Hey guys and welcome to my first post of 2011! I hope you all enjoyed your Christmas and new year holiday but its back to work I guess. :( Anyway back to my Newcastle story and the year 2013.
European Super Cup final vs Bayern
Firstly I would like to share with you a great game in the Super Cup final. I used my flat 4-4-2 with counter strategy, as this has worked time and time again against the German champions. My set pieces have recently become unstoppable and Musacchio just went out to prove himself again.
Afellay and Verratti are both alternating as the advanced playmaker in my side…this works well because they are both my free kick takers as well. As you can see in the highlights they both set up Musacchio and the team seem to be almost complete. Every player has his own role and all these roles put together just seem to work like a gem.
With Chelsea and Manchester City spending big during the summer, this season is bound to offer some stiff competition. Add to this the usual title contenders of Manchester Utd and Arsenal. Basically I think this year could be tougher than the last two, so a good start will be welcome. My side answered the prayer during our first four months with 12 victories and a one draw from 13 games. Beating the likes of Tottenham, Chelsea and Liverpool should go a long way to helping Newcastle lift the title. Musacchio has been scoring for fun alongside a surprising run of form from my striker Sanogo. Paloschi is still my main man, but its nice to take some of the pressure off Araujo who has had a very slow start.
Top notch performance — Newcastle 3-0 Liverpool, Premier League
Liverpool are always a tough side to beat and I was cautious leading up to this match. The trusted 4-5-1 was used with a standard strategy and Paloschi started alone upfront before Sanogo came on to give the Italian a rest. Lets watch the highlights.
Like I said previously, Paloschi is my star man, but Sanogo is close behind him. Both their goals were that of a real poacher and I was delighted to see my regen Hernandez perform so well. He linked up with Afellay for the third and showed off some really nice composure and ability.
Such a great run of form has left Newcastle one point clear of Arsenal with a game in hand. I thought so many victories would have helped gain a larger lead at the top, but like I said, this season could be tougher than the previous two. When I played Chelsea, Moyes men were so difficult to break down and we only won thanks to a moment of magic in injury time. That is why I’m shocked by their 8th position, having spent so much and played so well against me, I class them as title contenders.
I have won the League Cup two seasons in a row, but this year could be different as the draw has not been on my side. We had it easy against Barnsley during the third round which allowed an opportunity for the subs and youngsters. However, my fourth round was away to Liverpool. We handled the tie well and came back twice before scoring a late winner, but had to risk some of my more key players. My reward was a tie against Man Utd, the only side to have held us so far this season. I have no choice but to play a weak side as my league and Champions League fixtures will be closely prior to and after this game.
After been handed probably the easiest group I could’ve wished for, I took the opportunity to use my subs and youngsters. Sanogo was simply amazing along with Verratti who ran the show from central midfield. The Italian wizard is finally starting to show his true talent and prove his worth to my squad. His performances have led to a perfect 5 out of 5 victories. Now I just need to complete the achievement by beating Partizan in game six.
Top notch performance — Galatasaray 1-4 Newcastle, Champions League
My secondary formation, the 4-4-2, seems to work well against the Turkish side. With Sanogo scoring for fun in this competition we always had a chance of the big scoreline. If you watch closely you will notice Verratti setting up three of the four goals. I just love the little Italian!
All of Sanogos physical attributes are brilliant, you can see this just by watching his goals. However, your only as good as your team mates and in Verratti we have a great player, add to this the odd goal from my centre back Musacchio and we’re lethal.
The injury to Caceres could sideline my centre back for upto 5 weeks. Not very good considering my clustered fixture list and that he is my only backup defender. That certainly wasn’t going to dampen a great looking group though. My side are top and already qualified for the first knockout round with 15 points.
After enjoying so much success of late, you can imagine my players have achieved some good ratings. Musacchio has scored an amazing 9 goals to match his great rating of 7.64. Sanogo has also done very well scoring 13 goals, he has scored more than Paloschi who has 7. Afellay and Verratti are battling it out for one position, although Afellay is far more trustworthy. The Dutchman has assisted 14 times while Varratti has assisted 8 times. I’m delighted with how quickly Micah Richards has adapted. His pace is incredible and his rating of 7.49 more than pays back the lowly cost of less than a million. Kakuta has also started fairly well with 3 goals and 5 assists out of 9 starts
The next three months could see my side bridge a comfortable gap in the Premiership and I’ll also have my fingers crossed for the Champions League draw. One thing is for certain, I have to beat the new look Man City. Their new manager Flores has declared war on me and I hate his rude comments to the press…all my talking happens on the pitch so lets hope we thrash em!
OK folks, that is all for today, I hope you enjoyed the read and will be back soon. Thanks for reading and I look forward to your comments.
Ana Garcia
2 января, 2011 at 12:14
What can I say? You are just brilliant at the moment!
Your league form is amazing with only one goal conceeded and you easily qualified from your group, and am sure you can win everything this season!
I would wish you luck but it doesnt seem like you need it! With the way your team are playing and with the ease you are winning games!
Well done Darren! :)
Darren Smith
2 января, 2011 at 12:46
Thanks Ana, my side seem to have this invincible mentality. Its very rare I build a squad that are always on the front foot and look unstoppable no matter who the opponents are. This Newcastle side are one of em though. Luck is always required to bring in a haul of trophies, but we had it last year so who knows.
Wazz
2 января, 2011 at 12:28
Pretty much agree with everything Ana had said. Your Newcastle team are doing brilliantly in all competition. Well done for beating Liverpool twice already. 12 wins in 13 in the Premier league, that’s just amazing Darren. I hope you get an easy team for the 1st Knockout Round in the Champions League but, there are no easy games anymore.
Good Luck mate! :D
Darren Smith
2 января, 2011 at 12:49
Thanks Wazz, sorry to beat your beloved Liverpool but its all for the greater good ;) My side seem unstoppable at the back, though its great to know we have the goals incase that falls apart. You’re right there are no easy sides in the Champions League, but the likes of Barca and Real would not be appreciated!! :)
Laxeyman
2 января, 2011 at 12:46
Brilliant start Darren, your side are dominating the league and you should retain your league title this season. Great in the Champions League, your team must be one of the best in Europe, so I reckon you’ve got a good chance of going a long way in it. Good luck!
Darren Smith
2 января, 2011 at 12:56
Thanks Laxeyman. I have just signed players to work with my tactics and stuck by them…I think it has paid off really well. Hopefully we’ll be there or there abouts come the end of the season. As always luck of the draw and timing will make a difference.
Sears
2 января, 2011 at 14:34
Well done on a terrific start! What corner set up do you use? Mussacchio scorers loads of goals from corners for you! I think you can win all trophies available this season.
Darren Smith
2 января, 2011 at 14:51
Thanks Sears, I’m really enjoying my sides displays so far. I aim my corners for the far post and have Musacchio attacking the far post. You need the right players to take corners and attack them but when its all in place you can get a tonne of goals!
MRDNRA
2 января, 2011 at 15:24
Wow that’s incredible, 1 goal conceded in 13 league games, I reckon you could easily get through the season conceding less than 10 if you keep that up. At this point I can’t see how anyone can stop you winning the league title, and you’re doing excellently in the Champions League too.
Best of luck for the rest of the season, especially the League Cup game against Man U.
Darren Smith
2 января, 2011 at 18:38
Thanks MRDNRA, the defence and Goalie have been immense so far. It only takes one bad performance to ruin our form, but I reckon we should see the season out without too many dramas. I really hope we perform better in the League Cup against Man Utd than we did in the league. My fringe players and youngsters may need to get a run out though. Thanks for the comment mate.
Kevin
2 января, 2011 at 20:22
Hi Darren
You’ve turned this team into an unstoppable force it seems, conquering everyone and everthing in site. Really excellent stuff and it seems you are in for another trophy filled season. As an addtional somewhat obvious comment you have deifntely mastered this version of FM already :)
Darren Smith
2 января, 2011 at 23:05
Thanks Kevin, it would seem like I have worked the game out already, but knowing FM each side has its own characteristics. I could easily struggle when managing a completely different side to Newcastle. Hopefully we can just keep up the domination and win some more trophies with my beloved club. :)
Birdy
2 января, 2011 at 22:10
Hey Darren your side is play magnificently and no one can stop you right now. Good luck on the rest of the season lets hope you can make a gap and win quite easily
birdy
Darren Smith
2 января, 2011 at 23:06
Hey Birdy, would be nice to wrap up the title early. That way I can concentrate on other competitions, either way it will rely on luck in the knockout comps. We were lucky with opponents injuries last year but I think we can win more on merit this time around.
Johnny Karp
3 января, 2011 at 07:35
As I expected, you are dominating the league and Europe too. This will be a memorable last season, I’m quite sure of that.
Darren Smith
3 января, 2011 at 11:27
Thanks Johnny, luck is always important but my side always look favourites to win at the moment. I’m not sure if this will be my last season…I’ll probably take a break from the Newcastle game and return to it later. It would be a shame to lose all that talent.
Lye Kuek Hin
4 января, 2011 at 09:34
Hi Darren,
Great start there. No doubt this season will be tougher but you should stand up to the challenge well. I am looking forward to another successful season. Good luck.
Darren Smith
4 января, 2011 at 10:20
Thanks lye, the team chemistry hasn’t changed from last season and we’ve just carried forward the momentum. Looking forward to the season and will be interesting to see if we end up in a few competitions by the end.
Sayam Khan
8 января, 2011 at 19:19
After reading your last post about transfers i am confident you will win the league again. You have signed to amazing regens by the way. Well done and good luck
Darren Smith
8 января, 2011 at 20:49
Thanks Sayam, the regens are brilliant and I’m very confident of another league title. Hopefully they’ll be no dramas and the season will go to plan.