal right midfielder Tethlis Kell. He was to retire at the age of 38 after 19 hugely successful years with the team. At the end of the season the Velits decided to release two other players who had signed a one-year contract at the start of the previous season. Harri Orlett and Mohamed Rista, 33 and 36 respectively, were relieved of their duties on the same day as Kell's retirement.

The Velits completed their first summer signing on the 29th May. Celsior Varone who had previously been on a 5 month loan deal signed from the Linozas as the Velits new main right back, since Ceis Xaarven had already announced his intention to play Barsche Parr at centre-back the following season. This led the way for Madin Nus to depart after less than a season at the club. However his deal to Bolters didn't go through until the 24th July.

The Velits waited till the 25th June to produce any more activity in the transfer window. Their second signing was a shocker: Hugo Aise, who had left the year before due to a lack of games, was resigned from the Alfrets for a whopping sum of over 8 million pounds. He is still only 18. The next they signed Vinc Omariga as a second choice goalkeeper after the departure of Rista.

On the 31st June, Dinolus Kasztrave departed the club. It came as a surprise to everyone, a one club player leaving the club for the first time. He cited that he expected to come back into the side after his critical knee and leg injuries, but felt unloved and disappointed that Akouzalam Lehwab had signed. The Lebiis bagged a bargain when they signed the injury prone midfielder for a cheap sum of 800,000 pounds. The next day, Velokarim Vyna returned to the Zippers after his full season loan spell.

Then the Velits started spending. They signed 5 players over the next two weeks spending a total of over £11 million on two midfielders, two defenders and a striker. Their last signing was Deivan Di Zie, 19 year old brother of the former Velits frontman Marcos. He was signed from the Destroyers and is tipped to be a big star in the future.