Next up, the biggest match of the month: at home with former league leaders Nuneaton! They were just one point behind us so we had to avoid defeat if we wanted to remain top of the table. We had a pretty good first half, most of the action saw us pushing forward but we didn’t manage to create any decent chances before the interval. The game changed immediately after the break, Nuneaton punished us on a counter attack that was converted with a lovely chipped finish. I wanted to see more from my lads and they were trying their best, we were pushing forward and got the reward on 62 minutes when a cross from Rob Davies was headed in by left midfielder Joe Lamplough. We were chasing the winning goal and that finally came seven minutes from time when man of the match Rob Davies fired in a perfectly placed shot from 20 yards out! It wasn’t over yet and Nuneaton had a good chance to make it all square during injury time but goalkeeper James Gilpin pulled off a great save to hand us the three points.
The last game of the month was at home with 13th placed Gloucester, I was hoping to add another three points to our tally. After a full month of scrappy narrow win we finally managed to get more goals past our opponents, the game ended 3-0 and it saw a great display from my lads. Stefan Connor, Rhys Henry and Mukhtar Mohammed found the back of the net and I was pleased to end a great month in style. It was our eighth consecutive league win!
We are now top of the table, four points clear of Nuneaton and with a game in hand!
The next two months will see us playing decisive games against Eastwood and Nuneaton, if we’ll end those games unbeaten then we’ll surely get a surprising promotion.
Last time I told you that I was going to look for a few loanees to improve the squad… Well, I did but I had no luck at all despite having a parent club. So I decided to go for another few free transfers to add some strength to our team, five new players joined the club.
I brought in a pair of young full backs, Michael Duckworth on the right flank and Danny Fitzsimons on the left. Both of them are 18 years old and fairly talented at this level.
With all the injuries that struck us this month I had to bring in two new central midfielders in order to cope with the crisis. These are emergency signings but I guess they have decent potential to spend some more time at the club. First there’s Maltese under21 international James Paris, an 18-year old with some skills, and then there’s Glenn Reay, a backup English player.
I also needed some more cover for the left winger position and I had to settle for Northern Irish youngster Robbie Hume, a very modest lad since he accepted a knock-down wage of only 15 pounds per week! He has some talent though so I might give him a decent contract in a few months.
Five players came in, five went out and I’m happy to say that our wage expenditure is now lower than it was before the January transfers! We are under the wage budget and the board is quite happy with that.
Our average age is now just 19 and our oldest player is 23!
The player that I would like to single out this time is not a goalscorer but a hard worker: meet right back Michael Abnett. He always put in above average performances and managed to make three assists along with two man of the match awards. I have no fears for the right flank when he’s playing and I hope he’ll stay clear of injuries until the end of the season.
That’s about it for now folks, thanks a lot for reading this update. We are top of the table now and that’s quite pleasing especially since we were forced to get by without our three best players. Fortunately Ryan Carolan has recovered from his injury and he will probably give us more reliability at the back during the crucial games that are coming up.
Vinners
17 ноября, 2010 at 17:25
Yes Johnny. That was an epic month! Unfortunate about the cup exit, I know your pleased but the prize money helps alot and I don’t know if you’ve noticed but I suspect your finances are very bad. Also about this time was when I noticed my pitch condition of which I have noticed yours is similar. It was/is terrible which doesn’t help to get good results and not injure the players. Anyway the best thing to do is concentrate on promotion and your definately doing a good job of it!
Johnny Karp
17 ноября, 2010 at 20:32
Thanks Vinners. The financial situation is pretty bad but not desperate, the club’s balance is just around 200K in red. I doubt they’ll want to relay the pitch this summer so it might get even more muddy next season…
Vinners
17 ноября, 2010 at 20:40
I got myself some high valued friendlies and I played solid friendlies sat+wed from the end of the holiday right up til the a week before my first game. Managed to get it from around 200k ish to 65k ish. Hopefully if not this season, definately before next season i’ll have the club in the black so I can start sorting out facilities, relaying the pitch and buying players :)
Johnny Karp
18 ноября, 2010 at 09:29
I might use that friendlies strategy myself next summer.
Mariano
21 декабря, 2010 at 07:02
Hi Vines, I also have a heavy Friendly policy, my goal is to finish my first season managing Havant Promoted from Blue SBS with more than 1 million dollars. I´ve been playing friendlies away and the best payed i found are from New Zealand, Australia and Tonga, around 30K usd each game. Do you have any teams for playing high payed friendlies to recommend?Cheers.
warren
17 ноября, 2010 at 17:29
Hi Johnny
LIke I always seem to put but another good month here and like Vinners said before its a shame that you’re not in the cup anymore but you have said to me before that even thought it will bring in more money the good thing is is that you can concentrate on the league now.
Good luck for the rest of the season and I hope you gain promotion which looks likely to happen anyway.
Johnny Karp
17 ноября, 2010 at 20:33
Thanks for the good wishes Warren, I agree that the cup exit might help us to maintain the good league form. That’s just in theory though.
Laxeyman
17 ноября, 2010 at 17:50
Great month Johnny, well done! Promotion now looks a probability, as long as you get through the games against Nuneaton and Eastwood. I reckon being knocked out of the cup will work to your advantage as well because your players will be fresh. Good luck for next month!
Johnny Karp
17 ноября, 2010 at 20:34
Thanks Laxeyman, I’d be happy to get draws in those three games (we’ll play Eastwood twice if I remember correctly).
Darren Smith
17 ноября, 2010 at 18:46
Well done Johnny, that was a great month and I reckon you’ll win the league this season. Such a great achievemnet considering your meant to be the worst side in the league and this is your first season on FM11. I look forward to the celebrations and will definitely attend :)
Johnny Karp
17 ноября, 2010 at 20:34
Alright Darren, I’ll let you know when we’ll pop the champagne :) It’s too early for that now though, there’s a lot more work to be done.
Sears
17 ноября, 2010 at 20:52
Hi Johnny,
another wonderful month. Promotion is surly secure as long as your side continue to play the way they are now. Good luck!
Johnny Karp
18 ноября, 2010 at 09:30
Thanks Sears.
Ana Garcia
18 ноября, 2010 at 00:39
Wow, thats an awful amount of games to play in a single month! No wonder your players are getting injured!
But you have gotten through them well and nice to see you top the table! Nice to see Workington doing well! Another team very close to where I live hopefully they will gain promotion with you! ;)
Best of luck for the coming months!
Johnny Karp
18 ноября, 2010 at 09:32
Indeed, we had a packed schedule. Thanks for the good luck wish.
Kevin
18 ноября, 2010 at 01:02
Hey Johnny
Well I’m exhausted after reading all that :) Great run that is continuing in the league but too bad about the cup exit. Your new signings look half decent and I hope your injury woes are over and that Williams makes a speedy recovery.
Johnny Karp
18 ноября, 2010 at 09:33
Thanks Kevin. Williams should be back in training in February and I hope to see him in top form again in March, just when we’ll need him the most :)
Lye
18 ноября, 2010 at 06:51
Hi Johnny,
That’s amazing league run. Your past stories suggest once your team hit full gear, it’s extremely hard to know you off the top spot. Well done mate.
Johnny Karp
18 ноября, 2010 at 09:34
Thanks Lye, I hope we will stay in «full gear» just for a couple more months, then we might be able to relax a bit :)
Arjuna
18 ноября, 2010 at 10:58
Hey Johnny,
You’ve done pretty well and your signings have been good. You should win the title.
Arjuna
managerstoriesfootball.blogspot.com
hils
18 ноября, 2010 at 16:26
Hi Johnny,great month even though you got eliminated from the cup!!!!!!!!!!! Hopefully you will win the title!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Good luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Johnny Karp
18 ноября, 2010 at 17:05
Thanks Hils!!!! Your enthusiasm is contagious :)
Guille
18 ноября, 2010 at 18:15
What setting do you have for processing fixtures? I currently have mine on slower (more responsive) but I was wandering what you had it on, does it really make a difference?
Thanks Guille
Johnny Karp
18 ноября, 2010 at 18:55
I think I use «faster» but I can’t really tell you if it makes a difference or not because I have not tried the other options. However, it’s «responsive» enough and reasonably fast so that’s why I didn’t feel the need to try the others.
Sayam Khan
18 ноября, 2010 at 22:47
Hey Johnny, how are you?
You seem to be playing this game very quick and running away from everyone!
A four point lead at the top is excellent, well done!
You are playing a lot of games, so injuries are bound to occur.
Anyway good luck!
Johnny Karp
19 ноября, 2010 at 09:05
Thanks Sayam, we do tend to play quickly indeed.