The next game was the second leg of the Carling Cup semi final and since we had a good two goal advantage from the first leg I figured that it was a good chance to rest a few players. It also was a chance to send in the new signings. That’s right, I brought in a few players before the game. You know that I was looking for either a centre back to boost our defense or a central midfielder to fill in for injured Biglia. Well, the search didn’t go to well. First I looked for a centre back but I had to find one that would have been eligible for the Champions League games. I found two good ones eventually, Bocchetti and Subotic, but the 10 million pounds that I had in the transfer budget were not enough to sign either of them. The quest for a central midfielder had a similar outcome, so I decided to find a few bargains instead. Here’s what I found:
The biggest coup is the new goalkeeper, Igor Akinfeev‘s contract with CSKA Moscow expired at the end of December and he didn’t want to renew it. Although I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to employ him in the Champions League I decided to make him a good offer and he accepted it. He is even better than Ochoa in my opinion, so I figured that he could help us in the Premier League.
The next signing is a young regen right back, it was a real bargain. He is one of the best right backs in the Premier League and I got him for only 4 million pounds from Manchester City because his contract was going to expire in June and they didn’t want to lose him for free. He can be a great backup for Gergely Varga but first of all it was a good piece of business considering that Manchester City wanted 15 million pounds for him last summer.
The last new face is a striker, French player Chris Gadi from Barcelona. Marcelo Moreno didn’t play too well in the first half of the season so I thought that a younger replacement for him would be good for the squad. I loaned out Marcelo Moreno and bought Gadi for a very low fee, only 2.8 million pounds (his contract was going to expire in June, same story). He is a skillful striker that might be a reasonable backup for my two Brazilian strikers.
So, those were the transfers, back to the Stoke game. It started extremely well for us as new boy Chris Gadi made a fine run and set up Ibrahimovic for an easy finish. We were dominating the game but Stoke scored the equalizer against the run of play. A few minutes later Huth was deservedly sent off after making two brutal tackles on Ibrahimovic, the game was as good as over. Reserve winger El Shaarawy and backup right back Martin Martinez got their names on the score sheet before the break and the second half was fairly quiet, we were through to the final. Akinfeev made a solid debut between the sticks, Stoke had a few chances on counter attacks but the Russian keeper did very well to stop them. Liverpool beat Arsenal in the other semi final, so we will meet them at Wembley in March.
We had another cup game coming up, away at Ipswich in the FA Cup. The first half was fairly even and boring, Guilherme had the best chance to score but his fine shot hit the post and went out of play. We were dominating the game after half time but Ipswich were defending quite well. Guilherme had to show some magic and he did just that, he dribbled past two defenders and put the ball past the keeper. Ipswich tried to get back into the game but they were leaving gaps at the back. Unfortunately we missed quite a few nice chances on counter attacks but we defended well so we were through to the next round.
The last game of the month was another tricky one, away at 11th placed Everton. They have been quite disappointing this season but we only got a scrappy win against them at Meadow Lane, 2-1 back in September. They started the game well, very aggressive in midfield. Tinga found some space though and placed the ball in but the lead didn’t last more than a few minutes. We continued to play well until half time but we missed a couple of great chances. The second half showed the same picture, we were pushing forward but we were quite wasteful upfront. We didn’t have any luck either, Joe Barton and Steven Defour hit the post with their shots from long range. Everton were literally under siege in the last minutes and we finally cracked them three minutes from time thanks to a placed finish from Rafael Sobis.
The perfect run in January allowed us to open up a six point gap over Manchester City, I was quite pleased about that. Chelsea have two games in hand though, so they could well bounce up to second spot.
February will begin with a tough away game at Manchester United, then we’ll meet Liverpool in the FA Cup and end the month with the difficult trip to Bordeaux.
I am fairly confident though, I liked the way the team performed in January and since we have no other players injured except Biglia I hope that we can continue the good form next month. The road is still long and winding but things look good at the moment. Thanks for reading, I’m looking forward to seeing your opinions about the new transfers.
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Kevin Mayo
4 марта, 2010 at 23:26
Hi Johnny
Greetings from a sunny Canada. Yeah!!
Anyway fantastic month there for you, all solid perfomances and a nice little cushion at the top of the table too.Capturing Akinfeev on a free transfer is just amazing and your other two signings look to have decent attributes and so should do really well for you.
Well done on another successful month.
Martin
4 марта, 2010 at 23:26
Well Done Johnny!
Akinfeev Is Really Good And His Reflexes Etc Are Better Than Ochoa’s.
Gadi Looks Good Too, 19 Goals In 19 Caps!
The Regen Also Looks Really Good, It Looks Like He Will Provide Good Competition To Your Penalty Master, First Choice Right Back, Gergely Varga.
Laxeyman
4 марта, 2010 at 23:52
Hi Johnny, well done on a fantastic month. The new signings look good, maybe you’ll have a settled goalkeeper from now on after all the chopping and changing! Gadi must be good if he’s scored that many international goals, so to get him so cheap is amazing! The regen looks good too, good luck for February!
Lye
5 марта, 2010 at 02:57
Hi mate, another great month for push to the title. To be able to sign Igor Akinfeev on a free is amazing, he should be your first choice for many years to come. The other two players are proven international, it should be a welcome addition to your team.
FootballManagerGuru
5 марта, 2010 at 04:23
oh wow. Akinfeev on a free transfer. you’ve just saved yourself so much money there. Can’t wait to see how your young full back turns out. seems like a sick regen (:
TheZiggy
5 марта, 2010 at 04:36
Excellent month there Johnny. Some superb signings as well, and looking good in all competitions right now.
Johnny Karp
5 марта, 2010 at 11:33
@TheZiggy
Thanks mate, I am quite happy with the way the team is performing right now.
@FMGuru
Akinfeev is one of the best keepers in the world, seeing him for free didn’t leave me any other choice but to offer him a good contract. The right back looks like a good player, I hope he’ll do well.
@Lye
Thanks for the comment, I reckon that the hunt for bargains went pretty well this time. :)
@Laxeyman
Thanks, I guess I won’t find a better keeper than Akinfeev.
@Martin
Thanks. You are right, Varga had no valuable backup, now he can even lose his place in the team to that regen youngster.
@Kevin
Sunny Canada? That should be interesting :P Thanks for the comment, I hope to see some good performances in the next months too.
cory berman
5 марта, 2010 at 17:07
I agree with everybody else akinfeev is one if not the best keeper in the game but i’ve noticed a repeating theme in almost everyone of ur games: Ochoa keeps you in so many games with incredible saves! what will you do now and in the future!!! (well done on a great month :)
Johnny Karp
5 марта, 2010 at 17:23
@Cory Berman
Thanks for the comment, I guess Akinfeev will produce at least as many great saves as Ochoa did. Anyway, Ochoa still has a part to play because Akinfeev can’t be registered for the Champions League games.
sam warren
5 марта, 2010 at 18:49
Yet another good month and some excellant signings Johnny. After reading your blog since the start of the season I have decided to start my own (i no its a bit late but new updates have come out so I will start now)
Could you please check it out and give feedback on what you think. Hopefully it may be good enough to be on your website by next season.
http://nufctnt.blogspot.com/
Thanks anyway
warren
Johnny Karp
5 марта, 2010 at 18:52
Thanks for the comment Warren. I had a quick look at your blog and I can say that you’re off to a good start. I’ll keep an eye on your progress, good luck!
Sears
5 марта, 2010 at 21:05
Well done Johnny,Good results + very good tramsfer’s.On mymy blog,when I added a new page and did a post,i returned to the blog and couldn’t fine my new page?
Johnny Karp
5 марта, 2010 at 23:08
Thanks Sears. I have no idea about what went wrong on your blog, try to publish that post again and it should probably work the second time around.
ravenie
6 марта, 2010 at 10:49
Johnny I have great news. I was 2 nil down in the Carling Cup Final (somehow I got there) against Arsenal and I switched some things about at half time and my young hot prospect Angelo Balanta got 2 goals before Guilherme scored from the spot, I kept control of the game and I was pleased with the character my players showed. Its only march but guilherme has got 30 goals in all comps. he should be called up for Brazil!
Johnny Karp
6 марта, 2010 at 13:22
@Ravenie
Well done mate, congrats! Guilherme was called up for Brazil in my game but he got to play in only one game, I guess they have better strikers than him.