The summer’s most expensive transfer was the capture of Finnish defender Daniel Nilsson for 7 million pounds from Italian side Siena. He is the type of centre back that I need, a lad with awesome pace and good teamwork. He is still rather young so I guess he could make some progress along with the team. I also have Arturo Bahamondes from last season and youngster Raul Munteanu could provide additional cover if needed along with Francesco Tosto and Ryan Carolan.
Moving on towards midfield, I kept only two of my central midfielders from last season: Iulian Marin and Fran Merida. I brought in three new lads to compete with them for a place in the first team starting with hard working Scottish midfielder James McArthur. I bought him for 1.6 million from Hamilton, the only club in his career until now! He might need some time to settle in but I hope he will be the workhorse that we need in our midfield.
I needed to add some home grown players too because of the Premier League and Europa League rules but I reckon I would have signed Lewis McGugan even if the was Japanese. I paid 6 million pounds to Wolves or him and some of the fans criticized my choice but I feel that a strong and skillful midfielder like him will surely help us a lot during the season.
The last addition to my central midfield is Ukrainian youngster Volodymyr Grinchenko, bought for 2.4 million from Spanish side Getafe. He is a quick midfielder with decent skills and I think that he can be a solid backup or maybe even more, we’ll see.
My squad definitely needed some new faces on the wings but I have to admit that I would have wanted to bring in some better players in this area. However, I think that the pair of wingers that joined the club should do a good job. First there is Brazilian winger Anderson from Arsenal, I had him on loan a few seasons ago. Arsenal let him go for only 2.3 million and I think that he will fit in very well given his good speed and work rate.
The second winger that I brought in is Portuguese player Silvestre Varela who came for 1.7 million pounds from German side Wolfsburg. He is a solid player overall with some good experience in Europe and although he is 30 years old I think that he has another one or two seasons to play at this level.
I also kept three of my wingers from last season, Laszlo Tamasi, Dacian Varga and Packie Doolin and although we were pretty well covered in that area I decided to bring in a winger/striker as well: Gael Kakuta. His main position is the striker one but his skills surely allow him to do a good job on the left wing and also in the middle of the park if needed. Sevilla let him go for only 2.5 million and I guess it was a bargain I couldn’t resist.
I have another two strikers that can also play on the right wing, Sean Scannell and Liam Parker so that area of the team is perfectly covered. The biggest improvements were made upfront, I brought in three new strikers that I thought were well worthy of playing in the Premier League. The first one is Brazilian player Rafael Coelho, he came for a reasonable 4.5 million from Corinthians. Like most Brazilians he can dribble, has good pace and he can also find the target from distance so I think he has what it takes to succeed in the Premier League. Go to the next page to read the rest of the story.
Go to the next page to read the rest of the story.
Darren Smith
11 октября, 2010 at 20:50
Hey Johnny, you have invested really well! Lots of pace and young talent…hopefully these players will help Dorchester push on. I think you should be aiming for the top seven again. Who knows, maybe some luck will see you in the top four!!
Johnny Karp
11 октября, 2010 at 22:25
Thanks Darren. My goal is to finish at least 5th, one step higher than last season :)
Jean Paul Borg
11 октября, 2010 at 21:25
Here are my comments on the new players:
De Gea: He is one of my favourite young keepers in the world. Great deal, I can’t believe his previous team let him go, how dumb, at 19 years of age in real life he already is in the 1st team. This guy is great!
Dunne: I think he is still young, I would make him available for the reserves to see how he does, and you should attend them to see how he performs.
Bejaoui: I would honestly change his training and make it more intensive as he has room for improvement, especially in strength and jumping just to mention a couple.
Kavheci: Lot of room for improvement. I honestly can’t understand why you loaned him.
Heitinga: No complaints at all… super defender!
Nilsson: I have a feeling he’ll do quite well, at the age of 21 he is quite good, I think he is similar to Alberto Botia. Poor at set pieces though, pretty sure nothing to worry about.
McArthur: I think he’s a bargain considering his stamina, team work and Work rate, great buy Johnny.
McGugan: McArthur is cheaper and better. He is quite pricey. Not sure about this lad, but he is very physical! With that average tackling attribute, I’d say watch out for red cards mate ;)
Grinchenko: Speedy Gonzalez. Looks great @ 2.4 million!
Coelho: Use him wisely, terrific target man.
Kakuta: Great Flair and Composure. Would do great on the wing with that amount of creativity!
Varela: Surprisingly good @ 30 years of age, good natural fitness but not sure if he should play a full game, he is like Del Piero, you know what I mean?
Anderson: Bargain… He is still young and will inprove over time this season, looks good. Very determining as well.
Stuani: Should start along side Coelho. Very good, use his experience well and he’ll provide assists. Attacking mentality type of player.
Carlisle: Pricey but worth it! Can’t wait for him to do a 360 against AIK, great dribbling and technique, hahaha :)
Assistant Manager report: Do agree with the attacking pair! I’d use Heitinga on both the side and in the middle when necessary. You have a great and should do better than last season!!
Johnny Karp
11 октября, 2010 at 22:34
Thanks a lot for the detailed analysis Jean Paul! I agree with most of your considerations. I think that Dunne will have a place in the first team sooner rather than later, his place is not with the reserves in my view. Kahveci was intended to be a backup but unfortunately the two to three months that he will spend on the sidelines will probably harm his development. He has potential but we’ll probably see the best of him in the second part of the season. Bejaoui will be my first choice left back and I agree that there is room for improvement. I might not push him too hard in training though because I don’t want to risk an injury or having him tired all the time. I chose McGugan because I lacked strength in midfield, he is strong but not only that. About Varela, my wingers usually don’t play 90 minutes even if they are 19 years old, they have lots of running to do. So I don’t expect him to play for 90 minutes but he should do well when needed. Anyway, the pitch will tell us the truth about this bunch, we’ll have to wait and see…
Kevin
12 октября, 2010 at 09:24
Hello Johnny
Well, John Paul has covered everything off quite nicely though for my 10 cents worth you’ve built what seems to be a solid defence in De Gea, Heitinga and Nilsson and I like Stuani up front. McArthur should serve you well also in the middle. Not too many Romanians left now in the team :)
Johnny Karp
12 октября, 2010 at 18:40
Thanks for the comment Kevin. You are right, some of the Romanians had to go, I don’t treat them differently because of their nationality :)
Lye
12 октября, 2010 at 11:10
Hi Johnny,
The young Finnish and Heitinger should serve you pretty well in defence and there is David De Gea to guard the last defence. Overall you have bought really well and i am keeping my fingers cross for a Champion League place. Good luck.
Johnny Karp
12 октября, 2010 at 18:40
Thanks Lye, I hope that these new lads will be up to the standards.
Mariano
12 октября, 2010 at 11:43
Nilsson best Finish player since Jari Litmanen!
Godd luck Johnny!
Johnny Karp
12 октября, 2010 at 18:41
Thanks Mariano. Well, Litmanen was an attacking midfielder/winger/striker so it’s difficult to compare him with Nilsson but overall I think that my boy can become even more famous.
Sayam Khan
12 октября, 2010 at 18:14
Hi johnny, De Gea is definately your best transfer and Heitinga & Nilsson are right behind him. All in all a good window. Good Luck.
Johnny Karp
12 октября, 2010 at 18:42
Thanks Sayam, I would have been happy to get a couple of better full backs but I’m satisfied with the transfer activity overall.
hils
12 октября, 2010 at 19:05
Good signings there Johnny!!!!!! David de Gea is a great signing!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Good luck
Johnny Karp
12 октября, 2010 at 20:21
Thanks Hils. I agree about De Gea, he should do very well.
Laxeyman
12 октября, 2010 at 20:02
Hi Johnny,
Good signings, the centre of your defence and your strikers look strong, but I think you’re right to be worried about the flanks, as your full backs and wingers don’t look great. Hopefully they can play above themselves though, as always, good luck!
Johnny Karp
12 октября, 2010 at 20:25
Thanks mate. The wingers are decent I think, they should do well. We still have some problems with the full backs but we’re better off than last year even in that department. So I hope we’ll do well but we’ll see how the matches will turn out.
Sears
12 октября, 2010 at 23:56
Hey Johnny,
long time no talk :-(
You certainly improved your squad during pre season. Your new keeper and central defence pairing are all wonderful players, so so as long as your forwards can score, you’ll have a successful season I think! Looking forward to your next post allready!
Johnny Karp
13 октября, 2010 at 03:28
Thanks Sears, good to see you back :) There might be a few days before the next post, I will hardly have any time for FM until the weekend.
Johnny Karp
13 октября, 2010 at 03:29
Hi Radu, nice to see you back. How’s the new hockey season going for your favorite team?
Kevin
13 октября, 2010 at 10:20
Hey Radu
Greetings from Toronto and welcome back to the FM scene!
Kevin
14 октября, 2010 at 00:12
No kidding! :)
Ana Garcia
13 октября, 2010 at 13:47
Wow!!
De Gea on a free transfer!! Which team released him Johnny?
He will easily be your best signing because you have got a young worldclass goalkeeper and spent not a penny! Fantastic and he is Spanish too! :)
Best of luck next season hopefully you can finish top 6 again.
Johnny Karp
13 октября, 2010 at 17:21
Thanks for the good wishes Ana. De Gea’s contract with Atletico Madrid expired, they didn’t reach an agreement to renew it so he left the club.
coolmcool
13 октября, 2010 at 20:31
im not sure if anyone has already asked but what has happend to the person doing the la galaxy game?
Johnny Karp
13 октября, 2010 at 20:52
That’s a good question Colmcool, I wish I had a better answer. I sent him an email a few weeks ago asking just about the same thing but I’m still waiting for a reply. I’ll let you know if I’ll ever get one.
rab carr
13 октября, 2010 at 21:01
great buys johnny i see your team performing veryy well in the upcomming season,, i look forward to reading the next chapter 4 dorchester and good luck in your european campaign
Jack
14 октября, 2010 at 03:34
Johnny great signings as per usual! Thanks for the facebook ad :P Get the new post up soon as you haven’t got long left to get another season in, and also I’ve gotta see these new signings in action. And remember guys vote Universitatea Craiova! Scottish league is borrrrrrring…
Johnny Karp
14 октября, 2010 at 14:20
Thanks Jack. The next post will be published during the weekend, I have no time to do it until then unfortunately :(
rab carr
14 октября, 2010 at 19:12
excuse me jack friend :-) but maybe the scottish league is boring for you but not for many others soo please respect that if the poll decides johnny manages a scottish league team then thats the way it is thanks
Kevin
14 октября, 2010 at 21:31
Rab Carr
Maybe I’ll do a Scottish story if Johnnny doesn’t. :)