Hello folks, welcome to another episode of the Notts County Football Manager 2010 story! We were in for an exciting season, top of the table at the end of January with one point above Manchester United and also with one game in hand. The Red Devils had a though schedule ahead of them, so I hoped that they would drop a few points along the way. The tricky part was to be careful and win most of our games…
The first match of the month was a difficult one, away at 8th placed Everton. We won the home game 2-0 in January but I was quite sure that things would be tougher at Goodison Park. The game started pretty well for us though, we dominated the first minutes and took the lead thanks to a placed shot from Kevin Thomson, he whistled it in from the edge of the area. The rest of the first 45 minutes were evenly boring, the two teams looked unable to produce something special. I was hoping for a similar second half but I was in for a big disappointment. Everton totally dominated the second half, my team looked like a bunch of tired old people. We survived somehow until the 76th minute but Everton got back level and even had the chance to win the game. I can’t explain what happened in that second half, maybe it was all due to fatigue. Manchester United won their tricky home game with Arsenal 3-2, so we were back in 2nd place but with a game in hand.
The game in hand was coming up next, at home with 13th placed Aston Villa, a strong team that was having a disappointing season. We were 1 point behind Manchester United, so a win would have pushed us right back on the top of the table. Guilherme started things up with one of his perfectly placed shots but Aston Villa reacted well in the following minutes, Romero had to show a couple of fantastic saves to keep us ahead. Then we took control of the game and Sam Hinshelwood doubled our lead with a fantastic goal, he dribbled past two defenders plus the keeper and pushed it in. Guilherme wrapped up our fairytale first half with a fabulous shot from 35 yards out but an unfortunate deflection made it 3-1 just before the break. We looked solid in the second half, controlled the game and claimed the win that took us back in 1st place, two points above Manchester United.
The next game was away at struggling Stoke, they were in 14th place and they surely remembered that we beat them 4-1 at Meadow Lane back in September. We started the game well, dominating quite clearly but Sam Hinshelwood hit the post 25 minutes into the game. Senegalese striker Demba Ba was back from the African Cup of Nations and he looked eager to show his skills at the club again, he powered one in from the edge of the area to give us the lead. We remained in control of the game until the last 20 minutes, Stoke were beginning to put us under pressure. Demba Ba produced a penalty on a counter attack but Varga‘s shot was saved by Fabianski! We managed to keep cool until the final whistle though and grabbed the three points. Manchester United won their difficult way game at Liverpool 1-0, so the two points gap remained unchanged.
Next up, an easier home game, 14th placed Fulham were coming at Meadow Lane. We beat them in the away game, it ended 2-1 in October. The game was fairly even until the 21st minute, Sam Hinshelwood gave us the lead with a fine corner kick header. Two minutes later our wonderkid right winger made another one of his blitz runs on the wing and crossed the ball to the far post. Agnaldo was there to head it in, 2-0. We took control of the game and Guilherme made it 3-0 in the second half after picking up a fine through ball from Defour. It was a good win but there were bad news coming with it, Sam Hinshelwood had a twisted ankle and he’ll be out between three and four weeks. Manchester United won their game with Nottingham Forest, they were looking unbeatable.
The next game was the FA Cup 5th round clash with Wolves, a team that held us to a 1-1 draw in the Premier League game back in November. This time things looked a bit different, Wolves were under siege right from the start but their keeper was absolutely fantastic, he saved around 10 shots in the first half. We continued to push forward in the second half but their keeper kept on saving everything that we threw at him. Even more, Wolves had a couple of chances on counter attacks! The time was running out and Demba Ba finally managed to place one out of the keeper’s reach, we thoroughly deserved to win this one. We’ll get to meet Manchester City in the next round, that will be a tricky one. Go to the next page to read the rest of the story.
Go to the next page to read the rest of the story.
Kevin Mayo
14 февраля, 2010 at 14:13
Hi Johnny
Two points clear and still a game in hand,well done! A massive result in the Europa League against a fellow Romanian manager so perhaps now you will be the new legend in Romanian football? Too bad about the injury to my favorite player Hinshelwood as he’s always exciting to read about.I think you have a great chance in all three competitions.Great month though!
Johnny Karp
14 февраля, 2010 at 14:29
Hi Kevin and thanks for the comment. I guess I’ll be a legend in virtual Romanian football :)
Laxeyman
14 февраля, 2010 at 14:54
Well done Johnny, another great month for you there! Great victory over Standard Leige, I am sure the title race will be close, but I feel you hold a slight advantage and hopefully it will still be that way at the end of the season!
Bilal Ahmad
14 февраля, 2010 at 15:03
Good month Johnny, by the way you post too fast lol. You still got a game in hand and about 11 games left in the Premiership, you should be able to win the Premiership with ease but upsets do happen and United are still quite close. Also good results in the Europa League, however Lazio very hard team to beat but still confident you will be able to defeat them
Johnny Karp
14 февраля, 2010 at 15:27
@Bilal
Thanks for the comment mate, I’m trying to take advantage of the spare time that I have this week end.
@Laxeyman
Thanks for the comment. We’ll have the direct encounter with Man United in May, the penultimate game of the Premier League season, I hope to have a few points ahead before that game.
Martin
14 февраля, 2010 at 15:26
Great Month Johnny And You Smashe Standard To Pieces! :P
I Was Trying To Think Who That Guy Was, Mbokani, I Could Remember His Face But Not His Name, So, Thanks!
If
Martin
14 февраля, 2010 at 15:27
I Was Meant To Say If I Reach The Premiership I’m Gonna Try To Get Him And Hoarau:P LOL
Johnny Karp
14 февраля, 2010 at 15:33
@Martin
Mbokani is a great striker, you should try to get him but it won’t be easy. You can also take a look at Witsel, he’s a great midfielder.
Ravenie
14 февраля, 2010 at 15:45
I read a football magazine that linked Mbokani and Hoarau with Blackburn Rovers. But anyway I was manager of Hull when I started my new game, I got sacked because they weren’t willing to give me funds. Then a few months later I was given the job as Nottingham Forest Manager. I’ve lost 3/4 I think and I have to say I’ve been rather unlucky. Went so close againt swansea 2 nil down 2-2 and lee trundle offside fouling the keeper put it in. :(. But I won my last game convincingly 2-0. I’m managing the rivals :). Your tactics quite good and I used it
Johnny Karp
14 февраля, 2010 at 16:10
@Ravenie
Thanks for the comment, I’m happy that the tactics work even with our rivals :) Good luck with Forest!
Lye
14 февраля, 2010 at 17:08
Hi mate, you are leading Man Utd 2 points and 1 game in hand. Thats a comfortable cushion to have and the race will go down to the wire. I believe your team has the quality to get pass Lazio and win the europa league. Good luck.
Martin
14 февраля, 2010 at 18:06
Yeah I’ve Heard Of Witsel.
I Kinda ‘Group’ Him With Defour And Per Cilijan Skjelbred Because Their Pretty Simlar To Me :P
Johnny Karp
14 февраля, 2010 at 18:38
@Lye
Thanks mate. I’m playing March right now and I can say that it’s more than thrilling…
@Martin
They are quite similar indeed, all of them are hard working and pretty creative too.
Calum
14 февраля, 2010 at 20:10
Well done on another great month. I am looking forward to reading about March! :D
Johnny Karp
14 февраля, 2010 at 20:44
Thanks Calum, from what I’ve seen so far it will be an interesting post ;)
Martin
14 февраля, 2010 at 21:07
I Won The Johnstones Paint Trophy And Just Gained Promotion After 40 Games.
I Don’t Know Why I Keep Coming Onto Your Blog To Tell People, Maybe I Miss Blogging :P
Hmm…
Johnny Karp
14 февраля, 2010 at 21:12
Well done Martin, that’s great news! I’m happy as long as you keep us updated on your progress, on this blog or on your own :)
Martin
14 февраля, 2010 at 22:30
Thanks Johnny! :P
Sears
15 февраля, 2010 at 01:30
Your doing very good!i am also notts county…currently in the championship after back to back league wins..finished my first season 7th in championship due to lack of goals.. recommend any player’s?
Johnny Karp
15 февраля, 2010 at 08:25
@Sears
Thanks for the comment and congratulations on your back to back league wins. My top goalscorers in the Champiosnhip were Tomas Pekhart and Adam Szalai, I recommend both of them. You can also try Denis Alibec, I had him on loan from Internazionale Milano.
Martin
15 февраля, 2010 at 12:44
Sears, You Should Also Take A Look At Levan Mchedlidze, He Scored 31 Goals For Me In League 1. Also, Berat Sadik, He Scored 39 Goals In League 1
Sears
15 февраля, 2010 at 20:05
Johnny,thanks for your recommendation’s but i signed both andy carrol and ched evans on a free transfer..also i’v jelle vossen!..latley i’v been trying to put the proper kits,logos and facepacks in to the game but i don’t know how..i’v the kits downloaded but don’t know how to put them in to the game? it would be great help if you told me how.
Johnny Karp
15 февраля, 2010 at 20:16
@Sears
Evans will do great for you, he’s a very good striker. There are detailed instructions on how to install the kits in this post here, check them out and also the comments, there are a lot of answers to questions there.
Sears
15 февраля, 2010 at 20:41
johnny,its ok i got them!and sorry for posting the comment so much.. went through computer diffitculty.and is it the same fot the logo’s facepack etc..been trying to download them on to game for the past week! yes evans is very good.. 3 goals in 4 games as i put him to poacher role.
Sears
15 февраля, 2010 at 20:59
Martin,thanks for your recommendation’s but Levan Mchedlidze is not interested in joining my club..not to worry ched evans has signed for me!