October started with a big international break for the league and also for my team. However, I was pleased to see many of my youngsters being called up to their respective national teams. They came back with good morale and that was important before the first game of the month, at home with disappointing 18th placed Aston Villa. They were having a pretty bad run but they still had very good players. We got off to a pretty good start, my lads were pushing forward and that paid off on 20 minutes when a quick team move sent Willo Flood clean through and the Irish midfielder fired home his first ever goal for the club. I decided to pull back after the goal and try to strike on counter attacks and the plan worked perfectly right away as Liam Parker netted a breakaway goal to double our lead in the 27th minute. We continued to show a solid display until the 68th minute when left back Angelo Rossini had to be stretchered off and we remained with only 10 men on the pitch. We remained in control of the game though and Aston Villa couldn’t create anything special before injury time when they struck with a late long range drive. I was very happy with the performance and the win but very sad to hear about Rossini‘s injury, he was going to be out between 5 and six months!
The next (and last) league game of the month was away at 7th placed Everton, one of the strongest teams in the league. We got lucky though, Fran Merida played an awesome pass for Laszlo Tamasi and the Hungarian winger scored his first goal for the club to give us the lead four minutes into the game. The early goal was a blow for Everton and my hard working midfielders were bossing the middle of the pitch. We were intercepting most of the balls and that gave us chances to launch counter attacks like the one who sent Liam Parker through in the 34th minute, the young striker coolly finished it off and we were 2-0 up! Then Everton had a furious last 10 minutes of the first half, they were pouring forward but we managed to survive until the break. Parker picked up a knock during the first half so I sent Omar Koroma to replace him at the break and the long serving striker made an instant impact, a great shot from the edge of the area and we were red hot! We couldn’t handle the joy though and my defenders decided to make the game interesting again by gifting Everton a goal only two minutes later. The pressure was rising in our penalty area but fortunately my lads kept cool until the final whistle and we went home with another three points!
The last two good results saw us bouncing back to 11th place with a perfectly balanced record: 4 wins, one draw and four defeats, 14 goals scored and 14 conceded.
We had one more game to play before the end of the month, the Carling Cup 4th round match with Championship side Nottingham Forest. I decided to rest a few of the important players, the backups had to prove their worth against a lower league side. The first half was not particularly pleasing, we missed a good chance early on but then failed to add anything interesting upfront until half time. Omar Koroma took care of things after the interval, he fired in a double and we quietly controlled the game until the final whistle. We were through to the quarter final and I’m happy to say that the draw was quite generous: we’ll meet Championship team Swansea in the quarters! (the game will be played in December).
We’ll be quite busy in November, six games to play among which the trip to Stamford Bridge to meet defending champions Chelsea.
That’s how we managed to cope with the Premier League during the first three months, not too bad but not exceptional either. The team still needs time to gel, especially in defense where misunderstandings between the back four happened quite often so far. The midfielders also appear to be having some trouble in finding the right tempo but I’m pleased with the strikers, they scored more goals than I expected them to. Thanks a lot for reading this rather long post, I’m looking forward to hearing your opinions about our start in the Premiership.
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.