Notts County October 2013

Hello my friends, welcome back to my Football Manager 2010 story! My Notts County have been quite impressing in the first two months of the season, we were still unbeaten in the Premier League and we also got off to a good start in the Europa League. The most difficult games were still ahead of us though, the tough games that we had to play in October were supposed to give everybody a better idea about the real strength of the team.

The first game was expected to be an easy one, away at Turkish side Kayserispor in the Europa League group stage. I looked at their squad and decided to rest some of the important players, I thought that we would be able to beat them with the backups. While looking at their squad I had a nice surprise, we were going to meet two of our former players, centre back Ritchie De Laet and winger Romain Gasmi. Anyway, we controlled the game after having a great start when Tinga finished off a team move with a perfectly placed shot. Demba Ba missed a couple of chances in the first half but he did convert one, we were comfortably in command. Sabrin Sburlea proved to be a reliable backup player again, he scored with a powerful shot in the second half. Ritchie De Laet managed to bang in the consolation goal for the hosts with a corner kick header just a few seconds before the final whistle.

The first league game of the month was away at 10th placed Fulham, a team that always caused us some trouble with their extremely defensive style. Things started well for us this time, Sam Hinshelwood was determined to win the game all by himself. He scored the opener with a fine header to connect with a good cross from Agnaldo and he doubled our lead a few minutes later by pushing in a parried finish from Guilherme. Fulham pushed forward in the second half but Romero denied them with a couple of brilliant saves. The game seemed to be as good as over in the 76th minute, Zuiverloon caught Guilherme with a nasty tackle inside the box and the referee had no choice but to point to the spot. Gergely Varga missed the penalty though and Fulham scored immediately after that with a superb shot from 25 yards out. We were under pressure in the last minutes of the game but survived to clinch the win.

Next up, the most difficult game of the season so far, at home with mighty Manchester City. It was the first very tough game of the season and I was extremely curious to see my players at work against such an opponent. Manchester City looked dangerous right away, a corner kick header from Lescott hit the crossbar only a few minutes into the game. Sam Hinshelwood gave us a great start again though, Guilherme was tackled by an opponent, the ball went loose and the young winger pounced on the ball like and eagle and blasted it in! My defenders seemed to have a lot of problems with Lescott at the corner kicks though, he scored with a powerful header to make the score level again. Tevez was creating all sorts of trouble too with his constant runs but somehow we managed to get back in front right before the break. Guilherme made a superb run on the left wing and set up Sobis in the middle of the  penalty area and Rafael placed it into the back of the net, the Brazilians seem to work well together. We were under heavy pressure after half time, The Citizens were pushing forward with great determination. We defended pretty well and created a few chances on quick counter attacks. That’s exactly what happened in the 59th minute, Bonetti got the ball forward with his great pace, laid it back to Defour on the edge of the penalty area, the Belgian launched one of his powerful shots, the keeper parried it but Guilherme couldn’t miss the golden opportunity… We were 3-1 up and the fans were dancing in jubilation. It was the first major win of the season and I can say that I was quite pleased with our defense, they showed great determination while Sergio Romero was absolutely fantastic again.

The next game was another tough challenge, the best opponent in the Europa League group was coming at Meadow Lane. Olympiakos are a solid team from a rich club, their squad is filled with talented players from all over the world. We got off to a dream start though, Guilherme set up Demba Ba and the Senegalese striker placed the ball in. Olympiakos got back on level term by taking advantage of an offside trap error in our defense but Demba Ba was determined to be the star of the game. He was literally all over the place and he could have scored even more than a hat-trick to be honest. We looked like a solid team out there, we proved to be a team that has the strength to overcome the best teams in Europe.

With those three points we were getting closer to the next round but the next two away games will make or break our European campaign. We should be able to qualify though, the last home game against Kayserispor could mean another three points for us. Go to the next page to read the rest of the story.

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

Back to the Premier League, we had a tricky away game at newly-promoted Sheffield United. They had a good start of the season and were lying in 13th place, I wasn’t expecting an easy afternoon. In fact, the game proved to be quite troublesome although Sheffield United were coming from three straight defeats. We went a goal down when Gergely Varga made a poor clearance, another Varga slotted the ball home. The team reacted well though and we got back level right away: Biglia played a through ball for Sobis, the Brazilian rounded the keeper and deposited the ball into the back of the net. Twenty minutes later the same Rafael Sobis made United’s fans applaud too, he rifled in a fantastic volley from the edge of the area to give us the lead. We were a bit under pressure after half time but Defour scored again with a powerful shot from inside the penalty area. Rafael Sobis completed his hat-trick with a vicious volley from inside the area, the keeper tried to parry it but the ball was way over the speed limit. An error from Kjaer gave Sheffield United another goal but the three points were safely in our bag. The bad news was that Sam Hinshelwood suffered a pulled hamstring and will be out for three weeks, it’s the first major injury of the season.

That was the last league game of the month and a look at the table was the first thing that crossed my mind after the final whistle. We were in 2nd place, one point behind Manchester United but with two games in hand!

The last game of the month was the Carling Cup clash with Tottenham at White Hart Lane, a difficult game. The team looked pretty well though, we were dominating the start of the game. The first good chance came from a corner kick but Demba Ba‘s header hit the crossbar! A few minutes later Guilherme had a similar corner kick opportunity and he didn’t miss, his header hit the back of the net! We had quite a few corners in the first half and just before the break tiny winger Nicola Bonetti headed one home, they left him unmarked! We moved the ball around well in the second half, Tottenham failed to create any chances in attack. Just a few minutes before the final whistle a splendid team move gave Guilherme the opportunity to strike again and he didn’t miss! I was very pleased with the emphatic win but I was thrilled with the way my team played in the second half, we never looked like losing it.

Brazilian striker Rafael Sobis was named Player of the Month, he’s a very talented player that can produce stunning moves anytime during a game. His skills helped us a lot so far and I hope there’s even more to come from him.

November will begin with a tough home game against surprise package Wolves, they are in 4th place at the moment! Then we’ll have to travel to Greece to face Olympiakos and last but not least, a difficult away game at Arsenal.

We’ll have to show consistency in November and I hope that we’ll be able to do that. I’m a bit concerned by the injury situation, Hinshelwood is still out and if Bonetti will pick up a know we’ll be left without any natural right wingers! I will probably try to sell one of the backup centre backs in January and bring in another winger but there are a lot of games to play until then. I guess we’ll have to enjoy the moment and try to win every game. We’re still unbeaten but a defeat will eventually come up, we’ll have to be mentally strong to face that moment. Well, it seems that I’m thinking too much about the future… What do you think, when will our unbeaten run come to an end?

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