Hello my friends, the Football Manager story continues! After the good debut in the Premiership my Notts County continued to play pretty well and, as a result of that, we were 5th at the end of October. We were out of the Carling Cup though, it was a big disappointment for our fans. West Ham knocked us out on penalties in the fourth round but we had the chance to get revenge right away…
The first game of the month was indeed at home with West Ham, they were 19th in the Premier League. My players were eager to prove that the Carling Cup defeat was only an accident. We dominated the first half and we got the lead thanks to Smallwood‘s inspiration, he picked the right timing in going forward and scored from inside the box. It was his first goal for the club and he certainly liked the feeling, he did that again right after the break! We were 2-0 up but West Ham didn’t give up, they tried to push forward but there was nothing they could do as Sergio Romero desperately wanted his first Premier League clean sheet. We got our revenge and the three points, I was pleased.
West Ham sacked Tony Pulis right after the game and the media speculated that I was the one to replace him. I told them to chill out…
The next game was away at 5th placed Everton, one of the teams that were looking to get an European spot at the end of the season. The first half was fairly even but Guilherme made the difference again, he finished off a counter attack with a perfectly placed shot, it went in off the post. It was his 10th goal of the season! Everton came out of the dressing room with a different attitude, they dominated the second half. We had luck on our side though, a free kick cross from Lucas Biglia took a strange curve and went right in! Everton reacted with fury and although we pulled back to defend the lead we were unable to weather the storm, we conceded twice in the last 10 minutes. I guess we didn’t deserve to win it, Everton played really well in the second half.
Next up, the very difficult away game at Manchester City, the title holders. They were in 3rd place at the moment but they were still unbeaten after 14 games! I hoped to hang on until half time and then see what happens but Salomon Kalou scored an early goal with a fantastic shot from the edge of the area. The Citizens left us the ball possession after scoring the goal but we just couldn’t get the ball past their hard working midfield… We played a bit better in the second half, even created some chances to score. We did score twice but both goals were disallowed. We tried hard to score and get back on level terms but Robinho punished us on a counter attack. Then Adebayor completed the evening with a fine header, we were taught a lesson of football. I told my lads not to be disheartened, we have to work hard and one day we will outplay Manchester City anytime anywhere…
Go to the next page to read the rest of the story.
eddie eddie
16 января, 2010 at 22:46
You are doing well in the league, as you always do :).
Johnny Karp
16 января, 2010 at 22:54
Thanks Eddie. You’re doing well with Southampton too, even if you lost in the play-offs. Btw, could you change your blog settings so I could comment there easily (just with name and URL)? I don’t use the google account too often and it’s quite complicated to log in each time I want to comment.
Laxeyman
16 января, 2010 at 23:31
Well done Johnny don’t worry about the Man City game, you are doing a great job!
Kevin Mayo
16 января, 2010 at 23:45
Hi Johnny
Man city were always going to be a hard team to beat especially coming up into the league. I think you have consolidated your position very well and a European spot is not unrealistic though there’s still a long way to go until May and a shot at the title. I wish I could find Hinshelwood in my game. He’s always popping up for you!
Johnny Karp
16 января, 2010 at 23:59
@Laxeyman
Thanks mate, I accepted the Man City defeat as one to learn from, we couldn’t have done more than that. I felt powerless throughout the game, it seemed like they could score whenever they really wanted to.
@Kevin
You won’t find Hinshelwood in your game, he’s a regen player that does not exist in real life. He’s my favorite lad, I bought him from Portsmouth when he was only 17, I remember that they had financial problems and they agreed to sell him for something around 4 million pounds. I agree that there’s still a long way to go, that’s why I said that we could evaluate things with more accuracy at the end of December.
TheZiggy
17 января, 2010 at 00:19
Although you dropped a fair few points, it’s still been a decent month. Nice to get revenge over West Ham so soon after them knocking you out of the League Cup, and a very good win over Wolves.
Everton and Fulham always seem to be tough teams to actually get a win over. Fulham rarely seem to score, but it’s just so hard to unlock their defence.
As for Man City, it’s just something to learn from. Their pace can be so difficult to handle. I got lucky first season I got QPR promoted, by playing them in Manchester first day of the season, and after going ahead, they allowed us to take control and get a surprise win. They did however get revenge when they came to our ground.
eddie eddie
17 января, 2010 at 00:24
Johnny, how do I do this?
Johnny Karp
17 января, 2010 at 00:46
@TheZiggy
Thanks for the comment mate. The worst thing about the Man City game is that they let us control the ball and play it around but we couldn’t get past their midfield too often, it was like a brick wall.
@Eddie
I don’t really know Eddie, I guess there’s an option about allowing comments from anybody or something like that.
Laxeyman
17 января, 2010 at 00:58
Eddie, I think it’s on your blog settings and you have to change the options people are given on the comments.
eddie eddie
17 января, 2010 at 01:38
All I can see is letting anonymous users posting.
Lye
17 января, 2010 at 02:33
Hi mate, decent results there. Your team is still in contention for a europa place. Next month will be much more difficult, i hope your guys will be extra motivated to do well.
Johnny Karp
17 января, 2010 at 11:32
Thanks Lye, I hope to get some good results in December and stick around the 6th place.
Wilko
17 января, 2010 at 13:52
Hey mate!!
Good month some good wins but dropped some easy points aginst Everton and Fulham, You dont have listen to me mate but maybe you should buy another striker??? Guilherme is scoring goals but maybe you need that poacher or someone you can change a game just like that. Just suggestion mate.
Johnny Karp
17 января, 2010 at 14:05
Thanks for the comment Wilko. I do think about buying another striker but I don’t have the money for that right now, a good one might cost at least 10 million pounds and I only have 1 million left in my transfer budget. I guess I’ll have to wait until July and bring in a new striker then.
Martin
17 января, 2010 at 14:12
Well Donme Johnny!
Even If You Did Drop Some Points They Were Against Good Teams
Kinda Off-topic,
In The January Transfer Window, Do Most Teams Get A Renewed Transfer Budget Or Is It Just With Rich Teams Like Notts Co.?
Johnny Karp
17 января, 2010 at 14:58
Thanks Martin. From what I’ve seen so far you get some more transfer money in December if the club’s financial status is good enough. Sometimes I did get some, most times I didn’t. I’m not sure I will get some more this year although the club has around 20 million pounds in the bank.
Rooneye
17 января, 2010 at 21:46
Hey mate, doing well I see, next month looks like it will be a tough one, although 4 of your 6 games are at home which is a bonus I suppose. Lots of games to play in a month, but good luck with it.
I finally got my blog up, theres nothing much on it at the minute, just writing up my second post which should be up soon Here is the link anyway if you want to check it out:
http://fmexperience.wordpress.com/
Johnny Karp
17 января, 2010 at 22:09
Thanks Liam, I’ll check it out tonight.
Martin
17 января, 2010 at 21:50
New Post
http://martinfmstory.blogspot.com/