Hello dear friends, welcome back to a new episode of the Notts County Football Manager 2010 story. First, I have a confession to make: I finished playing the month of December on Sunday but somehow I couldn’t get to writing the post because I didn’t have too much spare time. Even more, when I had some time I couldn’t find the right mood to sit down and write. Anyway, I’m going to give it a try now.
The first game of the month was away at Saint-Etienne in the Europa League group. We were already qualified, so I chose to send in more backup players than usual and rest some of the important players. We had a pretty poor first half, we were under pressure for most of the 45 minutes but somehow we managed to survive. We even took the lead a few minutes after the break, the ref gave us a penalty kick. The lads woke up after the goal and looked better on the pitch but Saint-Etienne got the equalizer with a long range shot. We were under pressure again and the defense cracked eventually, it was the first defeat of the season! I wasn’t too upset though, the team played a decent second half but missed far too many chances. The result was not very important anyway.
The next game surely was important, we were playing at home with Liverpool in the Premier League! It was the start of a grueling month for us, we had to make the most of it. The first half hour of the game saw my boys pushing forward with great determination, Liverpool were under siege but they survived thanks to a few great saves from Reina. They also had to thank the crossbar, it saved them on one occasion… We did manage to break the wall though, Rafael Sobis powered one in from inside the penalty area to give us the well deserved lead. Let me give you some quick statistics about Liverpool‘s first half: one shot (off target) and 33% ball possession! The second half was not very good, both teams were quite nervy and the fans got to see more yellow cards than shots on goal. Goalkeeper Sergio Romero got the clean sheet and a bonus, probably the easiest money he has made in his entire career.
Next up, the Nottingham Derby! Forest were down in 14th place but the league table doesn’t matter too much, a derby is always a derby. We got off to a nightmare start, Forest scored after only 6 minutes. The goal looked offside but that didn’t change the scoreboard. The players looked a bit confused, they were unable to connect our usual passing game. We did clinch the equalizer though, Bonetti swept in a cross from the right wing and Agnaldo was ready to head it in at the far post. Forest were looking better than us but Simon Kjaer found the absolutely perfect moment to score his first goal for the club, he banged in a corner kick header a few minutes before the break. A few minutes later our hopes turned into worries, left back Dodo sent one of the Forest players directly to the hospital with a horrendous tackle, he deserved to be sent off. I had to take out a striker and send in a left back, we were preparing for a tough second half. We were under a lot of pressure immediately after the break but it got a bit lighter when the referee sent off one of the opposition players. Forest kept on pushing forward though but Sergio Romero was like a wall, nothing went past him. Simon Kjaer seemed to have liked the taste of the first goal so he did it again just before the final whistle, again from a corner kick. The fans love him after this performance, he surely has a place in their hearts now.
We didn’t have any time to relax, the next game was at home with Chelsea, the title holders. The stadium expansion was completed a few days before the game, we had 30450 seats now and all of them were taken! Withe the fans cheering from the stands my boys looked better than Chelsea in the first half but Sobis missed a good chance, Chech saved a ball that everybody thought would go in. It was 0-0 at the break but we played well and the fans were hoping for a good second half. It started miserably though, Chelsea scored with their first shot on target, a superb header from Lampard to connect with a fine cross from Mikel. My players were not disheartened though, the fans were pushing them forward. Sobis was showing all sorts of tricks but he was lacking efficiency. That was until the 58th minute, he turned a defender at the edge of the area, everybody expected him to shoot but he picked a fine pass for Moreno inside the box. The Bolivian striker picked it up and struck it immediately, right into the back of the net! Chelsea reacted furiously and they missed a good chance right away. The game was pretty even after that event but the fans were still hoping for more. And they finally got it a few minutes before the final whistle: Moreno returned the favor to Sobis, the Brazilian had the ball inside the box and he put it right where Cech couldn’t reach it. Get in!
We were top of the table, finally!
And Ancelotti had a few kind words for us, that’s always pleasing…
We had the chance to relax after those three hard fought games, the last game of the Europa League group was totally unimportant. I rested most first team players and included a few reserves and under 18s in the starting line up. Even so, we dominated the game and despite going 1-0 down in the first half we won it eventually.
We finished top of the group, not bad for an European debut.
The draw pitched us against Belgian side Standard Liege in the first knockout round, it could have gone a lot worse. If we’ll manage to get past the Belgians we’ll play against the winner of the Lazio vs PSV tie (that is if I remember correctly but I think I do). Go to the next page to read the rest of the story.
Go to the next page to read the rest of the story.
Calum
9 февраля, 2010 at 17:58
Another great month for you. You are challenging well at the top of the League and progressing through the UEFA Cup as well. The huge amount of 9 games in a month should really test your players and I hope that they are up for the challenge.
Good Luck :D
Laxeyman
9 февраля, 2010 at 18:26
Well done Johnny good month there. I feel sure you will be top of the table after those 3 games in hand, it seems you’ve got a great chance of winning the league! The January schedule will be tough but hopefully your players can manage.
Kevin Mayo
9 февраля, 2010 at 18:29
Firstly, that is a ridiculous amount of games to play in Janauary, it would be intersting to see how many Man Utd are playing? Is someone or something trying to prevent you from snatching the title?
Anyway, great wins over Chelsea and Liverpool and you finished the month with a morale boosting victory. You should do well in the Europa League based on the draw you’ve been handed.
Well done again!
Johnny Karp
9 февраля, 2010 at 18:48
Thanks for the comments Calum, Laxeyman and Kevin! I think that most of our matches are postponed due to international call ups to the Under 21 and Under 19 teams, sometimes those are different from the main national teams fixtures. And since we have a huge number of under 19 and under 21 players, our games get delayed. I don’t know how many games Man Utd will have to play, I think they’ll have 6 or 7 maybe. We’ll see how it goes, I guess I’ll start working on January tomorrow if I’ll have the time.
Bilal Ahmad
9 февраля, 2010 at 19:46
Unlucky for losing against Saint-Etienne and Man Utd however you done good against Chelsea and Liverpool! You got 3 games in hand and your fixture look easy! Good luck on the Carling Cup and the FA Cup!
TheZiggy
9 февраля, 2010 at 23:30
A very good month. Manchester United are always a tricky team to beat. It’s funny that like me, your unbeaten record has been ended by the same team, at just about the same point in the season.
Things are looking quite good, leaving you right in the title challenge.
Lye
10 февраля, 2010 at 02:46
Well done mate, with 3 games in hand you will be at the top of the table after playing those game. Very impressive victory against Liverpool and Chelsea, i am putting my bet on Notts County to win the league this season.
Hectic schedule in January, i hope your players can stand up to the challenge. Good luck.
AS
10 февраля, 2010 at 06:47
nice work. i have been browsing through your pages and noticed that u try to negotiate with teams and get players with smaller prices that i get?
is there a way to negotiate with the clubs properly?
Johnny Karp
10 февраля, 2010 at 09:43
@AS
Thanks. When I try to buy a player I look first at the scout report, it gives you an idea of how much the club will ask for a player. Then you make an offer and if they ask for more you can go for something in between, or monthly installments, or a bigger percentage of the next sale and try to get the player for less.
@Lye
Thanks mate, I was quite impressed with my team in those two games two, especially with Liverpool, we taught them a lesson. I hope to survive January…
@The Ziggy
Thanks for the comment, we were a bit powerless with Man Utd, I guess they are a tough nut to crack at Old Trafford. I hope we’ll be able to get revenge at Meadow Lane :)
@Bilal
Thanks for the good wishes. We deserved to lose the Man Utd game though.
Martin
10 февраля, 2010 at 15:06
Those Are Some Good Results For You There!
I Hope You Can Keep Going In The Europa League.
I Won League 2 On My Game With 104 Points And In January Of The 1st Season I Signed That James Rodriguez That You Had On Loan Even Though He Was Disappointing For You:P
In The Summer I Have Signed Naughton On Loan (£8M Buy Option) And Tommy Spurr From Sheff. Wed. For £2.5M
Btw, How Do I Backup My Save In Case It Says ‘Save Game Cannot Be Loaded’ ?
Clark
10 февраля, 2010 at 15:30
Hey Jonny
Been reading your blog for some time now and just want to say congrats with your work with notts county and especially with blyth.
Btw I see that Rafael Sobis is playing well for you. Do you have any special training plan for him because he always flops when I sign him, and how did you get a work permit?
Anyway gd luck with the season.
Johnny Karp
10 февраля, 2010 at 15:43
@Martin
Hey mate, thanks for the comment and congratulations on winning the league, well done! Those are excellent signings for League One, I bet you’ll triumph again. About the save, I set the game to save automatically each week to multiple files, that’s the best way. Once you get that error there’s nothing much you can do other than loading the game from a different file.
@Clark
Thanks for following the stories, the Blyth one has a special place in my heart. I can’t remember if I got the work permit for Sobis after the appeal but it probably was rejected at first. I have him on the same training schedule as my other strikers but he isn’t in the starting line up for every game, I rotate the four strikers a lot.