You might remember that we had beaten Mourinho‘s Man City 2-1 in the Premier League last December so I was hoping to pull off a similar result or at least a draw that could have given us a good chance for the second leg.
Manchester City vs Vauxhall (Champions League Qtr. Final Leg 1)
Venue: The City Of Manchester Stadium
Attendance: 46,496
Starting line up: Luis Guilherme — Hans Larsson, Javier Godoy, Mervin Simon, Pierre Touya — Leandro Velasco, Radek Vecera, Tinga, Tiago — Wellington Paulista, Zé Carlos
Team Talk: You can win today!
Unfortunately we got off to the worst possible start, the home side took the lead after just 30 seconds! That initial shock was too much to handle for some of my lads and the Citizens had another good chance on 10 minutes but Luis Guilherme did well to palm away a great shot from Tevez. We replied moments later through Zé Carlos, he was one on one with Joe Hart but the English goalie stopped him with a superb save. Manchester City were playing very well though and they managed to create another good chance on 22 minutes. Fortunately they squandered that great opportunity and we punished them in the 33rd minute when Wellington Paulista finished a fine move with a perfect through pass for Zé Carlos and my star striker made no mistake from inside the penalty area. Our joy lasted for less than 60 seconds though, Man City forged an instant reply with a big helping hand from my defense. They deserved to be in the lead at the break though, they were the better team throughout the opening 45 minutes.
Half time score: 2-1
Half time team talk: I want to see more from you!
Half time substitutions: Graham Howson for Vecera, Javier Garcia for Tiago
We enjoyed better possession after the break but we were not nearly inspired enough in attack to create some decent chances. I made my final substitution on then hour mark, Yaisien for Tinga, but the gamble backfired as we were reduced to 10 men on 72 minutes when Zé Carlos came limping off the pitch. We could still have clinched a draw 12 minutes from time when Graham Howson unleashed one of his trademark free kick shots but the ball cannoned off the post before being cleared into row Z by the Man City defense. 2-1 was not such a bad result after all, we only needed to win 1-0 at home to qualify, but the best news was that Zé Carlos‘ injury wasn’t serious, he was going to be out for just a few days.
Full time team talk: Good effort!
Man of the match: Luis Guilherme
Flop of the match: Javier Godoy
Match Stats
Video Highlights
Click here to watch the highlights.
The first league game of the month didn’t really go as planned, we had a terrible first half at 14th placed Blackburn and they were deservedly leading 1-0 at the break. The second half was much better and luckily we managed to get two goals on the score board with Ibrahima MBow smashing home the winning one six minutes from time.
Time to meet Mourinho again…
Vauxhall vs Manchester City (Champions League Qtr. Final Leg 2)
Venue: Rivacre Park
Attendance: 10,266 (sold out)
Starting line up: Luis Guilherme — Julian Marino, Javier Godoy, Mervin Simon, Hans Larsson — Leandro Velasco, Radek Vecera, Tinga, Tiago — Wellington Paulista, Zé Carlos
Team Talk: You can win today!
This time we started brilliantly, my lads were playing with real fire in their bellies but Joe Hart managed to pull off a couple of amazing saves to deny Tinga early on and then Zé Carlos. We dominated the first half from start to finish but the Citizens held out thanks to a Mourinho-style organized defense.
Half time score: 0-0
Half time team talk: I want to see more from you!
Half time substitutions: Graham Howson for Tinga, Abdallah Yaisien for Tiago
Our efforts were finally rewarded 11 minutes after the interval, Zé Carlos had his shirt pulled inside the penalty area and then he stepped up to convert from the spot. We took the lead on away goals and Manchester City had to react. We continued to dominate the game though but we could have been punished on a defensive blunder, fortunately Luis Guilherme saved us on that occasion. I took off Zé Carlos on 70 minutes as he was quite tired and sent in Ibrahima MBow to exploit the space that we had on counter attacks but we had two other players coming very close on 77 minutes: a free kick header from Mervin Simon was parried by Hart, the loose ball fell to Leandro Velasco at six yards but the goalie pulled off an absolutely amazing save to divert the rebound shot over the bar. MBow did have his chance two minutes later, he was clean through on a counter attack but he missed the opportunity by blazing it over the bar. We managed to keep possession very well until injury time, we appeared to be in control. However, Man City created a chance in the 92nd minute, Luis Guilherme did well again to push it behind but the resulting corner kick was converted… I guess you can only imagine the frustration that I felt, we lost it due to an injury time goal and at the end of a game that we should have won easily given the amount of chances that we had created… Alright José, we’ll meet again in the Premier League…
Full time team talk: Disappointing!
Man of the match: Radek Vecera
Flop of the match: Wellington Paulista
Match Stats
Video Highlights
Click here to watch the highlights.
Vauxhall vs Arsenal (Premier League)
Venue: Rivacre Park
Attendance: 10,266 (sold out)
Starting line up: Luis Guilherme — Hans Larsson, Louis Laing, Mervin Simon, Sylvester Ogbonna — Leandro Velasco, Denís, Tinga, Tiago — Zé Carlos, Ibrahima MBow
Team Talk: You can win today!
After such a heartbreak we had to dig deep to find some confidence as we had a crucial league game ahead of us: at home with Arsenal. The table situation before that game was slightly better that it was at the beginning of the month: Man City were four points behind us and Tottenham were still six points behind. We had to win but the first half was rather disappointing as we were unable to create chances despite having better possession and Arsenal were denied by Luis Guilherme on a counter attack.
Half time score: 0-0
Half time team talk: You can win today!
Half time substitutions: Javier Garcia for Tiago, Wellington Paulista for Ze Carlos
The second half started better and we managed to create our first big chance in the 50th minute but Javier Garcia‘s good effort was saved by the keeper. Arsenal were defending well though while our attacking moves were lacking creativity. We could still have taken the lead on a dead ball situation, a corner kick cross was headed on by Louis Laing but the ball bounced off the crossbar. Arsenal had a similar opportunity nine minutes from time but Hans Larsson did well to clear off the line. Our last great chance was six minutes from time when Tinga unleashed a fierce long range drive but it thundered off the crossbar… The game was dragging on towards the final whistle, I was making some calculations already with one point in the bag, I even took my eyes from the screen for a moment… When I looked back Arsenal were preparing to convert a penalty kick! What? Where did that come from? Well, it didn’t matter, they converted it and took all three points. I watched the replay after the match and I can tell you that the penalty was given for some pushing and pulling on a corner kick, not a clear penalty kick by any means. The even worse thing was that both Manchester City and Tottenham had won their games on the day so we were left with an one-point cushion on the Citizens and three points on the Spurs… We crashed out of all the cups, now the Premier League title seemed to be slipping through our fingers!
Full time team talk: Disappointing!
Man of the match: Sylvester Ogbonna
Flop of the match: Wellington Paulista
Match Stats
Video Highlights
Click here to watch the highlights.
The bad news kept pouring in: Leandro Velasco had picked up an injury and was going to be out for a whole month, season over for him too! Fortunately the lads regrouped and managed to get six points out of the last two games of the month after a convincing 5-0 thrashing of Blackpool and a nice 3-1 away win at West Brom. The bad news didn’t stop though: now Zé Carlos picked up a knock against Blackpool and was going to be out for between two and three weeks! I was thinking that I was running out of luck at the worst possible moment… But I had reasons to be happy too, like Tinga‘s great goal from distance against West Brom. (click here to open the video)
Now let’s see how our rivals did… When we played Blackpool Tottenham had a fierce game at Manchester United and they lost it 2-0! So we had 6 points on them again! But Manchester City didn’t play, their away game at Arsenal was postponed due to the Champions League fixtures…
So then we beat West Brom and Tottenham beat Everton, but they were pretty much out of the title race as they were 6 points behind us with two games left in the season.
One rival down, what did the other do? Rubbing my eyes… Rubbing my eyes again… Is that true? Man City were beaten at home by Blackpool!!! Way to go José! :P
The title battle was not over though, Manchester City were six points behind us at the end of April but they had a game in hand…
We had two more games to play in the month of May and the first one was against, obviously, Manchester City! That’s the Premier League final right there, we needed a draw to get the title. We even had a chance in case of a defeat but our last game was a tricky one at Liverpool…
Manchester City had a much busier schedule, they had a tough Champions League match against holders Atletico Madrid before meeting us at Rivacre Park. But they had a game in hand, that was my main concern.
So I guess I can stop the post right here and come back with the grand finale tomorrow. Just kidding my friends but can you take another page? I guess I already owe you a beer if you read the whole thing up to this point :) You wouldn’t want to miss the grand finale now, would you? Next page!
Go to the next page to read the rest of the story.
Sears
28 мая, 2011 at 00:12
Well, I’ve just been working all night filling drinks for thirsty customers… Thanks Johnny, reading one of your updates is exactly what I needed! I was dying to read this update as well :-p And it was well wrote it! What a wonderful season you had, and god damn you José! Soooo close to the semi finals of the Champions League… Ah well, there’s always next season! Congratulations on winning the Premier League, that a lone is a marvelous achievement. The finances are looking superb so hopefully you can bring in more quality players during the summer and win the Champions League next season :-)
Good luck :-)
Johnny Karp
28 мая, 2011 at 00:28
Thanks Sears, I’m happy to see that I’m not the only night bird around here :) It has been an exciting season and I hope that the next one will be even better.
Sears
28 мая, 2011 at 00:35
Yeah, I’ve hardly ever seen you up this late on the site :-D… Unfortunately my break is over-back to work for me :-( Looking forward to your next post :-p
Johnny Karp
28 мая, 2011 at 09:43
I do have some night rounds now and again :)
MRDNRA
28 мая, 2011 at 00:27
That was immense. Congratulations on taking the club so far already, I can’t wait to see what you can do next.
Johnny Karp
28 мая, 2011 at 09:42
Thanks mate, further strengthening the squad comes next :)
Billy
28 мая, 2011 at 00:51
Congratulations On Your Success, I Look Forward To Seeing Vauxhall Next Season
Great Post
Johnny Karp
28 мая, 2011 at 09:43
Thanks Billy, I’m happy that you enjoyed the post.
Sibo
28 мая, 2011 at 00:53
Wow!
That was way too much tension for me but I’m being an insomniac so I checked out the site, this is a great update Johnny, full of good news (at the end)!
Well done on winning the Premier League and to all your players for winning the awards, it is a shame you were denied some of the other trophies, but I am sure next year we will see Vauxhall’s name on much more than the Premier League!
Well done and good luck with pre-season! :D
Johnny Karp
28 мая, 2011 at 09:44
Thanks Sibo, at one point I was afraid that we were going to lose all the trophies but we rallied the troops just in time :)
CsAtlantis
28 мая, 2011 at 02:20
Wow 3 pages worth of juicy updates, just what I need before the Champions League final :D
That was some tough luck in the League Cup, you had more shots and same number of shots on target but nothing went in
That Velasco long shot against Birmingham was good, straight into the bottom corner, even better was the fact that he won the ball by himself in the opposition half
Again your team couldn’t let their shots count againstt Arsenal in the FA Cup and Man City in the Champions League, theres always next year (hopefully with less injured players)
Mourinho should be moving on soon (he should want to win the Champions League with another team :P), but that was a sweet 4-1 thrashing of his Man City team to get revenge for the loss in Champions League and secure the league title (nothing better than beating your closest challengers), congratulations on winning the league
How did your team only get 2 players inside the Team of the Season, Mervin probably deserved a spot in defense
Glad to hear that your board has, after some gentle prodding, agreed to all your demands, moving to your new stadium should boost gate receipts and improve your finances
Johnny Karp
28 мая, 2011 at 09:49
Thanks for the comment CS, I agree that we were not inferior in the Carling Cup final, FA Cup quarter or CL quarter but the one that I regret the most is the second leg against Man City, we really deserved to go through there. As for Velasco, he is a great player as he always manages to do something useful even when he doesn’t score. About Mervin, I wouldn’t have picked him in the team of the season, he made a few costly mistakes even though he had a high average rating in the end.
Mariano
28 мая, 2011 at 02:46
Well done, an amazing accomplishment to win the Premier in your second season, hope the board give you more money so you can win the Champions next year!
Johnny Karp
28 мая, 2011 at 09:50
Thanks Mariano, I’ll try to force them to give me more money :)
vikingmarius
28 мая, 2011 at 08:02
Fantastic post johnny really had me intrigued I was actually feeling like I was part of your game :P You did great to get a fantastic premier league win and with some more luck next year you can take the FA Cup and Champions League, you were also hopelessly unlucky in the carling cup final, and up and down season, but at least you have the league to show for it :) Look forward thouroghly to your next post
Johnny Karp
28 мая, 2011 at 09:53
Thanks Marius, I’m glad that some of the tension came across in the post :) It was an up and down season and I can say that I was expecting that since the squad is not strong enough to dominate the league yet. We might do that next season with the right transfers.
vaibhavc
28 мая, 2011 at 08:13
Hey Johnny
That was amazing from you, to win the Premier League! I was certainly not expecting that to happen. Maybe next year, you can win the Champions League. I hope you do. Ze Carlos is a fantastic player, and hopefully he scores as many goals as next season.
Johnny Karp
28 мая, 2011 at 09:53
Thanks Vaibhav, I hope that Ze Carlos will bang in even more next season with the help of some better midfielders ;)
Lye
28 мая, 2011 at 08:17
Hi Johnny,
Well done on winning the Premier League title, at least laying your hands on the title after exiting from the cup competition. I was as frustrated as you when i saw Man City scored in deep injury time. You should be progressing, Jose Mourinho should finish empty handed instead. It is still a successful season as the motormen made history in winning the title. There will be more to come so i am looking out for that. Cheers Motormen.
Johnny Karp
28 мая, 2011 at 09:55
Thanks Lye, that CL quarter final exit was quite frustrating indeed but in the end it made the lads stronger and more determined to get the Premier League title.
Laxeyman
28 мая, 2011 at 09:45
Amazing post Johnny, even by your standards :) And what a great season you had, the title race was close but to beat Man City like that was fantastic, maybe you are the «special one» now after beating Mourinho :) Hopefully next season will see you get an extra cup, as well of course as retaining the league. Looking forward to your pre season :)
Johnny Karp
28 мая, 2011 at 11:21
Thanks Laxeyman, I’m glad that you have enjoyed the post. I don’t want to be a «special one», I want to beat «the special one» :)
Kevin
28 мая, 2011 at 10:02
Hi Johnny
After working my way to page three I’d forgotten what was on page 1…LOL! So all I will say is what a fantastic effort this season and you truely deserved to win the Premier League and what a monumental job you have done in bringing Vauxhall to the pinnacle of English Football. I’m sure next season you will add some European silverware to the boardroom trophy cabinet. You sir are a steely eyed missle man!!
Johnny Karp
28 мая, 2011 at 11:19
Thanks a lot Kevin, it was a fantastic season and I am very happy that we pulled it off in the Premier League. Champions League glory will be difficult to obtain but we’ll get there sooner or later ;)
Callum
28 мая, 2011 at 12:19
After that very long post will save your eyes :P The post was quantity and quality and i think one of your best.Throughly enjoyed reading it. Good luck for next season put Jose in his place :D
Johnny Karp
28 мая, 2011 at 16:51
Thanks Callum, I’m glad that you liked the post.
Darren Smith
28 мая, 2011 at 13:21
Top to bottom, page by page and word by word…my eyes have fallen out of their sockets lol :) Great post Johnny and I reckon an unlucky season. That’s the difference between 1,2,3 or four trophies in my opinion a little luck and the players turning up at the right time. Still an incredible achievement to win the title, simply brilliant. As always you prove the godfather of lower league FM.
Looking forward to pre-season now, I think you could take Vauxhall to the next level.
Johnny Karp
28 мая, 2011 at 16:53
Thanks Darren, the next level would be winning the Champions League and that might still be a bit too much for this club. That doesn’t mean I’m not going to try though :)
Sayam Khan
28 мая, 2011 at 13:43
First of all, I like the title of the post Johnny ;-) Excellent achievement in winning the PL, unlucky in the LC final and your CL campaign, even though I think the latter was good enough for your club at this current time. Just wondering, will you be selling Parana as he does get injured quiet a lot.
Johnny Karp
28 мая, 2011 at 16:54
Thanks Sayam. And no, I will not be selling Parana because it’s not his fault that some defenders tackle him so hard and break his leg. The lad has great talent and he’s just 19 years old (or 20), he has at least another five years with the Motormen in my view.
Daniel
28 мая, 2011 at 15:32
Can’t seem to sum this up!
Truly amazing what you have done for vauxhall!
Johnny Karp
28 мая, 2011 at 16:55
Thanks Daniel, I am still amazed myself :)
Jack
28 мая, 2011 at 15:32
MBow is such a legend slamming those goals in against City! As everyone has said before, fantastic post Johnny, and a fantastic achievement lifting the premier league trophy in your second season! Unlucky in the FA and League cup you deserved more. I can also feel your frustration at loosing to Man City, probably in the most cruel way as well i.e. a set piece in injury time. The club looks in good shape as well, all you need now is some outstanding Vauxhall academy regens to make a truly awesome side! Like I said at the start of the season though your team really needs a quality centre back, and I think that’s what cost you in the big games, i.e. the inability to keep a clean sheet. Anyway, a fantastic season, long may Vauxhall’s reign continue! Keep the posts coming!
Johnny Karp
28 мая, 2011 at 16:56
Thanks for the comment Jack. MBow really is a legend, he always turns up just when I need him! You are right about the centre back, that will be my main target during pre-season. About the academy regens, I guess we’ll have to wait a bit longer since the board have just started to invest in the youth recruitment network.
Ana Garcia
28 мая, 2011 at 16:06
Great post Johnny, I am glad you had the last laugh on Mourinho! It seems he has it in for you!!
Ze Carlos has been amazing for you, so am hoping you can keep a hold of him and Velasco was equally as good with a few new additions you should be able to push your team to the next level and compete for the champions league.
It seems a great rivalry has started with you and Mourinho one I hope you can win, and bring as many trophies as you can!
Good luck!
P.S. Am nervous for tonight! Lets have our fingers crossed for a Barcelona win! :)
Johnny Karp
28 мая, 2011 at 16:59
Thanks Ana. As a matter of fact Barcelona are chasing Zé Carlos, they are issuing comments about him on a weekly basis. So far the lad said that he doesn’t want to leave so I hope to keep him at the club for another few years. I hope that Mourinho would hate me at the end of next season :)
P.S.: I’ll be cheering for Barca, obviously, but I want them to win after extra time because I placed a bet on that :)
Excessive
29 мая, 2011 at 11:48
Excellent post mate you did get your own back on Jose after all, and in all honesty im glad you did as i’d hate to see him at city. Hopefully we can do what the red side of manchester failed to do last night and win that Champions league against Barca like they did in your save ;)
Was very nervous opening up that last page, but you really did a number on city! Hopefully with that, you can go onto challenge for that Champions League crown. You’ve already pipped the holders ;)
Good luck.
Johnny Karp
29 мая, 2011 at 15:08
Thanks Jake. Well, if you were nervous before the last page you can imagine how I was before playing that decisive game :)
Iain
29 мая, 2011 at 15:06
Hi Johnny, i haven’t commented for a while but i have still been reading your story, first of all i’d like to say that you’ve done amazing with Vauxhall, i think a Champions League final could be on the cards for next season :D, second, Dont let Ze Carlos leave he is an amazing player.
Johnny Karp
29 мая, 2011 at 15:09
Thanks Iain, I hope that we will get at least a CL semi final next season. And don’t worry, Ze Carlos is not going anywhere! :)
Iain
29 мая, 2011 at 15:12
Good, he really is an amazing player, was wondering if you’re planning to spend big in the transfer market?
Johnny Karp
29 мая, 2011 at 17:11
Well, I’ll surely spend as much as the board will give me :)
Martin
29 мая, 2011 at 17:29
Hey Johnny!
Unlucky in the League Cup final against Manchester United and also in the FA Cup against Arsenal. You were definately unlucky against Manchester City, but you did well to get to the Quarters. But in the end amazing result to win the Premiership title and claiming the title for the first time, sure the first of many :). WOW I cant believe the board granted you all them facility upgrades…great to see you bullying them into submission :)
Looking forward to the next season mate :)
Johnny Karp
29 мая, 2011 at 18:44
Hi Martin, thanks for the comment. We had our fair share of bad luck, I agree, but we could have done better. About the board, I guess I did well to put pressure on them at the right moment, the very next day after winning the title :)
Mariano
11 июня, 2011 at 17:54
Hi Johnny, I congratulate you for winning the Premier league!
But for me is getting quite frustrating……..
I just finished my 5th season managing Havant & Waterlouville in the Premier league, I´m doing very good, but there is always a team that make more points than me……
1st season 72pts 4th
2nd 82pts 3rd
3rd 89pts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 2nd
4th 87pts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 3rd
5th 85pts 2nd……………………. Man City made 98 points!
I can´t believe it, i already won the Champions league but not the Premier!
What to do?
Johnny Karp
11 июня, 2011 at 20:27
Hey Mariano, thanks. I can understand how frustrating it is, you surely got enough points to win the title at least in two of those seasons. I can’t really tell what’s going on there but I guess you should be making around 90 plus points in the fifth season. Do you concede more goals than the other top teams, do you score less?
Mariano
11 июня, 2011 at 20:56
I can´t see anything strange or any suspicious pattern when I check the goals I scored or conced compared to the ones of the other top teams during the last 5 seasons…….
Last season I can only remember one game where my team deserved to loose…….
The other games we lost or ended up tied we deserved to win for sure……
But what can you do when the top team makes 98 points eh?:)
I feel like Pellegrini managing Real Madrid:)
I have all coaches 4 and a half stars, I have great plyers completly gelled(they would die for each other)…
I Use your tactic and your training schedule…
The last season when I send my scouts out they hardly come with players with more than 3 starts……
I guess I will have to keep on trying:)!
Johnny Karp
11 июня, 2011 at 21:14
I guess you’re right, there’s not much you can do when a team finishes with 98 points. However, I guess you might want to try a less risky tactic (like Darren’s 4-5-1), that’s a bit against my footballing credo but it might give you better results.