Hello folks, we’re finally there: the last episode of my fifth season as manager of Notts County! It has been a great season so far, with some ups and downs but at the end of April we were still in a good position to challenge for the title, one point behind Manchester United with a game in hand! Things were not looking too well for my team though, my best two strikers were injured and they were going to miss the end of the season.
The first game of the month was crucial, it was a direct battle with Manchester United at Meadow Lane. A defeat would have shattered our dreams, a draw would have been pretty good as it would have preserved our chances but a win would have been wonderful… As I said earlier our biggest problem was in attack, the two best strikers (Guilherme and Sobis) were injured, so I had to start with Moreno and Demba Ba. The players were also very tired after the incredibly busy schedule that we had to face in April. Manchester United had all their best players available, Rooney included.
Every single ticket was sold, the stands were packed with fans and I hoped that could encourage the players to fight until the last drop of energy. The condition was not very good, most players were on the brink of exhaustion but it was the most important game of the season, we had to use our heads and our hearts to keep the legs moving. The game finally started and Manchester United were looking better than us, they were dominating the game but were not able to show more than a few shots from distance. On the other hand my lads looked unable to create something special in the opposition half, we only had one shot on goal in the whole first half. We were forced to defend and try to hold on to the ball for as long as possible, as the half time match stats show.
Manchester United were building up the pressure after half time as my players were more and more tired. At that point I was just hoping for a miraculous draw… It could have all ended 10 minutes into the second half, Rooney shot on the volley from inside the six yards box, our keeper was beaten but the ball hit the post, bounced clear and then was sent far away by my defenders. It was a huge chance and you can’t imagine how relieved I was when I saw the ball bouncing away after hitting the post…
Two minutes later, substitute left winger Rodney Sneijder got fouled near the opposition’s penalty area, I hoped the free kick would have given us a bit of time to breathe. Sneijder stepped up to take it with his left foot, it went past the wall and into the net, right between the keeper’s hands and the post! The stadium nearly crumbled down, our fans were shouting and cheering as if they saw a miracle in the making.
We had to survive another half hour… I switched the strategy to counter but some of my players were unable to run, they were just walking around the pitch and trying to hold on to the ball and pass it… Manchester United had a great chance of scoring a few minutes later, Berbatov was clean through, one on one with Romero, but my keeper got a hand to it, another fantastic save! My players were defending heroically, nothing went past them in the following minutes. We were also trying to hold onto the ball but it was pretty difficult as some of the players were incredibly tired. We managed to survive somehow, Manchester United didn’t have any more clear cut chances until the final whistle! If you look at the stats you could say that we literally stole the win from them but considering my players’ fitness I can say that it was a heroic battle and a well deserved win.
If you look at the condition levels within my team right after the game you can see that a few players were extremely tired. I was hoping to recover some of them for the next match, the game in had that we had to play away at Sunderland.
We only needed two more points from the last two games but I was hoping to get three of them right away :) Sunderland were in 10th place, they didn’t have any more goals to aim for but I was sure that they would put up a good fight. As if the fatigue wasn’t enough of a problem, my right winger wonderkid Sam Hinshelwood got injured in training before the game, he’s going to be out for three months! It was a big blow for the team as he has been an essential player throughout the season. We had to live with that though…
We made a terrible start to the game, Sunderland were shooting at will from outside our penalty area and even from inside. My team looked unable to keep them under control and one of those shots went in eventually. We had to react and the team slowly took control. Ten minutes later a through ball from Demba Ba found Bonetti unmarked in the area, the young Italian smashed it in! We continued to push forward and were rewarded just before the break, Demba Ba finished a team move with a delightful log from the edge of the area! The team was quite confident in the second half, we kept the game under control but failed to create any more chances. We nearly got punished 5 minutes from time but Romero was our guardian angel once again, he saved it and the title was ours!
Our fans were delighted and I was too, we pulled it off against the odds and despite the hardships that we had to endure lately.
Confidence was high within the team but fitness was pretty scarce, so I decided to rest most of the players in the last league game, away at Aston Villa. I sent in a few worthless youngsters from the under 18 team but I didn’t have 11 of them so I had to field a few first team players. We lost the game 3-0 but I didn’t care about that. What I did care about is that one of the few first team players that had to be on the pitch got injured, Rodney Sneijder was going to miss the Europa League final and the FA Cup final! 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.