Dorchester Town Story – January 2015

Hello folks, the Dorchester Town FM 2010 story continues and I’m pleased to welcome you to a new chapter. My lads had a wonderful first half of the season, they exceeded everybody’s expectations, including mine, and were lying in 6th position in the Premier League at the end of December 2014! The other teams were already starting to fear us but we had to keep our feet on the ground, there were lots more games to play. January was a good example, we had eight games to play so our squad was going to be stretched to its limits.

The first game of the new year was our opening FA Cup match, a third round clash with Championship side Ipswich. Since they were sitting 16th in the Championship I figured that my backup players would be enough to get past the opposition. I was wrong, we only survived the first half thanks to goalkeeper Gabriel Nicolau who backed up his claims for a first team place with a few great saves. I sent in Omar Koroma at half time and he managed to make the difference with a magnificent goal, a 40 yard run took him inside the box and he slid in his 10th goal of the season. We won the game but we really didn’t deserve to, that’s the honest truth. Unfortunately this victory added yet another game to our already packed January schedule, at home with League Two side Carlisle in the 4th round.

We had another cup game coming up, at home with Arsenal in the Carling Cup, the first leg of the semi final. It was our last game at St. Mary’s Stadium in Southampton since our own Avenue Stadium was a few days away from being ready to welcome the fans. My lads played a pretty good first half and we even had a couple of chances to score but the first one saw us hitting the crossbar while the second was saved by the goalkeeper. Things changed into the second half once I was forced to take out Iulian Marin due to an injury, we were no longer able to control the middle of the park and Arsenal started to dominate the match. They didn’t create any clear chances though and the game ended all square, a good result for Arsenal considering that we had to play the second leg at Emirates Stadium.

We had reasons to be happy though, our stadium was ready! It’s not exactly state of the art but it surely is much better than what we had until now.

We had the chance to inaugurate our new stands with a tough game, we had to meet Arsenal again but this time in the league. We played in front of a capacity crowd and the players were looking really fired up. They were unable to put that determination into playing attacking football though, the first half was quite boring as we only had one shot on target while Arsenal had only one shot altogether and that was off target! Unfortunately they hit the back of the net with their only shot on target after the break, Bendtner headed in a corner kick. My lads put on a decent reaction, Liam Parker had a good chance but was denied by the keeper. I guess we were a bit unlucky to lose the game but Arsenal proved to be a solid side that makes the most out of any opportunity. (unlike the real Arsenal I might add… )

Next up, an away game at 16th placed Bristol City, the fellow newly-promoted team that brought us our first home defeat of the season in August, they beat us 2-1 back then. This time I told the players to give their best for the fans, we had to get revenge! Our enthusiasm backfired on 15 minutes though, Bristol City caught us on a counter attack and they took the lead. We came close to hitting back immediately but Dacian Varga shot straight at the keeper from a great position inside the six yard box. We were not playing a very convincing game but Liam Parker managed to level the match just before half time, he took the ball inside the box all by himself and slid it past the keeper who was rushing out to block him. Then we got a bit lucky after the interval, some pushing inside the box determined the referee to point to the spot and Peter Singh slotted home his first goal of the season. I decided to switch the strategy to counter for the last 20 minutes of the game and that proved to be a good choice since we restricted the opponents to long shots that were easily handled by goalkeeper Davide La Rocca.

Back at the Avenue Stadium for the next game, 11th placed Hull City were coming to visit us. They beat us 4-3 in August and I can still remember that they managed to create loads of chances back then. I told the players that they can win the match but the first half was fairly even, Hull were proving to be a tough opposition. One player made the difference before the break though, midfielder Iulian Marin was back after the injury that he suffered against Arsenal and he celebrated his return with a fantastic shot from 25 yards out straight into the top corner. We hit the crossbar immediately after the interval, then Liam Parker missed a great chance and that didn’t go unpunished as Hull leveled the game with a fine solo effort. The game was still in the balance both on the scoreboard and on the pitch, both teams were looking to score the fatal blow. Luckily it was us who did it from the penalty spot after Parker was brought down and Jonathan Ezquerro scored his first ever goal for the club. I made the switch to counter strategy immediately after the goal and we managed to keep things under control until injury time when a last dash forward from Hull saw them hitting the post.

The second leg against Arsenal was coming up and although we had just a slim chance of reaching the final I told my players to play for the fans. They didn’t seem to have gotten my message though, we played a miserable first half and Arsenal scored two goals by taking advantage of two huge errors from our full backs, Ryan Carolan on the left for the first goal and Francesco Tosto on the right flank for the second. We were totally outplayed until half time and I was getting a bit angry. At half time I met the players in the dressing room with a threatening tone in my voice and I told them that I wanted to see more from them. The team talk seemed to work as we hit the net three minutes into the second half, Liam Parker headed in a good cross from Peter Singh. We could have netted the equalizer a few minutes later but Scott Carson pulled off a great save for Arsenal. We were dominating the game and Alex Song was unable to handle the pressure, he pushed Petre Micu inside the box and the ref pointed to the spot! Singh stepped up but Carson parried the shot, it bounced into the path of Fran Merida, he had the goal at his mercy but he sent the ball just wide! Luckily for him the former Arsenal midfielder made me forget that miss just a minute later, he ran straight at the defense, skipped past two Arsenal lads and placed the ball in! We were leading on away goals but our joy lasted just two minutes, Arsenal took the lead again and then my boys crumbled and conceded the fourth goal. It’s a shame that we lost it but I congratulated the lads for the very good second half. Go to the next page to read the rest of the story.

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

Most of my players were exhausted but luckily I had the perfect chance to give them a rest, the FA Cup 4th round game against League Two side Carlisle. My backup players put on a great show, Peter Singh hit the net four times, Jonathan Ezquerro and Packie Doolin scored as well but I was extremely happy to see 17 year old centre back Raul Munteanu scoring a goal on his debut. The game was very entertaining for the crowd at Avenue Stadium, I was quite pleased with the healthy result too.

Back to the league then, we had a home game coming up against 11th placed Bolton, a team that beat us quite clearly in September. Things appeared to take a sad turn again as Bolton took the lead just five minutes into the game with a bizarre goal, probably the weirdest goal I’ve ever seen in FM 2010. Their left winger was running down his flank, my right back was far behind him but I was not too worried since my centre backs were well placed and the midfielders were tracking back. Things appeared to be all set for a cross inside the box but my keeper suddenly decided to walk away from the goal line straight to the edge of the area, then stopped there to admire the ball going in…

My lads were not affected by that early goal though, we were pushing forward and managed to level the game on 20 minutes when Fran Merida played a great pass for Laszlo Tamasi who powered it in between the keeper’s gloves and the near post. Eight minutes later the two players made the Bolton defense witness the same drill, through pass from Merida and Tamasi finish but this time the ball went in off the far post. The game was going our way, the team was playing very well and Iulian Marin made it 3-1 with a powerful shot from the edge of the area. The second half was entirely ours as well, we could easily have added a couple more goals to our tally. Bolton‘s first clear cut chance came two minutes from time but Davide La Rocca saved it.

We were preparing for the last game of the month when I received the news that I hoped not to receive… A good offer came in for centre back Petre Micu after I previously refused around three offers of 3 million pounds. Hoffenheim offered more than 5 million and the chairman rushed to accept it against my will, I can’t agree to sell the best player in the team for 5 mil! I offered Micu a new contract at Dorchester but he most probably will not accept it since he asked for 8,000 pounds per week and I was allowed to offer him at most 4,000 pounds…

Anyway, he was still with us for the last game of the month, away at 15th placed West Ham. I told the lads to play for the fans, we had to give them a reason to be happy before Micu‘s departure. The first half was quite spectacular, both teams were determined to attack and score but luckily only my lads managed to hit the net, an outstanding solo effort from Liam Parker gave us the lead on 26 minutes. Then goalkeeper Davide La Rocca stepped into the spotlight, he was fantastic between the sticks and we had to thank him for leading 1-0 at half time. I was hoping for a more quiet second half but the first five minutes showed me that my hopes were not going to be fulfilled. West Ham were pouring forward so I decided to switch the strategy to counter, which means a deeper defensive line, less attacking full backs and a much more careful possession play. We could have doubled the lead on 55 minutes but Parker‘s good shot from distance hit the crossbar, then the game turned our way when the West Ham right midfielder received his marching orders after a second bookable offense. A handball inside their box gave us the perfect chance to wrap it up and Omar Koroma didn’t miss from the spot. We won the game but hats off to West Ham, they played a good game and never gave up despite being one man and two goals down.

Petre Micu received an award to wrap up his career at Dorchester, he was picked Premier League Young Player of the Month… He was our best player until now, an average rating of 7.32, 29 appearances, seven goals and an assist… He has not yet accepted the contract offer from Hoffenheim but I think it’s just a matter of time. Unfortunately I think that the sale will not give me any money to bring in a replacement so I will have to rely on the current players. I might ask the chairman to join us in training, maybe he’ll make a good centre back :)

By the way, I managed to sell Jonathan Dos Santos for 550,000 pounds.

But let’s look at the bright side, we managed to consolidate our 6th place, we have four points on Birmingham and I hope we’ll be able to hold on to that lead next month.

We’ll have some tough games though, at home with Man City and Everton and also the FA Cup clash with Birmingham.

That’s about it for now my friends, I’m quite eager to play the February games and also to see if Micu will leave the club or not. Although I am almost sure that he will leave I still hope that he might turn down the offer from Germany… Thanks a lot for reading, stay tuned for the next update during the weekend ;)