The Europa League final was going to be played in Torino at the Delle Alpi stadium, it was a slight advantage for our opponents. Palermo had a solid team, they knocked out Galatasaray, FC Porto and Arsenal to get to the final. Their line up included two very good players, Uruguayan striker Abel Hernandez (he could be a key player for my World Cup campaign) and Argentinian attacking midfielder Javier Pastore.
The bookmakers stated that we were slight favorites and they proved to be right immediately, we scored an early goal! It was all thanks to a good tricky cross from left back Joe Barton, it landed in the middle of the six yard box and Bonetti fought well to put pressure on the keeper. I don’t know what happened exactly but I do know that it went in and their keeper was the last man that touched the ball!
Palermo reacted immediately and Hernandez forced Romero to a great save. We continued to play well though and got another one in twenty minutes after the first goal, Demba Ba took a shot from an impossible angle, the keeper didn’t react and the ball went in!
Palermo missed another good chance before the break, I was delighted to go to the dressing room with a two goal lead. As some of the players were already tired I was forced to switch to a 5-4-1 setup with three centre backs and Moreno as a lone striker. I also switched the strategy to counter and it paid off, we controlled the second half and didn’t give Palermo any more chances to score. Moreno even missed a couple of chances on counter attacks.
It was a proud day for the club and also for me, that result pushed me up into the Romanian Managers Hall of Fame, behind some legendary names like Mircea Lucescu. That didn’t comfort me too much though, we had another game to play, the FA Cup final, and I had no more left wingers, Agnaldo got injured in the Palermo game!Go to the next page to read the rest of the story.
Go to the next page to read the rest of the story.
Lye
18 февраля, 2010 at 20:24
What a great season mate! What a hard fought win against Man utd that handed you the advantage to need to win 1 more game for the title. Congratulation on the treble, your name will be engraved into the history of Notts County and Hall of Fame. I need to hand it to you, just how do you do it?
I will enjoy the success as you do and lets enjoy the moment. Looking forward to next season as i believe it will be another successful season for you.
Johnny Karp
18 февраля, 2010 at 20:27
Thanks for the kind words Lye. I don’t know how I do it, I suppose I had a good team and a bit of luck in the last month despite all the injuries. I’m looking forward to the next season too, I hope to have enough funds to bring in the players that I want.
Kevin Mayo
18 февраля, 2010 at 20:27
Hi Johnny
Congratulations on winning the treble and I’m pleased to say I was right that you would do it. A truley amazing season whereby you’ve guided your team through all manner of drama to win the trophies. For the effort you’ve put into this over 5 seasons you deserve the success that has been achieved. Simply Brilliant!
Johnny Karp
18 февраля, 2010 at 20:28
@Kevin
Thanks a lot mate, after this season I can say that at least the first three were easy :)
Kevin Mayo
18 февраля, 2010 at 20:32
@ Lye
I spend every subway ride trying to figure out how Johnny does it? LOL!
Johnny Karp
18 февраля, 2010 at 20:38
@Kevin
Honestly speaking I think that my main strength is picking the right players. I also seem to have found a good tactical setup and everything else is just a bit of luck and inspiration from time to time.
Martin
18 февраля, 2010 at 20:53
That Is A Perfect Season Johnny!
Do You Always Keep Your Formation As A Simple 4-4-2 Or Try To Mix It Up Like I Usually Do, It Doesn’t Really Work For Me Though!
I Like How You Went Into Detail On The Big Games It Made It Much More Exciting And It Was A Great Read!
I’m Currently 6th In The Championship After 19 Games And I’ve Picked Up 35 Points. I Lost The Away Nottingham Derby 1-0!
I Hope I Can Get Us Promoted But I’m Not Sure If We Will:/
Anyway, That Was A Great Season And I Look Forward To Seeing The TRansfer News!
Kevin Mayo
18 февраля, 2010 at 20:53
> Johnny
Yes, you sure seem to have the knack when it comes to player selection. Mine is picking the wrong ones. But that’s all going to change next season if regardless whether Swindon are relegated or not.
Martin
18 февраля, 2010 at 20:58
Oh Yeah, Btw, Diemerci Mbokani Was Transfer-Listed In My Game For £2.5M, But He Moved To Catania !
Johnny Karp
18 февраля, 2010 at 21:03
@Martin
Too bad you didn’t snatch Mbokani, he would have been a hit. I never change the formation, I did that in the second half of the Palermo game because the only fit players that I had left on the bench were centre backs. It’s not a tragedy if you don’t get promoted, you can consolidate the team and go for it next season.
@Kevin
The thing is that you seem to have changed the tactics to suit the new players, I always do it the other way around and bring the players that I consider suitable for my tactical set up. I don’t say that it’s the right way but it always worked for me.
Laxeyman
18 февраля, 2010 at 21:01
Well done Johnny, great season there. What a victory over Man United, a heroic performance by your defenders! Looks like you comfortably beat Palermo and Arsenal, more great performances from your team!
I’m not surprised your in the hall of fame you should be top soon! Good luck for next season I’m looking forward to reading about your signings.
Kevin, what do you mean? You’re not going to leave Swindon are you?
Johnny Karp
18 февраля, 2010 at 21:08
@Laxeyman
Thanks for the comment mate, that Manchester United game was pretty painful to watch for me.
Kevin Mayo
18 февраля, 2010 at 21:51
Johnny,
Actually I beleive you have nicely pointed out the errors of my ways.Finally the light has come on. Thanks!
@ Laxeyman,
No I’m not leaving Swindon, unless I’m fired. The club is making a profit and the board is delighted with our stature so I don’t think that will happen.
TheZiggy
18 февраля, 2010 at 23:35
Congratulations on claiming a superb treble. The way your players fought in the last month was amazing, especially with the injury problems and how tired some of the players must have been getting.
Will be interesting to see what new players you get in for the next season. Enjoy the bit of rest before you start into the next season.
Johnny Karp
18 февраля, 2010 at 23:50
@TheZiggy
Thanks a lot. I was impressed with their determination too but we did have luck on our side during some matches even though we were unlucky to get that many injuries. I didn’t think about the new signings yet, I’ll do that once I’ll finish the squad analysis and see where we need to bring in more quality or depth.
Sears
19 февраля, 2010 at 01:07
Fantastic season.Congratulations on an derserved treble. I’m sure you can even do better next season looking forward to it very much!Keep up the good work and if you bring in the right player’s who knows you might have the Champion’s league in your trophy cabaint this time next season!
Johnny Karp
19 февраля, 2010 at 10:37
@Sears
Thanks mate. We’ll have to strengthen the squad for the Champions League, that’s a fact. I hope to have a nice transfer budget to work with :)
Calum
19 февраля, 2010 at 17:50
Absolutely brilliant Johnny :D Like someone else said, you really do deserve the success as the effort you put into this fantastic blog and your football manager game is huge.
Well done and I hope you can add the Champions League to your trophy cabinet next year :)
Top stuff!
Johnny Karp
19 февраля, 2010 at 21:06
@Calum
Thanks mate, a big part of the success belongs to you and the other readers, you’re like the fans cheering and/or criticizing from the stands :) And since football is nothing without the fans, this blog would be worthless without its readers.
Calum
19 февраля, 2010 at 23:39
Thanks.
It is always a pleasure to read this blog.