Hello my friends, it’s time for a new episode of my Notts County Football Manager 2010 story! I guess you’re as curious as I was to see how the new players would fit into the squad. I’ll cut the introduction here and go straight to the matches, there were not many of them in August.
The first challenge was the Community Shield game with Manchester United, it was a good opportunity for the new players to show their skills. I was quite pleased with the first part of the game, it was a great spell of dominance from my lads. Unfortunately they were unable to convert the good football into a goal and just when everybody was expecting us to hit the net Man United surprised us with two goals in four minutes, I was in disbelief! It was quite frustrating but fortunately Ashley Young set up Fabian Delph for an easy debut goal just before half time. We were unable to find the right rhythm after the break, Manchester United were keeping us under control. It was another special move from Ashley Young that got us back into the game, he ran past his opponents and played it for Guilherme, a placed shot and we were all square. We were dominating the game but the Red Devils were launching dangerous counter attacks, Adler had to show his skills to stop them. The game was heading towards extra time but Andrea Romano had something in store for the fans, he stole the ball from a defender and went all the way, a good debut for the Italian striker. I guess we deserved to win it and I was pleased with the new players’ contribution, things were looking good.
We had another tough game coming up, the Premier League opening game at home with Chelsea. My boys started well again, we dominated the first half but Petr Cech stopped my strikers with a few magnificent saves. I was quite confident but something changed my mood just before the break: Kjaer got injured, that was not a big problem. The problem was that I didn’t pay too much attention when I selected the substitutes for the game and I found myself with no centre backs on the bench. I had to find a solution and I chose to send in a midfielder to replace him and switch the tactic to a 3-5-2 with Zapata as a lone centre back and two defensive midfielders in front of him. At that point I was just hoping for a draw but the team continued to play surprisingly well and Zapata was having no real problems at the back . We kept on pushing forward and shooting but Cech kept on saving the shots. That was until the last minute, Joe Barton sent in a bullet cross from the left flank, Romano jumped higher than the two defenders that were marking him and headed it home!
We had another home game coming up, Ipswich were coming to face us at Meadow Lane. The first minutes saw us taking the game to our opponents but my strikers were quite wasteful. Ashley Young was in great shape though, he made the difference with a spectacular curling shot from 25 yards out. Ipswich were unable to cause us any trouble, we continued to push forward and should have scored a few more in the second half. I had the impression that some of the players were taking things lightly, they were missing easy chances. Anyway, I was pleased to get another win and I was hoping for more in the next game.
But before that game we found out who we were going to face in the Champions League group. We were seeded second and I guess we could have been more fortunate, we’ll face Atletico Madrid, Lyon and Slovan Bratislava. It could have gone better but it also could have gone worse, so I can’t complain. We’ll surely have a tough time with Atletico and Lyon but we have to go through, there will be no excuses if we wouldn’t.
The last game of the month saw us traveling to Turf Moor to meet Burnley, they always were a troublesome bunch for us. We got off through a great start as Romano played a nice thorough pass for Sobis but Burnley reacted surprisingly well, they were pushing us back. And they scored eventually, they thoroughly deserved that. We got back in control after the break but we were missing too much again. I sent in Chris Gadi for the uninspired Sobis and the Frenchman repaid me, he dribbled through the defense and they failed to stop him without a foul. Captain Defour stepped up to take the penalty but the shot was rather poor and the keeper parried it, I was livid! The ball bounced clear though and Chris Gadi was the quickest to react, he pounced on the rebound and powered it in! Phew, that was a close shave!
The warm up is over, we’ll have to do much better next month. The schedule is quite tough, we’ll have to meet Aston Villa twice plus the two difficult Champions League games with Lyon and Atletico Madrid.
That’s how it was, four games and four narrow wins. I guess that’s OK for now but I’m expecting a lot more from the team, especially from the strikers. The tricky thing is that most teams are quite cautious when playing against us, they always keep many players behind the ball and it’s quite difficult to break them down. We did create chances however and I hope we’ll see better finishing in the future. Thanks for reading folks, I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts.
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Lye
16 марта, 2010 at 15:18
Hi mate, think the players still getting back to football after some nice vacation over there. Andrea Romano has settled to the squad well and i am please to see him start scoring goals for your team. Hes an awesome player, i like him. Good start there and your team can only get better and better. Looking forward to your meetings against Lyon and At Madrid. Though they will provide some competition for you but you should have no problem beating them.
Kevin
16 марта, 2010 at 18:14
Hi Johnny
Good start the season though as you say it looks like teams are coming to play you in hopes of snatching a draw. Your new signing Romano seems to have made a big impact already so thats always nice to see and I hope he continues in the same fashion for you.The Champions League draw was a bit unkind to but I’m sure you will prevail.
Laxeyman
16 марта, 2010 at 18:57
Hi Johnny, a good start to the season, the main thing is that your winning, fluidity will come as your players gell. Quite a tough Champions League draw, but I’m sure you will go through.
Sears
16 марта, 2010 at 19:28
Solid start to the season.I most say,I’m shocked taht only Chelsea of the so called ‘Big 4’ are in the group stages of the Champion’s League! Are the other’s doing really bad in your game?Your team has geled quiclky with the new signing’s,I wish you all the best for the future.Goodluck!
Johnny Karp
16 марта, 2010 at 20:26
Thanks for your comments and good wishes folks.
@Lye & Kevin
I’m quite impressed with Romano, not only that he scored a few but he is working hard every game, getting the ball back and helping out in midfield.
@Laxeyman
I’ll have to beat Atletico and Lyon at home, that’s a must. We’ll figure out the rest of it along the way.
@Sears
Well, they were not too far off the Champions League spots, Liverpool finished 5th, Man Utd 6th and Arsenal 7th. One of the three will probably lift the Europa League this season.
cory berman
16 марта, 2010 at 20:28
good month and the new signings are already doing well but i was just wondering if this has ever happened to you or anyone else: I was actually playing Notts County in the FA cup with Portsmouth on a wet and very windy day. My keeper Silviu Lung Jnr. took a free kick way in our own half and the ball went right over their keepers head and went in!!! one of the most bizarre things i have seen. his first goal for the club surprisngly!!!!
Johnny Karp
16 марта, 2010 at 20:40
@Cory Berman
Thanks for the comment. That never happened to me in FM but I’ve seen something like this in a video on YouTube. And I’ve also seen a couple in real life football.
ravenie
16 марта, 2010 at 20:45
I know I cheated in my previous game but I was desperate to not cheat this time round with Southampton, we started on -10 points and won the league with 96 1 ahead of Huddersfield. I have no idea how I did it and for all my efforts I recieved a Budget of £235k.
Johnny Karp
16 марта, 2010 at 21:20
Well done Ravenie, that’s a massive achievement. Don’t be sad about the transfer budget, I’m sure you’ll find a few good players on free transfers.
ravenie
16 марта, 2010 at 23:41
I did as a matter fact. I signed Guille Franco after his deal with West Ham expired I also signed experienced full back Lucas Neill. I really wanted Mcsheffrey I had him on loan last season and he scored some amazing goals, he chose Derby instead :|. I also have Gavin Gunning, Mark Little, Emmanuel Frimpong and Chris Gadi on loan. I won my first game away 4-0 and needed penalties to get past Brighton. I then got hammered 2-0 by Bristol City. I was very disappointed. I’m starting to regret not buying back up after selling my 2 dms Hammond and Gillett. They won’t give meh money :(. My best signing was undoubtedly young centre back Kovacevic he still has lots of time to improve except my 2 first choice cbs are out injured. I have many injuries now :(
Sears
17 марта, 2010 at 00:08
Johnny,Majk,Laxeyman and kevin-I commented on yer blogs today and returned after a few hours and noticed my comments never posted.When i left the page after commenting they came up.Now going back to them,there not there!i’m very pissed off as the computer im using is slow and useless.For example,anytime i went on to this site since 11th of march where johnny posted his end of season chapter about notts county.Since then,no new post has come up and its only today when i got them after messing around with the site.I dunno whats going on but its really annoying me and im starting to go mad.So you might not be able to comment much but ill be watching how yer doing!
P.S my blog with Shahktar will not be posted on again for another few weeks as my proper GOOD computer is being fixed.
Johnny Karp
17 марта, 2010 at 10:18
@Sears
I’m not sure but that could be because of the browser cache. You can empty the cache and see if that solves the problem (in Firefox it’s somewhere in Tools > Clear recent history)
@Ravenie
Injuries can always disrupt the team, that’s why backup players are very important. How’s Chris Gadi in your game?
ravenie
17 марта, 2010 at 18:18
Chris Gadi is Man Yoo. He’s still quite young but he’s got decent attributes. I only have 4 strikers anyway and he’ll be vital.
Rob
17 марта, 2010 at 23:35
My own notts co game wont load it just says ‘The Save game could not be loaded’ which is really annoying because I have got to my second season in the premier division. Just wondering if anyone could help thanks