Welcome back to the story!
Last time you saw our youngsters from Scunthorpe endure one of the hardest debut fixture lists in the Premier League. Still, they managed to hit Liverpool and Fulham for 6 points while they fought gallantly at the hands of the gunners, only loosing by a single goal. Peterborough managed to knock us out of the League Cup though, which I wasn’t best pleased with as it was something I thought our lads might be able to challenge for. Still, the Premier League is our top priority and unfortunately our dismal run of fixtures continues with an away day at Manchester United. Hopefully we can pull it out of the bag this month and gain a foothold in the top half!
So, Manchester United entertained us at Old Trafford (Or the Swamp as it is known locally..) hoping to get three points out of our newly promoted side. Things didn’t start well for us though, and we were behind from a Rooney goal on the 5 minute mark. The England international latching onto what looked like a headed back-pass from left back G, giving him an open goal to smash home. Things got from bad to worse for us, as the defending champions doubled their lead when Fletcher hit home from outside the area. It looked like it was going to be a Peterborough-esque rout, but fortunately the signs looked good as Smith hit the post and the team started gaining momentum. That momentum was vital, and just before halftime, the patriots pulled one back. Smith easing the ball into Pepper, who slotted the ball into the corner form 5 yards. I was hoping that the whistle wouldn’t go for half time, as I wanted to keep the momentum but it didnt matter as immediately after the break we equalised. Crosby slid home to stick away a cross from McLean. Unfortunately for us, it wasn’t to last long as Rooney and Hernandez both got on the scoresheet to sour any hopes of a victory for the youngsters. Still, the performance was excellent against the league champions. Although that was our third straight defeat in all competitions, we need a win from somewhere…(Click here to see the highlights)
Back at Patriots Park now then, as we face a strong Sunderland side boasting the likes of Santa Cruz and Gyan. We were in desperate need for a win to get some points back on the board but for all the enthusiasm our side gave, the away side nearly took the lead as Santa Cruz hit home from 12 yards. Luckily though it was ruled out offside, much to the relief of me and the fans. There were a few half chances here and there over the course of the first half, but it wasn’t until a goal just before half time that the game set alight. It came in the form of Smith, as a breakdown in the Sunderland defence meant he could fight the way past the back line to slot home! A big sigh of relief from me and the back room staff before half time then, but we were just hoping for more of the same. We got our wish. G crossing for Crosby out on the right, only for him to hit the post from close to the penalty spot. Luckily the re-bound fell to Dully, and he made no mistake from 5 yards sending the fans into a chorus of chants. It didn’t stop there either as the Patriots hit their third and fourth goals in the form of headers from Sears and McLean respectively. This left only a Riveros sending off late into the game to make the day for FMS, as we stormed up to sixth in the table. Happy days! (Click here to see the highlights)
Final game of the month, and it was against fellow promotion side Nottingham Forest. We might have beaten them twice beforehand, but they have always put up a fight against us. No wonder that they opened the scoring at the City Ground then as just a quarter of an hour into the game Fetfatzidis slotted the ball passed Vaibhav into the corner of the net. We did respond though as midway through the first half saw some great passing and moving leading the exchanges to Crosby who fired home from all of 8 yards. An absolute thunderbolt from Johnson put the Patriots 2-1 up just before the half time whistle proceeding a huge ‘slide on the knees’ celebration for his first goal in Premier League football:
How he got that far I’ll never know…
Celebrations were short lived though, and Forest brought it back level just after the restart. McKenna finding Blackstock all on his own to hit home from just inside the area. The game was tense, and it was very much stalemate between the two sides as the full-time whistle approached. I brought on Bmwdestroyer after Smith was running himself into the ground with only 5 minutes left. Not much time to make an impact some might say, but the teenager from London hit home four minutes into added time from a McLean cross to seal a dramatic three points for the Scunthorpe side. I let out a little ‘Get in’ for good measure ;) (Click here to see the highlights)
We managed to better our standing from last month, moving up into 6th place in the Premiership even after that defeat to United. Hopefully we can continue the strong run we are having and hold a top half position till the end of the season. Early doors yet though!
Go to the next page to read the rest of the story…
CsAtlantis
21 июля, 2011 at 14:58
Good wins against Sunderland and Nottingham Forest, in 5th spot too, European qualification might be achievable
Keep it up lads
Excessive
25 июля, 2011 at 14:26
I hope so, we are really pulling our weight at the moment..
Laxeyman
21 июля, 2011 at 16:21
Good again Excessive, the side is looking strong and I reckon that you’ll get a top half finish this season, due to the quality strength in depth you’ve got. Good luck!
Excessive
25 июля, 2011 at 14:27
Thanks Laxey!
Johnny Karp
21 июля, 2011 at 18:16
Nicely done boss, very good results! And congrats on your debut between the sticks at Man City, I think Joe Hart should start packing his bags! :)
Excessive
25 июля, 2011 at 14:27
Haha, ill be packing my bags to Scunthorpe in a season or two ;)
Darren Smith
21 июля, 2011 at 18:55
Some more great results mate, a shame to see my goalscoring slow down but hopefully its a minor drought :)
I reckon next month should set a target of six points.
Excessive
25 июля, 2011 at 14:28
Im banking on you to do it!! ;)
vaibhavc
21 июля, 2011 at 19:41
Well done, boss. Great results against Sunderland and Nott Forest, your target seems to be coming true. Good luck!
Excessive
25 июля, 2011 at 14:28
Cheers pal!
Birdy
21 июля, 2011 at 22:58
Nice post the patriots are coming along niceley
Excessive
25 июля, 2011 at 14:29
Thanks Birdy :)
Nicholas Phipps
22 июля, 2011 at 10:32
Some great results there, European qualification is definitely possible :-). How am I doing at Swansea?
Excessive
25 июля, 2011 at 14:30
Not bad mate, 6apps with a rating of 6.83! :D
Sears
22 июля, 2011 at 13:58
Oops, I’d a shocker against United, of all teams :-( :-( KUTGW!
Excessive
25 июля, 2011 at 14:31
You did.. But a MOTM against Sunderland more than made up for it ;)
liam Bacon
23 июля, 2011 at 16:47
how do you take turns playing the game? do you send game save files by email or ….?
Really respect you lads , I want to emulate your sucess one day :D
Please help me !!!!
Excessive
25 июля, 2011 at 14:33
It’s technically done on my behalf, although Johnny took it while I was away..
If you want to get better at the game, I suggest reading Johnny and Darren’s FM2011 handbook. You’ll get better advice in there than I could tell you on here ;)
martinm
25 июля, 2011 at 20:47
Another good month excessive :) Some good results and a good effort against Man Utd. This season could get better and better for us :)
Also my first award :) with the quality of our squad we should be winning this award every month.
Excessive
29 июля, 2011 at 12:39
Yeah it’s not been too shabby ;)
Haha, congrats!
Wilfred Von Karma
27 июля, 2011 at 08:08
Nice runs and happy days! I finally see myself back on the team sheet, even if it’s reserves. What’s the rating cause it isn’t clear and I realized I got subbed. Hopefully that isn’t because of any thing other than stamina problems. If I’m back in I think I’ll stay up till January and from there I’ll decide what to do. No loan for now please!
Excessive
29 июля, 2011 at 12:43
Good good, like to see you fighting for your place!
6.9 rating against Newcastle before you were subbed on 50 mins due to fitness issues ;)