The first game in October was at home with Hull City in the Premier League. They had six points out of seven games so we had to win it, there were no excuses! Fran Merida got us off to a good start when he rounded off a team move ten minutes into the game and things were looking even better when Hull‘s right midfielder got sent off for a violent tackle. Despite that Hull managed to level the game just three minutes later, a goal that came right out of nowhere: their goalie kicked the ball forward and my defense was placed totally wrong, they were not paying attention I guess… The team reacted well though and our pressure was converted into a goal on 35 minutes when Volodymyr Grinchenko scored his first one for the club by capping a flowing team move. Liam Parker sealed the win six minutes after the break with a nice solo effort but we could have added a couple more goals.
We had a much more difficult game coming up, away at White Hart Lane against league leaders Tottenham. They had six wins and one defeat before that game, it was a tough test for my team. Spurs immediately showed who’s the better team, they were dominating the game and deservedly took the lead on 28 minutes. We tried to react but our attacks were unconvincing and Tottenham doubled their lead just before the break by converting a quick breakaway. It looked as good as over, we were unable to create chances after the break but Liam Parker pulled us back into the game on 68 minutes when he invented a goal all by himself: dribbled past two defenders and powered it in at the near post. Four minutes later Parker stepped into the spotlight again when he played a perfect pass for Rafael Coelho who placed the ball in to make it all square. The last minutes of the game were quite spectacular, both teams were trying hard to score the winning goal but the two defenses did well to keep the game level.
The next game was expected to be easier, Stoke were coming to visit. Their tactical approach was quite clear: bus parked and hard tackling… My lads were unable to break their overcrowded defense before half time but things got even worse after the break when Stoke managed to find the back of the net the very first time they came forward! It was their one and only shot on target, quite frustrating… One of their players finally got sent off on 56 minutes, it was an overdue red card but that didn’t help us too much as their defense was still sturdy and hard working. Left back Imed Bejaoui came to the rescue five minutes from time, he didn’t find any options to pass the ball so he powered it in from 25 yards, a superb shot for his first ever goal for the club. We should have won this one but we were unable to crack their defense.
Next up, the Europa League game against Czech side Brno. They were by far the weakest team in the group so I decided to send in some backup players in order to rest some of the tired first team players. We took the lead early on thanks to a placed finish from Christian Stuani, Brno hit the post five minutes later but then we easily held on until half time. The second half was entirely in our hands, we dominated the game and Rafael Coelho put the cherry on the cake with a fabulous 35 yard drive that sent the ball straight into the top corner. We had seven points out of three group games, we were right on track to qualify for the next round but we still had to get in at least four more points from the last three games.
Back to the Premier League for a special game against newly-promoted Southampton, the club that was generously hosting us at St. Mary’s Stadium because of the works that were going on to expand our Avenue Stadium. We started the game well and took the lead on 25 minutes when a superb move made out of first time passes between Craig Carlisle, Laszlo Tamasi and Liam Parker outplayed Southampton‘s defense. Two minutes later Carlisle whipped in a low cross from the right flank and Tamasi powered it in on the volley, it was as good as over. We kept the game fairly quiet until the 69th minute when a good pass from Lewis McGugan found Gael Kakuta inside the box and the substitute left winger placed it in. Southampton didn’t give up though, they were pushing forward for the consolation goal but David De Gea kept the door firmly shut to give us the biggest win of the season so far.
The last game of the month was at home with Arsenal, the only team that beat us since the start of the season. Things didn’t start well this time either, Arsenal took the lead early on with a fine goal created by a superb pass from Fabregas. We were playing well though and Craig Carlisle saw two big chances being denied by the keeper before he set up Liam Parker for the equalizer. We even managed to keep Arsenal under pressure until half time but wasted a good chance to take the lead a few minutes before the break. We were in good shape but Fabregas did the damage again early into the second half, a great pass for Hulk put Arsenal ahead. We continued to play well though, Parker missed a good chance before finally putting another one in with a diving header from Laszlo Tamasi‘s cross. Our joy lasted only five minutes though, Senderos powered in a corner kick header and Arsenal were in the lead yet again. Despite that blow we continued to play well but we surely were not having any luck: Gael Kakuta hit the crossbar from close range and then Carlisle saw another good chance being denied by goalkeeper Scott Carson. We shouldn’t have lost this one but we did and that ended our unbeaten run in the Premier League.
We are in 5th position at the end of October, I guess that’s not too bad considering that we have one or two games in hand on most of the other top half teams. Tottenham seem to be the most-in form team at the moment but the other title contenders will surely try yo gun them down before the end of the year.
Liam Parker has been our best player so far, he is making very good progress in training and he gave us lots of points with his eight goals and four assists. He has also learned to play on the left wing and that versatility makes him even more valuable to the team.
November will see us playing a string of extremely tough matches: Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United! Those three consecutive games will surely show us where we stand.
Before we wrap up the post I’d like to show you the biggest Premier League transfers of the summer with Arsenal being by far the biggest spenders.
I’m sure you were wondering about that 35 million transfer from Liverpool to Arsenal, weren’t you? :) Well, the lad is a Romanian striker with absolutely immense abilities, just have a look at his attributes. He scored 16 goals in 29 caps for Romania, I wish we had such a player in real life…
That’s about it for now folks, thanks a lot for reading. We had a decent start to the season, managed to stay unbeaten for eight games in the Premier League and also got some good results in the Europa League. We’ll have to prove our worth next month though and show whether we have what it takes to stay in the top half of the table.
ravenie
17 октября, 2010 at 15:58
That striker isn’t half bad. Great start to the season Johnny. Unlucky against Arsenal though! Keep up the good job.
Johnny Karp
17 октября, 2010 at 16:55
Thanks Ravenie. By the way, I noticed that your comment is the 8,000th comment ever posted on this website! :)
rab carr
17 октября, 2010 at 16:33
great start to the season johnny good luck next month with those tough opponents first signing for my celtic team in FM11 is liam parker lol the guy seems amazingg :-)
Johnny Karp
17 октября, 2010 at 16:57
Thanks mate. I’m afraid you won’t be able to sign Parker though, he is not a «real» player but a computer generated player, a so-called «regen».
rab carr
17 октября, 2010 at 18:09
awwww really,, what about fran merida? and see this romanian team that you may be managing in FM 11 does it not scare you a little that you may be managing a team just sooooo unheard of? a mean am not saying a scottish league team may be amazing for you but surely gotta be better than universtitea croivoa or somethin lol
Jean Paul Borg
17 октября, 2010 at 18:20
Fran Merida is a real-life player currently playing for Atletico Madrid, I wouldn’t sign him if you won’t have top training staff.
Johnny Karp
17 октября, 2010 at 21:15
It’s easy to spot regens just by looking at the profile pictures: real players have real pictures, regens have computer generated faces. About Craiova, I guess they should be more famous than Cowdenbeath for example but that’s not the point. The point is that it’s the team that I loved since I was a child and secondly I can’t really be afraid of something that happens inside a computer ;) By the way, you can check out a brief history of the club here, the team did reach the semi finals of the UEFA Cup at some point…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FC_Universitatea_Craiova
Jean Paul Borg
17 октября, 2010 at 18:22
Great start Johnny, you have Mutu in the Romanian squad, can’t believe he takes drugs, what a fag. You have done great so far, I am excited for you on the prospect of Liam Parker! Did he regen in your academy or did you scout him out?
Johnny Karp
17 октября, 2010 at 21:08
Thanks Jean Paul. Parker was bought from Manchester United, the youth lads that came into my squad were all worthless during the six seasons so far. Mutu is still banned for another month due to use of illegal substances, a drug to lose weight to be precise. I’m quite curious to see him in action again but I admit that I never liked him too much.
Darren Smith
17 октября, 2010 at 18:49
Wow that Romanian regan is amazing!! Though you do have a gem of your own in Parker, hopefully he will play a big part in your season. I wouldn’t worry too much about the draws and losses as you played some tough opposition. Hopefully the next few months will see you catch up with the top four. Goodluck mate
Johnny Karp
17 октября, 2010 at 21:05
Thanks Darren, I hope that Parker won’t be sold by the board during the winter though…
hils
17 октября, 2010 at 19:17
Wow that Romanian regan is immense!!!!!!!!!!! You have a good chance in the Europa league and premier league!!!!!!!! Good luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
In my Newcastle save i came 9th in the premier league!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (How good is Marco Borriello and Eyal Golasa in your game because in mine they are beasts)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Johnny Karp
17 октября, 2010 at 21:05
Thanks Hils. Golasa and Borriello are good players in my game too. Well done on finishing 9th, that’s a good foundation to build upon next season.
Sears
17 октября, 2010 at 19:20
Hi Johnny,
that’s a good start to the season. I think you can chaallenge for a champions league spot, if not the title. The Romanian regen is a good player, really good. Liam Parker is a wonderful player, pity this will be your last season on FM10 :-(
Johnny Karp
17 октября, 2010 at 21:03
Thanks a lot Sears. Who knows, maybe I’ll manage to sneak in another quick season just before FM 2011 ;)
Jack
17 октября, 2010 at 19:53
I can’t believe Parker hasn’t been called up to the England squad yet. Thats a good start to the season there Johnny, I think it will take some very good form to get top 4 though, however the A.I teams don’t normally carry on their form. Johnny would it be possible in your next post to show some pictures of the coaches page? Just so we can see the standard of your 1st team and youth staff? Oh and at my friend ‘rab carr’, the whole point in managing Universitatea Craiova is to improve the standard and reputation of the Romanian league, in order to test out the dynamic league reputation feature, which is new to FM11. The Scottish league already attracts fairly big names and produces some good talents, especially in comparison to the Romanian league (no offence Johnny :P), therefore the challenge would be easier.
Johnny Karp
17 октября, 2010 at 21:02
Thanks Jack, I will post those screen shots in the next update. I have no youth staff though as I always released all the players from the youth intake since they were totally worthless. I have 20 coaches, all of them working with the first team players. The Scottish league should have higher reputation than the Romanian one but not nearly as good as Spain, England or Italy so it would be a tough challenge too, maybe even tougher than the Romanian league since I will have to face strong sides like Celtic and Rangers who are a class above the rest.
Kevin
17 октября, 2010 at 20:13
Hi Johnny
Not a whole lot I can add as I’m way down the list of respondee’s :)
Very decent start in the EPL and showing some fine form too in the Europa League. Parker for England!!
Hope you’re enjoying the Bucuresti derby!
Johnny Karp
17 октября, 2010 at 20:59
Thanks Kevin, Parker is a star in the Under 21s but he has not been called up for the big team yet. By the way, Stuart Pearce is managing England in 2015, that could well happen in real life as well. About the Bucharest derby, it has been a fairly good match but I care more about Craiova’s game tomorrow ;)
Johnny Karp
18 октября, 2010 at 05:43
We do need that win but I’d be happy with a draw too, not too many teams can win away at Brasov.
Kevin
18 октября, 2010 at 10:08
Pearce or Redknapp would suit me fine in real life.
Johnny Karp
17 октября, 2010 at 21:06
Thanks Radu. That regen could well be the best Romanian player ever, even better than Hagi!
Lye
19 октября, 2010 at 01:21
Hi Johnny,
What a great start. I am already way down the comments. Just two words from me well done. I believe there is something to cheer about for your team this season but too bad it’s the last. Good luck mate.
Johnny Karp
19 октября, 2010 at 10:11
Thanks Lye, I guess we should make it a memorable season then :)