FM 2012 Story — Winter Break Already?

Hello folks and welcome to the Romanian Second Division for the first real episode of my Football Manager 2012 story. Our summer was not very spectacular, only three new players joined Viitorul Constanta and we also had a pretty poor run in the friendly games but now it was all behind us, we had to focus on the important league matches and try to get this club to the top flight.

But before moving on to the real action I can proudly present another new player, a 21-year old goalie that joined us on a free transfer. Alberto Cobrea is slightly better than the goalies I already had but he is younger than those so I decided to bring him in as part of the club policy of investing in youth.

And now… the real deal! September started with an easy Romanian Cup match against a non-league side, we thrashed them to advance to the sixth round and we also got around 2K in prize money ;) But then we had another disappointment in the first league match of the month, we recorded a frustrating 2-2 draw at CF Braila and we conceded both goals on set pieces. We recovered quickly though and battered Astra Giurgiu at home courtesy of five headers! It’s quite unusual to see five headed goals in a game and only one of them from set pieces, check out the video and you will understand: click here to watch the highlights

The next game saw us receiving the visit of local rivals Callatis, a team that was enjoying a perfect start to the league season with four wins out of four games. Things set out nicely for us after 21 minutes when one of the opposition players received his marching orders after a violent tackle and we made the numerical superiority count after a few minutes when midfielder Mihai Onicas blasted in a corner kick volley to record his first ever goal for the club. A good spell of domination followed but we were unable to add more goals mostly because of bad luck as we were denied by the woodwork on a couple of occasions. But I was still happy with how things were going but that only lasted until 10 minutes from time when our opponents found the back of the net with their only shot on target… That’s quite frustrating, believe me!

The next fixture was an exciting one but it had «mission impossible» written all over it: we were about to meet reigning Liga 1 champions Otelul Galati in the Romanian Cup! I was fearing the worst but my lads proved me wrong in the first half, they played brilliantly and even managed to take the lead after 25 minutes and create another couple of good chances before the break. I was quite happy at half time, I encouraged the players, but it seems that they didn’t really get the message. A shocking own goal (you have to watch the video!) made it all square and then a goalkeeper gaffe buried us… It was the first defeat of the season, an expected result, but a rather unfortunate one considering how we conceded the two goals (click here to watch the highlights)

That defeat was followed by an even more painful one, a 3-0 beating in the league at the hands of FCM Bacau. We did have an excuse though as we played most of the second half with only nine men on the pitch following a red card and an injury. That wrapped up the month of September, two wins, two draws and two losses…

Morale was not looking good but luckily we turned things around in October. The first game saw us welcoming league favourites Branesti and the lads really turned up for that game, we won it 3-1 but what was the most pleasing was that all our three goals were scored after nice team moves (click here to watch the highlights). That performance gave us a lot of confidence and we went on to win the following two games quite convincingly, I was starting to see the blossoms of what I hoped would become a strong team.

After those three consecutive wins we had a very big game coming up, the Constanta city derby against Farul (Hagi‘s first club as a player). Unfortunately we conceded an early goal but the team reacted well, we enjoyed a good spell of domination and finally made it all square on 37 minutes when central midfielder Romario Benzar (Romanian of Brazilian descent) rifled in a beautiful shot from 20 yards out. The good display continued after the break and we took the lead thanks to another special goal, a beautiful shot from distance by Mihai Onicas. The three points were ours, I was quite sure of that as Farul were not looking capable of a reaction. But we gave them a hand… It ended 2-2 because of a stupid injury-time own goal and Farul clinched a point at the end of a game in which they scored twice out of one shot on target! Grrrrrr! (click here to watch the highlights)

The month ended with a poor performance and a 1-1 home draw against CSMS Iasi but the record was better than September: three wins and two draws. We were sitting 5th in the league table at the end of October, not too bad but not really what the club is hoping for.

The opening match of November was a very tough one as we travelled to meet league leaders Dinamo 2, the second team of top-flight club Dinamo Bucharest (something like Barcelona B in Spain). We lost that game in a manner that we were starting to get used to: our opponents scored on their only shot on target! A sluggish performance in the following match gave us a 1-1 away draw but then we ended the month in style with two very good home wins.

The last game of the month was our best game of the season even though our opponents were not the best in the league. My boys really taught them a lesson of football as the match statistics show. (click here to watch the highlights)

It looked like the team was finally finding the right tempo but guess what? It was time for the winter break! So, we were third at the halfway point of the season but the good thing is that we were on a promotion spot because Dinamo 2 are not allowed to move up the ranks because, as previously mentioned, they are the second team of a top flight club. However, the league table is incredibly tight, I think that any of the top 11 teams are in with a chance of getting promoted.

My two centre backs are leading the ranks in the team statistics, they did pretty well so far along with striker Vlad Rusu who is the team’s top goal scorer with 8 goals. Striker Nicolae Hertu had a good start to the season but then got injured, he should be fine by March so I hope he will contribute to the cause.

Here is how our top goalscorer looks like: 21-year old Vlad Rusu. This lad was raised in the Steaua Bucharest academy but then failed to find his place in the first team.

That wraps up the first half of my season by the Black Sea, I’m not entirely happy so I think I will try to get rid of some of the players. Replacing them with new signings might not be an option because there’s no money left in the transfer budget and we’re already over the weekly wage budget but I think I have found a few worthy lads in the under 19s squad that might deserve a promotion to the first team. That’s about it for now, thanks for reading and if you have any thoughts to share or questions to ask you know where to write them ;)