Notts County Story — December 2016

Hello dear friends and welcome back to the Notts County Football Manager 2010 story. As you know from the previous update we were in second place at the end of November, just behind leaders Chelsea. That was something that didn’t happen in the last couple of seasons so we had to show better form and get back where we belong, on top of the table.

The first game of our winter was away at 12th placed Wolves, an in-form team that was coming from three straight wins. We managed to put them under pressure right from the beginning of the game and after a couple of missed chances Sergio Aguero picked up a through ball from Jonjo Shelvey and passed it into the back of the net. The Argentinian striker was the shining star in the first half, he played an exquisite first touch through ball for Bonetti who doubled our lead with an unexpected left footed finish. The second half was quite rough, lots of fouls, and Wolves were creating danger from dead ball situations thanks to their superior height. Sergio Aguero closed the game on a counter attack, a superb run and a perfect cross for Romano‘s powerful header. An error in defense gave Wolves the consolation goal but it wasn’t over until Sam Hinshelwood got the chance to score his first goal of the season.

Next up, the away game at AC Milan. The game was not very important anymore because we are already qualified and sure to finish top of the group but I still wanted a good performance. Milan dominated the first half quite clearly and we had to thank Rene Adler for keeping us in the game. Sergio Aguero created a good chance for himself just before the break but he didn’t have the determination to finish it. Milan were still in control after the interval and they scored eventually, they totally deserved it. We tried to react but a corner kick goal ended our hopes four minutes from time. It was our first defeat of the season and I guess I wasn’t able to motivate the players well enough to perform better.

That was our last game before traveling to Australia for the Club World Cup. Our opponent in the semi final was Japanese side Okayama FC. I had a look at their squad, the names seemed familiar but were looking more like motorcycle brands than football players. We were strong favourites to win the game and it got even easier right away: Sergio Aguero was clean through and one of the Japanese defenders stopped him with a kamikaze tackle that got him sent off. We were slowly building up the pressure and Cristian Zapata gave us a well deserved lead with a powerful corner kick header. Fabian Delph doubled our lead five minutes before half time, we were playing just as well as we needed too. The second half was fairly easy despite having to face a really strange formation, see for yourselves!

Despite the crowded defense we bagged in another two goals in the second half to make it through to the final.

Before the final we witnessed the Champions League first knockout draw. It went fairly well, we get to play Celtic Glasgow and I guess we should get through to the next round.

Back to the Club World Cup now, I expected to meet Estudiantes in the final but they got beaten 3-0 by New York Red Bull in the semi final. So we had to meet the Americans in the final act, a much easier game in theory. And it was fairly easy as Rafael Sobis scored an early goal to open things up. New York tried to react, I appreciated that and so did Sergio Aguero: he punished them twice on counter attacks. Then he completed his hat-trick with a real gem of a goal, he skipped past two defenders, then past the keeper and pushed it in. The second half was just fun, the trophy was ours and I can officially say that I won everything there was to win with Notts County! Go to the next page to read the rest of the story.

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

We had little time to celebrate, our next game was a Premier League encounter with 12th placed West Ham and we had to win at Meadow Lane. The lads were playing pretty well and the goal finally came before half time, Sam Hinshelwood made a great run down the right flank and crossed it perfectly for Andrea Romano‘s header. Almost the same thing happened a few minutes into the second half but this time Hinshelwood‘s cross was headed in by Simon Kjaer. We totally dominated the game but West Ham defended well and got away with a decent defeat. Chelsea lost 1-0 at Burnley so we were back on top of the table.

The next game was away at struggling 19th placed Portsmouth. The muddy pitch at Fratton Park made it pretty difficult for us to play our usual passing game but it didn’t stop Zapata from banging in yet another corner kick header. Andrea Romano doubled our lead before half time with one of his trademark moves, he dribbled past his marker and powered it in from the edge of the area. Sergio Aguero was brought down inside the box a few minutes into the second half, Gergely Varga coolly netted the penalty and the game was as good as over. We put another goal past their keeper though, a parried missile shot from Fabian Delph was pushed in by Nicola Bonetti. Then we relaxed a bit and Pompey clawed one back but the three points were safely in our bag.

The last league game of the year was the most important one so far, second placed Chelsea were coming at Meadow Lane. It was our chance to prove that we were better than our main contenders and I made sure that the players were fully aware of that. We started the game very well but a few great saves from Petr Cech kept the score level. That wasn’t going to last though, Rafael Sobis made a spectacular 40 yard counter attack run and rifled it in from out wide, right under the crossbar! We kept control of the game after half time and Simon Kjaer doubled our lead with a corner kick header, his majestic leap over Chelsea‘s defenders was quite impressive. We were totally in control of the game, Chelsea were unable to show more than a few shots from distance. Ten minutes from time another corner kick found Simon Kjaer marked by Obi Mikel (a midfielder with below average heading abilities), my defender said thanks and headed it home! The game was quite nervy and the referee showed no less than 13 yellow cards but that didn’t matter too much to us, we dominated our opponent and taught them a lesson.

Here’s how the league table looks at the end of December, we’re six points clear with a game in hand! Burnley are this season’s surprise package, they are in 5th place with a real chance of finishing among the top four.

We had one more game to play before the end of the year, the FA Cup match with Championship side Derby County. I sent in mostly backup players and they did fairly well, especially in the second half. Midfielder Carlos Abad was the man of the match after setting up Rafael Sobis twice with very good assists and we ended the year on a nice high note.

And now the usual end of the year player stats sorted by average rating. Needless to say that I was impressed with Romano (18 goals and 12 assists) and Aguero (22 goals and 8 assists) but I have to say that I was satisfied with each player’s contribution so far. Those who played less games in the starting eleven always managed to produce good performances when I needed them with a special note for Rafael Sobis, he scored 13 goals in 12 games! That’s what I call efficiency!

January will bring a few important tests for the team: the Carling Cup semi final games with Manchester City and also a big game with Manchester United at Meadow Lane.

That’s how December 2016 was, thanks a lot for reading the update. Before closing the post I want to give you a quick update on the poll in which you get to choose my next team. 81 people voted so far ans the partial results look like this:

• Dorchester Town (37%, 30 Votes)
• Arsenal (with a twist) (26%, 21 Votes)
• Universitatea Craiova (20%, 16 Votes)
• Vico Equense (17%, 14 Votes)

Big thanks to all of the 81 people that voted so far, the others can do that until Sunday the 2nd of May!

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