Meet The Riot #3: Midfield

Name: Giles BARNES
RMR Squad Number: 7
Position: AM RC
Signed: 25/02/09, P/Exchange for Marco Criscuolo (G700 F.C.)

Real-Life:

Having scored 7 goals in 12 international appearances for England at Under-19 level whilst at Derby County, Giles Barnes has caught the eye of Premier League side Fulham. The pacy attacking midfielder is currently on loan at the Cottagers, with a view to a permanent £4m-move at the end of the 2008-09 season.

RMR Bio:

Giles Barnes had already proven himself a consistent performer for several top-ranked clubs when he was snapped up from G700 F.C. in a swap deal, with RMR prodigy Marco Criscuolo moving in the other direction. Since then, he has gone from strength to strength at Riot, playing some of the best football of his career. His exciting movement and creative passing have made him a fan favourite, and as well as maintaining a good strike rate for a midfielder, he has also contributed a great number of assists.

Name: AROUCA
RMR Squad Number: 8
Position: DM + M R
Signed: 01/12/08, £140,000 Initial Squad

Real-Life:

A diminuitive Brazilian playmaker who has spent most of his career at Fluminense, Arouca was signed by League Champions Sao Paulo FC on a long-term contract. He has represented his country at both U17 and U21 levels, including being a part of the Brazilian U17 side which won the U17 World Cup in 2003.

RMR Bio:

Arouca is, quite simply, the rock on which River Medway Riot has been built. The club's star signing on day one, he has been the man in the middle of the pitch through which everything flows. Playing more often as a central midfielder than a defensive one, his quick feet and intelligent passing saw him form the effective Brazilian triangle with Paulinho Dias and Saulo for several seasons. With over 600 appearances to his name, he is also the club's highest earner, and has repeatedly committed his future to the Riot as a one-club man.

Name: PAULINHO DIAS
RMR Squad Number: 14
Position: DM
Signed: 12/12/08, £100,000 Transfer Auction (Youth FC)

Real-Life:

Having been a hot youth prospect at Cruzeiro, Paulinho Dias is now a regular starter for Ipatinga, who finished bottom of the Brazilian Serie A at the end of the 2008 season.

RMR Bio:

As River Medway Riot's first six-figure signing, it took some time for Paulinho Dias to settle in at the club, turning in some distinctly average performances in the first season. However, once he began to play alongside Arouca, rather than competing for the same position, Paulinho Dias began to blossom, anchoring the midfield, breaking up opposition attacks and directing the pace of the game. While leaving the fancier passing to Saulo and Arouca, Dias's role in the side is to win the ball and put his foot on it, a task which he has mastered, and he is improving season on season.

Name: Jozef "Jojo" MICHALIK (regen)
RMR Squad Number: 16
Position: M C + AM L
Signed: 03/12/08, £10,000 Wage Auction

RMR Bio:

The very first graduate of the River Medway Riot youth academy, Jozef Michalik quickly made the jump from U17 to senior football. While competition for first-team places was fierce, Michalik established himself ahead of Lucas Correa and Lu Lin to become the first choice left winger with intelligent running and a never-say-die attitude. A change of tactics away from wing-based play has seen Michalik pushed back onto the subs bench for season 4, but with plenty of years of football ahead of him, he is looking to be an excellent prospect for leading the next generation of stars.

Name: Oscar SANZ (regen)
RMR Squad Number: 22
Position: M C
Signed: 30/12/08, £1 Transfer Auction (KRAZY KLOWNS F.C.)

RMR Bio:

With many clubs desperate to cut their wage bill around the turn of the New Year, young Oscar Sanz found himself moving to the Riot for the sum of £1. Following two good seasons in the youth team, Sanz found himself on the fringes of a failing senior team, and has made almost 100 first team appearances, often from the bench. The change of tactics and relegation of Jozef Michalik to the subs bench has seen Sanz less involved this season, but he continues to be a menace in the youth squad, and is developing his game nicely.

Name: Michael WOODS
RMR Squad Number: 23
Position: M C
Signed: 01/12/08, £24,000 Initial Squad

Real-Life:

A redheaded midfielder, teenager Michael Woods is on Chelsea's books, but has so far only made cameo appearances in cup games. Hotly tipped as one for the future, he has represented England at U16, U17 and U19 level.

RMR Bio:

Michael Woods is a name reasonably known to FM players, a prospect who generally does very well commanding the midfield. With that in mind, he was brought into the initial RMR squad, but has never really succeeded in making the grade. Following a barely passable first season, he has since made only a handful of appearances in the Riot blue, finding himself loaned out to a number of other sides in unsuccessful attempts to find him some form. He seems destined to be the star that never was.

Name: Omar GUERRA
RMR Squad Number: 15
Position: AM/F C
Signed: 23/03/09, £65,000 End-of-Contract Auction (FC Highlanders)

Real-Life:

Playing in Ecuador's Serie A, Colombian striker Omar Guerra has travelled around the country, currently wearing the colours of Club Deportivo Tecnico Universitario. With his bald head and bold forward play, he averages ten goals per season.

RMR Bio:

Following the success of season four's five-man attack, a key target in the end-of-season transfer frenzy was to bring in players who were comfortable as both an out-and-out striker and in a deeper, AM role. With FC Highlanders becoming defunct, Omar Guerra became available, and fit the bill perfectly. Although his strike rate at Highlanders was disappointing (in contrast with an excellent assist rate), he has already shown himself ready to make the most of a new opportunity at a new club, scoring as many in 25 games as he had in 85 previously at Highlanders.

Afore Season Four

And so, to season four, due to start on the 1st. Some pretty brutal squad changing after the disappointing end to last season has left a new look River Medway Riot. New look not least in the sense of our funky new Lotto strips, again sponsored by Debenhams.




The big news on the transfer front was the targetting of Fernando Cavenaghi, of Kid Chameleon. Following Etien Velikonja's disappointing form towards the end of the season, Cavenaghi was being targetted as the perfect big-name signing to take some of the pressure off of young Anthony Modeste's shoulders. Unfortunately, it wasn't to be- Cavenaghi's wage demands proved too far beyond the established RMR structure, and the Argentinian international moved to Great Scot instead.

Velikonja's release, coupled with the transfer of Diego Silva to Screaming Vikings for £100k, left us a little thin on the ground in terms of striking options. 18-year-old Simone Dell'Agnello returned from a disappointing loan spell at CWA rivals Gary Town FC, but the wheels were put in motion to bring in some more established players to challenge Modeste, Dumisani Ngwenya and Kaimar Saag for the available first-team spots.

Panamanian striker Luis Tejada had been sitting on the bench at Sierra Olson's Loverdunk Lemurs side for a few season, and in a squad with Nicolas Anelka and Enrique Sola, didn't look like breaking into the first XI anytime soon. Some very fast-moving back-and-forth negotiations between myself and the charming Miss Olson resulted in a deal acceptable to both parties, worth £350,000, but which saw Riot youngsters Denis Huber, Florian Pizzinat and Edilson Mendes form the spine of the Lemurs' new youth side.

Also joining was man-mountain Bogdan Milic, whose contract at Chryssalid FC expired. At 6'5 and over 14 stone, Milic had again found his opportuities limited at his present club, and was delighted to get both a pay rise and the opportunity to relaunch his career. Since coming in, he's established a powerful partnership with Anthony Modeste, and looks like he could prove to be a valuable asset.

Riot's other big story was the acquisition of 22-year-old AMRC Giles Barnes, a man who had averaged over a 7.00 rating for pretty much his entire career to date, including over 250 games for previous club G700 F.C. His RMR career has got off to an even finer start, scoring 8 goals in 14 friendly fixtures, and picking up two man of the match awards. Although Barnes was transfer listed with a £1.1m fee, G700 manager Nick "The Greek" accepted a straight swap deal for hotly-tipped RMR youth product Marco Criscuolo.

Other transfer activity saw the strengthening of the defence to fit a new look formation, with the three-man defence ditched for four at the back to try and establish some consistency in form. While Riot scored the second-highest number of goals in the CWA Premiership last season, they were also second in the league for goals conceded.

As it stands, it seems River Medway Riot will line up the first game of the season as follows, in a 4-1-3-2 formation:


Anthony Modeste ... Bogdan Milic
Jozef Michalik ... Giles Barnes ... Roberto Tacchi
Arouca
Reto Ziegler ... Michele Canini ... Severo Meza ... David Romminger
Jason Brown


The flexibility of the formation and starting line up, particularly with Tacchi, Romminger and Barnes, allow for easy modification to both a more attacking 3-5-2 and a more defensive 5-3-2. Ziegler and Romminger have occasionally been employed as wingbacks in preseason, while Meza can become the fifth man in defence as a sweeper, if necessary.

At present, Riot are competing in a Greek competition, the "Big Cup", which features predominantly newer teams, but which is hosted by XFA Premier League runners-up Aspra Chomata F.C. The Riot invitation came as part of a transfer deal which saw Lucas Correa move to Chomata, and given their experience compared with the fresh-faced opposition, it is unsurprising RMR sit top of the table, unbeaten, having won 7 from 8.

Finally, a word on two other friendly games, both with scores which make the mind boggle. Having experimented with a ten-striker formation, in the hopes of catching their opponents offside, Riot took a sound beating at the hands of Northampton Hurricanes. Brazilian superstar Kaka set a new GW record in the process, scoring ten of the goals in a 17-4 victory for the Hurricanes- Fernando Torres also bagged six, with Damien Le Tallec rounding off the rout. The shoe was on the other foot, however, when Riot agreed to be the opposition in Francesco Toldo's Testimonial Game for Carnoustie Celtic. Despite giving up over 100 places to Celtic, Riot ran out 9-3 winners in a remarkably open game, with new faces Milic, Barnes and Tejada joined on the scoresheet by Modeste, Arouca, Gislason and Ngwenya.

Last but not least, voting is currently in process for the official River Medway Riot Away Strip Babe for season four. Campaigning from respected FC Highlanders boss Federico Rizzi has seen a surge in popularity for a return of Season 3's beautiful Alison Angel, but sources from inside the polling station suggest the Olsen Twins, Stacy Keibler and Myleene Klass are all in the running to fill Angel's dainty boots.