On to September then, our first game was at home with West Ham. «At home» is just a way to put it but we were not really playing at home but at Southampton because our stadium was still undergoing expansion works that are going to be completed in January 2015. Back to the game, West Ham were in 5th place at the end of August, they had a solid start to the season. My lads had a great fist half display but they were stopped by an equally great Robert Green between the sticks for the Hammers, he was outstanding. My goalkeeper had to prove himself after the break, Davide La Rocca pulled off a couple of stunning saves to stop West Ham during the first 20 minutes of the second half. Then we regained control of the game and finally managed to find a break through: a team move left Omar Koroma in a great position inside the box, it would have been more difficult for him to miss from there than to score. I was pleased to get the second victory of the season, the players surely needed this for their confidence.
The next game was away at 17th placed Bolton Wanderers, a tricky game in theory. The first half hour was a complete nightmare, I was afraid that we were going to get demolished. Bolton banged in three goals in 30 minutes and we were looking unable to wake up and play some decent football. Centre back Petre Micu netted a corner kick header before the break and that gave us some home for recovery. We dominated the second half but that wasn’t enough to save the game, we paid the price for that terrible first half…
We had the Carling Cup 3rd round game coming up next and we were going to meet West Ham again after beating them 1-0 a couple of weeks earlier. When I saw West Ham taking the lead three minutes into the game I was already fearing another nightmare run but Liam Parker made an instant reply and leveled the game in the 5th minute. The nightmare quickly turned into a very pleasant dream when Sean Scannell fired in a double in four minutes! The Irish striker added another two goals to his tally before half time while West Ham clawed one back with a long range effort. We could have scored a few more goals in the second half but things were already settled, we were through to the last sixteen.
The last game of the month was at home with 18th placed Sunderland, I was hoping to get a win that was supposed to wrap up the month in glory. I can’t say that the team disappointed me, the lads put on a decent display and it’s quite frustrating to see that we lost the game. Sunderland scored two minutes before half time when a huge gaffe in our defense allowed them to take the lead against the run of play. Then they defended well and went home with the three points…
Our position was becoming quite worrying, we slipped down into 16th place and relegation was closer than ever… Go to the next page to see how we did in October.
Go to the next page to read the rest of the story.
hils
24 сентября, 2010 at 20:33
That was an ok month their Johnny. Great win against Liverpool!(What is happening to my beloved team) I have started another game! Started unemployed with Eric Cantona! Applied For every job availble… the next day everyone but Tramere wanted me! I took the villerreal b job and then got the Mali job!!!! Good luck with your game!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Johnny Karp
24 сентября, 2010 at 22:32
Thanks Hils. That sounds like a very interesting career you have started there, best of luck!
Sayam Khan
24 сентября, 2010 at 20:35
Thats a good start Johnny, well done.
Liam Parker seems to be worth the 7.5m price tag, what do you think?
Also good result vs Liverpool!
Good Luck
Johnny Karp
24 сентября, 2010 at 22:31
Thanks Sayam. Liam Parker surely is worth the 7.5 mil, I would have paid up to 10 mil if that would have been necessary. I think that he can develop into a top Premier League striker and then he will surely be worth at least double.
Sears
24 сентября, 2010 at 20:45
Hi Johnny,
like any good promoted team, you’ve made steady progress. It’s a marathon, not a race, and your players are still young so they still have to develop their skills more. Daunting fixtures next month, 5 away games?!? Try limit yourself to 2-3 defeats, as you still have these teams to play at home. If your defence could restrict those misunderstandings at that crucial month, you can finish around mid table. Your strikers have proven already they can score if given the opportunity. Well done.
Johnny Karp
24 сентября, 2010 at 22:30
Thanks Sears. I guess two defeats next month are quite likely (at Chelsea and Man City), I hope we’ll stay unbeaten in the other games although it won’t be easy at all.
Laxeyman
24 сентября, 2010 at 21:43
Hi Johnny, that’s a pretty solid start, and your side look capable of scoring goals in the Premier League. Hopefully you can turn a couple of those defeats into draws next month, good luck!
Johnny Karp
24 сентября, 2010 at 22:29
Thanks for the good wishes Laxeyman.
Darren Smith
24 сентября, 2010 at 21:45
Hey Johnny, what a great start to the season. Although you lost points where you maybe shouldn’t have done, you did the opposite against bigger teams. For me that is a sign, you have not yet reached your peak. I reckon you’ll finish mid-table, maybe even top half if you can keep up the recent form. Well done mate.
Johnny Karp
24 сентября, 2010 at 22:29
Thanks for the interesting evaluation Darren. I agree that we probably have not reached our peak yet, I hope that the team will play a lot better once the squad will gel.
Lye
25 сентября, 2010 at 02:09
Not too bad Johnny, i believe your players are still finding their feet. But overall i think you have a decent start. Hopefully you can build on there and improve next month. Good luck.
Johnny Karp
25 сентября, 2010 at 10:08
Thanks Lye, I agree that there is room for improvement and I hope that the players will do better next month.
ravenie
25 сентября, 2010 at 10:03
Fantastic Start from your side Johnny. At the end of October 11th is a fantastic position.
Johnny Karp
25 сентября, 2010 at 10:10
Thanks Ravenie, I agree that it’s not so bad. I wasn’t hoping for more to be honest but the first two games, Liverpool and Arsenal, showed better promise than what actually happened after that.
Kevin Mayo
25 сентября, 2010 at 10:16
Hi Johnny
Not a bad start at all.Seems like Parker and Scannell are doing well up front and La Rocca putting in some good performances too. You’ve had a couple of unlucky losses in the league, however are doing brilliantly in the Carling Cup and could even win it. That would be something. Good luck against City and Chelsea.
Johnny Karp
25 сентября, 2010 at 10:35
Thanks Kevin. We have a good chance of reaching the Carling Cup semi finals but I don’t know about winning it, we might come across Man United or such teams that might be out of our range. I agree that it would be something though :)
Andries
29 сентября, 2010 at 13:49
Hey Johnny,
It’s nice to read your story, good job. Such a shame your team dropped so many points after that fantastic result in the Liverpool game. But it’s nice to see that Dorchester Town isn’t only walking the golden path and does have it’s troubled days also. Great recovery in October, keep up the results. You have a very promising team so i’ll know you will improve your position on the table!
gr Andries
Johnny Karp
29 сентября, 2010 at 14:31
Thanks Andries. Nobody expected us to go unbeaten in the Premier League, it’s a big step forward for the club and we have to be patient and lay a solid foundation for the future.