The second leg became even easier, Francesco Tosto headed in a corner kick 11 minutes into the game and we were almost safe. The lads continued to play the ball around and stay out of harm’s way, we were through to the play-off final at Wembley!
I was expecting to meet Southampton in the final but Leeds surprisingly beat them with a healthy 5-2 aggregate score. We had a very good record against Leeds, 1-1 away in November and 1-0 at home in March, so we had a good chance of getting promoted! Leeds were fielding some very good players though, especially upfront. I had no injury problems other than Omar Koroma, he picked up a knock in training just before the game. That was not such a big problem since Liam Parker was in good shape…
The first 20 minutes saw a fairly even game, both sides were cautious and careful. Unfortunately it was us who made the first error, Jonathan Dos Santos gave the ball away in midfield, it was passed straight to Kakuta and he rifled it past my keeper… Leeds were showing confidence and strength, they dominated the game until half time but didn’t create any clear chances. We were quite lucky though, one of our few attacking moves went all the way on the stroke of half time: Packie Doolin made a good run down the right and bent in a good looking cross, Mohammed Tchite was faster than the defenders and headed it on from the near post, past the keeper and into the back of the net!
It was all square at the break but I had to make two substitutions because of fitness problems: Mancini was replaced by Matt Richards and Packie Doolin was replaced by striker Peter Singh with Liam Parker moved back as a right midfielder. The fresh blood did the team some good, we took control of the game after the interval and managed to take the lead too seven minutes into the second half! Mohammed Tchite was the key man again, he showed great vision to set up Singh and the substitute striker powered the ball in from inside the penalty area. Get in!
Then I switched the strategy to counter, Leeds were trying to push forward but we were solid at the back. We could have wrapped up the game o n counter attacks but missed a pair of great chances. That made the three minutes of additional time seem endless, Leeds were throwing the ball forward but my defenders were always managing to clear it… And it was finally over, we won it!
It’s our fifth consecutive promotion, I bet the board are quite proud of that despite not doing anything to help me in the process ;)
Here are the player stats for the season, a memorable season for most of these players who never played in the Premier League. Some of them will be staying with the club to play in the top flight, others will have to leave because I have to build a better side.
I don’t know what to do with Mohammed Tchité, he was our hero this season especially in the last months but he’s 30 years old already and there are quite a few clubs chasing him. I’ll have to think about that but I guess I will not sell him unless I find better and younger strikers.
We’ll probably get more money in TV rights than the club ever had but there are lots of things that require some spending. Our stadium has a capacity of 5009 but only 697 seated, the pitch is a mess, the training and youth facilities are shameful for a Premier League club…
I hope there will be some money left for transfers too though, the club’s balance is around 1 million pounds in red at the moment!
Anyway, we shouldn’t be worrying about the next season before we’ll actually have to. Manchester United won the Premier League title this time but they’ll have to face Dorchester Town next season! :)
This concludes a memorable season for me and for my Dorchester Town, we managed to get promoted again against all odds and also against my expectations. The first few months of the season were anything else but impressive and I was not hoping for more than a mid-table finish but the players had a nice surprise for me :) Thanks a lot for reading and please continue to show your support for us in the Premier League, we’re surely going to need it! :)
Lye
16 сентября, 2010 at 13:31
Hi Johnny,
Definitely we will be behind you. Congratulations on another straight promotion to the Premier League. The Premiership standard probably require you to have a new stadium? I hope your board can do something about it. It will be tough next season but no doubt i think you have no problem in surviving. Great job there mate.
Johnny Karp
16 сентября, 2010 at 15:21
Thanks Lye. I am quite curious to see what will happen with the stadium, it surely is not up to the Premier League standards. Maybe the board will rent a stadium.
hils
16 сентября, 2010 at 15:53
Brilliant Johnny!!!!!!!! Dorchester have a massive chance of surviving in the prem. Good luck!!!!
Johnny Karp
16 сентября, 2010 at 18:52
Thanks for the good wishes and for the compliment Hils.
Vinners
16 сентября, 2010 at 17:29
I think Dorchester have alot of rebuilding to do for the premiership, facilities, stadium, squad. But with Johnny at the helm they’ll do well. Congratulations on another promotion!
Johnny Karp
16 сентября, 2010 at 18:53
Thanks Vinners. You are right, we have lots of bricks to replace in the club’s structure but we’ll do that gradually.
Kevin Mayo
16 сентября, 2010 at 18:20
Hello Johnny
Congratulations on an amazing achievement bringing Dorchester from the BSS League all the way to The Premier. To do this type of thing with one team (Blyth) is quite something but to repeat the success again is true Master Class. You have an outstanding ability for chosing the right players for your tactics. Well done!
Johnny Karp
16 сентября, 2010 at 18:54
Thanks Kevin. Actually I think that this one is better than Blyth since I didn’t have five consecutive promotions with the Spartans.
Darren Smith
16 сентября, 2010 at 18:38
Im behind you all the way Johnny. You have pulled off the impossible mission…guiding Dorchester to five consecutive promotions. You must be really happy and I cant wait to see what happens in the summer. Well done mate!
Johnny Karp
16 сентября, 2010 at 18:55
Thanks Darren. I am happy but also a bit concerned when I think about the massive amount of work that has to be done in pre-season :)
Sears
16 сентября, 2010 at 20:19
Hi Johnny,
Well done on guiding Dorchester to the Premier League. You have a lot of work ahead of you, but you can defo stay up next season.
ps regarding your Blyth Spartens story, you DID win 5 promotions in a row. It was with Chester that you had two years in the Championship. Check your stories page :-)
Johnny Karp
16 сентября, 2010 at 21:05
Thanks a lot for the reminder Sears :) You are right, I forgot :)
Sayam Khan
16 сентября, 2010 at 20:50
Well Done Johnny!!!!! You are truely the best FM manager I have ever seen!
I also think you need a new stadium, and maybe a squad revolution apart from your strikers and collocini? What do you think?
Johnny Karp
16 сентября, 2010 at 21:04
Thanks Sayam. I already started the pre-season and I can tell you that we won’t have a new stadium, the board will expand the current one. I guess you are right, well need new players especially in midfield.
Laxeyman
17 сентября, 2010 at 16:13
Brilliant Johnny, another great season for your side, and you should be proud of your efforts. Next season will be tough because of the poor fianances, but I’m confident you’ll do okay and can’t wait too see what happens. Good luck!
Johnny Karp
18 сентября, 2010 at 12:46
Thanks Laxeyman, bringing in players with no money isn’t easy but it isn’t impossible either ;)