Hello dear friends and thank you for coming back to read another chapter of the Notts County Football Manager 2010 story. As you know from the previous post we managed to open up a decent gap over second placed Manchester City, we were 6 points ahead of them. That gave us a bit of room to breathe and more serenity in looking forward to the next games. We still couldn’t afford to relax though, we had to keep on winning to stay on course and defend the title.
The first game of the month was a tough test, away at Old Trafford with Manchester United. The Red Devils were having a very disappointing season, they were down in 8th place and were looking like a shadow of the team that challenged for the title last season. They still had Rooney though and that’s enough to win any game against any opponent. We won the last game against them 2-0 at Meadow Lane back in September, I was hoping for a good performance again. The first half was incredibly boring, neither of the two teams managed to create chances. Even more, we didn’t have any shots on target in the first 45 minutes while Man United had only one! Rooney came out of the dressing room with great determination and he had a chance to score right away but Akinfeev denied him with a fine save. We took control after the first five minutes of the second half and the good performance finally paid off when Steven Defour played an exquisite through ball for Bonetti, the right winger placed the ball past the keeper to give us the lead. We were safely in control and doubled the lead just before the final whistle, Kjaer flicked on a near post corner kick and Nordtveit pushed the ball in.
The morale was quite high in our dressing room and everybody was expecting an easy game at home with 10th placed Newcastle, we beat them 3-0 away from home in September. We got off to a flying start thanks to a placed finish from Rafael Sobis and then produced a wonderful display of attacking football. We were already 4-0 up by the half hour mark, it was a massacre. Nicola Bonetti continued his good form by scoring again but the whole team played beautifully, I was very pleased.
We had to take a quick break for international fixtures, England had a tricky away friendly in Greece. I wanted to try a few new players and choices, so I started with Sturridge and Rooney upfront and a new pair in the middle of the defense, Shawcross and Wheater. We got off to a bad start, a pass through the middle surprised our defense and Greece took the lead nine minutes into the game. The team reacted pretty well and I was particularly pleased with Sturridge, he was very determined to succeed. He got us back on track a few minutes later, he got the ball back in midfield and went with it all the way, a fine solo effort. Ashley Young gave us the lead five minutes later thanks to his skills, he dribbled past a defender and placed the ball past the keeper. Sturridge kept on playing well in the second and he scored again after missing a couple of chances. The fourth goal started from him too, he played a perfect assist for Delfouneso (in for Rooney). It was a good result and it seemed that I found the perfect partner for Rooney upfront, Chelsea‘s Daniel Sturridge.
Back to Notts County, the next game was the FA Cup 5th round clash with Liverpool. Most of my players came back pretty tired from the international fixtures so I chose to rest most of the team regulars, we won the FA Cup last season and although I would have loved winning it again it was not a priority. Liverpool took the lead thanks to a blitz from Torres but we got back on level terms right away, Demba Ba struck one with real venom from inside the penalty area. My backup players were doing quite well, we were dominating the game. Striker Chris Gadi hit the post in the final minutes of the first half but we took the lead before the break, Bonetti finished after receiving a nice assist from Tinga. We continued to play well in the second half but Liverpool scored against the run of play, it was a wonder goal from Torres. The Reds took control of the game but we missed a few good chances on the break. Unfortunately my defense couldn’t cope with Torres, he gave Liverpool the win with a fantastic solo effort. I guess we didn’t deserve to lose it but Torres made the difference with his fantastic skills.
Back to the Premier League, our next game was at home with 13th placed West Ham. We won the away game 2-1 in October but it wasn’t easy at all. West Ham were defending pretty well and despite our efforts we were unable to crack their defensive wall. That was until Sam Hinshelwood stepped up, he finished a team move with a perfectly placed shot to give us the lead. We were taking the game to our opponents but we were unable to convert the chances into more goals until half time. The second half was pretty quiet, West Ham were not giving us any headaches. When it seemed to be all over Rafael Sobis couldn’t resist and he scored with a delightful lob from 25 yards out. Go to the next page to read the rest of the story.
Go to the next page to read the rest of the story.
Laxeyman
6 марта, 2010 at 17:20
Hi Johnny, very good month there well done! I feel that the title is surely yours, maybe you can do the treble again, this time with the Carling Cup! A good result against Bordeaux, I think you’ll have enough to beat them at home.
Lye
6 марта, 2010 at 17:43
The title will definitely be yours mate, i don’t see any teams can snatch that away from you. Bordeaux seems to have a very good striking pair but i think your overall quality will prevail over them.
It will be another exciting match against Liverpool and this time with your strongest side, i believe you will bring the cup back. Good luck.
Johnny Karp
6 марта, 2010 at 19:04
@Lye and Laxeyman
Thanks for the comments folks. If we’ll manage to keep the good form in March there should be no more doubts about the title. I’m looking forward to the Carling Cup though. :)
TheZiggy
6 марта, 2010 at 20:27
Another good month. You should take the title with ease now you’ve given yourself such a good lead. Hope you can produce another great result over Liverpool to win the League Cup.
You’re in a great position against Bourdeaux, so hopefully you can beat them at home to take the victory over them.
ravenie
6 марта, 2010 at 21:46
Status Report: Guilherme won the golden boot and the european golden boot with 29 goals (rafael sobis of bordeaux came behind him with 28). I signed Jo, Caicedo, Afellay and a defensive mid and a left back. I got Jo and Caicedo cheap. Guilherme wants to leave Johnny, he rejected a contract offer and says he wants to push his career forward, if he has to leave could you recommend any potential replacement for goalscoring striker?
Johnny Karp
6 марта, 2010 at 22:09
@Ravenie
You should try to keep him for a while unless his contract is expiring. Rafael Sobis might be a good replacement.
@TheZiggy
Thanks mate, it won’t be easy with Bordeaux but I hope to make the home ground advantage count. I’m very confident about the Liverpool game, we gave them lots of trouble with the backup players so I guess the first team regulars might beat them quite clearly unless Torres will produce another amazing performance.
Kevin Mayo
6 марта, 2010 at 22:50
Hi Johnny
A ten point lead over your nearest rivals. Great stuff mate!
It’s going to take something special from the chasing pack to topple you from the head of the leader board. Great wins over Newcastle and a sorry looking Blackburn team. I thought that was a good move resting your players for the FA Cup game and paid off getting that all important away goal in Bordeaux. Well done!
PS I voted for SWP at least he knows what to do when he gets to the byline!
Johnny Karp
6 марта, 2010 at 22:54
Hey Kevin, thanks for the comment and for voting. I’m quite happy with the team’s performances and the gap is important because now I can rest a few players once in a while in less difficult league games.
ravenie
7 марта, 2010 at 11:16
Jo and Caicedo have surprised me with the goalscoring form, particularly Jo. I’e won qualification to the next round of europe have one away game to fiorentina, i’ll rest some players
Johnny Karp
7 марта, 2010 at 12:16
@Ravenie
Well done, those two can make you forget all about Guilherme :)
ravenie
7 марта, 2010 at 12:26
Just in case I get any substantial bid for him like in the 20s I’ll be searching for his replacement. Interestingly Demba is at Sampdoria.
Martin
7 марта, 2010 at 13:36
Well Done Johnny, Some Good Results Against Your Opposition And A Draw Away At Bordeaux Gives You The Advantage And I’m Sure You Can Go Much Further In The Champions League!
Btw, I’m In April Of The Same Season As You, My Team Is Really Settled And There’s Good Squad Harmony.
I’m Lying In 4th Spot After 33 Games And Still Have A Decent Shout For The Title But A Champions League Place Is More Realistic.
Johnny Karp
7 марта, 2010 at 13:55
Thanks Martin and congrats for your achievement, I’m proud of you :)
FootballManagerGuru
10 марта, 2010 at 04:32
The Title is almost in your hands Johnny! Congrats (: Just another good run of games and that’s another piece of silverware for you. The League Cup final is going to be a mouth watering affair, can’t wait to hear about it (:
hils
20 августа, 2010 at 10:29
Johnny Karp…………YOU ARE A BRILLIANT MANAGER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The prem title is in your hands i think and i think you should win the carling cup and the champions league. in my game i have signed lee hodson from watford for 950k and jared nueokeman,i think that’s how you spell it,for 4.4 million from osauna and he’s scored on his debut against monterry!!!!!!!
Johnny Karp
20 августа, 2010 at 10:46
Thanks mate. I see that you stick to Wenger’s policy of bringing youngsters to the club, well done!