Hello dear friends, I’m happy to welcome you back to another episode of the Notts County Football Manager 2010 story. After all the transfer news and rumors we had to prepare for the real deal, the first games of the new season. We had to reconfirm our status in the Premier League but we also had new challenges to face: the Champions League, the European Super Cup and the Community Shield. There was silverware on the table right away as the last two trophies were going to be offered in August.
In fact, the first game of the month was the Community Shield at Wembley, we had to face our fierce rivals from last season — Manchester United. They finished right behind us in the Premier League after battling hard until the last game, now they wanted revenge. They looked very determined in the first minutes of the game but we took the lead right away, Barton sent in one of his powerful crosses and Bonetti pushed it in from the far post. Manchester United got back level only four minutes later though but we recovered well and continued to play beautifully. Sam Hinshelwood was directing our attacks, I employed him as a central midfield playmaker in that game and he delivered the goods. It was one of his trough balls that set up Demba Ba for the second goal but the Senegalese striker missed another few of chances before the break. On the other hand Man United were launching dangerous counter attacks but Ochoa made a solid debut between the sticks, he saved anything that was coming at him. I changed the strategy to counter for the second half and Manchester United were restricted to long shots giving Ochoa a few opportunities to show his skills again. We had quite a few chances on counter attacks but my strikers were not very inspired, they missed a whole lot. The final whistle erased all the tension, we were celebrating another trophy at Wembley Stadium!
We had to end the celebrations quickly though, the first game of the Premier League was coming up next. The game was at home with Fulham, a team that finished in 14th place last season. I already knew their fierce defending style and they didn’t let me down, they were defending extremely well and trying to strike on counter attacks. We played rather poorly though, Fulham took the lead and Rafael Sobis saved our first half by inventing a splendid volley to make it all square. Fulham totally parked the bus in the second half and despite trying hard we were unable to create chances. We had to try to score with long shots but we lacked precision. That was it, Fulham had one shot on goal and that went in, it’s frustrating but they deserved the draw for the determination that they showed in defense.
We had the chance to recover right away, our next game was away at newly promoted Middlesbrough. I wasn’t expecting an easy game though, Boro just won the Championship and that’s a good achievement for any team. Guilherme made the game a lot easier for us, he scored an early goal in his first game of the season as he finally recovered from the bad injury that he suffered at the end of the previous season. Rafael Sobis and Steven Defour only needed a few more minutes to make it 3-0, the game seemed to be as good as over. We continued to play well but missed a few chances while Boro took advantage of some poor defending to claw one back before the break. The result was beyond doubt though, we kept on pushing forward in the second half and Rafael Sobis converted just one of the many chances that we created.
The last league game of the month was a much more difficult one, at home with Aston Villa. They were coming from two straight wins and I was expecting a tough battle. The spectators were the witnesses of an action packed first half, both teams created chances but both keepers, Begovic and Ochoa, proved to be in great form. We looked a bit better than our opponents though and I hoped to capitalize on that in the second half. It was not possible though, the last 45 minutes were quite ugly, the players were nervy and the fans had nothing more to watch other than lots of fouls and yellow cards. We could have won the game with a bit more luck but still, something was not working as it should have.
The last game of the month was the UEFA Super Cup game with Real Madrid but just before the battle we had something else to watch, the Champions League groups draw. We were seeded 3rd for the draw, so I wasn’t expecting an easy group. It didn’t go too bad though, we’ll have to face mighty AC Milan, CSKA Moscow (the team that we knocked out in the Europa League semi finals last season) and Danish side Brondby. I guess we’ll battle for the second place with the Russians, I’m looking forward to play at San Siro though :) Go to the next page to read the rest of the story.
Go to the next page to read the rest of the story.
Jaffa
24 февраля, 2010 at 20:30
well done-great as usual. I wouldn’t mind the 2 draws-your squad will take another 2 or so weeks to gel in. thanks about the patches but how do u install them in the game?
Johnny Karp
24 февраля, 2010 at 21:04
@Jaffa
Thanks mate. If you downloaded the patch it should be an executable file, just double click it like you would do to install a program.
Blue Nose
24 февраля, 2010 at 21:52
Wow! You’re doing a great job with Notts County, good luck for the upcoming season.
Obviously I don’t know you’re options for England and how good the players are in 2014, however, I’ve noticed you don’t have a big, strong striker in the England squad, I don’t know if you want one in your team but thats the only thing i would be looking at if I was manager.
Ravenie
24 февраля, 2010 at 22:26
My Management of Nottm Forest is falling apart, I saw us challenging for automatic promotion but we lie in mid-table at the end of December. I’m using your tactic and its not going to well for me at the moment any advice would be appreciated
Matt
24 февраля, 2010 at 23:27
How has Ashley Young been playing? As an Aston Villa fan in real life I was quite looking forward to an Ashley Young hat-trick against Man Utd in the Community Shield :P (like he will in the Carling Cup in real life this week-end)
Johnny Karp
25 февраля, 2010 at 00:13
@Matt
Yes mate, he has been playing and he did a decent job so far, nothing special. I expect more from him in the future.
@Ravenie
I don’t know what to say mate, maybe your players are not suitable for this type of tactic but there are a lot of factors to consider. What is the biggest problems, you don’t score enough goals or do you tend to concede a bit too many?
@Blue Nose
Thanks for the comment and for the good luck wish. The are not too many big strong strikers available, Crouch is 33 or 34 years old now. I don’t really need that type of player, it’s not essential to my tactical approach but I agree that it could be helpful in some games.
Kyle WHU
25 февраля, 2010 at 00:31
Hello johnny, cheers for listening to my request. I also am having the same problem as ravenie, I’m currently Blythe Spartans and I have manages to get them into league 1 at the moment, I have also found a very good young prospect called fekete a romanian goalkeeper. He is clearly good from his stats but he seems to make too many errors which leads mebto concede many goals, in league 2 i conceded the most goals in the league!!! Yet still managed 6th spot and won the play offs. Any suggestion on how to stop my team from conceding so many..! I think it may be my discipline.. And his morale is staying at poor.. I went away to Chesterfield and lost 8-0. I was outraged. Need help and fast!
Also, to all people who are struggling in blue square and league 2 sign Jason Walker, he had 42 goals for me in 1 season.!
Lye
25 февраля, 2010 at 02:52
Hi mate, not a perfect start but i think the season is still early. I am as excited as you that you got AC Milan, just wondering how is their squad like now in 2014.
Don’t really know how the players performing in your game. But I feel that England has a lot of good and pacey wingers around, i think that should be your strongest asset. That contributes to a type of attacking football that you like. Probably you can make full use of the wings to run down at your opposition.
Johnny Karp
25 февраля, 2010 at 06:14
@Lye
Thanks for the comment. AC Milan’s squad looks quite good at a first glance, they have lots of great youngsters like Paloschi running things now. You are right about England, there are plenty of good wingers to choose from.
@Kyle WHU
I’m happy to see that you are managing the mighty Blyth Spartans :) There are a number of reasons that can cause a leaky defense but I can’t tell you which could be in your case. Take a look at The Ziggy’s post and see if you are finding yourself in any of those situations.
Ravenie
25 февраля, 2010 at 10:03
Em, Both. The keepers of the championship are very good against my team. I also concede some silly goals, I am particularly annoyed by that some players just stand there and watch other players speed past them. They don’t make any effort whatsoever. I beat Bristol City 6-0 at Ashton Gate last season andf I got beat 5-1 this season.I’ve not given up hope but something has to be done.
Kevin
25 февраля, 2010 at 12:00
Ravenie
Welcome to my world at Swindon. Good pace, anticipation, marking etc and the defenders just watch the strikers breeze on past.Play deeper, normal or push up…doesn’t make any difference the result is always the same…you lose. Good luck with trying to figure it out.
TheZiggy
25 февраля, 2010 at 15:06
Nice to see you beat Man United in the Community Shield. No big surprises that Fulham parked the bus, and Aston Villa tend to be hard to break down because they tend to sit with a very rigid philosophy. They tend to be very frustrating matches.
When I saw the Real Madrid line-up I understand why you had fear. It really is a stunning set of players, so I think to only lose 1-0 is quite encouraging after taking them to extra time.
Next month looks very interesting. The match against AC Milan will be very interesting. Although they have pace, and can cause problems, they will likely give you chances, so hopefully Ochoa will perform will between the sticks and your strikers hit the target.
I hope Matt’s prediction of a hat-trick for Ashley Young against Man United in the League Cup final comes true, and they lift the cup because of it.
Johnny Karp
25 февраля, 2010 at 18:30
@TheZiggy
Thanks for the comment mate. Ochoa was quite solid so far and I think that he will be an important asset for the team in the following months. I use a rigid philosophy too and that is what I intend to change, I think that I have good players now and can afford to give them a bit more freedom on the pitch.
Ravenie
25 февраля, 2010 at 18:02
Kevin how many seasons did you spend in the champo
Martin
25 февраля, 2010 at 18:51
Johnny, How Do I Get Onto That Screen Where You Can See The Players’ ‘Ratings’ Eg I Saw That Someone Wrote Something Like ‘This Player Is -9 Rating’ Or Something Like That?
Kevin Mayo
25 февраля, 2010 at 19:00
Ravenie
I was in the Championship for one season then everything went wrong in the Premier League.
Johnny Karp
25 февраля, 2010 at 19:31
@Martin
I don’t know for sure but I think that those stats can be viewed in the database Editor and not in the game. Maybe someone else knows more about this.
MasterfulVivi
25 февраля, 2010 at 20:18
Hi, I’m new to your blog, and I just thought I’d comment on your unbelievable skill and dedication to FM. Keep up the good work!
Martin
25 февраля, 2010 at 20:24
Johnny, I Just Found Something Weird In My Game, Portugal Are 46th In The World Rankings!
Johnny Karp
25 февраля, 2010 at 20:32
@MasterfulVivi
Thanks for the kind words, I hope you’ll come back to read the future postings too :)
@Martin
I never cared too much about those FIFA rankings but Portugal down in 46th is pretty weird.
Martin
25 февраля, 2010 at 22:50
Btw Johnny Well Done On A Decent Start That Real Madrid Game Seems A Good Scoreline Considering Their Team!
Ive Finished My First Prem Season In 12th Place, I Bought Antonio Valencia For £23m. Rafael Toloi For £16m. Got Defour For Free Like You Did:P. Agbonlahor For £14m. I Sold Romero To Koln After Buying Akinfeev For £9.5M From Them(Transfer Listed).
Their The Main Ones.
Ive Also Just Realised Something Else That Is Weird.
I Was Just About To Play Man Utd. And I Looked At The Dangerman Report Card (Wayne Rooney) And It Says That He Would Be Interested In Joining Us!
I Might Launch An Ambitious Bid In The Summer!
Johnny Karp
25 февраля, 2010 at 22:56
@Martin
Thanks mate and well done, 12th spot is not bad at all. Getting Rooney would be unbelievable, that would be a performance equivalent to winning the Champions League. Akinfeev is a great goalkeeper, you will be pleased with him. The other transfers look quite alright too, good luck!
Kyle WHU
26 февраля, 2010 at 00:03
Yeah basically if you look on the football manager database editor it has potential ability then a number generally if the number is a -7 -8 -9 the player can be looked at as a future star.
TheZiggy
26 февраля, 2010 at 00:29
Johnny, I’ve been playing with a Standard philosophy, which is probably why on a few occassions my defence will suddenly go walk about, but it definitely helps us when we go forward. I’m happy, because we aren’t being caught out often enough to consider it a major problem.
Johnny Karp
26 февраля, 2010 at 08:23
@TheZiggy
Thanks for sharing this. I think that I will go for standard too after trying fluid for some portions of a game.
paine
26 февраля, 2010 at 18:46
Sorry mates, maybe you meant balanced philosophy, cause standard is referred to match strategy, not to philosophy.
Johnny Karp
26 февраля, 2010 at 18:58
@Paine
You are right, I switched the philosophy to balanced, the strategy is still set to attacking. Thanks for correcting the error.
@Calum
Thanks for the comment, we’ll see how things will develop in the next few months.