Here we go folks, after a busy summertime transfer window my Notts County were ready to face the big boys, the Premier League season was about to begin! With quite a few new players in the squad we had compensate the lack of cohesion with determination and courage, we had to fight for every ball and get forward whenever possible. It’s quite clear that I won’t set my team to «park the bus», I never liked that, we will attack and try to score, that’s the football I like to see.
The first game was a special one, the Nottingham Derby! It must have been quite an event for the city to have both teams promoted to the Premier League at the end of the last season. I was happy about it too, we had to get revenge after being beaten by Forest at Meadow Lane last season… The game began perfectly for us, Guilherme proved his talent right away and gave us an early goal, our fans were ecstatic! We continued to play well until the break but missed a few good chances, Pekhart blew the best of them by hitting the post. Forest put us under pressure in the second half and we conceded the equalizer after a corner kick marking error. I wasn’t expecting that, the error was made by the most experienced player, Eric Abidal! The lads reacted well though and after missing another couple of chances Pekhart finally powered one it, victory was ours!
Everybody was extremely happy after the derby win but we had to get back to work right away, Liverpool were coming at Meadow Lane! We did beat them once a couple of years ago in the Carling Cup, it was a major upset back then because we were playing in League One. The challenge seemed difficult though, Liverpool finished 2nd last season in the Premier League. We played very well in the first half again but we had to face a fantastic keeper, Reina, he made some fabulous save. He couldn’t do anything about Sburlea‘s shot in the 18th minute though, the Romanian striker powered it in with great enthusiasm! We should have had a bigger advantage at the break but we had to settle for the one goal lead. Liverpool came out of the dressing room with great determination and dominated the second half. We defended pretty well but a free kick missile shot from Kuyt went in after bouncing off the crossbar… Szalai missed a huge chance right before the final whistle, his header hit the woodwork and bounced clear! The fans were pleased with our display though, I was satisfied too.
The last league game of the month was another very difficult one, away at Chelsea! They finished 4th last season and were looking to win the title, anything less than a win against us was out of the question. The first half was quite boring, an endless midfield battle with only a few attacking moments. We had a good chance to score but the woodwork saved Chelsea right before the break. The second half was a different story, Chelsea were all over us and we just couldn’t react. Our back was against the wall and we only managed to postpone the execution until the 70th minute. We were totally outplayed in the second half, we had to learn the lesson and carry on…
It is too early to draw any conclusions but I guess I can be satisfied with the results so far, we won the derby and got a point from Liverpool against the odds.
We had one more game to play before the end of the month, the second round of the Carling Cup. We had weaker opponents to face, League Two side Oxford. I didn’t expect to have any problems, Guilherme and Sburlea scored two easy goals in the first half and then Djourou scored his first goal for the club with a corner kick header. It was a solid display but we have to admit that the opponents were quite weak.
September will begin with supposedly easier games but I think those are the most difficult. We have to get the most points out of the games with the smaller teams in the league in order to climb up the table. The last game will be a big one, at home with mighty Arsenal…
That’s about it for now, over to you… What do you think about our start? Anyone willing to adjust their predictions after these results?
- If you like the story subscribe to the RSS feed, the future episodes will come to you fast as lightning!
- You can also subscribe to the Email Newsletter, the new posts will be sent directly to your inbox!
- Want to stay in touch? Download and install our community toolbar, it works on Firefox, Internet Explorer and Safari!
Laxeyman
11 января, 2010 at 21:36
Decent start there Johnny, I am sure you will be fine this season.
Calum
11 января, 2010 at 21:41
Good start. Just get a decent place this year and then you can start building on it. Top stuff!
Johnny Karp
11 января, 2010 at 22:28
@Laxeyman, Calum and Radu
Thanks for the comments folks! Radu, I guess I’ll try to win all the games but I’m afraid that won’t be possible. You’re right though, we should get the most out of the games against smaller clubs.
Martin
11 января, 2010 at 22:59
Well Done Johnny!
Thats Not A Bad Start And If It Continues Like That Then You Should Get A Good League Position.
My Eyes Mustn’t Be Working, Yakubu, Playing For Chelsea!
Crazy :P
Kevin Mayo
11 января, 2010 at 23:15
Hi Johnny
Nottingham «derby» to start the season. I love the irony of football :)
A solid start for you considering the opponents you had to face so well done. Nice to see Guilhereme making his mark for you.
Are you employing that same offside 442 tactic or have you made any changes?
Thanks.
Johnny Karp
11 января, 2010 at 23:29
@Martin
Thanks for the comment mate, they had Yakubu and Anelka upfront if I remember correctly.
@Kevin
I’m using the same 4-4-2 formation, the latest version that I employed in the Championship. It’s quite risky because it’s aggressive, high defensive line and attacking, but that’s the way I like it :)
Laxeyman
12 января, 2010 at 00:04
Johnny, I think it’s a good thing that you are employing attacking tactics. It shows everyone you aren’t afraid of them and I always find an attacking team is much harder to play against. Good luck for the next few games!
Lye
12 января, 2010 at 02:47
I think thats a decent start, you will be doing fine this season once your players develop the winning mentality in the premier league. I believe mental attributes is quite important to have facing these strong opposition week in week out.
Johnny Karp
12 января, 2010 at 10:39
@Laxeyman
No, we’re not afraid of anybody, that’s how I try to educate my players.
@Lye
Thanks for the comment mate, I hope that my youngsters will have enough mental strength to face the big boys…
TheZiggy
12 января, 2010 at 14:42
Decent start Johnny. It will be interesting to see how your attacking strategy works against teams like Man United and Aston Villa that seem to like pressing hard, and have plenty to pace to cause real pain.
I find against sides like that, I’m better off going counter attacking, and make use of our own pace and passing to hurt them on the break. It might not be the most exciting football, but it’s effective.
I prefer the games where I can go attacking, such as against Bolton, where we just pile on the pressure until they finally crack. Although if they’re defending particularly well, they can actually be really poor entertainment.
In real life, the Nottingham derby would never be the first game of the season. In fact the fixtures are specifically worked out so that the first game the season for every team will not be a derby match. Keep up the good work.
Johnny Karp
12 января, 2010 at 14:47
Thanks for the comment Ziggy. The strategy worked pretty well against Liverpool, we created lots of chances and could have won the game. It didn’t work against Chelsea though, we couldn’t get past their rock solid midfield line. About the derby fixture, I guess we should tell SI Games about it, I’m sure they’ll fix it in the next patch or in the next version of the game.
James
13 января, 2010 at 00:46
Haha Nottingham derby 1st game of the season Ironic or what? haha now you got the 2nd best team in england(Chelsea) and the 4th best (Liverpool) you should be able to string some really good results together!
Martin
13 января, 2010 at 14:56
Correction, Chelsea Are The 1st Best Team In England IMO :P
eddie eddie
14 января, 2010 at 22:14
Good results for you there.