Hello football fans, it’s time to continue the Vauxhall Motors Football Manager 2011 story and I welcome you to a new episode. Things were going well for the Motormen at the end of February, we were top of the Premier League table (3 points clear of Tottenham and 4 points clear of Arsenal), still in the FA Cup and in the Champions League and also looking forward to the Carling Cup final.
In fact, the very first game in March was the big final against Manchester City for another chance to win our first ever Carling Cup. Both sides were ready to field their very best players, we had just one absence and that was central midfielder Marcos Fernandez who still wasn’t fully fit. The last meeting with Manchester City had produced a 1-1 draw in the Premier League in November.
Manchester City vs Vauxhall (Carling Cup Final)
Venue: Wembley
Attendance: 90,000 (sold out)
Starting line up: Luis Guilherme — Gary Warner, Danny Wilson, Marat Bykov, Pierre Touya — Leandro Velasco, Indio, Da Silva, Tiago — Zé Carlos, Parana
Team Talk: For the fans!
The game was fairly quiet during the opening 10 minutes, both teams appeared to be afraid to step on the gas.
12th minute — Leandro Velasco whips in a corner kick cross, Danny Wilson jumps and heads it… just over…
15th minute — Indio gets robbed in midfield, the Citizens launch the counter attack… Tafer is clean through but Luis Guilherme stops him with an awesome save!
18th minute — Indio gives the ball away much too easily again, Tafer is clean through again… but Luis Guilherme is unbeatable!
22nd minute — We have a free kick from 30 yards out, Indio steps up and fires a thunderous shot… cracks off the post!
26th minute — Indio tries his luck again from a free kick… hits the side netting…
30th minute — We have another free kick, this time Indio crosses into the box… Danny Wilson is there… Header… It’s in! (click here to watch the goal)
36th minute — Zé Carlos makes a great counter attack run on the left flank, he keeps the ball and waits for support… Pierre Touya enters the box… Ze Carlos passes to Touya… and the left back powers it in! His first goal of the season and a great one, well done Pierre! (click here to watch the goal)
45th minute +3 — Stoppage time is almost over but the Citizens are not giving up… The ball flies into our box… Volley from Tafer… Stopped in style by Luis Guilherme!
Half time score: 0-2
Half time team talk: You’ve got one hand on the cup, lads!
Half time substitutions: Hans Larsson for Warner, Graham Howson for Da Silva
Half Time Stats
55th minute — Man City get a counter attack going again, this time it’s substitute Belfodil who breaks through… Not a chance, Luis Guilherme is Spiderman!
56th minute — Corner kick for Man City, they get a header in but it goes just over the bar.
57th minute — Belfodil tries his luck from the edge of the area… easily saved.
61st minute — Injury to Graham Howson, Radek Vecera comes in to replace him.
64th minute — Good move from Man City, Belfodil shoots… and it’s in, they pull one back… (click here to watch the goal)
68th minute — Indio tries his luck again from a free kick… the shot is weak and Joe Hart holds the ball easily.
70th minute — Excellent move on the right flank, Leandro Velasco bends in the cross… and Tiago heads it in! (click here to watch the goal)
73rd minure — Great move on the left flank now, Tiago passes for Parana… he’s clean through but his shot is parried… Zé Carlos pounces on the rebound… saved again!
75th minute — Wilson gets in a free kick header but Heart can’t be beaten so easily…
79th minute — Indio makes a big mistake again, he sends Belfodil clean through… But he can’t beat Luis Guilherme!
It’s over, we won the Carling Cup for the first time! However, the price that we had to pay was quite high as Graham Howson was going to be out for no less than four months, end of season for him…
Full time team talk: Congratulations!
Man of the match: Luis Guilherme
Flop of the match: Hans Larsson
Match Stats
There was little time for celebrations anyway, we had a tough league match coming up as we were meeting… Manchester City again! Their manager had some kind words before the game, as always…
Vauxhall vs Manchester City (Premier League)
Venue: Vauxhall Stadium
Attendance: 25,875 (sold out)
Starting line up: Luis Guilherme — Gary Warner, Javier Godoy, Danny Wilson, Pierre Touya — Moustapha Gueye, Indio, Da Silva, Tiago — Zé Carlos, Parana
Team Talk: For the fans!
We have to admit that we didn’t play too well in the Carling Cup final, our goalkeeper was the man of the match and that is a sign of weakness for any team. The league match started much better for us though and Parana came close to breaking the deadlock after just 20 seconds! Two minutes later it was Indio‘s turn to try his luck but he didn’t have any of that as his shot bounced back off the post. Then Joe Hart denied Zé Carlos in the 10th minute but he was finally beaten nine minutes later when right winger Moustapha Gueye volleyed home a cross from Indio. The first chance for City was on 24 minutes when they hit the crossbar on a corner kick but we doubled the advantage just two minutes later when Danny Wilson headed home on a free kick.
Half time score: 2-0
Half time team talk: Pleased.
Half time substitutions: Radek Vecera for Da Silva, Walid Mechergui for Tiago
The second half was reasonably quiet, we took the foot off the gas but still managed to keep things safely under control. By the way, this was our 16th home win out of 16 league games!
Full time team talk: Well done!
Man of the match: Danny Wilson
Flop of the match: Walid Mechergui
Video Highlights
Click here to watch the match highlights.
Match Stats
The next match was the second leg against Schalke in the Champions League and although the German side did well to keep it interesting we never looked like losing it (we had won the away leg 1-0 in February). Then we faced 20th placed Southampton in the Premier League and it was a fairly easy game, we won 5-1 and could easily have scored a few more. And then… Well, then we had to face Manchester City one more time, the FA Cup 6th round draw put them in our path again. The game started well with midfielder Marcos Fernandez celebrating his return to fitness with a goal but then two errors from Danny Wilson gifted the opponents two goals after the break and they knocked us out of the FA Cup. The last game of the month was a demolition job against 19th placed Huddersfield, it was Zé Carlos who drove the bulldozer past the relegation candidates.
The Champions League quarter finals were drawn and I was quite pleased with our luck this time, we were going to meet Atletico Madrid (not an easy team to beat but there are better teams around). I was also pleased to notice that an all-English final four was possible after that draw…
Looking back at the FA Cup tie against Man City, Mourinho was so pleased with that win that he finally made a decent comment…
But let’s see the important stuff now, the Premier League title race. There weren’t any big changes in there, we maintained our position and the only rival that lost points was Tottenham while Man City and Man United seemed to be almost totally out of the chase.
The fixtures in April were not too bad, we only had easier matches apart from the double against Atletico Madrid and a Premier League clash with the Red Devils.
If you are curious to see what happened in April then you can read all about it in the next page, it’s just one click away!
Go to the next page to read the rest of the story.
Ana Garcia
16 июля, 2011 at 20:13
Congrats Johnny as the title looks secured!
Good to see your rivalry contine with Mr Mourinho! At least now he is starting to show you some respect!
Arsenal beating Ajax 11-0 in total in the CL quarter finals was a bit of a shock, but your war with Morinho continues so am hoping you can outclass him again!
As always the best of luck! :)
Johnny Karp
16 июля, 2011 at 21:24
Thanks Ana, the Arsenal result against Ajax was not very surprising as we beat them 7-1 in the group stage if I remember correctly. I’m looking forward to another clash with Mourinho, we have a good chance this time considering that there will be two legs.
vaibhavc
16 июля, 2011 at 20:22
Hey Johnny
The title seems to be yours, well done. Mourinho and you hate each other, no matter what he says! Arsenal whacked Ajax 11-0, that was very weird. And how many times do you face Man City? 3 times played, 2 more to go!
Johnny Karp
16 июля, 2011 at 21:28
Thanks Vaibhav, I agree that we should secure the title shortly. About Mourinho, I don’t hate him, I don’t hate anybody to be honest. I just don’t like him, there’s a big difference between that and hate. About Man City, we had four games against them this season: two in the league (1 win and 1 draw), the Carling Cup final (won) and the FA Cup quarter final (lost).
vaibhavc
17 июля, 2011 at 07:25
I meant this update.
Aaron
16 июля, 2011 at 20:48
Great month Johnny, just hope you don’t decide to help Liverpool…I’d love to see them relegated (even if it is just in your game) Also…will the youngsters feature return any time soon ? :)
Johnny Karp
16 июля, 2011 at 21:25
Thanks Aaron, I have some sympathy for Liverpool because of their fantastic anthem and loyal fans. I’m not sure that I understand the youngsters question, we have the lowest average age in the league.
Aaron
18 июля, 2011 at 00:08
No the feature you used to run about your young players in the reserves? Lol
Johnny Karp
18 июля, 2011 at 10:16
Oh, I understand now :) I guess I forgot about that feature :)
Laxeyman
16 июля, 2011 at 22:04
Very good again Johnny, you’ll certainly win the league, and I’m backing you to beat City in the CL, so hopefully you can go all the way! Good luck!
P.S PLEASE do Liverpool a favour if you’ve already won the league by the time you play us!
Johnny Karp
16 июля, 2011 at 22:31
Thanks mate, I’m not very optimistic ahead of the City games for some reason but we surely have the quality to beat them. I think I will try to help Liverpool, I’ll think about it if we’ll have the title secured by then.
Lye
17 июля, 2011 at 05:12
Hi Johnny,
It’s getting close. The title is just few inches away. You will surely lay your hands on them. Your rivalry with Mr Mourinho is going to carry on as long both of you remain managers. I still believe you will triumph over Man City in two legs. Good luck.
Johnny Karp
17 июля, 2011 at 09:52
Thanks Lye, there is a great rivalry with Mourinho indeed and I hope to get the better of it this season.
CsAtlantis
17 июля, 2011 at 08:57
Wow Ajax absolutely got themselves thumped by Arsenal, ate 11 goals without reply
The title is in the bag, you can win it even with your youth team, just need a point or so I think
Wow, you’re meeting Mourinho again, you sure are playing each other a lot, feels like Barca vs Real this year :P, good luck against him
Johnny Karp
17 июля, 2011 at 09:53
Thanks CS, it does feel like Barca vs Real! :) I disagree about the league though, one point wouldn’t be enough because Tottenham have two games in hand at the moment.
Darren Smith
17 июля, 2011 at 09:14
Well done Johnny, great to see you beat City for the League Cup trophy. Also your EPL form is amazing and certainly seems to have wrapped the title up with some easy opponents remaining. Your biggest challenge is passing City in the Champions League although I feel like they’d be easier to beat over two legs as opposed to one in a neutral ground so better to get them now then in the final. Having said that, Arsenal look like making it and that thrashing of Ajax would scare the crap out of me :)
Johnny Karp
17 июля, 2011 at 09:56
Thanks Darren, I agree that our chances are better over two legs against City. Arsenal have a very strong team, I remember that they were the first team to beat us this season, and one of the few teams that achieved that I might add. I’m sure that Galatasaray won’t be a problem for them despite the upset against Tottenham.
Andre Tissier
17 июля, 2011 at 21:49
Finally managed to get all the way through your story and up to day Johnny. Might I congratulate you on your success, getting them to the brink of three titles in a row is an impressive feat. Hope you can beat Man City again and make it to the final of the Champions League. Just a question though, what will you do after having won everything? Get them to the richest club in the world?
Johnny Karp
17 июля, 2011 at 21:56
Thanks for reading the story mate, I hope that you have enjoyed it. Making a rich club is not something that I want to do so I guess I might retire after winning everything, maybe I’ll do that after winning five Premier League titles. Anyway, I’m not sure right now but the «richest club» thing is not a goal that I would like to achieve.
Sears
17 июля, 2011 at 22:27
Congrats on the League Cup win Johnny, impressive :-)! And what’s going on at Liverpool, absolutely shocking tbf.
Johnny Karp
17 июля, 2011 at 22:55
Thanks Sears. I don’t know what’s going wrong at Liverpool, from what I see they definitely have a squad that would allow them to finish in the top half of the table.
Erick Wolf
19 июля, 2011 at 07:46
Good read, and thanks for the screenshot.
The title is pretty much yours already, and I’m sure you can also claim the CL title this year!
Johnny Karp
19 июля, 2011 at 08:27
Thanks Erick.
Sayam Khan
19 июля, 2011 at 20:03
Hi Johnny, I’m back! Hope you are well!
Your team has really grown this season, winning the two City games quiet easily is enough evidence! And hopefully that turns into three. Hope you win the PL, can’t see any slip ups with you incharge ;-) Looking forward to your next update, Good Luck!
Johnny Karp
20 июля, 2011 at 09:15
Hey Sayam, nice to see you back! We should win the Premier League title, I would resign if we won’t! :)
Richard
20 июля, 2011 at 12:18
Just wondering, I have recently started as AFC Wimbledon in the BSP league and as you have been very successful in your game, whether you could recommend any players that are a must sign in that league and can play beyond.
Johnny Karp
20 июля, 2011 at 14:05
I can’t remember all of them but there are three players that must be signed at that level: Oliver Nicholas (CB), Shane Williams (CM), Omar Koroma (ST).