Notts County December 2015

Hello my dear friends, it’s been so long since my last post… I’m sorry for the rather prolonged interruption but I was extremely tired after last week’s field trip so writing was out out of the question. I’m slowly recovering now, so I’ll try to give you a new episode of my Notts County Football Manager 2010 story. We were still unbeaten at the end of November, that’s what I remember, let’s see how we played in the last month of 2015.

The first game of the month was the tricky Carling Cup encounter with Chelsea. I was expecting a spectacular game but the two teams failed to live up to that expectation. Chelsea parked the bus and defended extremely well and my players struggled to find enough space to create danger. We took a number of shots but most of them were either blocked by the defenders or went wide, that’s how we only managed to send one shot on target in 120 minutes. The game went to the penalty shoot out and this time we were luckier than Chelsea and clinched the win. The great news is that we’ll meet Nottingham Forest in the semi final, I guess the fans will be quite happy to watch another derby.

Back to the Premier League, we had an away game at 15th placed Reading. The first half saw us playing quite badly, Reading had a couple of good chances but failed to take the lead. We created a bit of pressure after the break but not nearly enough to score. Cristian Zapata came to the rescue once again with a powerful corner kick header but our joy was short lived, Reading got back level two minutes later. We did win the game eventually, right during the last minute. It was a moment of magic from my strikers, a quick exchange between Andrea Romano and Rafael Sobis gave the Brazilian the perfect chance to score and he slotted it home. We didn’t play well at all and that was only one reason to be concerned. The other one was Fabian Delph, he got injured quite badly and will be out between 2 and 3 months.

Next up, the last Champions League group game, away at Atletico Madrid. Both teams were already qualified for the next phase but we had a chance to finish top of the group if we would have won the game. We started the game well, dominating and keeping Atletico’s defense under pressure. That was converted into a goal eventually, Ashley Young made a superb run down the left flank, curled in a pinpoint cross that Andrea Romano headed in. Atletico tried to react but their best chance came from a free kick, Marek Hamsik hit the post with a fabulous shot. We looked in control of the game after the interval but Atletico managed to score a sensational equalizer, Ignacio Camacho powered one in from way out to make it all square. We continued to attack but Atletico‘s defense was hard to break down. Simon Kjaer did it again though, he powered in a corner kick header 8 minutes from time. Just when I was preparing to reorganize the defense for the last hot added time minutes Andrea Romano rifled in a superb free kick from 30 yards out. It was a hard fought game and I was very happy to claim the victory and finish top of the group.

While we were waiting for the first knockout stage draw I had another draw to attend, the very important UEFA Euro 2016 groups draw. Well, my England were seeded 2nd so we will have to face mighty France and strong Denmark and Bulgaria. I guess we have a good chance of finishing second in that group but it won’t be easy.

Back to the Premier League then, struggling 17th placed Tottenham were coming to entertain us at Meadow Lane. We were piling up the pressure right away and Rafael Sobis scored the opener after a good pass from Nicola Bonetti. Sobis doubled his tally before the break and then made Tottenham’s reaction useless by converting a penalty kick and earning another hat-trick.

The next game saw us travel to 8th placed Newcastle, one of the most in-form teams at the moment. They were unable to stop Rafael Sobis though, the Brazilian striker netted another hat-trick in less than half an hour! Guilherme and Kjaer added two more goals so we were 5-0 up at half time! Newcastle came out with a double or nothing attitude in the second half, they were going all out attack and it paid off, they nearly got back into the game. My players must have been too sure of the victory at half time. Anyway, we won it but conceding three goals in 20 minutes is not a good sign. Go to the next page to read the rest of the story.

Go to the next page to read the rest of the story.

The Champions League draw was held a few days later and we were quite lucky, we’ll have to face Valencia which is a lot better than Barcelona or Bayern. It won’t be easy though, there are no easy games at this stage.

Back to the Premier League then, we had a very difficult game coming up at home with Liverpool. They were coming from a good run lately, three straight wins. The game was fairly even and it took something special to break the balance: Andrea Romano skipped past Skrtel and placed it in. That didn’t last long though, Liverpool got back level with a corner kick header. A few minutes later we took the lead again, Sam Hinshelwood headed in a free kick cross from Romano. We were playing pretty well in the second half but Liverpool scored again, some bizarre marking during a free kick gave them the chance to level the score. Then we took the lead once again, Romano picked up a through ball from Simon Kjaer and powered it in. But it just wasn’t our day, Liverpool were awarded a penalty kick and the score was level again. We missed a couple of good chances until the final whistle, it was quite a weird game.

We had to play better in the next game, away at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea were right behind us in 2nd place so we couldn’t afford to lose the game. The Blues were coming from five straight wins, so they were quite confident and showed that right away. We got lucky in the beginning of the game, Simon Kjaer jumped higher than John Terry and headed in a corner kick but then we were under a lot of pressure. My defense coped with it pretty well but cracked eventually, Chelsea made it all square a few minutes before the break. Chelsea were pushing forward but their overconfidence proved to be costly, Rafael Sobis received a ball behind the defense on a counter attack and placed the ball past Cech. We were 2-1 up at the break against the run of play, I guess we were lucky. The team played better after the interval and managed to capitalize on that rather quickly, Bonetti received a through ball and slotted it home from close range. We kept things well under control until the last 10 minutes, Chelsea‘s late reaction was stopped by a couple of great saves from Akinfeev.

The last game of the year was at home with Aston Villa, only two days after the Chelsea game. We started the game well, my boys were moving the ball around beautifully but were unable to convert that into a goal. Cristian Zapata took care of that again, he netted yet another corner kick header. We kept on missing good chances and Aston Villa came very close to scoring on a counter attack. Andrea Romano doubled the lead just after the break and it was a stunning goal, he skinned three defenders before placing it home. Two minutes later the Italian striker set up Sam Hinshelwood for an easy finish, it was all over. Aston Villa tried hard to get back into the game but they couldn’t beat the in-form Akinfeev.

So, we were top of the table at the end of the year, four points clear and with two games in hand. The title race is still on I guess, even Arsenal have a good chance if they win their games in hand.

Now let’s have a look at the player stats at the halfway point of the season (sorted by average rating). Centre backs Kjaer and Zapata were absolutely stunning, rock solid at the back and very efficient in attack with their countless corner kick headers. Upfront Rafael Sobis and Andrea Romano were in lethal form, they scored more than 30 goals between them. Romano is a very important team player too, he tracks back to help in midfield and placed quite a few assists. I can’t understand what is wrong with Guilherme, he was my first choice striker at the beginning of the season but he failed to produce the same type of performances that he showed last season. I guess it’s a confidence problem and I hope we’ll sort it out in the second half of the season.

I’ll let you discover the other interesting things in the stats :)

Cristian Zapata and Rafael Sobis were picked in the FIFA World Team of the Year, that could be a big confidence booster for the entire team.

We’ll have 8 games to play in January and our fans will have quite a few tight games to watch: the Nottingham derby (twice!), Arsenal both home and away in the Premier League and last but not least, Manchester United at Old Trafford.

That’s how it was my friends, I’m glad to be back and looking forward to your comments!

• If you like the story subscribe to the RSS feed, the future episodes will come to you fast as lightning!
  
• You can also subscribe to the Email Newsletter, the new posts will be sent directly to your inbox!
• Want to stay in touch? Download and install our community toolbar, it works on Firefox, Internet Explorer and Safari!