Blyth Premier League February 2014
Here we go, in the middle of the countless takeover rumors me and my Spartans were still playing well in the Premier League, we were still in 3rd place at the end of January. We were on an eight match unbeaten run but I feared that it would come to an end sooner or later.
I was forced to rest a few first team players for the difficult away game at Everton, they were very tired and I just had to give them a break. Everton were in 10th place and had a very good team, with van Persie and Arteta on the wings. We won the home game 2-1 in September but this time they didn’t give us too many chances. It was an even game but somehow they scored three goals, the first by taking advantage of a huge defensive error and the other two from corner kicks :(
We had to recover from that painful defeat but there were rough times ahead, we had Manchester United coming up at The Stadium of Light. We snatched an upset draw at Old Trafford back in September but upsets don’t happen too often, so I expected Manchester United to try to win this one without too many problems. And it seemed done after 10 minutes, they were 2-0 up before we knew it, with a bit of help from the referee. My team reacted well, we dominated the rest of the game but my strikers, Nicao and Pavlyuchenko, were not showing the great form that they had in the first half of the season. Centre back Cristian Suarez headed home a corner kick in the 80th minute but it seemed to be too late. Wes Brown was finally sent off in the 83rd minute… Him and Vidic roughed up Nicao from the first second of they game, they should have been sent off in the first half if you ask me, both of them! When it seemed to be almost over left winger Martin Panik invented a fabulous volley from out wide and it went in, the goal of the season so far! A good result that could have been even better…
Next up, a tough away game at 17th placed Portsmouth. We won the home game convincingly in October, 3-0, but Pompey were very strong at home. They dominated the game but never looked like having what it takes to prevail. It looked like we were heading for a 0-0 draw but Peter Crouch decided to score one for each team in the last 20 minutes, so it ended 1-1 :) We didn’t play particularly well, things could have gone worse than a draw.
A few days after the Portsmouth game the news finally came, the takeover was completed. The new chairman told me that they were going to invest in the training facilities and that he will probably bring a new manager. He told me that he will let me know soon about his decision.
I thought that if this man is a wise businessman than he will not bring a new manager because he already has a great one at the club. Anyway, I decided to play the next match and wait for his decision, whatever that decision would be.
The expansion at our Croft Park stadium was finally completed, so the next game was the first one of the season at our own stadium. West Bromwich Albion were coming to visit, they were the last placed team in the league table. It was a great opportunity to welcome our fans back home with a win but West Brom scored an early goal out of nowhere and it seemed like it was going to be tougher than we expected. Cristian Suarez got us back on level terms right before the break but my strikers were still missing important chances. Nicao finally scored in the 63rd minute, that was one he just couldn’t miss, he just had to push the ball into the empty net. Cristian Suarez scored again in the 80th minute to polish a great performance, both in defense and attack. He is becoming a true leader of the team.
Arsenal and Chelsea were showing great form, so we stepped down in 5th place. I expected that, I didn’t even dream about finishing 3rd… We’re still in with a chance to fight for an Europa League place but it’s going to be very, very tough.
We’ll have a tough month ahead of us, with a true inferno in the last three games — Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool. We have to get the most out of the Middlesbrough and Sunderland games and then try to cause at least one upset in the last three games…
The month is over now and the new chairman still didn’t make up his mind. I guess I’ll have to play at least another game, the away one at Middlesbrough and wait for the decision. Paul Jewell, the manager that the new board wants, is currently managing Hull and they’re safely in… 19th place with only one win in 27 games! I guess it would be pretty crazy to sack me and bring him but you never know…