Well firstly let me thank you all for your kind words of support over the last few days.
As many of you are aware long standing UE community stalwart Charles La Rochelle (aka The Don) or Dad to me sadly passed away on Friday 10th April 2025 and will be sorely missed by you all. He was 84 years of age at his passing but I thought I would share a breakdown of his and our history within the game and would gladly welcome you all to reply to this post with your memories pf him both within the game and out of it!
So let me begin on how it all began for both his and my involvement within Ultimate Europe for us both. I had recently been made redundant after finishing a Pub relief management in North London and struggling to deal with the challenges mentally of not working and job searching so to fill my days it consisted of trips to the Job Centre and trips to the library and Internet Cafe's.
This was in February / March 2008 when bored of searching for jobs I stumbled across Ultimate Europe in all its glory. The sample turn looked great a Skill Summary and sides from all of Europe. It also drifted from the usual English Team only style many of its competitors had,
So upon seeing it I phoned Dad straight away telling him what I had seen an would he like to take a look as we had spent years playing these types of games and he was becoming disillusioned with a competitor after had folded and split the game between Internet and Traditional Postage only.
Being almost out of Credit and broke Dad made the call to Justin (sorry Ben but it was Justin who took the first call!
) to find out more about the game and what it was about. At the time UE were producing NEW Games on a Monthly basis and unbeknownst to us Game 87 was the HFG at the time which was likely completing iSeason 1 at the time.(don't quote me on that!). He spoke with Justin insisting he wanted a Top European side and would also fund my initial set of turns but we would not manage together!Within a Fortnight Dad had secured for me Juventus in Game 94 and I started the UE journey but as fate would have it the Barcelona manager did not submit his Payment or Turn and Justin called Dad offering him the team which Dad gladly paid his £50 to take the team. Albeit on Turn 2 of Season 1 (bit of a habit for us!
)So Dad had Barcelona and as we all know the Vultures love to swirl and in all honesty Dad had a fantastic team (No debt - Game 94 was a Traditional Format) consisting of Victor Valdes, Carlos Puyol, Eric Abidal, Gianluca Zambrotta, Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Ronaldinho, Deco, Lionel Messi, Samuel Eto, and Bojan Krcic and that just who I remember!!! But Dad's team was stacked however he took an approach that nearly all of us would frown upon - Cash Deals ONLY and he wanted to keep the team as is!!!
I was not allowed to receive his turn via email as Dad insisted and ensured that his team only came to him and I myself had to do likewise (do remember this was long before Wi-Fi or Internet capabilities of today!) via Royal Mail. Also at the time landlines were still very much active as well so Text Messages were regularly received to his phone wanting players but Dad at the time didn't understand Text messaging let alone Email and regularly tried to call many of you to negotiate a deal! Many of you didn't answer which to him proved baffling especially when Karl Windsor had Deportivo La Coruna and a certain Centre Forward called Everton Santos who Dad wanted but Karl refusing to answer the phone frustrated him immensely another was Perry O'Conner who I believe had Sevilla and a certain Cory McCutcheon although what team he had escapes my memory.
That said a few manager did take calls and often spent long hours talking to Dad during my mum's TV dictations consisted of Emmerdale, Coronation Street & Eastenders meaning he had free time to do his football (incidentally had to be concluded with a few days as he insisted on using the Fax Machine or posting his MDS back via Royal Mail!!!)
In Game 94 he initially struggled with the Match Engine as he tried to incorporate the wealth of Talent at his disposal however in time he figured it out and was ironically on of the first pioneers of the Inside Forward playing Lionel Messi in this role when many others insisted he was an LF/RF at the time. However he made good friends with Robert Gibb, Sandy McWilliam, Daniel Pearson and his brother James, Steven Vine, Richard Webster and Jim Pearce who often welcomed his calls as he began to get to know the characters within the game!
In Season 1 he lost the FA Cup final narrowly 3-2 to Atletico Madrid with Sebastian Becker (an unknown German FR) scoring a Hat Trick of Free Kicks in the final which Ben sadly was on the receiving end of the phone with the ensuing rant.
Season 2 consisted of a venture into the UEFA Cup and a 3rd Place Finish in the League BUT he won the UEFA Cup defeating the highly fancied Manchester United in the Final with both goals coming from Bojan.
Season 3 drifted off as the launch of Game 99 (the HFG) meant many dropped out as Season Ticket options at the time were not available and the allure of a new game however he did manage to keep the majority of Barcelona intact as it was although I was not privy to just how the team finished up!
Up next and our first venture into co-management meant we took FC Koln after initially receiving French side Lille with Patrick Kluivert leading the line Dad was reluctant to get involved but a long and convincing debate with him we ended up in Germany albeit 2 days into the game as he had to receive the turn in the Post before any deal could be discussed or me even attempting to sign a player!!!
Credit it where Credit is due Dad's insistence on a change in team allowed us both to create many a friend an rival in the game as the German League in Game 99 was by far the most competitive of all as Martin Banks (Bayern Munich), Mark Rone (MGB), David Hammond (Kaiserslautern), Steve Watkins (Hansa Rostock), Chris Haggard (FC Schalke) created a hugely competitive league with all focused on the Long Term strategy. In this game Dad insisted on a nationality approach consisting of German only players as a precedent although we did deviate from that towards the end! WE also had the pleasure of interacting with many others across the league including Tony Lennox (Marseille), Tony Etheridge (Chelsea), and MANY MANY more including Matthew Maksimovic, Stephen Pettigrew & David Fyffee who teams escape my memory. Success wasn't too forthcoming in Game 99 but we held our own and made many a friend within the game! i will also mention a certain Nathan Callow here as in Week 3 listed a CM called M Stock who my dad spotted the week on the Proboards Forum looking to generate a quick profit which introduced me to one of our closest friends within both life and UE. Whilst on the clock at the Internet Cafe an running the clock down fast Da insisted I made the call to secure plater thus creating a true friendship from all 3 of our perspectives. I even in true fashion to The Don's philosophy made an offer Nathan couldn't refuse getting in a much needed CM and gaining a life long friend too!
After 5 moderately successful seasons in Game 99 anew HFG was launched in game 107 and we decided we would try the impossible and take what at the time was the smallest side in the UE world amateur side from Scotland Queens Park. During this time many managers fancied a challenge within a 2 Division format which a certain band of managers wanting to embrace the Dutch League and others (mostly the Scottish crowd) heading North of the border to Scotland each present in the various challenges Game 107 could offer! It also opened up a plethora of competition and managers we had seen do well in Game 99 but had yet to face competitively! it also gave Dad the bragging rights of having the "Home of Scottish Football" in Hampden Park as our Stadium. We had a highly successful few seasons in the game constituting of the title in Season 1 ensuring promotion to the Scottish Premier and even going on to win the UEFA Cup. It was here we got introduced the infamous Callum Lang and re-engaged our communications with Aaron Pointon (previously Ajax - Game 99) who Dad chatted with regularly about life, UE & Mathematics as Aaron began his A Levels.
Following a pattern here up next was Game 112 where we encountered Stuart Finn (Sochaux), Nathan Owen (Montpellier) who incidentally kept the same Team for many games to prevent his Missus from clocking he was in multiple leagues! But we also came across Lee Finch of Nice for the first time also culminating a long term friendship / rivalry as over the 6 seasons within the game meant PSG, Montpellier & Nice all secured 6 titles each however our 5 FA Cup wins in 6 seasons should allow for bragging rights. Season 3 also saw us lose the only Champions League Final to date courtesy a 93rd minute winner for Gary Richards' Spurs coming from Lukaku. 2-1 being the eventual score but been chasing that elusive dream ever since!!!
As for Game 117 (the next HFG on the production line) we took over Real Madrid and coming up against the "PFF Crowd" who joined UE en masse after the collapse of their game. All happened to jump in the Spanish division meaning an ultra competitive league from the get go and whilst we secured back to ack doubles from Season 3 - 6 we never quite achieved the glory we wanted. This was the first game where potential and SA's became prevalent in an HFG . We never once failed to qualify for the Champions League proving the deficits could be embraced but also the wat The Don strategically set the deals up while I was laid up with Flu showed just how much a joint partnership could blossom under the right conditions. He tried to be "fair to all" by insisting upon 1 player per Club and picking choosing accordingly. Bear in mind this was when clubs did not have strength in depth and most had a squad of 15 or so players unlike today!
Up next in our joint ventures was the infamous Game 119 seeing us taking Dutch side Feyenoord in a legends game. we ha a certain degree of success but with many so insistent upon a recognisable name over stats proved a difficult stage for us both initially however ad did get to add a few of who he deemed to be world class players "he got to see" including John Charles & Rainer Bonhof amongst others. He still had an unwavering ability so select performers from the Transfer Lists that often went unnoticed. A few trophies followed but still missing the Champions League.
Dad took a backseat from Game 120 as I infamously took Nottingham Forest and failed massively as despite a change in approach I fell flat & the less said the better!
Up next after much deliberation 121 came upon us and after a poor start we survived in a very competitive Season 1 Season 2 saw us "break the infamous Gutmann curse" securing the UEFA Cup in Season 2. We were regularly a difficult opponent to face in a very tough Region but can hold our head high as the UE game and world created a community that came together as one during a very difficult time for the outside world! This of course was COVID time and created legacies, opinions and Ego's all in equal measure but hey it also created many friendships and community at the same time!
In Game 122 we took Besiktas with Dad not revealing his discussions with Ben until it came that I had to assist in getting the squad together and Dad giving me one of the biggest insights into Turkish football I have ever known! We had incredible levels of success in this game once again focusing on a different approach but definitely one that worked well!!! 3 league titles & 2 FA Cups was no mean feat!!
Finally we hit the present day and we get to discuss 124 with Dad speaking to Ben arranging for a team that would play in Green & White but would be a team I could resonate with! The cloak and dagger approach of the "bidding process" coupled with Dad & Ben's clues initially meant I thought we were getting Palmieras only to find out we were to be given Oriente Petrolero from Bolivia. They were a club steeped in tradition within the nation and where one of my all time favourite players played (Marco Etcheverry) BUT they also played in Green and White. With this team he has insisted on certain players joining the team at an early stage but also famously said to Lee Finch at the end of Season 1 he was not exactly happy we had gone up! However a Copa Liberatores Winner and 2 2nd place finishes who knows what Season 4 can produce!
So this is a brief history of the Don's influence and management history within the UE World and who and what we achieved together although I could have gone much further in depth as you are all aware!
In closing I cannot recall you all nor can I mention every conversation or text you shared with him but I know there were many but whilst I am oblivious to those I would like to thank you all for embracing him in the way you did over the years an you will always be "the boys from football" as he looks down from above!!!
Guess its time to win something from here on in I can dedicate to him!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4L_yCwFD6Jo
So Thanks for the memories Dad - You'll be missed by ALL but by no one more so than me!!!
Guess its time for me to begin "Making those Offers you can't Refuse!!!"