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So who won our contest for Football Manager 2015?

by: Sean Cahill - posted: 11/12/2014 10:44:00 AM
More On: Football Manager 2015

First off, I want to thank everyone who participated in the contest.  In all, over comments, tweets, and direct messages via Twitter, I received 31 entries.  Some were heartfelt memories, some were quite funny, and in the end, I narrowed it down to five contenders for the title.  Without any further delay, let's go over those five contenders, because I'd like to add some narrative to them.

Finalist #1:

In the north end of Crew Stadium in 2001. USA-Mexico. Cold. A blow up doll in a Mexico jersey crowd surfs. 

I had to leave a little bit off of this to keep the article G-Rated, but this entrant hits home for me simply because I was at this match and it was my first International match that I attended.  I was in the west upper deck and do recall someone pointing out this particular doll making the rounds in the stands.  Everyone around me had a great laugh as we tried not to freeze to death.  Sidenote, kickoff temperature for this match was a paltry 26 degrees.  Long live Dos-A-Cero!

Finalist #2:

As a Man Utd fan, watching Steven Gerrard literally kick away the Premier League title last season warmed my heart.

Schadenfreude at it's finest!  Let's relive that moment through a gif!

Maybe we should feel bad, but you know what?  I don't support Liverpool, so I will laugh every time I see this.

Finalist #3:

My favourite moment is the 2008 Carling cup final for several reasons. Firstly Spurs beat Arsenal 6-2 on aggregate to get there.

Then the fun began. Spurs started brightly but of course failed to score. Chelsea won a free kick that Drogba hit just over and because we were feeling generous we gave them another in pretty much the same place. Drogba scored that one.

Spurs had to wait until the 70th minute to equalise, Wayne Bridge handling in the box and a penalty was awarded. Berbatov with his typical Bulgarian coolness slotted it home. Didier Zokora wasn't quite as cool, he was looking away when the penalty was taking and only celebrated when the Spurs fans started to. He then had a pretty clear chance to put Spurs in to the lead, typically he missed.

The game went to extra time where in the 94th minute Jenas put a good cross which Jonathon Woodgate headed towards goal, Petr Cech punched that header against Woodgate's face and the ball ended up in the net. The next 26 minutes involved a lot of Spurs defending and a great moment where Teemu Tainio was booked for time wasting after taking a long time over a throw and pointing out the score/ time to irate Chelsea players.

Spurs hung on for a fantastic win and I got to see Ledley King lift the first League Cup trophy at the New Wembley Stadium.

 

As a Spurs supporter, this one had to be included in the finals.  The destruction of Arsenal was enjoyable, especially with it coming during a season where Spurs would finish 11th. Juande Ramos would be given the boot in October of the following season, so the fact that this side won the Carling Cup makes it all the more impressive.

Finalist #4:

I will admit that I did not expect this kind of entry into the contest, but there's no argument that scoring in an international match personally would be at the top of someone's list.  Kudos to you, sir, and thanks for sharing your personal best with everyone!

Finalist #5:

Far and away, being at the Etihad Stadium for Aguero's winner against QPR to win the title.

If I may quote this properly..... AguerrrOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

Sergio Aguero is a man among insects when he's at full health.  I've watched the replay of the last five minutes of that match time and time again, and even as someone who doesn't support Manchester City, I can appreciate the drought that City broke with that result against QPR.  Also, City directly benefited from Gerrard's mistake that's chronicled above and won the league title last season.

 

So who won?

This was not an easy decision.  I enjoy great stories, great moments, and hilarious moments all the same.  As a follower of the USMNT and Tottenham, those two entries hit close to home for me.  In the end, I have to be honest and say that silverware on a personal level will trump everything else.  I appreciate all of your entries and I hope to run more contests like this in the future.

Winner:  Finalist #3 - Spurs win the Carling Cup, 2008 - Perpetual Dark House

Congratulations to our winner, and I will reach out to you individually to provide you the code to download the game on Steam!