Blackburn vs Vauxhall (Premier League)
Venue: Ewood Park
Attendance: 20,153
Starting line up: Dean Bouzanis — Julian Marino, Bryan Purdrue, Osman Chavez, Grant Baddeley — Wayne Routledge, Radek Vecera, Mark Brown, Roni Porokara — Andrés, Ibrahima MBow
Team Talk: For the fans!
Blackburn were in 11th place before the game but that’s not what made it special, I was keen on beating them since they handed us a 1-0 defeat on our Premier League debut. My hopes nearly took a big blow just a few seconds into the match as Blackburn wasted a very good chance but then my players recovered and took control of the pitch. We created a few decent chances before half time but our finishing was not as good as I would have wanted it to be.
Half time score: 0-0
Half time team talk: Pleased.
Half time substitutions: Kaka for Marino, Inigo Perez for Vecera, Keith Higgs for Porokara
Blackburn had another good chance minutes after the re-start but the second half followed a similar scenario, we were dominating but unable to break through. Our best chance was in the 75th minute but it went begging so the game ended goalless.
Full time team talk: Good result!
Man of the match: Grant Baddeley
Flop of the match: Ibrahima MBow
Match Stats
Vauxhall vs Manchester United (Premier League)
Venue: Halton Stadium
Attendance: 13,500
Starting line up: Dean Bouzanis — Julian Marino, Cameron Lindsay, Mervin Simon, Jelle Van Damme — Thorsten Schon, Radek Vecera, Shyamdew Weibolt, Roni Porokara — Connor Wickham, Pavol Vesely
Team Talk: You can win today!
The last game of the year was our chance to get some sort of revenge after getting beaten 4-1 by Manchester United in August. We were fighting against the odds but the first half was quite pleasing, Manchester United didn’t look like a better team as they failed to create any clear chances. We didn’t have any opportunities to score either but I was pleased with the fairly confident display.
Half time score: 0-0
Half time team talk: You can win today!
Half time substitutions: Nathan Dyer for Schon, Inigo Perez for Vecera, Andrés for Vesely
Things got a lot better for us five minutes after the re-start, the crowd went wild as Roni Porokara volleyed home a pinpoint cross from Nathan Dyer! We were leading 1-0 and we managed to keep the game reasonably quiet as the Red Devils didn’t create any clear chances before the final 10 minutes. Unfortunately they did find the equalizer five minutes from time, Wayne Rooney scored with a sensational diving header to ruin our celebrations. The result was good enough but we were so close to an upset…
Full time team talk: Good result!
Man of the match: Roni Porokara
Flop of the match: Thorsten Schon
Match Stats
Video Highlights
Click here to watch the highlights.
So, we kicked off the month with a great upset at Stamford Bridge and came close to ending it with another surprising result against Manchester United. What happened in between those two big fixtures was a bit disappointing at times (losing at Boro and the home draw against Wolves) but we did manage to grab some good results against West Brom, Liverpool and Sunderland.
The league table is almost unchanged as far as we are concerned, we held on to the 9th spot. I guess we shouldn’t worry about relegation anymore but we should still be careful as a poor run might push us down the table very fast. We are five points behind Liverpool who are in 6th place (probably the last Europa League spot) and we might be in with an outside chance there.
It’s time to analyze my players and see who was up to the expectations and who wasn’t. It’s quite obvious that Mervin Simon was our best player, he is our top goalscorer and also did very well in defense throughout the season. A centre back being the top goalscorer is not a flattering fact for our strikers though. Connor Wickham, Andrés and Ibrahima MBow scored five goals apiece but I was expecting much more from them. Dean Bouzanis did a solid job between the sticks and so did Cameron Lindsay in defense, no complaints there. The biggest and most pleasant surprise is veteran Finnish winger Roni Porokara, he scored no less than five goals and most of them were decisive. There are two big disappointments: right winger Thorsten Schon and striker Pavol Vesely. Schon has played much worse than I would have expected him to while Vesely was hampered by an injury that kept him on the sideline for around a month.
Pavol Vesely will probably be loaned out because, as you might remember, we have a hot Brazilian striker joining us on January 1st. We have already paid 3.8 million pounds for Parana and I hope that he will make an instant impact in the Premier League, he surely has enough talent for that.
There will be another Brazilian transfer on January 1st, a free transfer. His name is Thiago and he’s a powerful 17-year old centre back. He might not break into the first team right away because he is a bit slow for our standards but I hope to correct that through training.
The best news is that the club is in a good financial situation and, as a consequence, the board have offered me the opportunity to get more transfer money. I promised them a top-half finish and I’ll get 12.25 million pounds to spend on new players and also a good increase of the wage budget. I am planning to bring in three new players: a right winger, a left winger and a central midfielder. I am considering a few targets for the two flanks but my target for the central midfielder position is quite clear: Graham Howson (you might remember him from the League 1 season when he was on loan at Vauxhall from Manchester United).
The board also agreed to spend some money on improving the training facilities and I also hope to persuade them to invest in the youth facilities as well, they do have some money in the bank ;)
January will start with an easy FA Cup fixture against Leyton Orient but then we’ll have a tough trip to White Hart Lane. The remaining three league games will be very important, I hope to get at least two wins out of those three. And last but not least, I hope to get a good result against Manchester City in the first leg and go for the miracle in the second.
That’s how it was folks, I’m quite happy with how things went so far and even more happy to have a good transfer budget to spend in January. I think that a top-half finish is a reasonable expectation at this point and we also have a chance of going to Wembley for the Carling Cup final, a slim chance to be honest but we’ll surely fight for it. Thanks a lot for reading and please check out our forum stories as well, there are quite a few great ones in there.
CsAtlantis
13 апреля, 2011 at 13:20
A pretty solid December, and the extra transfer kitty should help out a lot in keeping a top half position in the league
Going unbeaten in the last six matches is an impressive feat, considering that you played Liverpool and Man Utd in those matches
Hopefully you can get the players to help out your strikers to score more goals, keep up the good work!
Johnny Karp
13 апреля, 2011 at 20:27
Thanks mate, we could have been better off with a pair of wins instead of those draws against Wolves and Blackburn but I guess it’s satisfying for now.
Alex
13 апреля, 2011 at 13:32
A decent month, you can only seem to get good points from the big teams ;)
Wolves and Boro should be 6 points but complacency took over for you unfortunately.
I think Parana will really improve your goalscoring and this could be a turning point for improvement. Your defence is pretty good for the Premier League so the addition of a potential world class striker (I’m sure when he joins you he will be classed as a wonderkid) and your other signing looks great for a free transfer. Guod luck for the next month, I think you can win 4 games.
Johnny Karp
13 апреля, 2011 at 20:28
Thanks Alex, I guess winning four games next month would be more than OK. Parana might need some time to adapt but he surely has the talent to succeed.
vaibhavc
13 апреля, 2011 at 14:00
Hey Johnny
Good month there. It was great to pull off an upset against Chelsea and Liverpool, and to draw against Manchester United. The loss against Middlesbrough was disappointing though. Parana should get you more goals.
Johnny Karp
13 апреля, 2011 at 20:29
Thanks Vaibhav, I was quite disappointed to lose that game at Boro. I have high hopes for Parana, we’ll see if he’ll live up to the expectations.
Excessive
13 апреля, 2011 at 14:17
Very good results against the top sides in the league there Johnny. Really happy that you have cement 9th spot though, you should be there or there abouts come the end of the season.
The signings you have got in look to be class. Obviously we know about Parana but Thiago looks great. Has the technical abilities there, just need to work on his pace. His mentality will improve with age I’m sure.
Good luck for next month mate :)
Johnny Karp
13 апреля, 2011 at 20:30
Thanks Jake, the two Brazilians should do well considering their abilities but I’ll have to be patient while they adapt to life in Europe.
Sears
13 апреля, 2011 at 15:30
I can’t wait to see Parana in action, he looks amazing! Hopefully you can buy some talent with the extra £12 million, I’m sure if you purchase the right players you can defo finish in the top half. Great month btw, good luck!
Johnny Karp
13 апреля, 2011 at 20:31
Thanks Sears, I’m quite eager to see Parana in action myself :)
Ana Garcia
13 апреля, 2011 at 16:02
Decent month Johnny,
Parana looks amazing for being only 18 and hopefully he can score the goals that you need.
Your new defender looks very promising to for a 17 year old, Brazil always churn out amazing young players.
Good luck in the cup its seem you will need it!
:)
Johnny Karp
13 апреля, 2011 at 20:32
Thanks Ana, Brazil always was and always will be a fantastic reservoir of football talent. I have found out that 2% of the country’s GDP comes from selling footballers, that’s quite remarkable!
Sayam Khan
13 апреля, 2011 at 17:58
Pretty good month Johnny, I think you have a chance of getting europe, especially now that Parana will be joining you! He looks an absolute beast! Good Luck!
Johnny Karp
13 апреля, 2011 at 20:32
Thanks Sayam. I don’t know about Europe, Parana might need some time to settle before banging them in but I’m sure that he’ll do well eventually.
hils
13 апреля, 2011 at 18:59
Hi Johnny,another good month there!!!!!!!!!! Parana looks amazing!!!!!!!!! Good luck!!!!!!!!!!
Johnny Karp
13 апреля, 2011 at 20:33
Thanks Hils, he does look wonderful.
Darren Smith
13 апреля, 2011 at 19:15
Another great instalment mate, some good form and better than you should expect in my opinion. The new Brazilian should be your source for goals now, as you lack a real presence upfront to bang em’ home. Whether that’s down to a lack of service I’m not sure but we’ll find out. :) I’m thinking top 8 is achievable but top 10 would be an outstanding season. :)
Johnny Karp
13 апреля, 2011 at 20:35
Thanks mate. The major problem with my current strikers seemed to be that they were constantly unable to get past their opponents, we lost lots of balls upfront until now. Hopefully Parana will change that aspect of our game, his attributes tell me that he should be able to hold on to the ball and skip past one or two defenders when needed.
Jack
13 апреля, 2011 at 23:18
That was a great month Johnny! You and your cup runs are just fantastic! I’m looking forward to seeing parana in action, hopefully you can get a few more signings in as well :) Good luck for next month! Keep the posts coming :)
Johnny Karp
14 апреля, 2011 at 07:44
Thanks Jack, I’ll be posting as often as I can :)
Kevin
14 апреля, 2011 at 00:31
Hi Johnny
You really «book-ended» your month with solid performances against top teams especially that Carling Cup win over Chelsea which must have been a delight to watch. I got a chuckle out of your finances as it looks like someone had just «flat-lined» on the operating table only to be suddenly revived!!
I’m looking forward to seeing how your Brazilian players perfrom especially Parana whose attributes look incredible. Throw him an Thiago in against Orient and see how they do. Good luck to you!!
Johnny Karp
14 апреля, 2011 at 07:46
Thanks Kevin, our Carling Cup run was a bit miraculous after knocking out both Arsenal and Chelsea but we’ll be needing a bigger miracle against Man City.
Erick Wolf
14 апреля, 2011 at 08:00
I agree with Kevin about having Parana and Thiago against Orient.
I’m really excited for the team, and I swear, I am a Vauxhall fan now thanks to this story.
I hope we see some talented, experienced players during January!
Good luck!
Johnny Karp
14 апреля, 2011 at 08:16
Haha, it’s great to have a new Motormen fan! Parana and Thiago will probably play against Orient but it will depend on their fitness.
Lye
14 апреля, 2011 at 11:36
Hi Johnny,
Despite a difficult schedule but you have done pretty well. What a great win over Chelsea in the cup competition. Well done and looking forward to another great month. Good luck.