Dorchester Town Story — November 2009

Hello fellow FM 2010 fanatics and welcome to a new episode of the Dorchester Town Football Manager 2010 story! As you know we had a fantastic start of the season and we were sitting top of the Blue Square South table at the end of October, 8 points clear of the second placed team! It’s easy to get carried away after such a good start but I urged my players and staff to keep their feet on the ground, the season was not over and we had no time for celebrations!

The month began with another tough game, at home against 4th placed promotion contenders Eastleigh. My lads were extremely confident though and they laid siege on Eastleigh‘s penalty area right from the first minute of the game. Right winger Abu-Iebda scored the opening goal by finishing a good team move and then we doubled the lead from a penalty kick just before half time. We surely could have scored quite a few more goals but the team took the foot off the gas in the second half.

Next up, the FA Cup 1st round game away at League One side Stockport. We had to fight against the odds but I didn’t care too much about the result, I was just curious to see how the team would manage to play against much better opposition. I told the lads that they could win the game and didn’t make any changes to the tactic, we were going to play aggressive and attacking football. And I have to say that I was pleased with the first half display, the team was playing very well against the superior opponents. The game took its natural course under the circumstances and we deservedly took the lead: striker Sergiu Jivan played a fantastic through ball to pick McNish‘s surprising run off the ball and the loanee midfielder placed it home from inside the box! Then we found ourselves under pressure but managed to defend with great determination until half time. We kept things pretty quiet after the interval and even missed a good chance to double the lead on a counter attack. We were looking confident and the unlikely victory seemed to be close. Then it happened, a fabulous shot from long range gave Stockport the equalizer and things got even worse a few minutes later when one of my centre backs was forced to leave the pitch on a stretcher. We were down to 10 men and had to fight to survive the last minutes. We defended heroically and earned the right to have a replay but things were not looking good after the game, both injured players were going to be out for three long months!

Back to the league then for a tricky away game at 7th placed Havant & Waterlooville. The team looked a bit tired after the Stockport battle but the first half was fairly even, the hosts didn’t manage to create any chances and neither did we. Unfortunately another one of my centre backs got injured before the break and I was a bit out of options, I had to send in a right back to fill his place. The improvised defense couldn’t cope with the pressure and the fatal error came just after half time. We were unable to react, the hosts were controlling the game and banged in a last minute corner kick goal to seal the victory. Centre back Ryan Carolan was going to be out for three weeks, we were facing a pretty important injury crisis in defense.

The next game was three days later, at home with 16th placed Worcester. I was hoping to get a win and get things back on track but we got off to a bad start as our opponents scored an early corner kick goal. Our reaction was unconvincing so I made a few changes at half time. We pushed forward with a bit more passion in the second half but we didn’t play well enough. We missed a good chance but we could have been punished on a counter attack, it was a just defeat, our first home defeat of the season.

A big crowd came at the Avenue Stadium to see our next game, the replay of the FA Cup match with League One team Stockport. We produced a great display in the away game but now things seemed to be even more difficult due to the various injuries and fitness problems. We conceded an early game again and looked like an inferior team throughout the first half. I had no hopes for the last 45 minutes, Stockport scored again just after the break when a free kick got deflected past our keeper. We had some bad luck too but we had to admit that Stockport were the better team that day. I was still proud of the lads, they fought well against a superior side and they deserved to be applauded. 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 had another cup game coming up, the FA Trophy 3rd qualifying game against our fierce rivals Weymouth. It was an important game for the fans so I asked the players to forget about the fatigue and give their best on the pitch. Our attacks were still unconvincing, we were losing the ball just before entering the opposition penalty area. We wasted quite a few good attacks but we finally took the lead six minutes after the break thanks to a header from substitute left winger Kevin Hill. That goal was enough to win the game, we kept things under control easily until the final whistle.

The morale was good after the win against our rivals but the fitness problems were still there. The two central midfielders loaned from Southampton refused to extend their stay at Dorchester and they left just before the next game, away at 11th placed Woking. We played a bit better than we did in the last few games, dominated the first half but were not incisive enough to put a goal on the scoreboard. We continued to push forward after half time but Woking punished us on a counter attack a few minutes into the second half. The team reacted well, we were piling on the pressure but missed a couple of great chances, those were easier to convert than to miss… My players seemed to have some confidence problems but the game gave me hope for the future, the team played quite well.

The poor run of results saw us dropping to second place, two points behind Dover. We had a game in hand though but that wasn’t important, we had to shake off the bitterness and disappointment and start playing well again.

Ryan Carolan‘s absence surely was a big blow for the team. I signed him on a free this summer and he has been extremely reliable in defense, both as a centre back and as a left back. He came out through the youth ranks at Crystal Palace but never had the chance to play in a competitive game during the four seasons he spent there. I gave him first team football and he surely proved that he deserved the chance. He has just recovered from the injury and that will surely improve our chances of getting back on track in December.

We’ll have quite a few tough games in December and I will be looking to get back on the transfer market and see if I can bring in a player or two.

Thanks a lot for reading but unfortunately the December update will come later than expected. I will leave on a rather long road trip tomorrow, all around Romania, then off to Italy and back. I will be back during the first week of June, just in time for the World Cup. That means I might not be able to reply to your emails and comments in a timely fashion but I promise I’ll do my best. I will surely miss all of you a lot during these three weeks, I wouldn’t have left if I had a choice. But I’ll be back! :) Until my return back home, take care and keep on playing Football Manager 2010!

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