Our last game of the year was away at Anfield Road against Liverpool, the team that we beat 1-0 at home in the opening day of the season. The Reds were in 9th place before the game and they were surely looking to get revenge for that surprising defeat. We got off to a dream start though, Petre Micu climbed above his marker yet again and scored with a powerful corner kick header five minutes into the game! Then we had to withstand some pressure but my defense did pretty well to cope with it and when they didn’t we had Davide La Rocca between the sticks to save the day («la rocca» means «the rock» in Italian, quite a good name for him). We managed to hang in until half time and then we struck again 10 minutes into the second half, Chris Cohen played a lovely through ball for Dacian Varga and the left winger powered in his first ever goal for the club to make up for that missed penalty against Birmingham. I thought about pulling back to defend the lead but I decided against it, we remained aggressive in Liverpool‘s half and that proved to be the right choice. Liverpool were unable to react, we were outplaying them and hit the crossbar twice while they had no more clear chances until the final whistle! I was very pleased to beat Liverpool for the second time this season, they seem to be our regular customers :)
We are 6th at the end of 2014, much more that I would have dreamed of. Now I can be certain that we will not get relegated and who knows, maybe we can pull off a great surprise and grab an Europa League place!
Here are the player stats halfway through the season, I’m quite satisfied with most of the lads. Parker, Koroma and Sean Scannel hit the net quite often, too bad that Scannell got injured though. I am trying to sell two of the backup players, Jonathan Dos Santos and Eddie Kelly, because their contracts will expire in July and the wage budget does not allow me to renew them.
I guess you agree that our hero until this point was Petre Micu, the Romanian centre back that I brought in last summer for 2.5 million pounds. He has been very good at the back and also scored no less than seven goals, his jumping surely made some victims from corner kicks. I hope that I’ll be able to keep him though, several clubs are already chasing him, including West Ham, Wolfsburg and Marseille.
We’ll have an action-packed January in which we’ll get to meet Arsenal three times! Eight games during a single month might be too much for my squad, I’m quite curious to see if we’ll manage to survive this schedule.
That’s how it was folks, an exciting month for the club that surely gives us the certainty of surviving in the Premier League. We are under no pressure at all at this point so the second part of the season could be quite entertaining :) Thanks a lot for reading this update, I’m looking forward to your comments.
Jean Paul Borg
29 сентября, 2010 at 22:36
I just love how you manage to win against tough oposition like Birmingham, I wouldn’t worry much about the loss against Manchester United, I mean come on, you beat Liverpool twice! I hope you can beat Arsenal to qualify for the final of the Carling Cup. I was doubting the ability of the Romanians you bought but they left me speechless :) Well done on your 6th place, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Dorchester as Carling Cup champions or reaching a qualifying spot for the Champions League!
Hope Juventus will avenge your Romanian team’s loss against Manchester City tomorrow!
Johnny Karp
30 сентября, 2010 at 09:57
Thanks Jean Paul, that win over Birmingam was my favorite :) I don’t think that we can grab a top four spot though, I’d be happy to remain 6th :)
mariano
30 сентября, 2010 at 08:39
You are doing very good considering you have a much weaker team then your first season in Premier league with Notts co……!:)
I Haven´t read many of this post of this story so maybe the following questions have been answer, anyway,,,,,
Are you still using the magpipes tactic?(With a gel squad i consider using it cheating:)
Some feedback/suggestions:
1.Would like a post about how you get your squads geld so fast, for example with so many Romanians like in the first season with Dorchester.
1plus: if i manage a finnish team and i sell ALL my players and sign ONLY Indonesian(muslim) players will the gelling of the squad be ok?
It´s not a joke, i mean they all speak the same language and share the same religion, they should´t have problems understanding each other.
2.A post with a step by step explanations of how you find so good youngsters in the under´s national teams
3.i would like your stories to be more detailed regarding to your interaction in the pre-match and during the match about your tactics so i can learn to become a better manager.
mariano
30 сентября, 2010 at 08:45
I mean, would be nice if yo could explain in your stories which tactical changes you made,why,how and the outcome.
This would make the stories so much more interesting for me because i would be learning, and getting more ideas to experiment with.
Johnny Karp
30 сентября, 2010 at 10:05
Thanks for the questions Mariano, I’ll try to answer them :)
1. I don’t think that the squad gelled faster than usual but I do take some steps to make that happen. First I try to play many friendly games in pre-season, around 8. Then I try not to make too many tactical changes during the season. Having a group of players from the same nation does seem to count indeed, the backroom staff sometimes give such advice.
2. I don’t think there are too many steps to describe, just browse through the under 21 and under 19 teams and check the attributes. Then compare them with your own players and, if possible, send a scout to check the player. Now I rely on my scout reports since I can send them all over the world. I always send them to any international under 21 and under 19 competitions as well.
3. I do mention when I do some tactical changes (I still use the Magpies tactic, the latest version which is 4.2 if I remember correctly). I will try to post the pre-match and half time team talks too from now on if you think that might help you. When I don’t mantion any tactical changes then you have to assume that I stick to the default magpies tactic :)
Kevin
30 сентября, 2010 at 09:29
Hello Johnny
That was a very good month indeed culminating in a great win at Anfield. I can’t belive you are now challenging for a a place in Europe next season. Even though you have such a great track record in the game itself I somehow didn’t see Dorchster doing well in the Premier. So, I’m proved wrong and keep up the excellent work in 2015!
Johnny Karp
30 сентября, 2010 at 10:06
Thanks Kevin. The December results were a nice surprise for me too. I guess the turning point was the game at Birmingham, both myself and the team got a lot of confidence out of that win and great performance :)
mariano
30 сентября, 2010 at 11:07
Thanks Johnny,
When i mention tactical changes , i meant during the matches.
And by tacticl changes i mean tactics, philosofy, opposition instructions, mentality etc……
Would help to understand how you can do what you do:)
Or i am complicating things too much?
Johnny Karp
30 сентября, 2010 at 11:17
I understand what you mean Mariano. Most times I do mention when I change those aspects during a game, I remember that I almost always mention when I switch to «counter» strategy during a game or to a different setup than the 4-4-2. I never change the philosophy though :) I will try to give more details about the opposition instructions from now on but normally I do not set opp instructions too often.
Darren Smith
30 сентября, 2010 at 11:37
Hey Johnny, great results this month. It a shame you drew to Newcastle and lost to Man Utd, but that is to be expected. With your current form and next weeks fixtures, I reckon you’ll be challenging the top four or at least securing the top 7-8. Well done mate
Johnny Karp
30 сентября, 2010 at 18:49
Thanks Darren. I just hope the players will stay reasonably fit in January with the very congested schedule.
hils
30 сентября, 2010 at 15:41
Well done Johnny! I think a top half position is a realistic target now! Good luck!
Johnny Karp
30 сентября, 2010 at 18:49
Thanks Hils, I guess you are right.
hils
2 октября, 2010 at 08:26
Oh,i forgot to say that in FM11 i think you should manage a team like Corby!
Lye
30 сентября, 2010 at 15:49
Hi Johnny,
That’s a very good month and you are close to a play-off place. Next month will be tough but i believe you will pull off some surprises and grab a play-off place. Good luck.
Johnny Karp
30 сентября, 2010 at 18:49
Thanks Lye. No more play-offs in the Premier League though :)
Laxeyman
30 сентября, 2010 at 16:40
Hi Johnny, that was a brilliant end to the year, and now you’ve got a really good chance of finishing in 6th place. Good luck in the Carling Cup!
Johnny Karp
30 сентября, 2010 at 18:50
Thanks for the good wishes Laxeyman. I don’t have too many hopes for the Carling Cup, two legs against Arsenal is a pretty tough test.
Sears
30 сентября, 2010 at 17:09
Hi Johnny,
good month, nice to see you battling for a Europa League place. I think you can finish in the top seven, what a achivement that would be. By the way, who will you manage in FM11?
Johnny Karp
30 сентября, 2010 at 18:51
Thanks Sears. I have not decided which team I will manage in FM11, I will most probably put up a poll on the website and then you will decide for me :)
mariano
30 сентября, 2010 at 19:31
Yes, making a poll is a great idea.
The poll will be about a team or a national league?
Have you ever took Craiova to win the Champions?
As a San lorenzo Argentinian fan, usually is the first team i manage and take them to win the Copa Libertadores(South American champions League).
I would like you to manage an Argentinian lower league team just to see your reaction while trying to understand the Argentinian rules:)
There are 2 Champions every season in the same tournament, one after the first round and one after the second round.
2 teams face direct relegation every year, and are not the too at the bottom of the table, are the ones with the lower amount of points……….during the las 3 years!
In the winter break which last 2 weeks, clubs are allowed to signed unlimited players and in the summer break , which last 2 months only 4 signs are allowed!
And to qualify for the champions league, qualify the 2 teams who had more points between the second half of one season and the first half of the next season…..
Johnny Karp
30 сентября, 2010 at 20:07
I think it will be a mixed poll with specific teams and leagues as well. I did achieve that triumph with Craiova in FM 2007 or 2008 but it took me lots of seasons to make that. I did play a career in Argentina too in FM 2006, I took Quilmes to win the Copa Libertadores and the FIFA Club World Cup (Intercontinental Cup)! So I do know a bit about the Argentinian system, we even had some matches broadcast live on TV here in Romania a couple of years ago. I have to admit that your system is quite weird indeed, it took me some time to fully understand it. Then I played a career in Brazil and I noticed that they have their own strange things as well :)
rab carr
1 октября, 2010 at 19:00
hey johnny,, first of all well done in ur progress so far outstanding among other superlatives can only descibe your skill in FM about the team you will manage in FM 11 i would lovee to see you take my beloved celtic in the spl to glory in all fronts a know thats never gonna happen tho lol can always hope tho what a smashing good read that would be
Johnny Karp
1 октября, 2010 at 19:13
Thanks for the kind words. Winning the SPL with Celtic would be a bit too easy I guess but I am considering taking over a lower league Scottish team and taking them far enough to challenge for the title along with Celtic and Rangers :)
rab carr
1 октября, 2010 at 19:23
yeahhh a suppose your right you would destroy the spl with celtic a 3rd division teams seems right would be a even better read,, but for now reading the dorchester town journey is amazing :-)