That injury forced me to send in striker Demba Ba as a left winger. Sburlea and Moreno were the only choices I had for the attack and I was quite worried about that because Moreno didn’t score in the last 581 minutes he played and Sburlea… I couldn’t even remember when he scored the last goal but I believe it was in 2013! Arsenal had no such problems and they were tipped as favorites.
Arsenal were looking better in the first minutes of the game, they were more aggressive and fit. We looked pretty solid at the back though, Arsenal were unable to create chances. Our strikers were totally useless though, they couldn’t even hold on to the ball. The 90000 fans that came to see the game at Wembley must have been pretty bored at half time.
The second half began in the same quiet way until the 58th minute, a corner kick cross was fumbled by Arsenal‘s keeper and Bonetti was the quickest to react again. He sent the ball towards the empty net, it touched Nordtveit along the way and went in! It was the touch of luck that we needed! Oh, by the way, Nordtveit is a former Arsenal player :)
I switched the strategy to counter because I was expecting a fierce reaction from Arsenal. That reaction didn’t come though, we were controlling the game and midfielder Steven Defour doubled our lead 17 minutes from time with a perfect shot from the edge of the area!
Arsenal were falling apart, they were pushing forward chaotically and were leaving huge gaps behind their defensive line. That situation was perfect for Lucas Biglia, he played a perfect ball behind the defense for Moreno, the Bolivian advanced a few yards with it and lobbed it past the keeper! His goal drought was over and he ended it in style!
The last minutes were quiet, Arsenal were down and out and my players were just passing the ball around to the delight of our fans! We won a superb treble that enriches the club’s proud history!
I guess words are not enough to describe how this season was for me, a thrilling and rewarding year that I will surely remember for quite some time. I am just too happy now to perform a squad analysis and prepare for the new season, I will do that in the next post. Now I’m going to take a quick break for a day or two and enjoy the success :)
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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.