Hello dear friends, you are welcome to witness Dorchester‘s debut in the Championship! I was quite curious to see my new signings in action but not all of them at once since I brought in no less than 16 players during pre-season! I was sure that the team was going to need some time to gel but I was looking forward to the tough matches ahead.
We were going to start with a very difficult home game as the visitors were recently-relegated West Brom, they were predicted to bounce back up to the Premier League right away. The game didn’t start too well for us as I was forced to take off striker Mohammed Tchite due to an injury but we defended pretty well until half time and held West Brom to a goalless draw. They upped the tempo after the break and we were literally under siege. We stood firm for a while but not too long as West Brom took the lead through Chris Wood on 57 minutes. My lads were not impressed though and we managed to score the equaliser only three minutes later: Peter Singh showed good vision to pick out Matt Richards‘ run and the left winger volleyed the ball home! West Brom resumed their attacks but my new goalkeeper Davide La Rocca pulled off a couple of miraculous saves and we managed to walk away with a draw.
We had an easier game after that, the Carling Cup first round match against League Two side Barnet. Tchite was out for 10 days following the injury during the previous game and I was forced to take another striker off during the Barnet match, Peter Singh got injured. We dominated the game, that was quite obvious, but I can’t believe how wasteful we were. Barnet didn’t manage to get a single shot on target in 120 minutes but they won the tie after the penalty shoot-out, frustrating is a mild word to describe what happened there. I was quite disappointed to say the least.
Back to the league, we had another very tough game against a recently-relegated side, Bristol City. They were predicted to finish third this season so we were clear underdogs for that match. I am pleased to say that we dominated the first half, had good ball possession but didn’t manage to create any chances. The second half was a bit different, our opponents pushed forward with greater impetus but my defense looked rock-solid. We were still unbeaten after meeting two of the best teams in the league, not bad…
We had a record to celebrate after the Bristol City game, 16-year-old striker Neil Hayter was sent in after half time and he became our youngest player ever to appear in a competitive game! He is a product of our own youth setup so I will be taking special care of him :)
We had yet another tough game coming up, at home with Sheffield United, the team that was predicted to finish 6th this season. The first half was fairly even but Sheffield United made the difference through better finishing, they hit the target on 17 minutes while my Mohammed Tchite hit the post two minutes before half time. Then he went on to miss a huge chance a few seconds after the break but Omar Koroma did justice four minutes into the second half with a powerful finish. The team started to play even better after the goal and we missed another couple of chances before Koroma slotted home his second goal of the game. Sheffield United missed a good chance to get back on level terms only a few minutes after our second goal but then we took control of the game and grabbed our first win of the season! Go to the next page to read the rest of the story.
Go to the next page to read the rest of the story.
Laxeyman
1 сентября, 2010 at 13:09
Hi Johnny, not a great start, but I wouldn’t worry too much, I’m sure you’ll climb up the table when the strikers find their shooting boots. A mid table finish would be a good achievement, but I reckon you might be able to get into the play offs. I’ve never seen any player miss a match before, I’ve had some miss training, but certainly not a match. Hopefully he’ll realise that he was wrong, and good luck for next month.
Johnny Karp
1 сентября, 2010 at 16:34
Thanks Laxeyman, I surely hope that we’ll get in some more points next month.
Lye
1 сентября, 2010 at 13:25
Hi mate, i believe your players are still finding their feet. Things should change for the better once everyone settled in. I remember encountered once but i think in FM09. I am looking forward to a better month from your side though it will be extremely tough in the Championship. Good luck.
Johnny Karp
1 сентября, 2010 at 16:35
Thanks Lye. You are right, we should get out of the bad streak and get some good form going. I hope we’ll be able to do that soon.
Sears
1 сентября, 2010 at 13:44
Hi Johnny,
I think that’s a good start to the season. I think everyone knows how big a step it is from League 1 to the Championship. Like Lye said, your team are still finding their feet so hopefully they will adapt soon and start picking up some points. Otherwise morale will drop and you may find yourself invloved in a relagation fight. But wow, I’ve never seen a player skip a match before, only trainings. Oh ya, I think I saw him drinking a few pints of Guinness in my parents bar last night :-D
Goodluck in the next few months mate, they really could make or break your season.
Johnny Karp
1 сентября, 2010 at 16:37
Thanks Sears. If you see that lad in your parents’ bar again don’t give him any alcohol anymore, only orange juice, OK? :)
hils
1 сентября, 2010 at 16:19
Well done Johnny,everyone has a bad month sometimes,a fantastic draw against West Brom and even better win against Sheffield United. Good luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (if simmons treats you like that again either release him or Just keep him in the reserves for the rest of the season)
Johnny Karp
1 сентября, 2010 at 16:40
Thanks for the good wishes Lye. I will not release him on a free transfer but if he doesn’t behave I will try to sell him in January.
hils
1 сентября, 2010 at 17:47
Johnny my name is not Lye!!!!!!!!!!
Johnny Karp
1 сентября, 2010 at 18:11
LOL, sorry Hils :) I got things mixed up a bit. You have to show some understanding though as I just quit smoking and I tend to forget things or get confused quite often lately :)
Cal
1 сентября, 2010 at 17:28
Unlcucky Johnny not the start you had in mind.I cant believe that player thought he was treated unfair!!!! Thats football for you! Hope you can get a bit of form!
Johnny Karp
1 сентября, 2010 at 17:47
Things could have gone even worse if we would have lost the first two games so I guess we can’t complain.
Kevin Mayo
1 сентября, 2010 at 17:31
Hello Johnny
Well you got off to an indifferent start but it’s early days so there’s plenty of time to re-group and focus your efforts on the league campaign. Having those early injuries didn’t help matters. I haven’t ever seen anyone not turn up for a game myself so that’s weird. Anyway good luck for next month.
Johnny Karp
1 сентября, 2010 at 17:48
Thanks Kevin. We’ll see about that youngster, I’m not giving up on him yet, maybe I can educate him :)
Darren Smith
1 сентября, 2010 at 18:36
Hey Johnny, life is tough in the Championship isn’t it. The big jump in quality can be tough to adjust to but hopefully your side will perform better as they gel. Next month looks a little easier so hopefully Dorchester will be back on track soon.
Johnny Karp
2 сентября, 2010 at 07:02
It is tough Darren, you are right. I hope we’ll prove to be strong enough.
Mat
2 сентября, 2010 at 12:06
Tough start Johnny,
Usually I’d be saying that your team is not up to the Championship but I have learnt over the past few years to not rule out anything when it comes to your teams
Best of luck for next month
Johnny Karp
2 сентября, 2010 at 15:48
Thanks for the good wishes Mat. I guess it’s still early to judge the team’s abilities, we’ll see if things will improve or not.