Hello folks, a new Dorchester Town update is finally ready after the busy last few days. At the end of February my Magpies were proudly sitting top of the League Two table, 17 points clear of the second placed team. Since you all said that the title was already ours I guess there’s no need to go into too much details about the next league games, we’ll just focus on our trip to Wembley for the Johnstone’s Trophy Final.
So, we had four league games before that final and things didn’t go too well, on the contrary. We started with a good win over Morecambe but then went on to record three consecutive draws, two of them goalless. I was beginning to worry about our striking force but promotion was secured at the end of the Burton game, we were sure of stepping up to League One with seven games to spare!
I didn’t go into the final with too much confidence though, we were on a poor run of three games without a win and our opponents were strong League One side Peterborough. It was the first final in the club’s 132 year history, I urged the players to give their best and make it a memorable afternoon for the fans. The game was fairly quiet during the first 20 minutes, we were holding them off pretty well in midfield. But there was nothing we could have done to avoid their first goal, a stunning curling shot from 30 yards out left my keeper wondering what had happened… The players were not disheartened though, they showed good determination and striker Omar Koroma had a good chance to make it all square but was denied by the goalkeeper. We were 1-0 down at half time but I was hoping to get back into the game after the break. Unfortunately a corner kick scuffle went wrong in our penalty area, my defenders were unable to clear the ball and it eventually landed into the back of the net. It was all over, my lads were down and out as Peterborough were controlling the game in midfield. We had to admit that we got beaten by a better side, now we’ll have to make it to the final again next year and do better to win it.
The last seven league games were not important anymore, I just watched them like you watch a football game on TV. We managed to secure the title after the Wycombe defeat, with five games to spare…
The fans were proud and I was too, we managed our third consecutive promotion!
Exeter, Stockport and Wycombe eventually got promoted too. As for us, I guess 104 points is not a bad total to have ;)
Captain Ryan Carolan was our best performer yet again, he is becoming a club legend and he totally deserves it. The two strikers also did well, Koroma and Kazmierowski netted 45 goals between them. There are quite a few players that won’t make it into the team next season though, I plan to sell at least five players but it will all depend on how many better players I’ll be able to bring in.
I would like to single out winger Aleksandar Mladenov, the Bulgarian that came to the club last summer as a backup player but managed to end the season with 14 goals and 9 assists to his name. He also was very reliable and hard working on both flanks, he intercepted and tackled a lot of balls.
In case you were wondering just how he managed to net 14 goals, I’ll show you the typical king of action that brought him to scoring this season. Mladenov is the one with the blue line next to him and that blue line tries to indicate his movement off the ball. You notice that he avoids the offside trap as Koroma receives the ball. Koroma makes a quick turn and passes the ball along that red line, Mladenov is clean through and fires it in at the far post!
This type of movement was made by Mladenov time and again this season, both on the right and left flank. He will surely stay in the team next season, I can just hope that he’ll score as many goals in League One too :)
I was curious to see how the club’s finances were at the end of the season. The balance was no longer in red, the club had 144,000 pounds in the bank but that surely doesn’t guarantee a good transfer budget. It is a good sign of progress though and I intend to keep a close watch on the financial health of the enterprise.
With all that money I figured that the board would finally agree to relay the pitch, it’s in a shameful state of «mudness» at the moment. They agreed and I’m looking forward to see my footballers playing football on a grass surface again.
That’s how our season ended, we can celebrate another promotion but I am already starting to think about the better sides in League One and the tremendous amount of work that I’ll have to do during the summer transfer window. I think that we need at least 10 new players to make the squad solid enough for League One so I can only hope that the board will give me a decent wage budget to accommodate all those new contracts. Thanks for reading, see you in the comments box :)
Laxeyman
13 августа, 2010 at 15:14
Hi Johnny, that’s a great season for you, well done. Unfortuantely you couldn’t win the JPT, that would have been the icing on the cake. Still, a great achievement in getting promotion, I’m looking forward to seeing your summer transfer activities.
Johnny Karp
13 августа, 2010 at 18:18
Thanks Laxeyman. I just started the pre-season and I can assure you that there will be lots of activity :)
Stam
13 августа, 2010 at 15:56
Loving how this is put together mate, congrats on promotion :)
Johnny Karp
13 августа, 2010 at 18:18
Thanks Stam :)
Plobdork
13 августа, 2010 at 17:15
well done you are definitly the best football manager manager in history congrats on promotion cant wait for next post :)
Johnny Karp
13 августа, 2010 at 18:19
Thanks mate but you’re too kind, there are several better managers than me.
Lye
13 августа, 2010 at 17:20
Hi mate, congratulation on another straight promotion. There isn’t any other praise that i can think off. You are simply awesome in your managing skills. I will see you in your pre-season report. Good luck in searching the right players.
Johnny Karp
13 августа, 2010 at 18:20
Thanks for your kind words Lye and also for the good luck wish, I’m needing all the good fortune I can get in order to compensate a rather slim wage budget :)
Darren Smith
13 августа, 2010 at 18:09
Hey Johnny, great job mate. Yet another promotion and this is despite a lackluster end to your season. League One is going to be a big step up, but I think with some good signings you’ll be successful. Cant wait for your pre-season post. Contrats mate
Johnny Karp
13 августа, 2010 at 18:21
Thanks Darren, I’m sure that we’ll need quite a few reinforcements in order to be competitive in League One.
Vinners
13 августа, 2010 at 18:32
Well Done for a good season! Everyone else has pretty much said what I was gonna say. Apart from I hope that Dorchester will understand what a parent club is and find you a good one to use to help you for next season
Johnny Karp
13 августа, 2010 at 18:36
Thanks Vinners. I applied for a parent club again, I hope I’ll get one this time.
Sears
13 августа, 2010 at 19:10
Hello Johnny,
yet another incredible promotion by your team. You really are one of the best lower league managers I’ve witnessed playing the game. I can tell you right now how tough League 1 is. I must say, it’s a big step up frrom League 2. Hopefully you can locate the right players (you always do :-D) to challenge for a play off spot or the automatic promotion spot. Goodluck mate.
Johnny Karp
13 августа, 2010 at 19:32
Thanks Sears. It will be a big step up, I’m sure about that. What I’m not too sure about is whether the new players could push us up to a play-off spot, we’ll see about that. The main goal is not to get relegated, then we’ll see what can be done :)
Kevin Mayo
13 августа, 2010 at 19:52
Hi Johnny
Well done on winning the title. I’m looking forward to your pre-season report and don’t foget to check Arsenal for those youngsters. Your financial situation is very good as well.
Johnny Karp
13 августа, 2010 at 20:07
Thanks Kevin. The finances could maybe have been even better if we would have won the JPT final. Anyway, I hope I’ll be able to find some decent and cheap players.
java
14 августа, 2010 at 05:28
Well done sir :D
When my aldershot were in league one i try to sign him but he rejected. So i didn’t know that he would be that good. Btw, my Aldershot are in the Championship Right now, please check my blog if you have time. ;)
Good luck for the next season, League 1 is much tougher that league 2…
Johnny Karp
14 августа, 2010 at 10:10
Thanks Java. Can you set up email subscriptions on your blog, it would be a lot easier to follow for me and maybe for others too.
java
14 августа, 2010 at 16:05
Sorry, I’m new in Blogging you know. heheh…
I’ve added the email subscription widget.
Thanks for the advise sir… :D I still have to learn many things.
Johnny Karp
14 августа, 2010 at 16:13
No problem Java, I just subscribed :)
Cal
14 августа, 2010 at 21:45
Good Job!!!
You won the legue with ease though the next division will be alot harder but you should do ok.
Good Luck!
de ce?
12 сентября, 2011 at 13:56
I’m also playing with Dorchester. Just finished my third season with 101 points in League Two. What was your average attendence? Mine was just over 3100, with 777 season ticket holders.
Johnny Karp
12 сентября, 2011 at 14:03
I can’t remember nor check the average attendance since I played this game last year. It was fun though :) By the way, I’m Romanian too ;)
de ce?
13 сентября, 2011 at 22:48
I know it’s an old post about an old save, on an old version of Football Manager, but I was hoping I would get something to compare my performance against.
PS: glad to hear that :) nice job here on footballmanagerstory.com