Hello folks and thanks for joining me for another episode of the Vauxhall Motors FM 2011 story! Yes, we have won the Premier League title last season, we have celebrated the historic achievement, but now it’s time to look at the future and make this club even stronger. We want to prove that our title-winning campaign was not just an accident, we have to show the whole world that the Motormen are as strong as anybody!
Before moving on to our pre-season let’s analyze what went on last season, player by player, role by role.
Goalkeepers
Luis Guilherme was one of our top assets, he saved quite a few certain goals and his average rating of 7.14 shows that he was a reliable goalie throughout the season. Jack Butland, our backup goalie, was given seven starts and he did a decent job so he will remain at the club.
Right Backs
This is where we had some problems: Julian Marino had a poor season compared to the previous one and his backup, Kwabena Quartey was sold in January. However, I still believe in Marino‘s potential so I will try to bring in another right back that could compete with him for a place in the starting eleven.
Left Backs
We’re pretty well covered here, both Hans Larsson and Pierre Touya had a very good season and I believe they can do even better (especially Touya).
Centre Backs
We do have some problems here despite the high average ratings. Mervin Simon is a legend but he did make quite a few costly mistakes while Louis Laing and Javier Godoy were fairly reliable throughout the season. Julian Bazzi was a disappointment though, his campaign was hindered by several injuries and that makes him the most likely candidate for a transfer out.
Right Midfielders
Things are looking good here, Leandro Velasco had a fabulous season while Abdallah Yaisien did a good job when called upon. Ravel Morrison was not nearly as good as the other two but he had two long-term injuries to deal with.
Left Midfielders
Young Tiago is slowly adapting to the Premier League and his performances were on a constant way up. He’s only 19 years old and I believe that he will become one of the club’s most valuable players soon. Backup Javier Garcia did a decent job but he will be sold if a good offer comes in.
Central Midfielders
Tinga and Graham Howson were the most reliable CMs, they did all the hard work there. A special note about Radek Vecera, his average rating is not very good but I believe that those numbers are quite harsh on the lad, he was a reliable performer and probably the player who did most of the dirty work in midfield. Denís, Shyamdew Weibolt and Mark Brown failed to impress, they had to deal with a few nasty injuries but they might not be good enough at this level.
Strikers
No complaints there, Zé Carlos is the club’s very best player while Parana also is a great talent and I will not sell him despite the injury problems. Backups Wellington Paulista and Ibrahima MBow did a very good job when needed so they will remain at the club as well.
Alright, after that quick look back now let’s set our eyes on the future. The club secured a new sponsorship deal, quite an improvement on the last one but it still leaves us at the bottom of the sponsorship table… We’re ages behind the top clubs when it comes to money, that’s quite obvious.
I was hoping for a wealthy transfer budget but that wasn’t the case, the board offered just 29 mil for an Europa League qualification! I promised them another title challenge and they «generously» offered 38 million pounds for transfers and 800K per week for wages. I admit that that is not nearly enough to bring in the players that I would have wanted…
The bookmakers are not very optimistic about our chances and the media predict that we would finish 8th! Are you sure? :)
Now comes the juicy part, the transfers! As you can see we managed to raise no less than 48 million pounds from player sales and loan fees, I guess that’s a good return. Most of the movement was in midfield as Mark Brown, Denís, Shyamdew Weibolt and… Tinga left the club. The first three were sold without hesitation but I had to think about the Tinga move for a while. FC Bayern offered 12.25 mil, which is 5 million less than what I paid for him last season, but I decided to cash in. The player is 28 years old now and I guess I would have gotten even less after another season, especially since I was quite sure that he wasn’t going to get as much first team football anymore. The other important first team player that left the club was centre back Julian Bazzi, Zenit paid 9.75 million for him and I was more than happy to cash in. Last but not least left winger Javier Garcia was sold for 5.5 million as I found a replacement for free.
And now the incoming lads, 18 new players joined the club for a total of 61 million pounds! However, only seven of these players will be wearing the first team shirt in the coming season while the others will play for the reserves or go out on loan.
Let’s see who the new first team players are. We start with the new right back, Italian youngster Emanuele Santoni. With not enough money in the transfer budget I was forced to abandon my two main targets (Dennis Appiah and Sime Vrsaljko) and I decided to go for the cheap but good option: a season-long loan for 1.5 million. This lad is as good as Julian Marino at the moment and if the club will give me some money in January I will try to push for a permanent deal.
Finding a new centre back was my main concern and I have to tell you that I had lots of problems with that. My main target was Blackburn‘s Phil Jones but his club wanted no less than 30 million for him so I had to say no. Then I tried to bring in a high-profile defender like Galeano, Musacchio or Kjaer but they were not interested in a move to our small club. With all those roads closed I went for another option, Russian regen Marat Bykov from Schalke. I paid 10 million for him and I guess he’s worth it although I wish he was a bit quicker. He will compete for a place in the first eleven with Javier Godoy, Louis Laing and Mervin Simon.
My central midfield suffered a major reshuffling, only two of my former CMs remained at the club: Radek Vecera and Graham Howson. The two lads will have some fierce competition this time though as I brought in three top notch midfielders. First there is Indio, a 19-year old Brazilian that I had chased unsuccessfully last season. This time I got him, I paid 12.25 million to Anderlecht for him but he seems to be worth every penny.
Next up, 22-year old Argentinian Marcos Fernandez who joined us for 7.5 mil from Boca Juniors. This lad is tall, strong, hard working and creative as well, a natural born leader that could really make a big difference in the middle of the park.
Last but not least, our most expensive transfer of the summer: Robert Ackermann from Palermo. I paid no less than 15 million for him, maybe slightly too much, but I really wanted this lad because he is quick, hard working and also a gifted player when it comes to picking a pass.
The flanks were reinforced with two free signings. First there is 21-year old Frenchman Walid Mechergui, his contract with Real Madrid was expiring and I made my move. He is very quick and a good dribbler too, the perfect backup for Tiago and also a good choice for the last 20 — 30 minutes of some games when we might need fast players for counter attacks.
The last new face is one that might be known to you: Scottish number 10 John Fleck. He decided to leave the Rangers as his contract expired and I decided to snap him up because he can be an universal backup in midfield and he can also provide some cover as a striker. And if he doesn’t do well I can always sell him for a nice profit in January.
Our 25-man squad looks a bit stronger than it was last season, I’m particularly excited about our revamped midfield :)
We started the friendlies on the wrong foot as we got beaten by Porto but then things went smoothly, apart from some pesky injuries.
But the most important news of the summer was that our brand new stadium was finally completed! Our facilities look more appropriate for a title-winning club now but there still is a lot of work to do.
Our season will start with the Community Shield, I’m looking forward to getting revenge on Arsenal after that FA Cup exit last season!
So, we’ll be fighting to defend our title and I had to check what the closest rivals did during the summer. Well, no good news there… Manchester City spent no less than 76 million on new players and Tottenham splashed a staggering 95 million!!! Well, I guess the bookmakers knew what they were talking about…
The most exciting transfer seems to be a hot Argentine winger named Juan Pablo Yavar, Man City spent no less than 32 mil to bring him in from Real Madrid! The good news is that I will be coaching this lad! What? No, I didn’t replace Mourinho at Man City. And no, I won’t be leaving Vauxhall…
I’ll have a great job on the side! Yes, Argentina wanted me as their new manager and I just couldn’t say no! They sacked their previous manager after crashing out of the World Cup at the end of the group stage (they got beaten by South Korea and USA!).
Before you ask, Lionel Messi is 31 years old so he might not be there for the next World Cup but I will surely enjoy having him in the team for a while. That’s how our summer went folks, what do you think? Thanks a lot for reading and don’t forget to vote for the Goal of the Month, less than two days left before announcing this month’s winner!
Vinners
30 мая, 2011 at 10:46
John Fleck is a quality signing and I did the exact same when he left Rangers, I snapped him up before anyone else. Although I was always worried about him due to his lack of CA he managed to come 2nd twice in the Premier League Footballer of the Year and was brilliant in snapping up the late goals (as a supporting playmaker). So don’t quite sell him just yet. As for your other signings they are amazing, can’t wait to see how Bykov plays! Good luck :)
Johnny Karp
30 мая, 2011 at 11:40
Thanks Vinners. I’m quite curious to see Fleck in action, he can become an important backup player. As for Bykov, he did pretty well in the friendlies so I hope that he will adapt quickly and become a leader in defense.
Laxeyman
30 мая, 2011 at 10:57
Great signings Johnny, the centre of your midfield now looks incredibly strong, and you’ve also got another good centre back. Indio should become a world class player, and Ackermann and Fernandez already are! Despite the money spent by City and Spurs I’m backing you to win the title again. Good luck!
Johnny Karp
30 мая, 2011 at 11:41
Thanks for the confidence Laxeyman, we do have a strong midfield but they might need some time to settle.
vikingmarius
30 мая, 2011 at 11:22
Great signings depsite not getting a lot of money, you did great selling players and your team is stronger for it. John Fleck is great on a free I am hoping to get him next season with Woking as he is transfer-listed at United in my game. Indio and Bykov look very good and should sure your team up defensively quite a bit, and good luck with Argentina is it mostly regens or still full of players that were youngsters at the beginning of the game?
Johnny Karp
30 мая, 2011 at 11:42
Thanks Marius. About Argentina, there still are quite a few well-known players including the likes of Aguero, Higuain, Mascherano and so on but I will be looking to rebuild the team and bring in some fresh blood. I’m quite sure I’ll be calling up my own Leandro Velasco and Fernandez ;)
Darren Smith
30 мая, 2011 at 11:23
Well done Johnny, an excellent revamp. Your midfield looks very sturdy now and with so much competition injuries shouldn’t cause the problems they did last year. Also great job getting the Argentina job, you’ll have no problems with quality as they always produce incredible players. My favourite signing is Indio and my prediction is a close fought title race with the motormen finishing top. With a little luck you could also go far in the CL.
Johnny Karp
30 мая, 2011 at 11:44
Thanks for the optimism Darren, I’m quite impressed by Man City and Tottenham to be honest so the title challenge might be even more heated than it was last season. I don’t know about Argentina yet, I still have to have a look around and see which players might deserve a call up.
Kevin
30 мая, 2011 at 12:49
My goodness Johnny you have picked up some excellent players in the off season in particu;ar Ackermann and Indio at least for me.Your midefield has lot’s of potential ability as of course your strike force. Good luck for the new season and being appointed manager of Argentina is just wicked!! Excellent post — love it :)
Johnny Karp
30 мая, 2011 at 12:59
Thanks Kevin, I hope that the three new midfielders will show their talent soon. Managing Argentina is quite exciting, even with an aging Messi ;)
vaibhavc
30 мая, 2011 at 13:32
Hey Johnny
Pretty good transfers there, I think you can give all your players a good challenge in the team. Indio and Bykov look like the best players. As for Argentina, I was going to suggest today that you should get a national team!
Johnny Karp
30 мая, 2011 at 17:09
Thanks Vaibhav, I hope it will be an exciting season for both Vauxhall and Argentina.
Football Glamour
30 мая, 2011 at 13:35
You made some great signings, was a bit taken back when you sold Tinga but the replacements brought in seem to make it a wise decision.
On a side note; how do you lot get through so many seasons so fast? I started a Spurs set-up almost 2 weeks ago, and find myself at the end of November in my 1st season, lol.
Darren Smith
30 мая, 2011 at 15:40
We’re addicted to the game. lol :) I sometimes spend Sunday writing in the morning and then get about 8 straight hours of game time in…sad I know but this isn’t all the time :)
Johnny Karp
30 мая, 2011 at 17:11
Thanks for the comment. I don’t think I play very fast, it takes me around a month to complete a season. I started the Vauxhall story last November if I remember correctly.
Sears
30 мая, 2011 at 13:45
Tremendous signings Johnny, you heavily strengthened your central midfield. I think Marcos Fernandez was your best signing… And the Russian center back looks impressive too. Well done on getting the Argentina job, judging by how well Darren did, I guess you should be able to add a few World Cup’s to your trophy haul :-D Good luck!
Johnny Karp
30 мая, 2011 at 17:12
Thanks Sears, Fernandez is one of my favorites. I don’t know about Argentina yet, as far as I remember Darren still had a full-strength Messi which I probably won’t.
Lye
30 мая, 2011 at 14:14
Hi Johnny,
Very very good signings. Those three midfielders plus Howson and Vecera are going to give me a lot of selection headache but i know you won’t. The whole squad gives me a «wow» factor and i believe we can look for a treble this season. Good luck.
Johnny Karp
30 мая, 2011 at 17:13
Thanks for the confidence Lye. There should be some rotation in midfield, my CMs have to do a lot of running so all five CMs will have their fair share of first team football.
Daniel
30 мая, 2011 at 14:50
Good transfers, congrats on getting the argentine job! Hope you can do wonders with them and vauxhall this season!
Daniel
Johnny Karp
30 мая, 2011 at 17:14
Thanks Daniel.
CsAtlantis
30 мая, 2011 at 15:42
The Argentina job should be interesting, they produce quite a lot of good talent
Indio and Fernandez look like they could be very very good central midfielders, quite well rounded attributes, hopefully they can perform well
Your original squad looks, very nice, a lot of players with room to develop and no player under 2 stars CA
Who is Ahmed Toure? He looks like a secret bargain :P
Good luck in your next season, hopefully you can win the Champions League!
Johnny Karp
30 мая, 2011 at 17:15
Thanks CS, I agree that the squad looks well balanced at the moment. Ahmed Toure is an 18-year old African striker with some potential, the future will tell us more about him.
Stromson
30 мая, 2011 at 16:34
Some great signings there Johnny, and that’s really exciting the new stadium is finally finished! I wouldn’t be surprised if you’ll need to be adding seats in the not-to-distant future. :) Congrats on the Argentinian post; can’t wait to see what you’re able to do with them (and it gives you the inside scoop on some talented footballers).
Johnny Karp
30 мая, 2011 at 17:17
Thanks Stromson. I’m quite curious to see if we’ll be filling the new stadium, I surely hope we will :) About Argentina, I already knew most of their Under 20s squad :)
Sayam Khan
30 мая, 2011 at 17:43
Fantastic signings there Johnny! I think Bykov, Ackermenn will be excellent for you. I’m very impressed with Indio. Regarding the Argentina job, you earned it and I hope you do well with them. I’m sure you will have lots of options to choose from. Good Luck!
Johnny Karp
30 мая, 2011 at 17:46
Thanks buddy, I hope that the new midfielders will make a big difference.
Ana Garcia
30 мая, 2011 at 20:39
Some great new players Johnny, interesting to see Mr Mourinho spending alot to try and beat you next season!
Good to see you finally relocate to a new stadium, just a shame that you cant change the name! The Vauxhall Stadium sounds a bit obvious!
Nice also to see your top strikers still at the club so well done for keeping a hold of them, and congrats on the Argentina job. They always produce amazing players so you have a very good squad already.
As always good luck!! :)
Johnny Karp
30 мая, 2011 at 22:25
Thanks Ana, I agree about the stadium name but there’s nothing I can do about that unfortunately.
Aaron
30 мая, 2011 at 21:32
That new team looks quite exciting Johnny! Maybe you should do a post about your youth/reserve players and their progress? I remember you buying loads of younger players last season and saying they would make it in to the reserves, do you have any really special talents in there?
Johnny Karp
30 мая, 2011 at 22:26
Thanks Aaron, you just gave me an idea: I will introduce one of the youngsters in each update, what do you think?
Sears
30 мая, 2011 at 22:36
I think that’s a great idea!
Aaron
31 мая, 2011 at 16:53
Yes that would be great :)
Necdet Celal Güner
31 мая, 2011 at 13:40
Hi Johnny,
It has been a long time. It is so exciting to read your journey with Vauxhall again. I did not start to play with FM 11, still playing with 10, managing Woking like your challenge; by the way I need your help on «crashdump» issue for FM v.2010. Dou you have any advise for me? On the other hand, Hagi brought Stancu and Culio to Galatasaray in real life and I think their attributes are a little bit exagerated in FM, what do you think?
Thanks in advance and all best,
N.Celal
Johnny Karp
31 мая, 2011 at 13:53
Hi mate, I’m so happy to see you here again! I don’t think I can help you with the FM 2010 problem because I really don’t know anything about that issue but I think you might be able to find some help in the official forums here: http://community.sigames.com/index.php
About Hagi, I was so sad that he didn’t get good results with Galata, I watched all his games and although the team was quite unlucky at some point I believe that the clubs need much better players to succeed. I don’t know about Culio but Stancu does seem to have some better attributes than in real life. He does have some potential though, he’s young and he might develop into a top striker.
Mariano
12 июня, 2011 at 06:32
Great signings Johnny, they should name the motormen stadium «johnny Karp»!
It´s going to be an interesting league as T H and Man City got very good players, and now you are going to go for the CL!
Good luck!
Johnny Karp
12 июня, 2011 at 10:24
Thanks mate. It’s too early to name the stadium after me though, maybe the next one that they will build :)