Hello folks and welcome back to the town of Ellesmere Port for a fresh episode of the Vauxhall Motors Football Manager 2011 story! As you already know we had a very good run in the closing months of 2010 and the results pushed us into fourth place at the end of December. We had to confirm that good run though as we had to meet most of the promotion contenders in an action-packed January, let’s see how it went.
The first match of the new year was scheduled right on January 1st so there were no long celebrations for me and my players on the previous night :) We had to meet 11th placed Droylsden away from home and I was quite worried since quite a few of my players were not nearly fully fit. We had a rather unconvincing first half and missed the only good chance that we created before the break. Things got even worse after the interval as the hosts took the lead on the hour mark thanks to a stunning goal, you’ll see it in the highlights. We were not playing well at all but striker John Kennedy leveled the game five minutes from time with a great solo effort. I was quite happy with the draw under the circumstances but my lads suddenly woke up after the equalizer and banged in another one as Neil Prince pushed in a low cross from Mukhtar Mohammed. We got the three points but we suffered a big loss: Shane Williams, our best player, picked up a severe knock and was going to be out for eight weeks! Ryan Carolan was already injured so I had my best two lads playing chess in a hospital!
We had an even more difficult game coming up, at home with second placed Workington. We managed to move up in third position after the last win but I was very worried because of the injuries and also because of the fatigue that was accumulating since the game was being played just two days after the last one. Anyway, we were welcomed by a frozen pitch and just over 100 fans at Rivacre Park, not a good day for football. The first half saw each of the two teams blaming bad luck as we missed a huge chance early on and then Workington hit the crossbar from distance. I made two changes at half time and they made an instant impact: a great run down the left from Neil Prince gave him time and space to square it for Suleiman Leluu who kept cool and fired it in. There wasn’t much going on after the goal but Workington leveled the match 15 minutes from time with some good help from my defense. We started pouring forward to get the winning goal but Stefan Connor missed quite a few chances before finally firing one in just before the final whistle. We grabbed the very important three points and moved in second position!
We had another difficult home game coming up against 5th placed Gainsborough and things got even tougher when striker John Kennedy had to leave the pitch on a stretcher just three minutes into the match. Luckily his replacement, Rhys Henry, fired one in just a few minutes later after receiving a good through pass from Kurt Hammonds. The rest of the game was something that vaguely resembled the sport called football, there were more yellow cards than shots on target. Stefan Connor got sent off during injury time but we grabbed the three points. The bad news was that John Kennedy‘s injury was quite serious and he was going to be out for two months! With Shane Williams and Ryan Carolan already sidelined I had my best three players out of contention!
Next up, an away game at 17th placed Stafford, a team that climbed off the relegation spots despite having a harsh 10 point deduction. We got off to a great start again as midfielder Rob Davies netted a missile shot from a free kick just three minutes into the game. A better goalkeeper might have saved that one though… Anyway, we played a good first half and missed a couple of chances before the break. We could have regretted that in the second half as the hosts took control of the game but we held firm and grabbed another victory. The three points were even more valuable as leaders Nuneaton dropped some of theirs and we moved top of the table! Another injury struck our team though, midfielder Alex Stockinger was going to spend a month on the sidelines…
We had a cup game coming up, the FA Trophy second round match with fellow Blue Square North side Eastwood. The visitors took the lead after a rather boring first half, my lads gave the ball away quite cheaply and we got punished by a good shot from the edge of the area. We started to play better after that mishap but we were quite lucky to score the equalizer from a corner kick as centre back Gerwyn Jones bundled it in. We continued to push forward and things could have gone our way during the dying seconds but luck turned against us as we hit the crossbar just before the final whistle.
The replay was scheduled four days later and we had a poor game, Eastwood took the lead with a corner kick goal after the break and we were unable to react. I was disappointed with the cup exit but I also was secretly happy as that gave me the chance to have a lighter schedule for the following months. Go to the next page to read the rest of the story.
Go to the next page to read the rest of the story.
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.