Hello friends and welcome to the latest episode of my Football Manager 2012 story featuring Romanian club Viitorul Constanta. If you have read the previous chapter you already know that we were in 9th place after the first two months of our first season in the Romanian top flight (Liga 1), with 4 wins, 1 draw and 4 losses to our name. However, we have faced almost all the big clubs in these two months so I was hoping to record better results in the coming matches.
Well, I’ll tell you the bad news in brief: my hopes were totally shattered in October as we lost all three league matches! We started with a terrible performance at home against 13th placed Pandurii and we lost the game 1-0, both teams played quite badly but in my view we put on the worst showing of the season to date. Then, after an international break, we played a bit better away at 14th placed FCM Tg. Mures but still lost the game courtesy of a monumental miss from Vlad Rusu, probably the worst miss of the century — click here to watch
Then I organised a team meeting, not to boost the players’ morale but just to let them know that I wasn’t going to tolerate such awful displays. Well, the meeting was a total fiasco, the players apparently thought that they were playing well enough so my remarks made the squad morale sink quite badly. That probably had an effect in the last league match of the month, we lost at home against Timisoara and we conceded the dumbest goal I’ve seen so far — click here to watch
Coming from that terrible streak we had no hopes whatsoever going into the last game of the month: the Romanian Cup tie against the best team in the league at that moment, FC Vaslui. But I was secretly hoping for a miracle, I was hoping that Vaslui would underestimate us and that my lads would fight to the death and manage an upset.
Viitorul vs FC Vaslui (Romanian Cup 7th Rnd)
Starting Line Up: George Serban — Ionut Peteleu, Chakib Benzoukane, Ionut Rada, Lucian Filip — Mihai Onicas, Alexandru Lazar, Nenad Grumic — Joabe, Valentin Simion, Marius Albu
Well, my hopes were buried early enough as some really clumsy defending from my boys allowed Vaslui to break the deadlock after just five minutes. The second goal came soon enough, an equally embarrassing one and then Vaslui made it 3-0 at half time with a free kick goal.
The first half was completely forgettable but we did a bit better after the break, Valentin Simion scored shortly after the restart but it wasn’t more than a consolation goal. We recorded the fourth defeat of the month and we were out of the Cup. That was the least of my concerns though as the league table showed that we were in a relegation position at the end of the month, 15th to be precise.
Match Highlights: click here to watch
The poor run also brought a shameful new record for the club, six games without winning!
I was really worried at that point and the first game of the month of November was by all means a crucial one: a relegation derby at 17th placed CS Mioveni. Morale was at an all-time low, confidence was nowhere to be found and the form was absolutely terrible but our opponents were not doing much better so I was hoping to win this clash between the wounded.
CS Mioveni vs Viitorul (Liga 1)
Starting Line Up: Alberto Cobrea — Ionut Peteleu, Alvaro Casanova, Chakib Benzoukane, Lucian Filip — Mihai Onicas, Alexandru Lazar, Georgian Marcu — Georgian Paun, Vlad Rusu, Nicolae Hertu
The first five minutes were fairly promising as my team seemed capable of dominating but unfortunately it was the home side who took the lead on their first corner kick of the game. The lads reacted, not as they used to but still… We had a good chance on 30 minutes on a corner kick but the ball didn’t go in so we were trailing by one at half time.
The second half was almost identical, we were dominating and pushing forward but there was little confidence and creativity upfront. We needed some luck and thankfully we got it seconds before the final whistle and deep into stoppage time when a cross from substitute Visan Cretu was handled quite badly by the home defence and Joabe fired it in low to rescue a much needed point. Our winless streak was extended to seven games though…
Match highlights: click here to watch
And those seven games without a win soon became eight as we were totally demolished at home by leaders FC Vaslui. However, the point against Mioveni moved us up in 14th place, just above the relegation zone, and we maintained that position even after the dreadful defeat against Vaslui.
I arranged another team meeting after that devastating defeat and this time my goal was to encourage the players. I told them to keep their heads up and work hard because I was sure that we were perfectly capable of avoiding relegation and this time it went well, the lads reacted positively and squad morale was significantly improved. I was quite pleased with that because we had another survival derby coming up, at home against 13th placed Gaz Metan.
Viitorul vs Gaz Metan (Liga 1)
Starting Line Up: Alberto Cobrea — Ionut Peteleu, Chakib Benzoukane, Ionut Rada, Lucian Filip — Mihai Onicas, Alexandru Lazar, Nenad Grumic — Georgian Paun, Vlad Rusu, Joabe
This time the team seemed a lot more determined and we could have taken the lead after just four minutes but Joabe was denied by the post. The goal did come nine minutes later, the team produced a nice move and midfielder Mihai Onicas confirmed that he’s the leader of the squad by firing into the bottom corner from inside the penalty area. The domination continued and we could have doubled the advantage on 21 minutes but Georgian Paun headed just over the bar from a very good position. We regretted that missed chance four minutes later, Gaz Metan caught us on a counter attack and converted their first shot on target into a goal. That didn’t put my lads down, they resumed the attacks and we were finally rewarded when Joabe was tripped inside the area and Mihai Onicas converted the penalty kick.
Our opponents came very close shortly after the break when they squandered a very good chance but then we regained control of the match and Onicas nearly earned a hat-trick on 66 minutes when his good header came back off the crossbar. And two minutes later disaster struck: Gaz Metan made it 2-2! It was a crazy game but we still had time to make things right and we finally did thanks to Vlad Rusu who found the back of the net with a fine first time shot from inside the penalty area. Phew, we finally won a game again and moved up to 13th place!
Match highlights: click here to watch
There was no reason to celebrate though as we had another survival clash coming up, away at overachieving 10th placed Sportul.
Sportul vs Viitorul (Liga 1)
Starting Line Up: Alberto Cobrea — Miroslav Sedlak, Chakib Benzoukane, Ionut Rada, Lucian Filip — Mihai Onicas, Alexandru Lazar, Nenad Grumic — Georgian Paun, Vlad Rusu, Joabe
The game was played on a frozen pitch and that probably contributed to the poor quality of the match, there wasn’t much to see in the opening 15 minutes except a crossbar from Sportul. Things changed on 26 minutes when left back Lucian Filip somehow managed to put one away, that gave us more confidence and we nearly made it 2-0 a couple of minutes later but Joabe wasted a very good chance. We continued to attack and shortly after the half hour mark it was Nenad Grumic who came close but his header bounced back off the crossbar.
The good display continued in the second half and we were finally rewarded on 71 minutes when substitute Georgian Marcu found the back of the net with a good finish after a flowing team move. Sportul replied on a counter attack 8 minutes from time but Marcu eased our fears just three minutes later as he bombed home after receiving and great pass from playmaker Alexandru Lazar. We grabbed another three points and moved up in 10th place!
Match highlights: click here to watch
There were just two more games to play before the winter break and I wasn’t expecting any points out of them to be honest given the opponents we had to face. Well, I was in for a huge surprise in both games: first we produced a stunning display against reigning champions Dinamo and then we got thrashed by 8th placed Universitatea Cluj! The game against Dinamo was totally crazy, we fought back from 1-0 down, made it 4-1 at some point and then eventually held out for a 6-3 tennis score. (click here to watch the highlights) Then, against U Cluj, we fought back after an own goal to make it 1-1 but then conceded 4 goals on their only 4 shots on target!
Well, at least we are safely in 10th place before the winter break but the relegation zone is not too far away…
The player ratings are not looking too good at this point, only three of the top players have average ratings above 7 and one of those three has not played too many games. Vlad Rusu and Mihai Onicas are the only players that have proven themselves worthy of playing in Liga 1, everybody else is in big danger of being sold this winter (especially those older than 21).
The finances are looking worse, as expected, we’re nearly 2 million pounds in red. I will surely offload some players before spring but I doubt that those sales will turn things around regarding our finances. However, my plan is to slash the wage bill and maybe bring in a few more promising youngsters during the winter break.
That’s how it was folks… Not easy at all, ain’t it? :) I know that some of you were expecting me to work some magic and maybe win the title right away but that obviously won’t happen, there is a lot of work to do before even thinking about the title. At this point I’m not too sure that we’ll survive in Liga 1 but I am fairly confident that replacing some overrated 22 or 24-year old players with some youngsters from the under 19 team might give us a bit more ambition in the second half of the season. That’s my plan, what do you think about it?
Laxeyman
12 ноября, 2011 at 18:41
Ouch, some painful defeats Johnny, but you got some decent wins after the dreadful October, and I don’t think you’re in much danger of relegation :) A top 10 finish would be great this season, so hopefully you can stay where you are at the very least. Good luck!
Johnny Karp
12 ноября, 2011 at 18:53
Thanks mate, the danger is there in my view but I hope we’ll be able to avoid it.
Bhargav
12 ноября, 2011 at 18:57
I’m sorry about the bad streak mate. It’s just so tough if your players can’t give 100%. But if anyone can turn this around, it’s you. If you can just make yourself a fixture in the league, then everything will just go up from there.
Johnny Karp
12 ноября, 2011 at 19:20
I agree, if we survive this season things can only get better from there. I don’t know if I’m the man for the job but since I have the job I’ll try to pull it off :)
Erick Wolf
12 ноября, 2011 at 19:56
Wow! What a crazy month!
I was not expecting this league to be such a rollercoaster but it is nice afterall.
Good luck and hope you do better after the winter break (:
Johnny Karp
13 ноября, 2011 at 09:46
Thanks buddy, it was crazy indeed and I hope I’ll never have a month like that again.
paine
12 ноября, 2011 at 20:00
I can see lots of overrated and not so motivated players in your team Johnny, a thing you should address soon, maybe you could save some money selling some deadwood, however I’m sure you won’t be relegated. :)
What a challenge mate!
Johnny Karp
13 ноября, 2011 at 09:48
That is true Paine, there are some players that don’t belong here but there isn’t much (or any) interest for them so I don’t hope to gain any money from selling them. It is a tough challenge, maybe a bit tougher than I expected ;)
Darren Smith
12 ноября, 2011 at 21:06
That was certainly one of your most challenging periods on FM Johnny….however, what really matters is that despite the awful run you pulled some form back and grabbed a few vital points among the retched losses. I believe you’ll survive and come back fighting next year as a result. I love the idea of using your youth to get out of the hole, hope it works.
Johnny Karp
13 ноября, 2011 at 09:50
It was one of the worst periods I’ve ever had, that’s true. I have a few things in mind at the moment and some South American players that I’ll try to bring in but the financial problem is really slowing me down here. Well, I guess I’ll have to keep fighting with what I have this season and hope for better circumstances next summer.
Kevin
12 ноября, 2011 at 21:23
Wow!
This is by far your most diffiuclt challenge in the 2 years I’ve known you. Some real crazy games though I thought you did brilliantly to pull Viitorul out of that seven game slump. Certainly your finances provide painful reading and selling off some over paid players should compensate somewhat, so that’s what I would do and perhaps get some loanee’s? Your update provided delightful reading as always.
Johnny Karp
13 ноября, 2011 at 09:52
Thanks Kevin, I guess bad results make an interesting update :) I am not willing to get players on loan, that doesn’t make sense to me as long as I have my own youngsters that I can promote. Selling players is something I will look into but I don’t hope for too much money in return.
Joelance
12 ноября, 2011 at 21:27
Pardon me if somehow i still expect you to win the title. :) Your biggest problem is your finances, if you can get that solved, then the title will be yours next season. For now, at least you have gotten your revival, i hope the last loss doesn’t knock down morale. Good luck!
Johnny Karp
13 ноября, 2011 at 09:54
Your optimism is quite refreshing! :) Thanks mate, I’m sure that morale will be fine after the winter break, as long as we don’t lose all the friendly games.
Lye
13 ноября, 2011 at 00:36
Hi Johnny,
That was clearly not expected. Can’t remember you ever had a bad run like this before. The great thing is you recovered better with the two wins and that give you some cushion over the relegation teams. Performance must improved but i don’t worry too much about relegation. Good luck.
Johnny Karp
13 ноября, 2011 at 09:56
Thanks Lye, it surely was the worst run I’ve ever had but hopefully it will remain the worst ;) I know that this team can play well but they can’t do that on a regular basis, at least not at the moment.
Chris @ Chester
13 ноября, 2011 at 11:57
Wow I bet your glad to see the end of that bad run. I think I’d use the friendlies to bleed a few of the youngsters into your starting 11. Do you have the under 19s using the same tactics as the first team.? And maybe a few individual chats with the under performers to tel them they have been poor recently. The easiest way to sort your finances is to push for europe, do you think that will be possible this season?
Johnny Karp
13 ноября, 2011 at 12:26
Yes, the under 19s team is using the same tactics and I will surely play lots of friendlies to test a few of the youngsters. Europe is out of the question this season, we’d have to finish 4th or better and, as you can see, that won’t be possible.
Chris @ Chester
13 ноября, 2011 at 12:39
You Went from 15th to 10th in the space of a month johnny. I think the worst is over in terms of losing streaks and I don’t think that 4th is to unrealistic a target for the second half of the season. Don’t write the team off yet. You can pull it off
Johnny Karp
13 ноября, 2011 at 12:48
I agree that it could be possible in theory but it would take an amazing winning streak to get there and I don’t think that the team is capable of such a feat at the moment.
CsAtlantis
13 ноября, 2011 at 13:37
Your team should be capable of finishing somewhere in midtable, but to push higher up you probably need better players, if your average ratings are that low then maybe they’re not good enough yet, hopefully slugging through a tough season will give the younger players a chance to improve
The finances are slightly worrying, but hopefully Hagi will dig deep and bail the club if you do get into financial trouble (the AS Monaco board, despite refusing every request I ever made except for a trial day, pumped in 4 million to fix the bank balance so hopefully it will happen here too)
Good luck for the rest of the season, the football should be easier to watch after winter :D
Johnny Karp
13 ноября, 2011 at 18:49
Thanks mate, I hope spring will be easier :) About the finances, I don’t think that Hagi has too much money to pump into the club but hopefully he’ll give us a couple of million sometime.
TheZiggy
13 ноября, 2011 at 17:42
That’s one hell of a rollercoaster ride you’re taking. I should start saving some of more horrific misses, because I’ve seen one of my players, managed to spoon the ball over the bar from even closer, when missing looked totally impossible.
Nice to get a 6-3 victory over Dinamo, which is so unexpected. I still believe you should avoid relegation, but the situation can change very quickly, with how tight the table is.
Hope you have better luck getting rid of the players you don’t want than I’ve had. I’ve even offered players on free transfers, and noone wants to know. Useless money grabbers, is what I’m thinking those players are. It’s ridiculous how much of the wage budget is eaten up by players who I won’t ever use.
Johnny Karp
13 ноября, 2011 at 18:51
Thanks for the comment mate. Normally I think we should stay clear of relegation but I don’t think it will be easy. Offloading those players won’t be easy either, I had the same problem during the summer transfer window and I ended up releasing some on free transfers (those who didn’t require too much compensation).
Sears
13 ноября, 2011 at 18:50
I’m sure you’ll navigate your team out of this tricky situation. There’s no doubt that you will stay up, let’s hope that you can remain in your mid table position. Surely makes for an interesting finish! Good luck!
Johnny Karp
13 ноября, 2011 at 19:18
Thank mate, it will surely be interesting.
Ana Garcia
13 ноября, 2011 at 20:26
Honestly Johnny I think your doing a pretty good job.
I mean you have a young team and a worrying financial position and you do have a five point advantage which inst much but its something to hold on to.
I presume that four teams are relegated and you wont need too many more points to get survival maybe a few more wins.
The very best of luck as always. :)
Johnny Karp
14 ноября, 2011 at 09:16
Thanks Ana, the relegation battle will be tough even with the 5-point gap, we’ll have to play better if we want to hold on to that advantage.
Alex
13 ноября, 2011 at 23:24
Tough times, it really highlights how much more difficult it is managing outside the top nations. The financial situation is always precarious, especially without the £40 million per year the premier league gives you. You look like you’ve got enough to definitely survive and probably finish mid-table. With your squad being so young the future looks bright.
Johnny Karp
14 ноября, 2011 at 09:16
You are right Alex, it’s much more difficult without those 40 million Premier League money :)
Arthur
14 ноября, 2011 at 08:16
Hey Johnny, i’ve just started reading your stories. Im kinda new to football manager, could i just ask you which formations you feel are the best?
Johnny Karp
14 ноября, 2011 at 09:17
Hi Arthur. There is no «best formation», it all depends on the players you have, but I think that the 4-4-2 is the simplest for beginners.
Calin
14 ноября, 2011 at 08:53
Well, I guess that this is the only thing that you can do right now — slash the wage bills and bring in more valuable youngsters and build for the future. You really need to shoot for Europe next season in order to start earning some extra money and therefore get a shot at some better players.
Johnny Karp
14 ноября, 2011 at 09:18
Yeah, that’s the plan. It sounds easy but it surely isn’t :)
Stromson
15 ноября, 2011 at 15:41
Crushingly tough stretch, but you seemed to have managed to rally the troops for a fine bounceback. I know all about that back-fired team meeting thing, they really hurt. :(
Johnny Karp
15 ноября, 2011 at 16:57
Thanks mate. It looks like players have to be treated with caution during those meetings, they can go terribly wrong.
Mariano
7 декабря, 2011 at 10:17
Hi Johnny!
It´s looking tough for you in Romania………..
Why do you think there is such a big difference in results for you managing in England an getting results so much higher than predicted and in Romania?
Are there leagues in FM12 that re more difficult than others?
Cheers
Johnny Karp
7 декабря, 2011 at 11:07
I think it’s more difficult outside England because of the lower reputation of the league but mostly because of the lack of money. With the cash that a team gets in the Premier League you can make fast progress if you spend it wisely but in such leagues as the Romanian one you have to take smaller steps because of the finances.