Notts County Story — October 2010

Here we go again dear friends, the Notts County Football Manager 2010 story continues. We were still looking good at the end of September, still unbeaten but with a few draws too many if you ask me. The good thing was that the tweaks to the new tactical setup were almost done, the players seemed to adapt well to the new requirements. But again, the results are the only thing that could prove my impression to be right or wrong.

The fist game in October was a very difficult one, at home with 3rd placed Coventry, a promotion contender. I was expecting a tough game but I was stunned, my team displayed an outstanding performance and striker Adam Szalai buried Coventry with a quickfire double in the second half. I was quite impressed with my players’ determination and cool finishing and that made me hope for good results in the next games.

We had an easier game coming up, at home with League Two side Burton in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy. It was a good chance for some players to prove their value and some of them did: attacking midfielder Jacob Mellis and centre back Ritchie De Laet netted their first goals for the club, that should build up their confidence for the future. The game was quite easy indeed, we had no problems.

The next game was at home with 21st placed Oldham, a game that we had to win to continue the good run. Striker Tomas Pekhart took care of that, he was a killer upfront. He scored in the first half with a close range header and then showed his skills again in the second half with a superb placed shot from 20 yards out.

Next up, the first away game of the month, at fellow newly promoted side Port Vale. They were battling hard to avoid relegation and we definitely had the strength to beat them. We lacked concentration in defense at times but my strikers didn’t give Port Vale any chance of getting something out of the game. Szalai and Pekhart definitely established themselves as the first choices for our attack, they scored more than 20 goals between them so far this season.

The next game was at home again, this time with 10th placed MK Dons. We didn’t play too well this time but managed to control the game overall. I was pleased with the cool finishing again, if we keep this good habit it will be tough for the other teams to beat us.

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The big moment was finally there, the home game with Championship side Cardiff in the Carling Cup last sixteen. We had the chance to get through to the quarter finals but I was expecting a very difficult game against a team that was supposed to be better than us. Both goalkeepers saved a few tricky shots in the first 15 minutes of the game but we were looking good, dominating. Tomas Pekhart took a shot in the 19th minute, the keeper parried it with a fantastic reflex but winger Romain Gasmi was there and pushed it in! Only one minute later striker Adam Szalai robbed a defender went right through and passed it into the back of the net! And he did it again right before the break but this time he finished things off with a powerful header from inside the box! I couldn’t believe it, we were 3-0 up! We played very well in the second half too, we didn’t give Cardiff any chance!

We were through to the quarter final but the draw was quite cruel, we’re going to meet Liverpool at Meadow Lane! We don’t have many chances of getting through to the next round but at least our fans will be able to see some fantastic players like Gerrard or Torres playing…

The last game of the month was away at 11th placed Hartlepool, we had to get back down to earth and fight for another three points. We solved things before the break, Matt James and Adam Szalai scored after breaking through the middle of Hartlepool‘s defense but we missed quite a few chances in the second half.

Fifteen games played in League One and we were still top of the table! Huddersfield were right behind us though, we have to keep fighting as there’s still a long way to go.

Adam Szalai was elected Player of The Month in League One, he had a fantastic run in the last games: he scored 6 goals in five league appearances! And he had a great season so far, 15 goals scored in 14 games! I think that our fans will have a lot of fun this season with him and Pekhart upfront :)

We’ll have quite a few cup games in November and we’ll finish the month with the fairytale game against Liverpool at Meadow Lane, I hope to see 20,000 fans in the stands!

What do you think, can we beat Liverpool? You’ll find out the result soon, stay tuned!

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