Dorchester Town Story — December 2010

Hello dear friends, welcome to a fresh episode of the Dorchester Town Football Manager 2010 story! My team was not very convincing last month, we got knocked out of the FA Cup and also recorder a defeat and a home draw in Blue Square Premier. We were still top of the table though but the second placed team narrowed the gap to only 5 points. Let’s see how December went.

The first game of the month was at home with 11th placed Rushden, we surely needed a win. The team played pretty well during the first half but the finishing was rather poor. We finally broke the deadlock a few minutes before half time thanks to a corner kick header from centre back Bosko Visatovici, the ball went in off the crossbar. The second half was very quiet, Rushden were unable to attack because they rarely had the ball but we lacked creativity and determination upfront. Striker Sergiu Jivan did score our second goal eventually, he fired one straight into the top corner from inside the box.

Next up, the FA Trophy game against fellow Blue Square Premier side Ebbsfleet. We had a particular reason to play well and win because Ebbsfleet defeated us 2-1 last month in the league, we had to get revenge. We got off to a fabulous start, two minutes into the game veteran Argentinian striker Leonardo Biagini played a great header lob from the edge of the area to give us the lead. The ball came straight from our keeper, a long clearance up the pitch found Biagini who headed it past the opposition keeper who was preparing to rush out and intercept the ball. Our joy lasted only three minutes though, Ebbsfleet found the equalizer with a great shot from the edge of the area. But it was Biagini‘s day, he gave us the lead again in the 12th minute with a good close range header. Then we had some defending to do but Biagini earned his hat-trick with a placed finish a few minutes before the break. The Argentinian striker was tired so I had to replace him with Jivan at half time. Segiu Jivan probably took Biagini‘s boots though, he scored four minutes into the second half with a placed finish. Ebbsfleet clawed one back around the hour mark by taking advantage of an error in our defense but we continued to attack and play well. It was a good display and we surely got our well deserved revenge. Unfortunately my first choice right back, 32-year old Dutch player Kevin Mensah, got injured and was going to be out for six weeks.

Back to the league for the next match, away at 21st placed Fleetwood. My lads failed to live up to the expectations during the first half, we played rather poorly and Fleetwood could have taken the lead but they missed a huge chance on a counter attack. Things got even worse after the break, the referee noticed some pushing going on in our penalty area and pointed to the spot. Luckily goalkeeper Catalano saved the penalty kick! That was the game’s turning point, we were still playing quite badly but Marius Dabu found a perfect through ball for Sergiu Jivan and his placed finish gave us the lead. Four minutes later captain Ryan Carolan settled our nerves with a corner kick header but Fleetwood didn’t give up and I reckon we were lucky to escape with a clean sheet. We even scored one more seven minutes from time when winger Domondi headed in a free kick cross.

The last game of the month and also the last encounter in 2010 was at home against 23rd placed Telford, I was hoping to give our fans a nice Christmas present. We got off to a dream start, a quickfire double from left winger Alexandru Gheba placed us two goals in front right from the start. Striker Marius Dabu made it 3-0 in the 13th minute but Telford clawed one back right away with a beautiful shot that went in off the crossbar. Our victory was beyond doubt and the goal fest continued with an own goal and then another goal from Marius Dabu. I guess it’s a pretty good ending to a happy year. Go to the next page to read the rest of the story.

Go to the next page to read the rest of the story.

We remained top of the table and even widened the gap, York were eight points behind us! Promotion surely looks like a distinct possibility now, we just have to keep pushing until March…

At the halfway point of the season on-loan left back Lee Molyneux emerges as our most consistent player, he has been flawless at the back and also very inspired upfront since he recorded no less than 10 assists. I’m pretty satisfied with all the players so far but I felt we needed a couple of reinforcements just to be sure (more about that later).

The player that I would like to single out at the end of December is left winger Alexandru Gheba, a Romanian player. I brought him in last season on a free transfer and he quickly became one of my favorite players. He played for a Romanian second division team at some point but his career didn’t take off as I brought him from a non-league Romanian club. Last season he made 38 appearances, scored 7 goals and made 5 assists. This season he already hit the target six times and also made four assists. What I like the most about him is his creative approach to the game, I never know what he’s going to do when he has the ball around the opponent’s penalty area. Sometimes he goes to the byline and crosses, sometimes he cuts infield and plays the ball through the gap for the strikers, sometimes he dribbles his was through the defense and scores :)

And now about the transfers. I asked the board to find me a parent club but they failed to do that yet again, I guess I’ll have to keep trying. The good news is that I managed to make a transfer! Let me narrate what happened.

One of my four scouts came to the office and he was looking pretty excited. I am trying to imagine a dialogue between him and me, let’s see if I’m any good at that. ;)

— Sir, I found a good player in Ireland!

— Please tell me he’s a goalkeeper!

— No sir, I’m sorry. He’s a centre back and he just ended his contract with the Shamrock Rovers.

— A centre back… We’re pretty well covered in that area with Ryan Carolan and Visatovici, I don’t know…

— Sir, excuse me for interrupting you, he’s better than Ryan!

I got off my chair, went round my desk and looked my scout straight in the eyes.

— Are you sure?

— Yes sir, trust me!

— Then what are you waiting for, get his agent on the phone!

That’s how I imagined the conversation. The player’s name is Stefan O’Brien, a regen centre back that already has 5 caps in the Ireland Under 21 national team! There were more than a dozen clubs interested in him so when I offered him the contract I chose to give him 200 pounds per week instead of 120 pounds, the wage that he was requiring. He put pen to paper right away and he will join the club on the 1st of January!

His attributes look very good indeed, he has very good pace and defending attributes but I am a bit concerned by his low team work and work rate attributes. I hope he’ll correct those things once he’ll get a bit more experience and I’m looking forward to seeing him in action alongside fellow Irishman Ryan Carolan.

We’ll be quite busy in January, seven games to play including the FA Trophy second round.

That’s about it folks, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed the post. There probably won’t be any more transfers in January since we’re already over the wage budget but I will try to bring in a couple of players on loan to enhance the squad.