Hello folks, I know you have been waiting for this one! :) Sorry for postponing it for such a long time but I hope that you’ll be happy to hear that this update will cover the first three months of the season, the first Premier League season for Dorchester Town! You already know that we brought in several new players during pre-season, most of them promising youngsters that I hoped to develop at the club and nurture their talent. Now it’s time to see them in action!
As you know we were predicted to finish last and our season kicked off with a game against one of the top clubs in the league, Liverpool. The Reds were predicted to grab a 6th place at the end of the season so the odds were against us. Things started in a brilliant manner though, six minutes into the game Liam Parker found a great through pass for Sean Scannell and the Irish striker slid the ball past Pepe Reina to score an important goal on his debut! To my delight we dominated the first half and forced Reina to make a couple of brilliant saves to prevent us from doubling the lead. We remained in control after the break as well, Liverpool were unable to cause us any problems. Things got completely solved when Lucas was sent off for a two-footed tackle, we claimed our first win of the season and it was quite a convincing one since Liverpool didn’t get any shots on target at all!
The next game was even tougher, away at Arsenal! We got off to an excellent start again though, it took my strikers only eight minutes to figure out a way past the opposition defense and Liam Parker put it away to give us an early lead. Arsenal were pushing us back and they nearly got back level when a good shot from distance hit the post. Our fans went wild on 23 minutes when Fran Merida intercepted a ball in midfield and then played a perfect pass for Omar Koroma who applied the finish! We were 2-0 up at Emirates Stadium! The game was far from over though, Arsenal were piling on the pressure and we only managed to survive until the 40th minute when a great team move brought a goal for the hosts. We tried to hang in there after the break, we were defending heroically but Arsenal got a perfect chance to equalize on 63 minutes when they were awarded a penalty kick. Luckily Davide La Rocca saved the spot kick and we were still in the lead. Arsenal‘s offensive fury was too much for us though and they finally got back level on 72 minutes, I was fearing the worst at that point. The team reacted pretty well though, Arsenal appeared to be a bit tired and we had a couple of great chances to steal the win during the last 10 minutes! Unfortunately we missed those chances but I was delighted to get a point at Emirates Stadium!
I couldn’t have wished for a better start but I asked the players not to get carried away, we still had a lot to prove. Our next game was at home with fellow newly-promoted side Bristol City, we had a good chance to continue our good early run. We played pretty well but eventually had to leave the pitch empty handed and that happened due to two simple facts:
1. Sean Scannell missed three chances one on one with the goalkeeper. He did score one though.
2. We were constantly giving away the ball with poor passes in midfield and that allowed Bristol City to create quite a few counter attack chances. They scored twice as a result.
So we were brought down to earth in a brutal way, the Premier League requires consistency and full time concentration and that’s a lesson that I wanted my young players to learn quickly.
We had a cup game coming up next, our Carling Cup campaign began with a home game against League One side Watford. I was expecting a win and the players had a decent first half but unfortunately Watford scored the first time they tried to go forward. It was a good team move though. Things changed after the break, my lads were looking much more determined and Liam Parker started the show with a magnificent goal, he placed the ball in after dribbling past no less than three defenders! Omar Koroma gave us the lead a couple of minutes later and then Parker added an injury time goal after missing quite a few good chances.
The last game of the month of August was away at Hull City, a team that was predicted to finish 11th in the Premier League. It was a thrilling game, we scored three goals and that should have given us a win. It wasn’t the case though, our midfield was unable to protect a shaky defense and we conceded four goals but the arrears could have been far greater. Hull surely deserved to win but I was a bit concerned, our defense was not looking so good anymore.
We were sitting 14th at the end of the month with one win, one draw and two defeats. I expected to get more out of the last two games and less out of the first two to be honest but overall four points is not a bad sum. We surely had to do better in the next games, our defensive display was not up to the Premier League. Go to the next page to see how we did in September.
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.