I’m pleased to report that the Motormen have won everything that they could have won bar the npower Championship and the npower League Two!
The club has reached a whole new level considering that it was a semi-professional outfit when I took charge. My two Brazilian strikers became club legends and they surely deserve this status as they were the ones that kicked off our ascension through the world football ranks.
The overall club best eleven was presented to me at the end of the season, it’s in the shape of the 4-4-2 that I have used for quite a few seasons. As you can see there are quite a few former players in that best eleven, including people like Omar Koroma on the bench.
The name that caught my attention is Ibrahima M’Bow, the French/Senegalese striker that joined the club back in 2013 for a modest fee. He was just a boy when he moved from Senegal to England and I am extremely happy to see that his career reached a good level even after he left our club. This lad has scored a few major goals for us during his spell with the Motormen and I can tell you that Ibrahima did me a final favour before the end of my FM 2011 career, you’ll know everything about that a bit later…
So, I resigned and almost all the staff members decided to follow me. It’s nice to see that the board are considering Ancelotti as a replacement, he’s a manager that I admire.
And now, the surprise! In October 2023 the French FA offered me a job as manager of their national team and I accepted mainly because that meant that I had a shot at the European Championship in the summer of 2024. And it was a pretty good shot considering the strength of the French team. However, I made a few modifications in the squad and the most important one was that I called up… Ibrahima MBow, the lad had just one cap for the nation and no goals! The group stage was as easy as it gets, we won all three games, scored 9 and kept a clean sheet. MBow scored his first goals for France in the last game, it’s funny how he always manages to perform well under my guidance.
The next two rounds were even easier as we cruised past Greece and Turkey. The most difficult game of the tournament was the semi final against Spain, a really tough game but only due to a bit of bad luck. Spain opened the scoring with their very first shot on target and then survived the pressure until Abdallah Yaisien (an ex Vauxhall player!) sent the game into extra time. And guess who turned up in the dying moments of the game… Ibrahima M’Bow! (click here to watch the highlights)
The final was expected to be a lot easier as we were going to meet Russia, a team that we had beaten quite comfortably in my first friendly game with France. The game was easy indeed, it was a major onslaught, but Russia somehow managed to survive and push the game into extra time. They finally cracked after 108 minutes of digging trenches in their penalty area, we definitely deserved to win this final and it really couldn’t have gone any other way. (click here to watch the highlights)
So, I added the European Championship to my international tally after lifting the World Cup, Copa America and Confederations Cup with Argentina. Here is my profile after resigning from the France job, as you can see I am not friends with the media :) That is quite strange considering that I am a journalist in my day-to-day life :)
Last but not least, my statistics screen… There are a few interesting aspects in there but I will leave those for you to discover.
And a quick biography…
That was it folks, 89 posts, a few trophies and hopefully lots of fun for both you and me along the way. Thanks a lot for the faithful support that you have shown throughout this fantastic journey from the lower league slumps to the peaks of world football, this story existed for you and thanks to you. Football Manager 2011 was a great game, I’m sure you agree, but now we’re all looking forward to the bigger and better Football Manager 2012! I know that you are curious to find out more about my FM 2012 story but I’m not going to reveal too much now. All that I can say is that I will manage a Romanian team ;)
P.S.: What do you think about our new logo?
David Smith
16 октября, 2011 at 15:12
My wife and kids think i am a little strange for playing a game like FM and reading the stories posted on here but if only they would embrace it for a second they will see the enjoyment at seeing how someone can take a semi-pro team to the top of Europe. An amazing story mate, I have read many of yours and I think that this one has now taken the No.1 favourite spot.
Looking forward to a new chapter of reading in the next instalment of what is the best football game since Kevin Toms first gave us Football Manager.
Johnny Karp
16 октября, 2011 at 15:19
Thanks for the kind comment David, many people can’t understand the joy that we feel while playing FM but I guess it’s their loss :)
Freddie
16 октября, 2011 at 15:22
Well done Johnny!
An amazing story mate!
Johnny Karp
16 октября, 2011 at 15:36
Thanks Freddie!
Darren Smith
16 октября, 2011 at 15:56
Superb finish Johnny, just a shame to not win the CL one last time. You took Vauxhall from a club without history to one filled with trophies and a cabinet busting at the seams. Well done mate.
P.S. You already know what I think on the logo, its great.
Johnny Karp
16 октября, 2011 at 16:28
Thanks Darren, I surely would have liked to win the CL again but it just wasn’t to be…
vaibhavc
16 октября, 2011 at 16:07
Hey Johnny
That was a great way to end your Vauxhall save. Unlucky that you didn’t win the Champions League. It would be funny if Vauxhall tried to hire Jose Mourinho. You had a rivalry with him before, didn’t you?
Johnny Karp
16 октября, 2011 at 16:29
Thanks Vaibhav. Mourinho is still under contract with Man City so I guess the Vauxhall board don’t want to pay compensation :)
nielsneutron
16 октября, 2011 at 16:45
The trible would have a very fitting end to this legendary story but it is still remarkable and impressive how dominating Vauxhall has been in the premier league.
It would be fun to see which manager would be hired and how well he would do for a season. (Hint: I can’t get enough of your stories)
Johnny Karp
16 октября, 2011 at 17:35
Haha, thanks mate. I’d be surprised if the new manager won’t win the league, the team is just too good. We did do a treble however, Carling Cup plus FA Cup plus Premier League :)
paine
16 октября, 2011 at 17:22
A great career, of course, with a great finale, M’Bow scored some key goals for your French national team, repaying your choice.
The new logo looks nice and work well with your layout.
Johnny Karp
16 октября, 2011 at 17:36
Thanks Paine, M’Bow is a Vauxhall legend and I’m happy that I managed to give him a new chance to shine in the French outfit.
George Dobson
16 октября, 2011 at 18:29
well done Johnny good luck for fm12 the new logo is great !!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D
Johnny Karp
16 октября, 2011 at 19:08
Thanks George.
Kevin
16 октября, 2011 at 18:53
Hi Johnny
First off thanks for bringing us another incredible story. You’ve entertained me at least for the best part of two years and you always keep every update fresh and exciting.I guess that’s why you are journalist :)
As for Vauxhall itself the whole journey has been remarkable but the way you ended the EPL with such a massive goal difference is just incredible. Too bad about the Champions League but no such worries when you are playing at Wembley for sure.
Love the logos and the change to red with the comment and submit button…very slick. Look forward to your new story and I’m sure this one will be equally as good if not better. Thanks again for another superb year with FMS!
Johnny Karp
16 октября, 2011 at 19:09
Thanks for the kind words Kevin, I have enjoyed this story a lot and I guess it rivals my favourite (the Blyth Spartans one). I’m glad that you like the new look, hopefully we’ll be able to provide equally exciting content ;)
Kevin
16 октября, 2011 at 20:57
I was actually thinking about Blyth Spartans when I was writing my comment as I ws looking at that story the other day.
Johnny Karp
17 октября, 2011 at 06:06
I don’t know why but that story will always have a special place in my heart.
Sears
16 октября, 2011 at 19:06
Absolutely incredible story mate, was wondering where you got the journalist skills from :D :D
This is the first time on FMS that you won’t be beginning as a lower league team, so I imagine the new story is going to be a lot different. I’m sure you’ll have loads of fun in Romania with the new team. Thanks for bringing us such a great story and at times it was a real roller coaster!
Thanks bud ;)
Johnny Karp
16 октября, 2011 at 19:10
Thank you Sears! Just to make things a bit clearer, I will be taking over a second-tier Romanian team so it will be a lower league story up to a certain point ;)
Dan
16 октября, 2011 at 19:09
Hey Johnny,
Great end to a great story! I had a little giggle to myself when I saw domestic player bias on 1%, I’ve never seen that before :)
Love the new logo too, it has a stylish aura to it. In fact I may change the skin colours on my FM12 when I get it to be like the FMS colours. Good luck with your Romanian team, if I new any I’d take a guess at who it could be but I’m not too knowledgeable about football from that part of the globe :)
Johnny Karp
16 октября, 2011 at 19:12
Thanks Dan. You are right about the domestic player bias, that was one of the most interesting numbers in there :) Unfortunately there weren’t too many good domestic players available, not my fault :)
TheZiggy
16 октября, 2011 at 19:34
That’s one hell of a managerial career. Definitely a shame about the Champions League, but I guess sometimes you can’t win everything.
Will be interesting to see the new story with a Romanian team. I still remember Lung jr, from my old QPR story, one hell of a keeper.
Johnny Karp
16 октября, 2011 at 19:38
Hey Ziggy, I’m happy to «see» you again! Lung jr still is a promising keeper, he has just earned his first cap for Romania this week.
Stromson
16 октября, 2011 at 20:07
Johnny,
Thank you for bringing us along on such a thrilling ride. I’m not sure if I’ve ever mentioned it before, but your Vauxhall story is the reason I started playing Football Manager in the first place. I was curious about the game, and stumbled across this website. By the time I started reading, you were already in League 2, and you had me completely hooked. I bought the game that day, and the rest, as they say, is history.
This was absolutely brilliant, and I can’t wait to see what you do in Romania starting next week (!). It’s a shame that you weren’t able to take the CL crown one last time, but that hardly diminishes the value. Thanks again mate, and the new logos are excellent!
Johnny Karp
16 октября, 2011 at 20:43
Thanks a lot for the kind words mate, I am really happy that my story pushed you to buy the game and I’m even happier that you don’t regret the decision :)
Daniel
16 октября, 2011 at 21:43
Hey Johnny,
Amazing story and an equally amazing finish! Your story has been an entertaining roller-coaster right from the beginning that has been interesting and fun to read. Good luck in FM2012 and hopefully you can replicate the success that you have achieved with the Motormen!
Johnny Karp
17 октября, 2011 at 06:01
Thanks Daniel, it will be tough to gain so many trophies in FM 2012 but I’ll surely try :)
Nicholas Phipps
16 октября, 2011 at 21:44
Another incredible story, really enjoyed it from start to finish, and I’m interested to see who you choose to manage in FM 2012 althoughIm guessing the club will be FC Universitatea Craiova. btw, I really like the new design and badge :)
Johnny Karp
17 октября, 2011 at 06:02
Thanks Nicholas. It won’t be Universitatea Craiova because the club doesn’t exist any more, it was banned from all competitions.
Nicholas Phipps
17 октября, 2011 at 08:21
How come?
Johnny Karp
17 октября, 2011 at 08:25
It’s a long story… In brief the Romanian FA says that the club has broken the rules by appealing an FA decision in a regular court instead of a sports court. And that’s why the club is banned from all competitions and all the players left as free agents.
malhar
16 октября, 2011 at 23:02
hey Johnny,
It’s been an amazing story and one that i’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading. Taking a semi-professional club to being one of the best in the world is just an incredible achievement. Look forward to reading your Romanian story, i’m sure it’ll be every bit as exciting as this one. And you won everything internationally too. Great stuff. Cheers!
Johnny Karp
17 октября, 2011 at 06:02
Thanks mate. The Romanian story might be a little more difficult than this one, at least in theory.
Lye
17 октября, 2011 at 02:35
Hi Johnny,
After following the Motormen for such a long time, it’s now time to say goodbye. Thanks for the wonderful story mate. To enjoy the tour of bringing a lower league club to winning every trophy is a great feeling. At times, we share the joy when you won and the disappointment when you lost. Nonetheless, i am looking forward to the Romanian team in FM12. Managing a club from your own country has special value in it.
P.S The new logo is great. It brings our the theme and brand of the site perfectly.
Johnny Karp
17 октября, 2011 at 06:03
Thanks Lye, you produced a similar or even better story with Telford so I guess you know how it feels :)
Malhar Bhadbhade
17 октября, 2011 at 03:38
hey Johnny,
sorry for asking an irrelevant question, but dunno where else to ask it to get a prompt reply. my fm2012 demo says my computer graphic hardware isnt good enough for 3D. but fm2011 works just fine for me on the same computer? do u have any idea what the problem could be?
Johnny Karp
17 октября, 2011 at 06:04
Did you read the minimum system requirements for FM 2012? If so, is your graphics card supported or not? One of the things that you could do is to update the graphics card drivers, that can solve the problem.
CsAtlantis
17 октября, 2011 at 05:07
That’s a quite a few packed trophy cabinets right there, nearly won everything in England too, and you also won quite a few international trophies, a glorious career, looks like apart from M’Bow, Griezmann and Sanogo did well for France too
A brilliant 14 year dynasty, great looking logo too by the way
Johnny Karp
17 октября, 2011 at 06:05
Thanks mate, it was one hell of a journey and quite rewarding to be helped out by MBow on the last challenge of my career.
Mariano
17 октября, 2011 at 14:33
Well done an amazing carrer Johnny!
I think it a great idea to manage a Romanian team!
Johnny Karp
17 октября, 2011 at 14:50
Thanks Mariano, I’m sure that you will like the Romanian story because there will be some characters in there that you might know and like ;)
Erbsademon
17 октября, 2011 at 16:59
Great end to a fantastic story. Just proves the CL title can be so elusive no matter how great your team is! Looking forward to your Romanian story!!
Johnny Karp
17 октября, 2011 at 19:36
Thanks mate, the CL is a tough competition indeed.
Martin - F.M.J.S
17 октября, 2011 at 21:59
Great end to a great story. Unlucky with the CL but well done with France and a good call on bring in M’Bow. I look forward to your new story.
On the new badge i like it :)
Johnny Karp
18 октября, 2011 at 06:31
Thanks Martin, I hope that the new story will be at least as good as this one.
Laxeyman
18 октября, 2011 at 16:07
Hi Johnny, sorry for the late reply, I’ve been away over the last couple of days. Fantastic end to a fantastic story mate, shame you couldn’t grab the CL once more, but well done on winning all the other trophies :) You did a great job with Vauxhall, and I can’t wait for your new story, which I’m sure will be as entertaining as this one! :)
Johnny Karp
18 октября, 2011 at 20:39
Thanks Laxeyman, it has been a great journey for me and I hope I’ll have at least half of the satisfactions I had with Vauxhall in FM 12.
Tom and Gary
19 января, 2012 at 15:58
Mate, theres just no kicks in this. Try managing properly, no point in cheating. Haven’t read the full story, because lets be honest theres no real point.
Can you send me a screenshot of the game status screen so I can see your database changes?
Johnny Karp
19 января, 2012 at 21:15
The whole story is filled with various screen shots so if you want to accuse me of something, gather some proof and then come out with the accusations. I can’t provide you the screen shots that you demand anyway because I don’t play FM 2011 any more, there’s a new version of the game in case you haven’t heard of it until now. And I’ve got another piece of information for you: I’ve made several tactics in the last few versions of the game, thousands of people have downloaded, used them and won games and titles with them. Try to figure that out.
Darren Smith
19 января, 2012 at 21:31
This guy actually made me laugh…’Haven’t read the full story’…then how do you know its not real? Some people should spend more time learning how to actually play the game before commenting with slander. Maybe if you read the story and tried to learn something you’d realize this is possible, also you seem to be clued up on cheating and database changes, I wouldn’t be surprised if you have found less success than Johnny while you are cheating yourself and that is why you make such claims, because you don’t fully understand the game.
Mariano
19 января, 2012 at 16:19
I started reading this site and never managed a low division team before. In FM 2010 I took Crewe Alexandra to win the CL and in 2011 I made Havant & Waterlouville won the world Club Cup. Part of achiving this is thanks to Johnny´s help teaching me.
If I achieved that, me that I play FM for less time than Johnny, for sure his story can be true.
Cheers
Kacper Kowalczyk
30 сентября, 2012 at 13:58
It was pleasure to read your story :)
Johnny Karp
30 сентября, 2012 at 14:41
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it :)