Vauxhall FM 2011 Story: November 2014

Hello my friends, it’s time for another episode of the Vauxhall Motors Football Manager 2011 story and I’m happy that you have dropped by to read it. The latest update left us at the end of October 2014 and I’m pleased to remember that we were in 4th place in the Championship table at the end of that month, surely not bad for a newly-promoted team. We were also having a great Carling Cup run as we managed to qualify for the quarter finals after going past the likes of Newcastle and Fulham.

In fact, the very first thing that happened in November was the Carling Cup quarter finals draw! Well, we were not very lucky this time: we will meet Premier League leaders Manchester United at Old Trafford!

I checked their staff to see if Sir Alex Ferguson was still there but he wasn’t, he retired at some point and the club decided to name an in-house successor: former assistant manager Mike Phelan. I’m looking forward to that game but there is still a long way to go until then as it’s going to be our first match of December. Until then, lets’ see how November went.

Vauxhall vs Bristol City (Championship)

Venue: Rivacre Park

Attendance: 3,000 (capacity crowd)

Starting line up: Dean Bouzanis — Ken Harris, Sashi Chalwe, Mervin Simon, Grant Baddeley — Carlos Chavez, Mark Brown, Graham Howson, Keith Higgs —  Andrés, Ibrahima MBow

Team Talk: You can win today!

We had a tough match right away against 7th placed Bristol City. The league table was pretty tight as you can remember so any win was bound to make a difference in the rankings. The game turned out to be much easier than I would have expected though, partly because we managed to break the deadlock quite early through striker Andrés who muscled the ball off a defender and slotted home. Then it was winger Keith Higgs who stepped into the spotlight, he fired in a quickfire double and we were leading 3-0 after 23 minutes of play. It was a great spell of domination for my team and we could easily have bagged at least one more goal before the break.

Half time score: 3-0

Half time team talk: Pleased.

Half time substitutions: Suso for Howson, Daniel Toribio for Higgs

There was just one player who underperformed in the first half: central midfielder Graham Howson. I decided to replace him at half time although I felt quite bad about that decision because this was his last game at Rivacre Park… His loan deal expired a couple of days after the game and he returned to Manchester United, there was nothing I could do about that. Anyway, the other players swept away my sadness with a thrilling second half performance. First it was right winger Carlos Chavez who tapped in an Ibrahima MBow cross, then Bristol City pulled one back but that was just a consolation goal for them as we managed to fire in another three goals. Ibrahima MBow restored the four-goal lead with a placed finish, then midfielder Suso bagged his first goal for the club with a first time finish to another cross from M’Bow and then the midfielder returned the favor to Ibrahima Mbow for the last goal of the match. It was a brilliant performance and our highest scoring win of the season so far.

Full time team talk: Well done!

Man of the match: Ibrahima MBow

Flop of the match: Graham Howson

Match Stats

Video Highlights

Click here to watch the match highlights.

Cardiff vs Vauxhall (Championship)

Venue: Cardiff City Stadium

Attendance: 11,440

Starting line up: Dean Bouzanis — Ken Harris, Sashi Chalwe, Mervin Simon, James Campbell — Alex Chamberlain, Mark Brown, Suso, Keith Higgs — Andrés, Dale Hills

Team Talk: You can win today!

Cardiff were down in 24th place before the game after a disastrous start to the campaign but their recent form was pretty good, they were unbeaten in four games. The home side had a better start to the game, they were dominating but we held out and managed to break the deadlock on 36 minutes when left winger Keith Higgs found Andrés with a very good pass and the Spanish striker gave us the lead with a cool finish. The match continued to be quite tough but Cardiff were no longer dominating so we held on to the lead until half time.

Half time score: 0-1

Half time team talk: Pleased.

Half time substitutions: Jacob Hronec for Campbell, Carlos Santos for Chalwe

Quite a few of my players were tired for some reason and that allowed Cardiff to control the match after the break. We were not showing much upfront anymore but our defense was doing a good job. Or at least they did until three minutes from time when Jacob Hronec made a stupid mistake and got dispossessed inside our own box, Cardiff said thanks and secured a share of the spoils. It was our first draw of the season and I guess Cardiff deserved a point as they had played pretty well throughout the game.

Full time team talk: Good result!

Man of the match: Keith Higgs

Flop of the match: Dale Hills

Match Stats

Video Highlights

Click here to watch the match highlights.

Leeds vs Vauxhall (Championship)

Venue: Elland Road

Attendance: 19,047

Starting line up: Dean Bouzanis — Ken Harris, Sashi Chalwe, Mervin Simon, Grant Baddeley — Carlos Chavez, Connor Newton, Mark Brown, Keith Higgs — Andrés, Ibrahima MBow

Team Talk: You can win today!

Leeds were in 11th place before the game but I was expecting a tricky match since there were quite a few good experienced players in their squad. We had a much better start this time, we were in control of the game but Andrés wasted two big chances before finally stabbing one into the top corner from the edge of the area. Leeds reacted very well after the goal and their pressure paid off on 39 minutes when they netted a well-deserved equalizer. We managed to restore the lead during injury time, centre back Mervin Simon was upended inside the box and the referee pointed to the spot. Andrés stepped up calmly and slotted home his second goal of the match, things were going well but I was expecting a fierce second half.

Half time score: 1-2

Half time team talk: Pleased.

Half time substitutions: Jacob Hronec for Harris, Suso for Brown, Daniel Toribio for Higgs

In fact, Leeds were trying hard to make it all square again but they were leaving gaps at the back for us to exploit on counter attacks. We managed to create quite a few chances but we had to wait until seven minutes from time to settle the game, Ibrahima MBow displayed a great solo effort to put the three points in our bag. It was a good match and I was very pleased to be victorious at Elland Road.

Full time team talk: Well done!

Man of the match: Andrés

Flop of the match: Carlos Chavez

Match Stats

Video Highlights

Click here to watch the match highlights.

Vauxhall vs Middlesbrough (Championship)

Venue: Rivacre Park

Attendance: 3,000 (capacity crowd)

Starting line up: Dean Bouzanis — Ken Harris, Sashi Chalwe, Mervin Simon, James Campbell — Alex Chamberlain, Mark Brown, Suso, Keith Higgs — Andrés, Ibrahima MBow

Team Talk: You can win today!

The good results pushed us up into third place and that made the game against Middlesbrough even more interesting since they were in 2nd place before the match, three points ahead of us. Each of the two teams managed to create and miss a clear cut chance inside the opening ten minutes of the game but M’Bow missed the biggest one on 12 minutes, a real sitter. We came close again on 30 minutes when right winger Chamberlain hit the crossbar but the first half ended all square.

Half time score: 0-0

Half time team talk: Pleased.

Half time substitutions: Matthias Gohlert for Brown, Daniel Toribio for Higgs

We needed to break the deadlock but in such tight games only something special can do that. Fortunately that special moment came just five minutes after the re-start when Spanish midfielder Suso powered one into the top corner from way out, a sensational goal! That moment was soon forgotten though as Middlesbrough leveled the match after just 11 minutes when centre back Mervin Simon was quite unlucky to put through his own net. Both teams were looking quite tired during the final 30 minutes so it ended all square, I guess we can blame bad luck for this one.

Full time team talk: Good result!

Man of the match: Suso

Flop of the match: Mervin Simon

Match Stats

Video Highlights

Click here to watch the match highlights.

We had three more games to play before the end of the month, the update continues in the next page.

Go to the next page to read the rest of the story.

Preston vs Vauxhall (Championship)

Venue: Deepdale

Attendance: 11,043

Starting line up: Dean Bouzanis — Ken Harris, Sashi Chalwe, Mervin Simon, Grant Baddeley — Carlos Chavez, Mark Brown, Suso, Keith Higgs — Andrés, Ibrahima MBow

Team Talk: You can win today!

I was counting on a win against fellow newly-promoted side Preston although they were having a decent season and were in 18th place before the game. We were the better side though and we managed to capitalize on our domination in the 33rd minute when Ibrahima MBow fired home. The French striker could have scored one more but I was satisfied with the display.

Half time score: 0-1

Half time team talk: Pleased.

Half time substitutions: Daniel Toribio for Suso, Graeme Owens for Higgs

Preston‘s hopes of a fightback were extremely short-lived as Spanish striker Andrés scored a great goal just 15 seconds after the re-start! Five minutes later a corner kick header from Mervin Simon deflected off a defender and went in, it was all over and my lads were allowed a good rest on the pitch until the final whistle.

Full time team talk: Well done!

Man of the match: Sashi Chalwe

Flop of the match: Keith Higgs

Match Stats

Video Highlights

Click here to watch the match highlights.

Vauxhall vs Norwich (Championship)

Venue: Rivacre Park

Attendance: 3,000 (capacity crowd)

Starting line up: Dean Bouzanis — Ken Harris, Sashi Chalwe, Mervin Simon, James Campbell — Carlos Chavez, Mark Brown, Suso, Keith Higgs — Andrés, Ibrahima MBow

Team Talk: You can win today!

This was expected to be a much tougher game, Norwich were aiming for promotion and they were just behind us in fourth place. The game was quite intense right from the start as the visitors took the lead after eight minutes as a result of a nicely crafted counter attack but we managed to peg them back just three minutes later courtesy of a Mervin Simon corner kick header. Then we took control of the match but we were denied by the opposition keeper on a couple of occasions before Norwich were awarded a rather harsh penalty two minutes before the break. The spot kick was converted and we were 2-1 down at the break despite playing pretty well.

Half time score: 1-2

Half time team talk: I want to see more from you!

Half time substitutions: Jason Banton for Higgs

The second half was all about great defending from Norwich and about a fantastic goalkeeper, he was unbeatable. I checked his profile after the game and learned that he was a 19-year old regen, I immediately added him to my shortlist. We lost the game and it wasn’t entirely because of their keeper, we should have created more chances given the amount of possession that we had but the players seemed to have problems in finding the right solutions at times. After the game centre back Carlos Santos came by the office and he started to complain about having problems with settling in England. He didn’t feature much in the first team although I still believe in his talent so I decided to give him a leave of absence hoping that he will return with his mind set on football after a month in Argentina.

Full time team talk: Good effort!

Man of the match: Mervin Simon

Flop of the match: Ibrahima MBow

Match Stats

Video Highlights

Click here to watch the match highlights.

Hull vs Vauxhall (Championship)

Venue: The Circle

Attendance: 17,034

Starting line up: Dean Bouzanis — Ken Harris, Sashi Chalwe, Mervin Simon, Grant Baddeley — Carlos Chavez, Mark Brown, Suso, Jason Banton — Andrés, Ibrahima MBow

Team Talk: Pressure is off!

We dropped into fifth place after the Norwich defeat and we were about to meet 6th placed Hull, not the best of opportunities to recover from a home defeat. I had the impression that my players were feeling the pressure of expectation after hanging into the playoff spots against all odds so I decided to remind them that we had nothing to lose, we just had to play our style of football and enjoy it. Our first half display was not bad, we managed to create one good chance but Hull had two clear ones on counter attacks. We had to do better but I was satisfied with the performance overall.

Half time score: 0-0

Half time team talk: Pleased.

Half time substitutions: Connor Newton for Brown, Daniel Toribio for Banton, Lenny Nangis for Andrés

Striker Lenny Nangis was sent in at half time for his first appearance since suffering an injury last month and he made an instant impact, he was held inside the penalty area and the referee had no other choice than to point to the spot. Ibrahima MBow was the man in charge of the spot kick this time and he powered it right in! The game was going our way but we failed to make the most out of the domination as we wasted two very good chances to double the lead. Things turned complicated two minutes from time when veteran centre back Sashi Chalwe got sent off for a professional foul, Hull started pouring forward in an attempt to rescue a point but goalkeeper Dean Bouzanis kept cool and made an important save seconds before the final whistle.

Full time team talk: Well done!

Man of the match: Mervin Simon

Flop of the match: Andrés

Match Stats

Video Highlights

Click here to watch the match highlights.

It was an action-packed month but it went well for us overall, we grabbed four wins and two draws out of seven games.

The good results leave us in third place at the end of the month, I guess I can say that we should be aiming for a playoff spot now. Burnley seem to be running away with the title and I wonder why they are having such good results since we beat them 4-0 last month…

Spanish striker Andrés was elected Player Of The Month and he surely deserved it. He made seven starting appearances out of seven and he scored five times, I don’t regret paying him the highest wage in the squad. :)

Next month will start with the special game at Old Trafford, I hope we won’t get beaten too heavily because we will have to keep some confidence for the tough league games. Fortunately we won’t be playing any of the top six teams next month but no game is already won at this level.

That’s how November was folks, it was quite pleasing to see my lads winning 7-1 at the start of it but I am more satisfied with the overall consistency as we proved to be a tough team to beat in the Championship. Thanks a lot for reading this long update, I hope that your eyes don’t hurt! ;)