Hello friends and welcome back to the latest update of my Football Manager Story. I know, like you I am drooling over the prospect of FM 2012 and all those exciting new features. I wonder which team I will be come November? Anyway back to the present.
January 2016
The New Year started off on a good note as I was awarded the Manager of the Month Award for December. With the dressing room rather quiet of late, most likely due to our recent form this acknowledgement will hopefully lay the question of my abilities to rest.
Onto the BIG news – well sort of, that being the signing of my first ever Brazilian player. In other stories players from Brazil are featured often though I’ve never been able to sign a single one even when taking Cambridge to the Premier League. I know it’s not that exciting but it is for me!
So without further ado here is Everton Santos. At 29 he is a bit of a gamble but I’m hoping his experience playing around Europe can add something special up front.
Our other new face at The Abbey Stadium is ML Andrew Driver who is a straight replacement for Thorgan Hazard whom I sold off to Burnley and was responsible for starting all the dressing room turmoil. I think Andrew is a very nice fit to the left side of the field.
Our first game of the New Year was the FA Cup third round encounter with Aston Villa. The game did not live up to its pre match expectations and in a rather dull afternoon the home side came up with the only goal, catching us out with a counter attacking move in the 72nd minute to eliminate us from the competition
It was Preston North End who provided the opposition for our first league game of 2016 and in snowy conditions it was clearly difficult for both teams. In the end though it was the man from the Southern Hemisphere, Everton Santos who made the difference meeting a cross ball from Driver on the volley to score an electrifying winner in the 82nd minute.
With our unbeaten league run still intact the offers came flying in for various players and in particular Mariano Blanco, who was attracting all kinds of attention from several Spanish clubs.
• RB Marcelo Canteros
• DC Antonio Bandiera
• RB Jason Bli
• MR Johnny Gorman
• ST Jacob Plambech
….. Anyway, Blanco dropped this bombshell.
Up next in terms of on field action was a derby encounter at home to Norwich City. It was a game whereby if something could go wrong it would. We conceded within 15 minutes from a spectacular long shot and feel victim to the same kind of goal before 30 minutes was on the clock. Meanwhile Santos had two efforts cleared off the line and wildly missed several other chances before he was injured early in the second half. Plambech sent the ball wide of an open goal and Driver missed from 7 yards before Sunny was sent off which effectively killed any chance of a comeback. The fans were not very happy with this result and neither was I. If all this wasn’t bad enough my physio told me Blanco would be out for 5 weeks as he hobbled back to the dressing room after the final whistle.
The final game of January saw us fall behind to an early own goal from Jason Bli and it was two goals from the penalty spot that in the end was required to overcome Leeds United in a difficult game at Elland Road.
Transfers:
With the expectation of Blanco’s departure at any moment I picked up two new midfielders from London clubs. First off is Remi Mulumba from Arsenal who has good mental attributes with the strength and creativity I’m looking for in the centre of the park. As insurance, I loaned Dominic Vose from West Ham until the end of the season. The board had answered a request for additional transfer funds so I spent it :)
*** Vose got injured the very first training session :(
Three players were let go during the January window as they hadn’t really contributed that much this season.
February:
Turf Moor provided the venue for the first game of the month which saw us take on league leaders Burnley. Despite having some good possession and creating chances Burnley managed to capitalize on theirs and we didn’t resulting in a heavy defeat that could be detrimental to our play-off hopes.
Back at The Abbey Stadium we entertained Leicester in our next game and I lost count how many headers Bandiera had on goal but after a frustrating 70 minutes he finally managed to beat the Leicester keeper to make it 1-0. That was the impetus we needed and shortly afterwards young Scot Jamie Maclaren made it 2-0 with a real poachers goal to secure the three points.
We travelled to London next to take on QPR and once again we missed chance after chance where at the other end poor marking allowed the home side to score three easy goals as we were comprehensively beaten 3-1.
The final three games of the month are now absolutely critical and could decide the fate of our season. We start of at home to Peterborough before taking on West Brom and finally Sheffield United. Here’s the table so you can see why.
First up then – Peterborough and the star of this show was the weather and in an absolute downpour neither side could make any headway and so we had to settle for a point. Next was a trip to The Hawthorns to face West Brom and after falling behind to yet another long shot in the 35th minute we kept searching and pushing until Jeff Webster struck an equalizer 2 minutes from time.
The final game of the month and this crucial set of three saw Sheffield United arrive at The Abbey Stadium. It also saw the return of CM’s Mariano Blanco and Francis Colquelin to the side after both being out for several weeks. Antonio Bandiera got us off to a sensational start heading in from an Andrew Driver corner after just two minutes. United though equalized through – you guessed it — a long shot some 19 minutes later and then took the lead with some slick passing just before the hour mark. In a game changing event the visitors were reduced to 10 men for a professional foul on Plambech which subsequently saw Bandiera curl the free kick into the roof of the net 2-2. With the clock counting down a decisive through ball from Blanco was met by Plambech who drove it low and hard under the Sheffield keeper and it was 3-2 and thus ending his 11 hour goal drought. It was a dramatic end to the game which saw us move back into a play-off spot!
League Table:
A very indifferent past couple of months at least kept us in the top six though I only wish we could have kept up that pre Christmas form! Unless Burnley and Sheffiled Unite slip up I think any chance of automatic promotion has now gone
As for that BIG news at the start of the post, well Santos hasn’t made that BIG of an impact and I’m already regretting bringing in him to the side. Hopefully he will prove me wrong over the remaining games.
Fixtures:
We have both Watford and Forest coming up over the next couple of weeks which are going to be difficult encounters for sure.
That concludes this post, the next one being the season finale unless of course we make the play offs which will therefore mean an additonal update.
As always thanks for reading and enjoy your weekend!
Excessive
20 августа, 2011 at 16:53
Well done Kevin, you really have turned the season around from your opening few months. Play-offs look a cert for you at the moment and I really hope that you can push forward and end up in a solid spot come the end of the season.
New signings look good, especially like the look of Mulumbu who could turn out to be a great Ball winning MF!
Good luck :)
Kevin
20 августа, 2011 at 21:52
Thamnks Excessive — I’d hoped to be in a better position but you are right about the first few months being rough. glad you like Mulumbu :)
Darren Smith
20 августа, 2011 at 17:08
That’s not too bad Kevin especially when you consider the opponents. Hopefully you can go on a steaming run till the end of the season and nick a top two finish :) I reckon the play-offs should be your main target though.
Both Driver and Mulumbu look great, I hope they can make a difference and unlucky with the Brazilian signing as he looks good for Championship level.
Kevin
20 августа, 2011 at 21:59
Hi Darren — yeah, the opponents have been rough of late Getting into the play-offs is my number one aim now. I was happy with both Driver and Mulumbu not so much anymore with Santos :(
Dan
20 августа, 2011 at 20:14
This has been a rough season for you Kevin but you’re slowly edging your way further up the table. With a few more results and if other teams slip up a play-off place should be a cert. I admire you for sticking with Cambridge, I’ve given up on games like this before and hopefully all your hard work will pay off in promotion back to the Premier League. Good luck!
Kevin
20 августа, 2011 at 22:03
Hi Dan — I’ve surprised myself at sticking with Cambridge so I REALLY appreciate your kind words. My game has become more about the adventure now than trying to be Kings of Europe.
vaibhavc
20 августа, 2011 at 22:36
Hey Kevin
Thats not too bad because of the opponents you have played, but if you keep going with the form you had before, you can try for automatic promotion.
Kevin
21 августа, 2011 at 12:24
Hi vaibhavc — I hope so mate!
Jack
20 августа, 2011 at 23:57
Go on Kev!!!! I’m cheering you on all the way, you can make it back to the big time :)
Kevin
21 августа, 2011 at 12:24
Hi Jack — thanks a lot for the support. Keep it coming!!! :)
Sibo
21 августа, 2011 at 02:48
Not too bad considering the opposition, it is good to see you hanging on in the playoffs, I’m sure if you make them you can get promoted as your squad is quality!
Also, I just looked at the fixture list again, how vital will that final day game against Bolton be?!? Extra, extra luck for that one Kevin, but I hope you seal a playoff place before then! :D
Kevin
21 августа, 2011 at 12:27
Hi Sibo — You know what, I just notcied that Bolton fixture myself. Promotion coould come down to that single game. Wow!
Johnny Karp
21 августа, 2011 at 08:12
Well done Kevin, you kept the ship steady despite the fairly big number of players coming and going. Driver is my favourite signing, he is a very good left midfielder that can also play a decent part in the Premier League. Santos has the skills so I hope he will perform better in the coming months once he has settled in England.
Kevin
21 августа, 2011 at 12:31
Thanks Johnny — I thought Driver was too good to pass up for my left flank tactic and I hadn’t considered about Santos having to settle especially as he doesn’t speak English and no one in he team speaks Portuguese :)
Lye
21 августа, 2011 at 08:54
Hi Kevin,
I believe for Santos, he just need time. Looking at his attributes, he seems like a good player. Probably he need to adjust his playing style for the English League. Andrew Drive is a brilliant signing which will see your left flank looking more dangerous. Not a bad month despite some hiccups. I am pretty sure you can get a play-off spot at least. Good luck.
Kevin
21 августа, 2011 at 13:07
Hello Lye — Good point about Santos. Glad you like the signing of Driver as he should be perfect for my tactic.
FM Blogger
21 августа, 2011 at 13:19
Hi Kevin,
Decent results there. I believe that in the end you will manage to gain promotion, you are not far from that. Driver is indeed a great signing and I think that he will help you a lot. Good Luck with the rest of the season!
Kevin
21 августа, 2011 at 17:08
Thanks FM Blogger — Acquiring Driver was indeed one of my happier signings especially for the tactic I employ
Sears
21 августа, 2011 at 14:57
Keep going Kevin. It’s been a rocky season but your doing well. Good luck :)
Kevin
21 августа, 2011 at 17:10
Hi Sears — yes rocky it has been but hopefully some steady from will see us through to promotion.
Nicholas Phipps
21 августа, 2011 at 17:26
It’s been an interesting season, but now it’s pretty clear your team are probably going to at least make the play-offs. Some nice signings and Mulumbu and Driver both look very good :)
Laxeyman
22 августа, 2011 at 11:51
Decent form Kevin, and you also brought in a couple of decent players, Driver will fit very well into your side, he is an excellent Championship player. You’re now in a good position to finish with a play off spot, and a good run will guarantee your place there. Good luck!