Hello my friends, we’re getting closer to the end of my first Premier League season with Notts County, thank you for the fantastic support you’ve shown so far. We were lying in 6th place at the end of February, so we still had a good chance of grabbing an Europa League ticket at the end of the season. We had to rack up some more points though, Liverpool were behind us in 7th.
The first game of the month was a tricky away one, we had to meet 12th placed West Ham. We had good memories from the home game, it ended 2-0 back in November, but an away match is always a different story. The first half saw West Ham dominating the game, we were under pressure but Guilherme gave us some room to breathe after inventing a goal all by himself. We were unable too hold on to that lead though, the first half ended 1-1. We looked a bit better in the second half, the match was fairly even. We had a good chance of winning it in the 81st minute but the ball hit the crossbar. I guess the draw was good enough considering that West Ham missed quite a few good chances.
The next game saw us travel to Craven Cottage to meet 11th placed Fulham, a team that held us to a goalless draw back in November. They parked the bus then and they did the same thing in front of their own fans, I don’t like their attitude but I guess you have to do whatever it takes to win. It was difficult for us to create chances, there was almost no room left to pass the ball in Fulham‘s half. We managed to score one just before the break though, Gianmarco Zigoni pushed in a cross from Rodney Sneijder to give us the lead. Fulham looked a bit better in the second half but Zigoni had a great afternoon, he scored from a corner kick just when we needed it the most. Guilherme completed the game with a counter attack goal, I was very happy to go home with all the three points.
Back to Meadow Lane for the last game of the month, 12th placed Wolves were coming to face us. We managed to beat them 3-0 away from home in November, so I think I was entitled to expect another win. The lads looked quite determined, we were all over them right from the start. The ball just wouldn’t go in though. Even more, it went into our own net after a poor corner kick clearance from Zigoni. The Italian reacted well to the incident, he was determined to make up for the mistake. He had a good opportunity before the break and he struck the ball with tremendous power from inside the box, the keeper would have been in great trouble if he touched that ball. Lucas Biglia gave us the lead just before the break from a free kick, he is always dangerous within the 20-25 yards area. We continued to play pretty well in the second half, Zigoni was unstoppable. He was stopped at some point but it was a foul inside the box, Guilherme placed it in to make it 3-1. Wolves clawed one back but the victory was already ours.
Not only that we kept the 6th spot at the end of the month, we advanced to 5th! Arsenal had two games in hand though, so I guess they will probably bounce back up after playing those matches. Liverpool were 7 points behind us with 6 more games to be played, we still have a good chance.
Gianmarco Zigoni was elected Player Of The Month, his performances have been solid lately and he teams up nicely with Guilherme. I hope to have the necessary funds to make his move to Meadow Lane permanent at the end of the season…
Two more months… April will be quite tough, apart from the away game at Blackburn. Both Everton and Newcastle can cause us a lot of trouble at home, we’ll have to put up a good fight to win those games.
Looking further, the month of May will be even tougher. I guess we’ll have to take it one game at a time and fight for the points.
That’s how it was but the post isn’t over yet. I have a question for those of you who have better knowledge of the English football than I do. Here’s the problem:
Chelsea just won the Carling Cup by beating Championship side Bristol City in the final. As you can see from the league table, Chelsea will probably qualify for the Champions League at the end of the season. The question is, will Bristol City get an Europa League place? Because if they do, the 6th place might not be enough to qualify…
The FA Cup semi finals will be played in April, the two ties are Aston Villa vs Manchester United and Everton vs Liverpool. I know for a fact that if the winner of the FA Cup is already qualified for the Champions League the runners up will get an Europa League place. What I don’t know is whether the same thing happens with the Carling Cup finalists.
OK, the post is over now, we can move on to the comments :) I would appreciate any information about the Carling Cup issue, so don’t be shy ;)
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TheZiggy
28 января, 2010 at 14:46
A good month there, consolidating your position nicely. I like the win over Fulham, because I hate the teams that sit back defending for their lives, hoping that they can just sneak a winner somewhere. That said in my first season in the premier league, I used that against Man United, not that it helped me an awful lot in the end, but it did stop us being thrashed. I have the team now playing more possession football, with a patient build up, if the opposition will allow it.
You’ll be pleased to hear that if the winner of the League Cup qualifies for Europe through their league placing, their EURO cup spot is goes to another team in the premier league. The runner up in the League Cup gets nothing at all.
Lye
28 января, 2010 at 15:07
Nice results there mate, next 2 months will be critical. Some tough games there in May, i hope your team can give a good performance. I think there is still a lot of points to fight for the 5th or even 4th place. Go for it mate, i know you can do that. Aim for the champions league place since you are still in with a chance. All the best for the remaining games.
I am not from England so its best for the rest to answer your question regarding the league cup:)
Johnny Karp
28 января, 2010 at 15:14
Thanks TheZiggy, that’s great news indeed! So I guess I’ll have to watch out for Liverpool now, Arsenal can have their 5th place back :) (they’ll probably get it anyway with those two matches in hand) Btw, I was very happy after beating Fulham, they only switched to a more attacking set up after we scored the second goal. I was expecting a more offensive approach from them at home. However, you know what they say: «attack sells the tickets, defense brings the trophies».
Martin
28 января, 2010 at 15:16
Nice To See You Still Up There Near The End Of The Season!
I’m Not Really Sure On That Issue, But TheZiggy’s Answer Sounds Good
Johnny Karp
28 января, 2010 at 15:16
@Lye
Thanks mate, I never looked above the 5th place to be honest. I really don’t think we can produce such a winning streak to challenge for the 4th place, the team still has some limits especially in defense (our left flank is a complete mess sometimes and that’s just an example…).
Johnny Karp
28 января, 2010 at 15:17
@Martin
Thanks mate, TheZiggy is quite competent, I trust him :)
TheZiggy
28 января, 2010 at 16:03
This wikapedia entry gives the information. The relevant part is in the first paragraph. I can’t remember exactly why I already knew this fact though.
Luke Emery
28 января, 2010 at 17:32
Yeh The Ziggy is right and another strong month there im sure you can keep up withthe rest for that Europa League spot.
TheZiggy
28 января, 2010 at 18:17
It is possible for the top 7 teams to qualify, if the winner of the League Cup is in the top 7, and the two finalists in the FA Cup are also in the top 7. That actually happened in my game the previous season.
Laxeyman
28 января, 2010 at 18:35
Good month there Johnny, and The Ziggy is right. Looks like you should qualify for the Europa League. Good luck with the last two months, May looks tricky.
Kevin Mayo
28 января, 2010 at 19:41
Hi Johnny
A solid month for you there and it sure looks like Zigoni has turned out to be an excellent signing for you. I don’t envy you that final month, it looks really tough. Hopefully you cement your position for a European spot before those encounters.
Good job though. Sven would be proud of you!
Johnny Karp
28 января, 2010 at 21:03
@Kevin
Thanks mate, you are right, we should get the most points in April and then see where we stand. I don’t know about Sven, I haven’t met him recently, he might be having a holiday :)
@Laxeyman @Luke
Thanks folks, I hope that Liverpool won’t win all the six games they have left because I’m quite sure that we’ll drop a few points. They will have some tough games to play too, Liverpool has Arsenal and Chelsea if I remember correctly.
@TheZiggy
Thanks for all the information, I checked from several sources and you are right. That’s very good, then Liverpool might qualify too but they are still in the FA Cup, so they could get the ticket from there.
paine
29 января, 2010 at 00:38
Truly a good month, Zigoni seems to be on fire, I had him in a previous game and he was great as an attacking target man.
Maybe you should try to give a break to your key players, to have them well fit in this tough last part of your season.
Johnny Karp
29 января, 2010 at 08:14
Thanks for the comment Paine. Zigoni is a good target man indeed, he’s a complete striker imo, both strong and quick and with decent technical skills. I don’t think that they need a break though, three games per month is not a marathon.